Seven Day Birdwatching Tour - Coto Doņana
COTO DONANA BIRD TOURS - 7-day tour dates
- Mar 2nd - Mar 9th 2009
Leader: Bob Buckler with a total of eight participants.
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 price includes return transport from Sevilla Airport, accommodation in single/twin/double rooms in good quality hotels/hostals around the centre of Doņana. Breakfast and evening meals are taken at 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, if accessible, 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 is also planned to search for White-headed Duck and Marbled Duck to add to our list. 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 regularly. 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, Black Stork, Glossy Ibis, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Penduline Tit, Greater and Lesser Short-toed larks.
Other specialities of the area include; Azure-winged Magpie, Black (Monk) Vulture, Lesser Kestrel, Little Bustard, 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 Grebes, Divers, Gannets, Auks 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 wintering species and many passing migrants whilst the breeding season is just getting underway. There should be plenty of water around to cater for the thousands of visiting flamingoes, cranes, ducks, geese, herons, egrets, grebes, spoonbills and waders.
If the above description hasnt tempted you then just look at the price of this tour, there are no hidden costs. Ģ750 fully inclusive ground price.
In March 2007 flights for this birdwatching trip to Donana were being offered by Ryanair for just Ģ9.99 each way, Stanstead to Seville!!! With taxes the total price was Ģ52.85 return!!!
