The birdwatchers who come from all over Europe and the world to our latitudes, attracted by our birds, are seeking, logically, those birds absent from, or very rare in, their countries. Fortunately, these are often among our most common and characteristic birds, inhabitants of the Mediterranean region like ourselves. At other times, however, they are looking for more unusual birds, with a limited range, or very specific biological requirements or habitats, which means that finding them can be more or less complicated, even here. Bearing in mind these variations and expectations which impel the birdwatcher to travel to our region, we have chosen fifty species.
Of these fifty birds, within Catalonia (Spain), some have all or part of their population in the province of Lleida; a large area which spans from the Pyrenees in the north to Aiguabarreig (river confluence) of the Ebro, the Cinca and the Segre in the south, passing through the best and most extensive arid areas in our region. That is why the province of Lleida is an exceptional area for ornithological tourism or birding.
To facilitate the programming of visits and ornithological routes in the province of Lleida the accommodation and complementary services offer rhas been incorporated into the web, in particular compiling – for the first time on the web – the whole range of birdwatching guide services operating in our region.
Collaborations
Arising from an initiative of the Patronat of Tourism of the Diputació de Lleida, the contents and the development of this pioneer project in our country have been entrusted to the Lleida province birdwatching tourism office, ICO and SEO/BirdLife. Special thanks go to the ornithologists Carles Santana and Javier Gràcia Gans with the collaboration of the Departament del Medi Ambient (Environmental Department) of the Diputació de Lleida. The photographs are the work of Jordi Bas, Guillem Chacón, Mariano Fernández, Rufino Fernández, Aurora Fontoba, Toni Pena, Carles Santana, Fernando Guerrero, Carlos M. Martín and Damià Chacón. The sound recordings are reproduced with permission of Eloïsa Matheu
