Seven Day Tour - Coto Doņana and Extremadura
Seven Day Tour - Coto Doņana and Tarifa
Seven Day Tour - Tarifa - Gibraltar - Autumn Migration special
Coto Donana and Extremadura
May 30th - June 7th 2012 - Ģ1050 single supp. Ģ150
What a fantastic combination, this exciting birdwatching tour joins together two of Spain's top birding areas.
This 9-day Tour incorporates many of the best sites in these two prolific regions giving you the opportunity to witness a variety of wildlife not seen in many other regions of Europe. You will stay in Extremadura for the first phase and then transfer to the coast for the latter four nights, right in the heart of Coto Donana.
Extremadura has vast areas of open grassland steppe surrounded by a ring of mountains and provides perfect habitat for many endangered European species such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle, Great and Little Bustards, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse. We may also encounter the Great Spotted Cuckoo, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Roller, Golden Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle, Black Vulture, Black Stork and many larks, finches, pipits and buntings.
In complete contrast Coto Donana is one of Europes largest wetland areas and sits on the coast in Andalucia. A huge mosiac of open water, reedbeds and stone-pine forest provides excellent habitat for thousands of breeding herons, egrets, ibis and waders. You may see hundreds of Greater Flamingos, Eurasian Spoonbills, Grey, Purple, Squacco and Night Herons, along with Cattle, Little and Great White Egrets. With the added bonus of getting good views of Purple Swamphen, Red-knobbed Coot, Marbled Duck, Whiskered Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Collared Pratincole and the enigmatic Azure-winged Magpie.
The final day involves a long drive to Malaga but we will stop in the mountains near Ronda and pick up some extra species such as: Black Wheatear, Rock Sparrow, Alpine Swift, Bonelli's Warbler, Firecrest, Orphean Warbler and several more.
Both areas are covered in other tour descriptions and further details can be found on the relevent pages, just click here Coto Doņana and here Extremadura for further details.
Itinerary in brief
- Day 1 - arrival at Madrid, drive into Extremadura with visits to one or two places along the way
- Day 2 - Belen Plain, Casares - Trujillo steppe, Santa Maria de Magasca, Rio Almonte
- Day 3 - Full day at Monfrague National Park,
- Day 4 - Arroyocampo in the morning / rice fields at Madrigalejo pm
- Day 5 - Transfer to Coto Donana with several birding stops along the way
- Day 6 - birding at the visitors centres of Achebuche, La Rocina, El Rocio and several other local sites
- Day 7 - all day visit to the 'Northern Marshes' to see the hidden Donana, Coredor de Verde, Dehesa Abajo, Jose Valverde Centre
- Day 8 - Huelva, Marismas O'Diel, El Portil and Castillo Niebla
- Day 9 - Transfer to Malaga with a couple of stops along the way before afternoon return flight
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During the winter tour of February you will still see a vast number of birds including large flocks of Cranes, Bustards, Geese, Ducks, Storks, Larks, Pipits, Gulls and Waders. During March all the winter visitors will still be around but some early summer migrants will be arriving. Birds such as Lesser Kestrel, Gt Spotted Cuckoo, Pallid Swift, Wheatears, Black Kite and many more begin to arrive.
Rice Harvest in Donana and Bustard flocks in Extremadura
Oct 16th - Oct 24th 2012 - Ģ950 - 8 nights
October is a fantastic time to visit Spain, the temperature is just lovely, the birds are beginning to flock and are very showy, the roads are empty, the autumn colours are tremendous and the complete tour is a joy to lead. You also have the added bonus of witnessing the rice harvest in Donana, during this time hoardes of birds flock behind tractors as they plough the rice paddies making ready for next season. The birds gorge themselves on Crayfish and many other crustaceans as they are unearthed during the ploughing process, the birds amass in their thousands a truly wonderful spectacle not to be missed.
In Extremadura you can be confident of seeing large flocks of Little Bustard and smaller flocks of Great Bustard as we explore the grassy plains of Belen and Casares. Other species forming large flocks are Corn Bunting, Spainsh Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Lapwing, Calandra Lark and there will still be many Northern Wheatears and Whinchats passing through and the chances of seeing a Golden Eagle drifting across the plains are good.
A visit to Monfrague Nacional Parque is a must and will be a very enjoyable experience for you. In the Parque we can watch the hundreds of Griffon Vultures at their nest sites, we can look for Black Vulture, Red-billed Chough, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Bonelli's Eagle, Eagle Owl and for the last 3 years we have caught up with White-rumped Swift which are still present in October around the Castillo de Montfrague. We also know of a couple excellent sites where to find Spanish Imperial Eagle and they have never let us down! Add to that the possibility of seeing Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Common Crane, Azure-winged Magpie and maybe a late Great Spotted Cuckoo and this could be your best trip ever!
Coto Donana + Tarifa Spring/Autumn Migration
Apr 15th - Apr 22nd 2012 - Ģ850 - 6 places
Sept 11th - Sept 18th 2012 - Ģ850 - 6 places
This series of exciting tours combine the wonderful range of habitats and birds found in Donana with the spectacle of thousands of raptors migrating south from the Tarifa peninsular. Donana is a wonderful place to visit at any time but is especially good during migration seasons. This is a time when thousands of migrating birds are on the move to and from Spain, the winter visitors will be on their way to/from northern Europe and many more summer visitors will be pouring to and from Africa. In addition you have have the prospect of seeing active raptor migration at its very best when you visit areas around Tarifa and Gibraltar during the second phase of the tour.
You will spend 3 nights in the superb Coto Donana and explore this vast wetlands area. Visits will be made to Acebuche, El Rocio, La Rocina, the Northern Marshes and Jose Valverde Centre. One day will be spent visiting the fantastic marismas of the Rio O'Diel at Huelva where anything and everything turns up during the migration period. The first and latter 3 nights of this tour will be spent staying in a lovely apartment in the beautiful 'white village' of Gaucin. The village sits in the mountains just inland from the coast and right beneath the migration flight path of thousands of raptors. There are spectacular views across to Africa and down to Gibraltar. It is an ideal base from which to visit the many raptor watch points dotted along the coast there. Visits to La Janda, Los Lances beach, the Rio Palmones, The Pine Woods of del Rey and mountainous areas amongst the 'Pueblos Blancos' neaar Ronda will add tremendous variety to this trip and you will see a great number of species.
