El Planerón is a nature reserve created in 1999, when SEO-Birdlife (Sociedad Española de Ornitología) , purchased 600 hectares of some of the best steppe habitat in the Ebro valley, near the village of Belchite.
It includes natural steppe and abandoned cereal fields, gullies and limestone cliffs. It was the first reserve created to protect steppe bird species in Europe, and holds large numbers of Black-bellied and Pintail Sandgrouse, as well as several species of lark, including a sizeable population of Dupont’s Lark. Golden Eagle, Eagle Owl and Peregrine nest in the cliffs, and Lesser Kestrel have colonies in several abandoned buildings. Short-toed Eagle frequently hunt in the plains. It is also an important rest area for migrating Dotterel, especially in autumn.

The area can be easily accessed from the road between the villages of Belchite and Quinto de Ebro, some 25 km from Zaragoza. Belchite is well known from the battle that occurred in August 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. Republican forces in an offensive to conquer a number of towns on the way to Zaragoza met with unexpected and fierce resistance by National troops. The ensuing siege and battle caused an estimated 6,000 casualties from both sides, until what remained of the village finally surrendered in September.


The ruins of Belchite

The battle was irrelevant to the final outcome of the war: the village was retaken by Franco’s troops in March 1938, and it was decided to leave the ruins as they were after the battle, as a sort of war memorial; a new village was built next to them once the war was over. Unfortunately, the ruins have been so neglected that little remains, and not even a sign or an explanatory panel is there to inform visitors of what happened.

Griffon Vultures

By mid July, all water in the area is usually gone, except for an artificially fed waterhole where SEO-Birdlife has built a hide to see the many birds that concentrate around it. The hide is made of wood that creaks loudly with every movement, which often startles the birds, and can be incredibly hot by noon. Also, the reed in front of it has overgrown, obscuring much of the view.

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata) are very numerous around the remaining water, with some Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae) also present. The hide offers a good challenge in identifying both species. The task is made even more difficult than usual by the large number of recently fledged juveniles of both species, in which differences are even more subtle than in adults.

Crested Lark, Jordan

In my experience, the best way to differentiate Crested and Thekla Lark is the proportions of head and bill. Crested has a long, pointed bill, and a long, spiky crest as long as the bill. Thekla’s bill is shorter and straighter, and the crest is shorter than the bill. However, crest length can vary depending on the moult, and juvenile birds of both species have a thicker bill, leading to further confusion.

Crested Lark, Northern Senegal

Colour and markings as a way to ID these species can be misleading: Crested Larks can be very different depending on their geographical origin (see photos). Besides, their migratory movements are poorly understood, and birds from different origins can be found in Spain at different times of the year. Thekla Larks seem to be more homogeneous, at least in the different countries where I have seen them.

Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactila) and Lesser Short-toed Lark (Calandrella rufescens) can also present ID problems, especially when young. Both are common in El Planerón and often drink together. In general, Short-toed Lark gives a “cleaner” impression, with unmarked underparts (except in juveniles) and warm brownish tones. A dark patch on both sides of the breast is frequently present, but not always (see photos).


Short-toed Lark

Lesser Short-toed Lark looks almost finch-like in size and complexion. Its tones are generally grey (in birds from the Iberian Peninsula), and it has a heavily marked breast.

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra) gathered in large numbers to drink throughout the morning. Its size and heavy build make it unmistakeable. Other birds arriving at the waterhole included Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia) and Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator).


Rock Sparrow

The whole morning was made difficult by an extremely irritant young Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pigargus) that kept showing up, drinking and bathing, scaring other birds away.

Both Black-bellied (Pterocles orientalis) and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata) have sizeable populations in El Planerón, and come to drink daily around 10 am. However, the day of my visit both species flew overhead several times but were prevented to land by the recalcitrant Montagu’s Harrier. Late in the morning, only one pair of Black-bellied Sandgrouse finally came down to drink briefly.


Young Montagu’s Harrier

My friend Juan Carlos Albero works for the Forestry Department of the regional Government of Aragón, and sent me this story last summer (July 2006). He lives in the foothills of Guara, near Huesca:

“Yesterday a neighbour told me he had seen an eagle near the village. I went where he said and found a recently fledged Short-toed Eagle lying on the ground under a tree. It didn’t even move or struggle when I grabbed it and put it on a lower branch, hoping for it to recover.

I got back to check on it in the afternoon and found it back on the ground, so I took it home with the intention of handling it to the Forestry Department the next day. When I tried to force-feed it I noticed a very large lump in its throat, almost like a Marabou Stork’s. I pressed softly and extracted an undigested, intact 1.28 m-long Montpellier’s Snake (Malpolon monspessulanus).


The next morning it looked better and fed by itself. I took it to the tree where I found it and left the snake, cut into several pieces, next to it. Later in the day both eagle and snake were gone.”

Unfortunately, the Short-toed Eagle of this other photo, also by Juan Carlos, wasn’t so lucky. I quote him again:

“The Short-toed Eagle in this photo didn’t meet a happy ending. This is a recently created wind farm, east of La Sotonera, right above a beautiful Golden Eagle nest on a huge Elm tree, which consistently produces two chicks every season. I wonder how long until they too are killed…”