Wallcreeper

An email from my friend John stated that they were heading to Spain (from Canada) in search of his Holy Grail of birds the Wallcreeper. This of course got me thinking; the header for my old blog was a Wallcreeper image I managed to get in Provence in 2010 and that image features in my favourite shots section https://www.grahamcatley.com/wallcreeper so the species clearly has an indelible mark in my brain and so it should - surely this is one of those birds that everyone wants to see and every encounter is going to be an unforgettable one. So here we go with a bit of a career list of Wallcreeper enjoyment.

Being found essentially in high mountain ranges where they breed Wallcreepers do descend to lower levels in the winter and can sometimes be found feeding on buildings as long as there are holes and crevices to harbour their invertebrate prey items. My first encounter came in April 1976 on a University of East Anglia Bird Club trip to the Pyrenees and north-eastern Spain - extract below:

We awoke in our tent at Gavarnie in the French Pyrenees toa dump of 8 inches of overnight snow - some of the team not exactly prepared for sub-zero temperatures - note the tell tale Zenit B camera orange glare as the back of the camera often came open of its own accord affecting the precious slide film.

Pyrenees April 1976:

Following a successful mini-bus trip by the UEA Bird club to the Camargue in April 1975 a second trip to the Pyrenees and North-east Spain was planned for April 13th – 24th 1976 entitled the Lammergeier trip that was the main target bird but obviously a lot more birds were on offer. After logging our target bird in the high Pyrenees at Gavarnie, where we had camped and awoken to a dump to 8 inches of overnight snow some poor weather saw us heading for the warmer climes of Spain just over the mountain range but a long drive was entailed in the hard winter weather that was affecting the area. Narrative from the 16th and 17th below.

April 16th

Rise to rain again and decide we may as well set off for Spain where it may be less inclement, driving along the base of the Pyrenees can' t see much because of rain and poor visibility so drive to St. Girond 10 Black Kite, 10 Buzzard and a Red Kite, on road side plus singing Cirl Bunting. From Girond up the Maras road two Firecrest building a nest where we have lunch in the valley and a bit further up 11 Garganey on a small lake on the roadside, 11+ Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and 3 Crag Martin. From here up road to Col de Port the col high in the hills, spruce and pine clad slopes, scree and rugged valleys, snow in the distance. Raven, Goldcrest and Water Pipit but looked good for other species in better weather. Drive down from here and then up some very rugged mountain roads towards Andorra. Very steep road to the pass with masses of snow and partially blocked roads with cars stuck in drifts and its still snowing. In order to get going several members of the group get out and start pushing cars stuck in snow up the road! At the café at the top, I seem to recall we were treated to a free hot chocolate. On the back, southern, side of the pass we drop down to Canillo in Andorra below snow line again and camp in the dark, as usual, and wake to a sharp frost and masses of skiers driving up to the slopes above.

April 17th

Pre breakfast walk in the valley quite illuminating; rugged valley with steep slopes and maquis scrub, to the north and pine and spruce forests to the south. In the morning Willow Chiffs moving, 20+ Rock Bunting, Firecrest, 50+ Siskin, heavy movements of Goldfinch, 200+ Serins and White and Grey Wagtails. Climb slope to the north in hope of Rock Sparrow but no joy on that front but on burnt off grass slopes Redstart 2, Black Redstart 6+, Blue Rock Thrush in song 100+ Alpine Choughs flying over, then sitting on the grass slope Jeff makes the find of the day a Wallcreeper on a craggy outcrop which feeds sings and behaves perfectly giving wonderful views. Totally elated we shout down to Dunc et al in the valley below and eventually get some of then up to see it. Descending for some not to hot or palatable porridge. Pack up again and Derreck et al go off for the creeper, returning they claim Alpine Dunnock and we have to have another go for them, climbing the hill behind the hotel a lot of time spent looking but no joy in wind and rain but eventually I flush an *Alpine Dunnock and three more are found feeding on the burnt off slope, they prove to be what Jeff and I found in the early morning session but lost. Set off for the Ordino valley but not too successful here due to heavy tourist developments and dull weather: Pine clad slopes on the less rugged valley stretching up to the high tops to the north birch scrub on lower slopes held only tits. From here drive to the Spanish border in the dark and camp in a valley bottom on the roadside, + dogs etc; and lots of foreigners.

Five star accommodation here in the valley below the Wallcreeper in Andorra - canisters of water caused us a problem at the Spanish border where the police thought we were smuggling petrol!

The history of Wallcreepers in Britain stretches back to 1792 when one was shot at the unlikely location of Stratton Strawless in Norfolk on October 30th with five more records before 1969.

https://www.historicalrarebirds.info/u20/wallcreeper

https://www.historicalrarebirds.info/cat-ac/wallcreeper

Naylor, KA 2024 Historical Rare Birds

Being 16 at the time this bird passed me by but it was the first detailed and documented live bird in Britain and caused quite a stir as detaield below;

Wallcreeper 1969 Worth Matravers Dorset Accepted

Details: Worth Matravers, male, 19th November 1969 to 18th April 1970.

From British Birds – Looking back April 1995

Twenty-five years ago, in April 1970, the talking point was an unprecedented invasion of at least 40 Little Egrets Egretta garzetta, the first 12 all arriving during 17th-19th April; in contrast, there was none in autumn. In the same month, British Birds subscribers were reading that: 'Although considered to be largely sedentary, the Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria has been recorded as a vagrant about seven times in Britain. The most recent occurrence, and the first for over 30 years, was at Winspit, near Worth Matravers, on the Dorset coast. The first authentic sighting of this individual was on 19th November 1969, though there is some evidence that it had been present since at least 9th September. It stayed throughout the winter, working its way each day back and forth through the abandoned stone quarries that extend along the cliffs for about a mile east from Winspit. Hundreds of birdwatchers travelled to see it, local inhabitants and holiday-makers borrowed binoculars, and it even put in an appearance on television, but at times it could be remarkably elusive and no one seems to have met with much success in photographing the bird. By the end of March it had already acquired the black throat of the male's breeding plumage, and it was last seen on 18th April.' (Brit. Birds 63: 163)

An actual black and white film of this bird appears in the BBC archive along with some rather dodgy early TV sensationalist reporting.

https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1970-nationwide-wall-creeper/228187989063253/

Roll on forwards to 1978:

Cheddar Quarry Somerset March 19th 1978

A new bird for GB!

Unbeknown to 99% of UK birdwatchers a Wallcreeper had wintered in the Cheddar Gorge area of Somerset from early November 1976 to April 6th 1977. The first since the widely available Winspit bird in 1969 – 1970 it would have drawn a big crowd but was not made public. Fortunately, it returned on November 9th 1977 and stayed through to April 8th 1978 with news being released to all and sundry in March 1978. Mick Mellor and myself decided on a visit on March 19th and after negotiating the quarry wall and ending up in the bottom we had some great views as detailed blow: it remains the only bird I have seen in Britain and a wintering individual now would be a massive draw as the last British record was a one day bird on the Isle of White in 1985.

My field notes:

A brilliant bird first noticed giving its call that sounded somewhat similar to the song of Black Redstart being a three syllabled see see seeeit rising at the end and quite distinctive given regularly whilst moving about and feeding. Song also given quite often was the same as that heard in the Pyrenees again sometimes trisyllabic and the first two notes sometimes given without the rising third note tu tu tueeese rising on the last long drawn out high pitched note.

Not easy to pick out on the rock face due to its small size and habit of spending a good deal of its time sitting stationary whilst feeding on a wet cliff face.

Bill curved and black; crown nape and back all pale grey looking slightly darker on the naps than the back. Throat black with odd white spots where still moulting to summer plumage. Faint white eye ring visible at close range. Breast dark greyish. Wings brilliant crimson on forewing with blackish primaries and prominent white spots on the black inside tips.

creeping about feeding on the rock faces especially in cracks and under overhangs and on one face with running water where it spent a lot of time feeding by picking flakes of mud off the face in search for invertebrates underneath. Also seen drinking water as it dripped off the face. Flicked wings out quite regularly especially when moving about. In flight brilliant crimson, grey and black and white with large butterfly like effect caused by the broad wings. Flight very rapid and erratic with amazingly quick turns in flight making it a hard bird to follow.

In my attempt to be a bird sketcher days and even felt obliged to add some colour to a bird like this one

Since that memorable encounter in 1978 I have seen Wallcreepers in Southern France and the Spanish Pyrenees as described below every sighting leaves an indelible mark on the memory.

June 5th 2000 -- a trip to the Pyrenees and NE Spain June 3rd – 10th 2000

An early start heading north on the A131 to Huesca and then on to Jaca via the 330 and Sabiñánigo. Decided on a first look at the Monastery area at San Juan but at the top low cloud made birding impossible so we dropped down to the village of Santa Cruz de la Serós. Here a good variety of raptors including Hobby, Peregrine, kites and Booted Eagle plus Alpine Swift were logged before the rain set in! We then drove to the Mirador de Oroel and managed to get views of a few typical woodland species, Bonelli’s Warbler, Short-toed Treecreeper, Firecrest and Nuthatch. Also heard Black Woodpecker but failed to see any. A chat with a young birder who had been shown Wallcreeper at the Hecho the previous day prompted an early departure and a rapid drive to the Boca del Infierno. Here it was extremely windy, cold and difficult to locate any song but after about 30 mins the male Wallcreeper appeared on the rocks to the left of the road and flew down into the gorge where we all had good views as the rain set in again. A few minutes later a second bird, the female was found feeding on the high face across the gorge and we were able to get good scope views for 90 minutes by standing in the shelter of the overhanging face across the road. In addition to these super birds 2 Lammergeier, 5 Egyptians, Short-toed Eagle, Booted Eagle and Red-backed Shrike were all seen. Higher up the valley a lone Black-bellied Dipper was sole consolation in appalling weather with torrential rain. By evening it was fine lower down the valley and we headed for the supposed Eagle Owl site near Alastuey. The valley revealed Red-backed Shrikes, Bonelli’s Warbler, Cirl Buntings and two probable but distant Bonelli’s Eagles. At dusk a Scops Owl called and an Eagle Owl was heard but the highlight was three Eurasian Nightjars feeding on the road with a female allowing approach to 2m in the lights of the car. Night in a Hostal at Puente la Reina.

my first Wallcreeper image taken at shall we say a slow shutter speed in the depths of the gorge in flight - almost recognisable

June 8th

Golden Orioles calling from the poplars along the river at the hotel at dawn. A drive up to the St Juan area revealed good numbers of a variety of butterflies in what was a rather hot day, 27C plus a variety of raptors but not the stunning close views we expected. Lammergeier, Egyptian Vultures, Booted Eagle, Peregrine and a flock of 50 Chough were highlights. From here we headed back to the Wallcreeper site and had Golden Eagle, Peregrine and 2 Lammergeier in the air. The Wallcreepers were located at the nest with the male feeding the female. Tracking down the valley we crossed west into the Anzo valley having 2 Short-toed and 2 Booted Eagles in display from the ridge top. A short stop at the bottom of the Binzes valley revealed Orphean Warbler, Ortolan, and 5 Short-toed Eagles. Evening in the town park at Jaca where at least three Scops Owls located including a pair mating in a tall tree in the north-east corner of the park. Night at same Hostal as 7th.

male Wallcreeper in the gorge a micro-dot image on KChrome slide

In the mid 2000’s with cheap air travel opening up long weekend birding trips, four of us headed to the Camargue and Les Alpilles in January or February of 2004, 2005, 2008 and again in 2010 tempted by close encounters with Alpine Accentors, Greater Flamingos and hopefully the Wallcreepers that winter on the cliffs at Les Baux. Below are the Wallcreeper days!

February 5th 2004

By 12:40 we were at Les Baux and parked in an almost empty car park by the main entrance to the old town; 3 Euros in a meter (useful to have a few Euro coins available when you arrive). Entrance to the higher levels of the old town costs 7 Euros but when we returned three days later the girl on the desk recognised us and let us in for 5:50 as we were regulars! The upper reaches of the old town soon produced some good birds with 10-15 Alpine Accentors feeding around the buildings and on the open areas; very tame but frustratingly poor light prevailed. Also 1-2 Blue Rock Thrush, some very approachable Sardinian Warblers, Black Redstart and a pair of Serins. Various sources suggested that Wallcreepers winter on the northern edge of the town cliffs and at the southern end. We started off by walking west down the road towards Les Maussannes. On the first right hand bend you can look back up to the cliffs and the buttresses on the side of the town. DJ quickly picked up a Wallcreeper here and we had good views as it fed on the walls and cliffs but access was restricted by the scree and scrub. The second site is found by taking the path south from La Vergière Noire along the foot of the cliffs to the southern end of Les Baux. Two Crag Martin and a fine Firecrest obliged along with further Blue Rock Thrush and odd Accentors on the cliffs above. Our second Wallcreeper of the day was soon picked up in an area of honeycombed limestone by the Stèle des Gaiè. We soaked up this delightful bird for a few hours and then moved back to the car and drove towards La Caume.

Digi-scoped Wallcreeper with the Nikon Coolpix E880 a 3MP camera February 2004

February 9th

Following up on information from the Spanish and French birders we headed into the northern delta to look for a Pine Bunting seen the previous day. A flock of 16 Cattle Egrets passed as they left their roost and the flock of 30 or so Yellowhammer were duly located. Eventually at least one adult male Pine Bunting was seen very well and it seemed likely that two had been present. With the wind getting ever stronger we headed back to Les Baux. On the higher levels it was hard to stand up and the Alpine Dunnocks were very difficult due to harsh light and their constant movements. On the southern cliffs it was possible to get out of the wind and in the sunshine two Wallcreepers performed brilliantly keeping us entertained for about three hours. Also seen were Blue Rock Thrush, A Accentor, Black Redstart, 20 Crag Martin. Without much hope of any action in the cold wind we headed for the Eagle Owl site and found one bird immediately on a daytime roost on the crag but it was by then 18:00 and the light was fading.

For fast moving small birds on a big cliff digi-scoping had its challenges - Les Baux February 20024

February 19th 2005

By early afternoon were at Les Baux and walked up to the upper village where Alpine Accentors were quickly located along with Sardinian Warblers and KDD jammed a Wallcreeper on the inner ramparts. A couple of Black Redstarts were seen before we moved back to the car park where two obliging Alpine Accentors performed brilliantly amongst the crowds of Saturday afternoon visitors. A walk around the bottom of the cliffs turned in three delightful Wallcreepers and three Crag Martins plus Blue Rock Thrush.

local tourists taking in the Alpine Accentor by the entrance to Les Baux courtesy of digi-scoping KDD and DJJ

Alpine Accentor at the entrance to Les Baux - mow armed with the Canon 20D and original 100-400 lens images were getting a bit better

Monday 21st

Starting out at Les Baux it was already very windy; a Cirl Bunting sang near the car park and the southern cliffs were sheltered. A male Wallcreeper was very accommodating and a few Black Redstart and 13 Crag Martins seen. By the main entrance we had two close Alpine Accentors in what was now nearing a gale force north-westerly.

Even with the 100-400 lens the Wallcreepers were small and usually distant

Wallcreeper on the honeycombed southern cliffs of Les Baux

At the time photos of Wallcreepers were quite scarce and this image featured on the cover of the Ornitholidays tour company brochure

January 12th 2008

A fine and sunny morning with light winds so we head up to Les Baux to have a go at the Wallcreepers at Les Baux—hopefully! There only seems to be one female on the whole of Les Baux so it gives us a bit of a run around trying to get close to it; not so the Alpine Accentors which perform admirably. Also seen 3+ Black Redstart, a male and female Blue Rock Thrush, 20+ Serin, Sardinian Warbler, a couple of Cirl Bunting low down and at roost time 17 Crag Martins and a Merlin on the adjacent hillside.

With the Canon 1Dmark2N and 300 2.8 lens the Alpine Accentors were a dream target; tame and in great light

January 13th;

Another amazing hot and sunny day but with a light north-easterly wind. The female Wallcreeper again took up most of the day but we also saw 3 Bonelli’s Eagles in the distance over La Caume and a Griffon came from that direction and flew over Les Baux. Additional birds during the day were 6+ Black Redstart including a male in song, 20+ serin, Sardinian Warblers, male and female Blue Rock Thrush, 20+ Alpine Accentors, 2 displaying Ravens, Chiffchaff and Sparrowhawk. Late afternoon we move to Le Destet and have Woodlark, a ringtail Hen Harrier and a singing male Eagle Owl at dusk.

male Sardinian Warbler at Les Baux another distraction from the Wallcreeper hunt

but even with the 2x converter on the 300 lens the Wallcreepers were stubbornly distant

Les Baux February 10th and 12th 2010

At least one male Wallcreeper with some reasonable photographic opportunities. Armed now with the 500 f4 Canon lens and a 1.4x converter there were better photo chances but the birds were still small and tricky to find with a lens when standing on a loose scree slope looking essentially upwards.