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Birds of Northern Spain

Apr 27, 2017 | By: Whistling Wings Photography

Birds of Northern Spain - Part 1

I just returned from an amazing bird photography trip to northern Spain.  The purpose of this trip was to prep for my upcoming bird photography workshops I will be conducting there.  I am teaming up with a very good friend of mine who owns a company called Spain Adventures.  We have been wanting to collaborate on workshops in Spain for a long time.  It is all finally coming together.

 

If you have never been to the northern part of Spain, or Spain period, then you owe it to yourself to go.  It is a marvelous place of mountains and valleys dotted with small villages and an occasional larger city.  The bird photography in this area is second to none in my book, with some species you will not be able to photograph anywhere else.  

 

In the next few posts I will present some of the birds I was able to capture as well as images of the surrounding landscape and villages. In this post I will feature a few woodpecker species of the area.  

 

Please note that some images are presented full size and others smaller, but you can always view the full-sized image by clicking on it.

This is a female black woodpecker.  Black woodpeckers are birds of deep woods and one of the largest woodpeckers in the world. They are larger than the pileated woodpecker found in North America.  One of its favorite foods is ants.  It always amazes me that such large animals can subsist on such small prey items.  It can be very hard to get good images of this species.  For our workshops we have a location that allows for full frame shots of both males and females.  This image is full frame.

Below are some additional images of black woodpeckers I captured on my most recent trip.

Female Black Woodpecker with ant

If you look closely you can see an ant on the woodpecker 's neck. It looks like the ant is giving the woodpecker what for for eating its family members.

Male black woodpecker

A bit of a sinister look by this bird. I like the feeling of this image.

Male black woodpecker

Female black woodpecker

Love the light and background. Good light is not easy to get on these birds.

Male black woodpecker

This male is listening for insects under the bark of the tree.

Male black woodpecker

Black woodpeckers often times hang around near the ground looking for ants and other insects in fallen trees.

Male black woodpecker

Male black woodpecker

A bit of a fluff up on a cold morning.

Next are green woodpeckers.  Green woodpeckers are much smaller than black woodpeckers, but still a fairly large bird.  They are about the size of our Northern Flicker here in North America.

Pair of green woodpeckers

I was lucky enough to catch a pair of green woodpeckers mating.

Female green woodpecker

Female green woodpecker

The last species for this post is the great spotted woodpecker.  This species likes to forage and nest in all sorts of woodlands including parks and backyards.  It is one of my favorite birds that I see in this area of Spain.  It has a great "attitude" about it.

Male great spotted woodpecker

This bird was searching for ants and other insects near the ground

Male great spotted woodpecker

Here, a male has spotted an ant.

Female great spotted woodpecker

The female lacks the red feathers on the back of the head that the male possesses.

Images of one of the small villages we stay in are featured below.

 

During this workshop we strive to provide you, our clients, with an authentic experience.  We stay in lodgings that are very nice, but also very "Spain."  We eat very well, but we eat authentic Spain cuisine. Oh, and we drink awesome Spanish wines; if you are into that sort of thing.  There is not much that is "touristy" about our bird photography adventure in Spain.  So if you want to get world-class images of many bird species (some mammals too like wildcat, wolves, and Chamois) that call northern Spain home, while experiencing real Spain, please contact me (772-713-1216 or rbielefeld@comcast.net).  You will have the time of your life. 

Northern Spain

One of the small villages where we stay. We visit larger cities too, but our photography takes place in wonderful surroundings near villages like this.

Small stream

A mile or so up this stream is a great spot where we photograph white-throated dippers. A species to be featured in a later blog post. What a great place and a wonderful bird to watch and photograph.

Yum!

Double Yum!

Northern Spain is a wonderous place with a diversity of bird species that change with the seasons.  In Spring and summer there are a myriad of species that come north after wintering in Africa to breed in Spain.  In the winter, a wholly new set of species comes in from northern Europe to winter in Spain.  

 

So, come with me to Spain and capture some of these wonderful species for yourself while experiencing Spain at its best.

 

If interested in participating in my workshops in Spain you can call me: 772-713-1216, email me: rbielefeld@comcast.net, or go to here for more information: Birds of Northern Spain Workshop 

 

Cheers until next time.

 

Ron

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1 Comments

May 3, 2017, 4:44:05 PM

BRENDA STEVENS - ok when is take off and how much for two (one non photographer)

:) Almost talked him into it...we will need to find someone to watch our animals

Brenda

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