Our visit to Barcelona was not bird related. Of course there will always be a few sightings, we saw Little & Cattle Egret in the marshy fields around the airport, Serin, Collared Doves and Blackbird (with an apparent 'Spanish' accent) in the city parks and heard and saw lots of Monk Parakeets in quite a few parts of the City.
This was not only a new species for us, if you considered escapes as such, but it also gave a chance to see subjects of a monitoring programme to study the dispersal of this invasive species. Several birds were wearing numbered medallions.
We were actually there for Battle of the Nations, full contact Medieval Combat sport as our son is in the UK team and we were providing media support. Over 30 countries took part and our team came 4th in the 21 v 21 competition, best placing in 5 v 5 bohurts was 6th, and the captain came third in sword and shield.
This was not only a new species for us, if you considered escapes as such, but it also gave a chance to see subjects of a monitoring programme to study the dispersal of this invasive species. Several birds were wearing numbered medallions.
We were actually there for Battle of the Nations, full contact Medieval Combat sport as our son is in the UK team and we were providing media support. Over 30 countries took part and our team came 4th in the 21 v 21 competition, best placing in 5 v 5 bohurts was 6th, and the captain came third in sword and shield.
Team UK
If you think this sounds interesting, then there's plenty to find on YouTube. In the meantime, here's a link to one of their victories, same fight taking place over two rounds: