Birds

Birds of the deciduous woodland

A short introduction to the deciduous woodland: Atlantic enclaves and riverbanks

• Pyrenean oak woods with whitebeams: found on sunny slopes above 1,100 metres and on shady slopes above 950. Their main species are the Pyrenean oak Quercus pyrenaica and the whitebeam.
• Pyrenean oak woods with Portuguese oaks: a wood with the characteristics of a valley floor but appearing in mountain areas, between 700 and 850 metres, thanks to greater soil moisture. The tree heath Erica arborea and the bracken Pteridium aquilinum.
• Alder woods: a riverside wood that flanks permanent watercourses and where the alder (Alnus glutinosa) is the dominant species.
• Ash woods: another riverside wood in which the ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) predominates. It can also be accompanied by the willow (Salix atrocinerea) where watercourses are strongly seasonal.
• Birch woods: they appear as riverside woods or as climax woodland, always on peat bogs. Among their species we find the alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus).

Birds of the deciduous woodland

The bird species that occupy the Pyrenean oak woods are usually of Atlantic affinity. The tits stand out for their abundance, and among them the Eurasian Blue Tit, together with the Common Chaffinch and the European Robin.

Other species in smaller numbers are:

• Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major)
• Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)
• Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
• Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)
• Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
• Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
• Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia)

We must not forget the Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), a bird about 13–17 cm across the wings, very hard to see but very easy to hear, since its loud and characteristic song fills the woods with cheer.

As for the birds of the riverside woods, the presence of the Common Nightingale, (Luscinia megarhynchos), is worth stressing, at high density near the Bullaque river.