A Thurston County bird-watcher visits Spain 

My son Aaron and I are in Spain to see the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse. Of course we’re also soaking up a lot of history, architecture, art, food and various other touristy things, too.

This is not a birding trip, but if you’re a birder, any time you’re outdoors your bird radar is on. And we always bring our binoculars. I was glad to have mine as we drove by a lake and right there, near the road, were flamingos! 

A greater flamingo in Spain.

George Walter | The JOLT

These were greater flamingos, a fairly common wetland species in Mediterranean Europe. We watched with delight as one enterprising bird stirred up the muddy bottom with its bright pink legs, and then, lowering its head, used its beak to filter out tiny food targets. This video shows what we were watching from a distance.  

There were many other birds along the shoreline, including multiple coot-like species. I was especially impressed by two species, the black-winged stilt and the northern lapwing. This stilt is closely related to a similar species that nests in Eastern Washington, and they may be a subspecies of a wide-ranging species with multiple varieties. 

Regardless, the birds here in Spain look dramatically different than the ones at home. They are very beautiful as they stride the shoreline on long red legs, with their white bodies and heads contrasting boldly with stylish black wings. 

I had never seen a northern lapwing, and here they were. They are relatives of killdeer but are fancier. Their back feathers are iridescent black/green, which contrasts with their white underparts. And, most striking, they have a long wispy crest. 

As we drove through the Spanish countryside we couldn't help but notice the large raptors. One was the European equivalent of our common red-tailed hawk. Here it’s called the common buzzard and it took a while for us to change from hawk to buzzard. Both these similar species have the same genus name, Buteo. This European common buzzard was the first of this type of raptor named by Linnaeus in his earliest classification publication and thus has the honor of the original, Buteo buteo.  

A fairly common bird in Spain is Eurasian griffon vulture and we were fortunate to see these impressive birds several times. They are huge, with a wing span of nine feet, and seeing several soaring is an impressive sight. We also saw them on the ground and they looked just as huge, maybe even bigger, as they were standing over the remains of the meal they were devouring. 

In Thurston County we have only one similar species, the turkey vulture, and while it also feeds on carrion like its Eurasian cousin, it’s relatively small in comparison.

Another interesting bird we encountered along the southern coast of Spain was a parrot species that originated in Argentina but, thanks to escaped pets, has become extremely common in many places. This is the monk parakeet, so called because of its gray monk-like cloak. An alternate name for it is Quaker parakeet. They were so abundant in the palms along the beach that even with my cellphone camera I could get a good photo. 

Monk Parakeets in Spain

George Walter | The JOLT

These birds nest communally, in a complex woven nest with multiple openings. They are loud, raucous birds and, if they are nearby, you cannot help but notice them. Monk parakeets are very adaptable and have colonized many places around the world, and not just in tropical areas. They have successfully nested multiple American states, although only in Florida are the considered to be fully established as a breeding bird. It may be only a matter of time before we add them to our Thurston County bird list. 

Coastal tern alert

Although I am traveling, I enjoy keeping up on rare birds that might be visiting Western Washington, and that brings me to birding news from Willapa Bay.  Hundreds of Elegant terns are being seen daily in the Tokeland. In the June 4, 2026 column, I wrote about a few Elegant terns seen in Washington. Well, now their visit from California has become as explosion, likely driven by a late-summer shift in food supply.   

An elegant tern.

Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT

As you drive into Tokeland, look for a right turn onto Fisher Avenue. There is a dike along the right side of this road and there you’re likely to see hundreds of terns, and also a good number of birders. 

Be sure to drive all the way to the marina at the end of the road for another chance at seeing more terns. The shoreline areas around the marina provide popular habitat for shorebirds and, with migration season beginning, there is always a chance of seeing interesting migrants. You might even spot a bar-tailed godwit.  

George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com 

Photos for this column generally are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 19-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer, although this week we had to tap into other sources, including the author’s cell phone record.