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Bird-racing. Des de Desembre 2004
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birding team 2006 sponsored by LEICA/DISEFOTO  The Rarebirdspain birding team 2006 uses LEICA Optics for birding. Only these top quality products can provide the sharper and top-quality views needed for this kind of competitions. Race impressions Race snapshots Race results (not yet) Our targets Acknowledgements 
According to
race rules and restrictions our results will be published here in due course
when official scores will be public.
Birding is sometimes difficult. Not to say dangerous. While preparing the 2006 race, contacts were done with former members of 'Los del Rio (Llobregat)' team, but for work reasons neither Xavier Larruy nor Xavier Santaeufemia could be joining the team. With Armand Ramal recently recovering from a double surgery and thus not at 100%, the prospects for the 2006 race were more complicated than the usual. Ferran López, a former Los del Rio member, contacted us and a previous agreement was stated to form a team. However, during the scouting prior to the race across Lleida, what could had been a fatal accident occurred to Ricard Gutiérrez due to a negligence from the garage where RG had changed the car shock absorbers. A fatal mistake from the garage caused one of the four wheels of the car falling from the vehicle and damaging all the traction system. Fortunately it happened only at 30 km/h speed in a dirty track, but had a psicologycal effect in changing schedules and avoiding a route initially planned to be over the 1000 km drive in 24 h. That was not going to be possible after that event. Given that experience, later communicated to the Catalan Consumers Agency and ultimately repaired by the official garage without cost, RG decided not to do the ultimate itinerary initially planned and, if any, make a shorter (safer) attempt to make a good score. Ferran López kindly understood the circumstances and formed the team 'Sin Perdón' with a bunch of friends (F.López, A.Ollé, X.Macià) and RG contacted some people, without success, to form part of a team to collaborate in the SEO bird-race, not thinking in being too competitive, but to contribute to a final decent score. At the end, while sailing off Palamós in search of Mediterranean Shags, Anthony McGeehan, the RSPB warden who had come to join 'Los del Rio' in its championship winner 2001 team, and a well experienced 'official' member of the awarded european bird-racing team 'The Transatlantic Vagrants', having raced in the USA New Jersey World Series of Birding and in the 1999 Great Texas Birding Classic (with RG too), came to join the team bringing the also RSPB warden John Scovell, another regular visitor to Catalonia to complete the party.
Given the past experience and the lack of time to prepare a proper itinerary not involving long driving, an attempt to an area of the Prepyrenees was done but the day before the race we realised that that area could not be used for race standards. So we changed our plans 10 hours before the race start, not to plan B but to plan C (!), which we eventually had done partially the year before.
We searched and found sponsorship from DISEFOTO, the LEICA representative in Spain after we confirmed the Irish were coming. Another 'Leica leader in the field' was invited to join the group but eventually he had already travelled to Greece from where he welcomed the invitation which had to wait for a future year. We are very grateful to Disefoto and Leica, particulary to Leonel Berger and his staff, as we are indebted to all from whom we had received help and support, all listed below. The race was carried out in the windy night followed by the the chilly (almost below zero!) morning and sunny afternoon of 29th April 2006 ranging from Lleida province Pre-pyrenees into the sea at Ebro delta, for the 1st time ever in this birding team (or previous versions).
Visiting summits,
gorges, cliffs, steppes, forests, wetlands or lagoons, a trip (not that
long) across this part of eastern Catalonia produced magnificent sightings
and experiences (including almost frozening by some of us) which are partially
reproduced in the snapshots you can see here. For species
conservation purposes and business secret, the itinerary itself cannot
be explained but, as proof of our sightings, we recorded a GPS track and
waypoints for every single new species we were adding to the list.
We did not visit nor disturb any nest (except a location for Lesser Kestrel in which we stood nearby without disturbing the birds) neither in advance nor during the race. We believe racing is mostly a fun experience to explain and make public how important are our areas for the conservation of birds and even for birdwatching and somewhat green-tourism. How important and diverse are the endangered Lleida steppes (as it was in former races the case of the Llobregat Delta) or how diverse can be a visit to the different areas in not so well known places for the general public but important for bird conservation. For that reason, members of our team have raced not only at home but abroad (Irish in Catalonia) or even in another continent (europeans in America) always scoring well, not depending only on a year-round work to locate nests but on the birding day skills, the true value of a team.
Any area can be good for racing. One score, one number, can bring the attention of the media to that local patch in need of protection and otherwise neglected by local media headlines, always in need of the breaking news. Some countries have understood this. We, birders, not only have to contribute to the promotion and discovery of our own areas richness, but to the global conservation of birds through an activity that brings out the importance of all species, in a day in which a Short-toed Eagle has the same value as a Woodlark, a Tree pipit or a Woodpigeon. We'll be back next year, if nothing happens, to do our best. With good LEICA optics, with good friends and hopefully with the good sensations we gather that 29th April 2006. That's the most important record. Rarebirdspain Birding Team
To Leonel Berger,
from DISEFOTO for sponsoring the team and answering so well in such a short
time.
RICARD
GUTIÉRREZ uses Leica Ultravid BR 10x42 and Leica Apo-Televid
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RBT 2006 was formed by Ricard Gutiérrez (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona), Anthony McGeehan (Bangor, Northern Ireland), Armand Ramal (Barcelona) and John Scovell (Belfast, Northern Ireland). RBT 2006 va ser format per Ricard Gutiérrez (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona), Anthony McGeehan (Bangor, Irlanda del Nord), Armand Ramal (Barcelona) i John Scovell (Belfast, Irlanda del Nord) RBT 2006 fue integrado por Ricard Gutiérrez (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona), Anthony McGeehan (Bangor, Irlanda del Norte), Armand Ramal (Barcelona) y John Scovell (Belfast, Irlanda del Norte)
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Leica Leader in the Field for Spain 2005-2007 LEICA- DISEFOTO
The night was windy and hard 
Vultures did not flight until 8ºC level was reached 
But that temperature lasted a long time to be scored... 
Not all steppes are always dusty and yellow 
Nor all wetlands are blue 
The 1st-ever Lapwing nest for Lleida. A nice finding! 
In search of the Black-necked Grebe 
A major, and welcome surprise, the Wilson's Phalarope (left) 
Armand looking at the terns 
And amongst them, a White-winged Black! 
After all, the results were very good indeed. |
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