Winter #27: The Exception

March 13
6:45am-8:30am, vineyards and San Pau Hill, Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalunya, Spain
departing rain clouds into clear morning


I'm thinking to re-name the blog: "A Bird a Day (Except in Spain)".

Not only was it a gorgeous, fragrant, and clear post-rain dawn that filled a person with joy; there was also an incredible array of birds I'd never heard before.

I couldn't resist recording several of them, and had a hard time narrowing down who to share today. How about "Five Birds a Day When In Spain"?

First candidate: perhaps a Catalan mockingbird? He was singing vigorously from a neighborhood tree on my way to the vineyards, and his pre-dawn virtuosity entranced me.


Second candidate was making these clear, short calls from the vineyard:


Third candidate: a distinctive trill-y songster on the hill, if you can pick him out from the dogs and other birds.


Candidate Number Four: the good ol' magpie (garza in Catalan)


But the winner is Candidate #5, in pursuit of whom I scaled some rocky ledges and had a nice sit for several minutes, surveying the valley and vineyards below, drinking in the amazing air.

My version:



March 12
Vilafranca del Penedes, Catalunya, Spain
rain rain rain

An unusually sopping-wet day.