Ornithological routes
Maestrazgo
Maestrazgo
ITINERARY
Nacimiento del río Pitarque, Embalse de Santolea.
SPECIES
RESIDENT: Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Red-billed Chough, Blue Rock Thrush, Mallard, Dipper.
SUMMER: Short-toed Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Eurasian Hobby, Alpine Swift, European Bee-eater.
OVERWINTERING: Grey Heron, Great Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Common Teal.
MIGRANT: Osprey.
OTHER FAUNA
MAMMALS: Iberian Ibex, Badger.
AMPHIBIANS: Common Toad, Iberian Water Frog.
REPTILES: Viperine Water Snake.
DESCRIPTION
RECOMMENDED TIME OF YEAR: All year round.
HABITATS: Big cliffs, canyons and mountain rivers.
Griffon Vulture. Photo: Ferran Guardia
Egyptian Vulture. Photo: Miguel Ángel García
BIRDS
Red-billed Chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax ES: chova piquirroja Description L: 37-41cm; W:68-80cm; Corvid with uniform shiny black plumage; long curved bill; red beak and legs. Both sexes do not present differences in terms of plumage. Juveniles with fresh...
Blue Rock Thrush
Monticola solitarius ES: roquero solitario Description L: 21-23cm; W: 33-37cm; The male in breeding plumage is bluish-grey; dark wings and tail; in winter with brown rims on the blue feathers. Female has grey-brown upperparts, bluish tinge...
White-throated Dipper
Cinclus cinclus ES: Mirlo-acuático europeo Description L: 17 -20cm; W:25-30cm; Bird with dark brown back, brown head and belly; throat and white chest; short wings and tail; plump in shape and well adapted to aquatic life, feathers closely...
European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster ES: Abejaruco europeo Description L: 27-29cm W: 44-49cm. Colourful insectivorous bird, with reddish-brown crown and anterior part of the back; golden yellow back; tail and underparts green; yellow throat and eyes covered by...
Alpine Swift
Apus melba ES: Vencejo real Description L: 21-22cm, W:57cm. It shows greyish-brown colouration on the back, white underparts, and pectoral band brownish-grey. Silhouette in the shape of a crossbow, with long and pointed wings, tail more...
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus ES: Halcón peregrino Description L: 38-51cm; W: 89-113cm; The largest of the falcons of the Iberian Peninsula. Adults with bluish gray back; pale underparts, finely barred with dark; dark head with broad mustache; tail...
Eurasian Hobby
Falco subbuteo ES: Alcotán europeo Description L:29-33cm; W: 74-83cm; Adults with slate-colored backs; pale underparts; dark mustache; feathers of the breeches and underbelly reddish; gray tail; pale wings below. Juveniles brown and...
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusES: Águila pescadora Description 60-71cm. White head, with a black band on the sides; dark brown upperparts; white underparts, with brown pectoral band; wings dark above and light below, with a dark spot; primaries with...
Bonelli’s Eagle
Aquila fasciata ES: Águila perdicera Description L: 60-70cm; W: 150-170cm; Adults with dark upperparts; underparts white, streaked with dark; tail grey-brown, with several dark bars; wings dark above and lighter and shaded dark below;...
Booted Eagle
Aquila pennata ES: Águila calzada Description L: 42-51cm; W:110-135cm; With feathers on the tarsi, covering even the fingers. It has two types of plumagW: a light phase with white underparts; neck and breast often with a tawny band; ocher...
Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos ES: Águila real Description L: 76-96cm; W: 180-230cm; One of the best known birds of prey. The adult has dark brown plumage; head and nape golden; tail with diffuse transverse bands. In adult birds, the male has a darker...
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Circaetus gallicusES: Culebrera europea Description L: 62-69cm; W: 160-175cm; Raptor with brown back and large head; tail with four transverse dark bands, the terminal one wider; dark throat and chest; white underparts streaked with brown;...
Griffon Vulture
Gyps fulvus ES: Buitre leonador Description L: 95-110cm; W: 230-265cm; The most common of the Iberian vultures. Naked head and neck, with whitish down; light feather ruff; tawny plumage, with darker wings and tail; gray beak and claws...
Egyptian Vulture
Neophron perchnopterus ES: Alimoche común Description L: 55-65cm; W: 148-171cm; Adults white except wing feathers; head and throat without feathers, yellow. Both sexes are of similar size and plumage, the male being a little smaller than...
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaES: Garza real Description L: 84-102cm; W: 155-175cm; Back and wing coverts gray; head white, with black eye line; white collar, with a double line of black stripes; white underparts; yellow beak and greenish or reddish legs....
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo ES Cormorán grande Description L: 80-100cm; W: 130-160cm; Black plumage with a scaled appearance on the back, with a bluish tinge on the underparts; bill gray and yellow; At the base of the lower jaw there is a bare...
Great Crested Grebe
Podiceps cristatus ES: Somormujo lavanco Description L: 46-51cm; W: 85-90cm; In breeding plumage with dark back; white underparts; head with dark and reddish ornaments. In nonbreeding plumage with duller colors; without ornaments on head....
Northern Shoveler
Anas clypeata ES: Cuchara común Description L: 44-52cm; W:73-82cm Anatidae unmistakable due to the shape and size of the beak. Male in winter with dark green head; back black; white chest and neck; belly reddish brown; dark wings with green...
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchosES: Ánade azulón Description L: 50-60cm; W: 81-95cm Gregarious Anatidae that presents a marked sexual dimorphism, Male in breeding plumage with green head and neck; gray back and underparts; central tail feathers recurved...
Eurasian Teal
Anas creccaES: Cerceta común Description L: 34-38cm; W:53-59cm A small duck that presents a great difference between the sexes in the breeding season; Breeding male with chestnut colored head with green mask; chest light mottled with dark;...
