The world upside down, Chronicle of the Third Grand Challenge 2009 Grand Challenge 
'Mission accomplished. We misled 'the Tramuntana '.... But not enough ' (laughs).
This phrase was the one comment we would put as the beginning of this chronicle in the team's blog over breakfast at the same table (yes, the same) the Tramuntana Birding Team. Again (and you are too straight) have made us win (we might almost say that we will have won only once ... but that time had and has international repercussions in the book of our friend Anthony McGeehan ... ( Birding from the Hip ) but the fact is that 170 to 160, outplayed us for half an hour of light, we believe. And the cold that we changed the plans that night. Because if anything was oversight, coincidence and too cold. Where? In the 890 miles we traveled south to north, yes, upside down, in order to try something new and expect to get a good result, it was enough to win, not what was. 17.10.2009 The day was held
the third edition of 'The Great Challenge' SEO / BirdLife ', the marathon bird fall to the winning teams in the spring. This year was celebrated, oh surprise, in the province of Lleida and Tarragona, sponsored by tourism administrations in the area. While the Delta de l'Ebre is common ground for many groups of the marathon, including us and TBT among those present at the Grand Challenge, our team only made his marathon regularly Lleida. In other words, 'played at home. " But which house? Previous surveys and data that we did and we made it clear that one thing is the spring and one fall winter (2 ° C in Ivars d'Urgell is more winter than autumn ...), so the sudden drop in temperatures gave us a nasty surprise in the form of disappearance species like the tawny owl Otus scops
or yellow wagtails Motacilla flava
we had controlled ... But that analysis would be the subject of another post ... How was the marathon? Around we go!
With the theme of seeing friends who long ago did not see (Eduardo de Juana, for example, former Secretary of the Rarities Committee, participated with the team of red archibebes
Tringa alcohol, Shorebird-known distribution restricted to the center of the peninsula, known for its red color in his cheeks and his claim 'ICH' repeated periodically), and explaining some things to teams in other places, is that we were the last to leave the team hotel in Vilagrassa , Lleida, about 11:40. Malament!.
However, once set the odometer to zero and all the systems in place (pen, notebook, hat, flashlight and more gps) and again with too many pockets on the jacket that made you lose everything we come into an area next to the hotel where, oh, we saw a group of Sison just after midnight. We started well. A visit to one of Talisman our spring areas and gives us
Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea cinerea
(both not very important), but that yes, Athene noctua
insistently demanding. We went to Ivars d'Urgell, where we hope to see the owl and hear the curlew. We did not arrive. Before and detect when the vehicle passed a
Tyto alba in a tree beside the road. In the lagoon no curlews (the next day we know that TBT have stumbled with one in the car park of the lake ...) but
Anas clypeata, Rallus aquaticus and a step of thrushes Turdus
philomelos between any otherwise. Let's see if we a species not listed but it does give a pair of Homo sapiens
alleged in reproductive activity. Time to go. Bugger off saying that ... So far, so like spring marathon but ... radical change in EU decision decided that, given that three of us and what we could see and prepare, we would do the marathon backwards! Starting from the sea and towards the mountain ... Iban to flip all when we were not in the tower de l'Aufacada in the Delta de l'Ebre afternoon (then we would know that and we looked in the morning ...).
An overnight stop in a given locality the coast to see the parrot that was watching us from their nests well lit by street lights and a few gulls also illustrated by the way, we headed south towards possible tawny owls,
Bittern Nycticorax or calling (we saw one this week) . We were in the Delta de l'Ebre. No. Did not work out the tawny owl. Too cold must have thought ... And is that how it had changed the time! RG That same week there was bathing in the sea and now all with fleece and seriously cold ... However, the pile did go out in the Plan B that we had for them. Well, whew. Time to rest 1 hour and peak. The peak was found to be 5 minutes (should be a minor peak ... haha) but will always sit well.
Already in the morning another change and another new well studied. Thanks to information from our local contacts include a town in the Catalan coastal ranges near the delta where we started on the right foot the day! For the expected
Erithacus rubecula, Turdus merula and Sylvia melanocephala we added the only
Troglodytes troglodytes day and delicacies such as Prunella
modularis, Emberiza cia, Alectoris rufa (less work for later), a magnificent
Sylvia undata, a no less great
Lanius meridionalis and pump as two
Coccothraustes coccothraustes ! Among bells and whistles (Picus viridis
et al) was 8:36 am when we walked back in the Delta de l'Ebre with as many as 47 species in the sack.
The itinerary of the Delta de l'Ebre was well studied but expected to see as developed as in previous days had seen this variation in birds. A large group of Morita, with the background Montsià, welcomed us (and be welcome!). Soon a dozen species were longer in the sack. Encanyissada l'lagoon, however, was the scene of a horror movie. Of fear for ducks that were there because it was hunting from tubs and boats. The war in Cuba, go. Luckily in the midst of a majestic swan large bucket common Cygnus olor
was still surrounded by a thousand ducks and other
Netta Rufina or
Aythya ferina, but also
Podiceps nigricollis. Well! 9 and 70 species!. Perhaps because of the mess we are only able to detect a scirpaceus and escaped our Acrocephalus melanopogon
we would not see the rest of the day. At the Tancada, another essential stop the avalanche. 25
Sterna caspia together! And Arenaria! And even some nerds in the area. And the Avocet? We see no
nor Limosa limosa. Neither
gularis in the area. O plovers ... We must do something! What?
A Punta de la Banya! Yes, a
cul-de-sac and lost awhile. But we can not leave without the Avocet! And there, from the end of public road, we see her with a merlin
F.columbarius tip (the only day) and a peregrine falcon (we would see another but this was on our stand on a pole Trabucador). Salen Tadorna
kicking (being a normal duck go paw-das, no?) but none of the
aristotelis we know is within the nature reserve. 97 species! 10 in the morning!.
After greeting for the first time the team of Cantabria (also went backwards!) And sign
Anas penelope (well placed where they had been all week) and
acuta (also) appears half-surprise
Anthus richardi . Species 101! RG had detected one the previous weekend and it was there. In some rice fields full of waders appears as if by magic the gularis of Tancada and in the middle of almost thousands of Alpine minutes a
Calidris ferruginea!. It was not the announced
Xenus cinereus been there a few days before but purpose of the marathon had beaten. A causeway
H.pennatus in a tree, three
P.apricaria above us and two fishers out there. Not bad! After seeing some more sea and a spatula leave the delta with 121 species. Come a bit late but the number is very good. Few things have failed and we headed north with the belief that 'the thing' is going well. But still had to get cold again ...
Northbound Some strategic stop for forest birds and the first disappointment. The owl is not real! As might be in a place from for years and suddenly disappear the same week? Failure often do not recover. While the survey does not start on the inside and Lleida. First black wheatear territory. It is not. Second. Neither. Third (which never fails) ... .. not Argh! We only have one close to the route ... but whew, luckily is there a female. A blocker
less. Constantly changing way to reduce time, Monticola
is stuck where he plays. Well. And there are other species Phoenicurus Phoenicurus good as
(male!) Or a large side of Petronia
moment we see a van .... de Cantabria! (We are awesome ... following?). But we had coordinates from one side of bargains
Pteroches alchata miserably make us lose precious time. And probably the marathon in part. Because not only do not go, but we mislead. We decided to leave the area without seeing either the calendar, which also works as a tractor was plowing the field where they were that week. Bad business and bad sign. It is 4 and we have 146 species in the boat. There is still hope. Everything depends on the last letter we play.
Further north hurry always
When you find people going slow, trucks, tractors, tricycles, trolleys or caravans of sheep. A bit of everything that we saw. Well, not trolleys, but it is a metaphor. The evening was good and the inflection point (where you play the card of yore) decided to leave the flat
Lleida to bet on going to the Pyrenees. We lacked many forest species, and we thought there would see them. Despite the sun, however, temperatures would be significantly lower than those of days of testing. Much less for someone to 'sing' in the evening ...
Being almost an hour without adding species in the afternoon is bad for morale. However Cinclus Cinclus
was welcome. Vulture flying was scanned, if the black vulture and the osprey ... There appeared the first but the trio of the second we expected. Well, well! Along the way they jumped some
Emberiza cia. But common and species?
appear to shoehorn too much suffering and Parus ater
(incredible cost so much) and Regulus
ignicapillus . But
regulus and ? And Parus cristatus
? Without these species can not win! And they're out there! I despair ... Suddenly two crows come and settle near the meadow where we are .... Piguigualdas jackdaws! Pyrrhocorax
graculus ! Well! Quickly a group of
Serinus citrinella passing of 2 º C also experienced there (must be the fashion of the day temperature), and Lugano
C.spinus , with a freak in the middle that seems to get a Carduelos
flammea (but not notes). In the forest one faintly sings
Certhia familiaris. But would the latter species. Does not appear cristatus
! While discussing the issue and our chances get a car at full speed, parking and people ran out without saying a peep into the woods ... the Cantabrians! (Flipped again ...). We try to see where they go but no sign, they have been eaten the forest. Then we know that they had seen a grouse ...! (Here yes you hallucinate in Dolby stereo.) Well, we autoconsolamos, Scolopax
rusticola us a ... Later he sings a
Stix aluco Tawny as lamenting our result, that night despite strenuous efforts, only adds to the curlew. Too cold. And we just announced the 160 species. Not bad. But we realize that will be insufficient, as in the end would be.
So, another year will be! (Or so say lately ...).
Already 
