Seven Day Birdwatching Tour - Coto Doņana
COTO DONANA BIRD
Doņana birding tours - Discover the 'Hidden' Donana and all its secrets with us
What can I write that has not been already written about this wonderful area? It is the showpiece of Spanish conservation, the most important wetland in Spain and one of Western Europes prime destinations for bird-watchers. Doņana is a vast wilderness of coastal marshes consisting of a National Park (56k ha) and a Natural Park (55k ha) and is bisected by the mighty Rio Guadalquivir with some 90% of the marshes on the right bank. It is a ZEPA, a Ramsar site, Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site this fantastic region also incorporates a sand-dune system of epic proportion, forests and scrubland.
The accommodation is in a good quality hotel on the coast of Doņana each room has sea views. Breakfast and evening meals are taken in the hotel and lunches are taken in local ventas or as picnics in various locations. You will visit all the main sites of the area including the visitor centres at Acebuche, La Rocina and Jose Antonio Valverde. A visit to the lagoon and the marshes of El Rocio is just minutes away from our base and coastal sites at Matalascana will provide some sea watching opportunities. The northern marshes add another dimension to the tour and a visit to a large nesting colony of Storks and Egrets is planned.
Visits across the Rio Guadalquivir to Brazo de Este and the surrounding area may also be included to search for Savi's Warbler, Purple Swamphen, Great Egret, Stone Curlew and some exotic species such as Black-headeded Weaver, Yellow crowned Bishop and Common Waxbill to add to our list. We also visit a series of hidden lagunas and arable farmland to search for White-headed Duck, Marbled Duck, Rufous Bush Robin, Western Olivaceous Warbler, and colonies of Lesser kestrels. Please read the following description.
The Parque Nacional de Doņana and its buffer zone the Parque Natural de Doņana hold several bird species that either can be found nowhere else in Europe or are very difficult to find elsewhere. Therefore this holiday is attractive to those wishing to catch up with the specialities of Doņana or to beginners wishing to see the large numbers of species on show, over 380 species have been recorded here, of which, 136 breed and up to 250 species are seen annually. Due to the complex system of track and farm trails that lead through the marshes and the surrounding countryside and the lack of decent up-to-date maps and information leaflets, discovering Donana's hidden secrets is not easy and many visitors waste hours of valuable birding time (often getting completely lost in the process) trying to negotiate their way around this complex array of tracks. Why not let Wingspan Bird Tours with our vast experience and expert knowledge guide you quickly and safely to these hidden areas and show you where to watch birds in Donana and find you the quality sites and birds that you may otherwise miss?
Sought after species include; Purple Swamphen, Marbled duck, Red-knobbed Coot, White-headed Duck, Ferruginous Duck, Glossy Ibis, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Penduline Tit, Greater and Lesser Short-toed larks.
Other specialities of the area include; Azure-winged Magpie, Lesser Kestrel, Audouins Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Whiskered Tern, Great-spotted Cuckoo, Red-necked Nightjar, Rufous Bush-robin, Savis, Olivaceous, Orphean and Spectacled Warblers. The list could go on and on, sea-watching from the beach at Matalascana can be interesting with Gulls, Terns, Gannets and Shearwaters to look for.
The Parque Nacional de Doņana has restricted entry but there are several visitors centres around the perimeter from where all the birds of the region can be seen well. On this tour all the centres will be visited along with many sites in the northern marshes and the 'hidden' Donana.
The timing of this tour guarantees a good list of breeding species and many passing migrants whilst some late winter visitors may still be present. There should be plenty of water around to cater for the thousands of visiting flamingoes, cranes, ducks, geese, herons, egrets, grebes, spoonbills and waders.
