Sweden + Dupont's Lark Short Breaks
DUPONT’S LARK WEEKEND BREAK - £350
APRIL 17TH - 19TH 2009
Enjoy a great weekend-break in sunny Spain to search for the rare Dupont’s Lark, this enigmatic and elusive Spanish speciality can only be found in small pockets of Spain and nowhere else in Europe.
On this trip you will visit the beautiful Hoces del Duraton nature reserve and see a dramatic landscape as you view the fabulous gorge overlooking the rio Duraton, also included is a trip to the high mountain pass at Navacerrada where we will search for some of the much sought after mountain species found in the area.
Besides the Dupont’s Lark you are likely to encounter a whole host of other species, between 80- 100, to be more precise. Interesting birds found at the Gorge include Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Red-billed Chough, Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Sparrow and Rock Bunting.
On the steppe other larks are present too: Calandra, Short-toed, Thekla, Sky and Crested quite a handful to sort out. There are also Tawny Pipits, Southern Grey and Woodchat Shrikes, Black-eared and Northern Wheatears, Hoopoe and overhead there may be Montagu’s Harrier, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Common Buzzards and European Bee-eaters.
If that hasn’t whet your appetite then read on. In the mountains there are a good variety of new species to look for. Our main target birds will be Rock Thrush and Citril Finch but these may be accompanied by Rock Bunting, Crested Tit, Crossbill, Short-toed Treecreeper, Water Pipit and Raven. Raptors may include Goshawk, Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles and Sparrowhawk.
Besides the above we will be visiting a pine-woodland and some parkland where we may see Azure-winged Magpie, Green Woodpecker (sharpii), Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wryneck, Hawfinch, Nuthatch, Crested Tit, Cirl Bunting and many more.
ITINERARY
Day 1
This action-packed weekend commences on Friday lunchtime at Madrid international airport and finishes on Sunday afternoon.
.There are many budget airlines that operate in and out of Madrid from London, (Gatwick and Stanstead), Bristol, Bournemouth, Liverpool and Exeter. All are early morning flights arriving at Madrid around 11-1pm.
Once met and assembled we will board our mini-bus and drive directly to our hotel which should take 90 minutes, the hotel is of a very good quality with spacious rooms finished to a high standard and the food is delicious too. Once we have settled in we set off for our first visit to the Gorge where we will have the opportunity to see many larks (probably not the Dupont’s at this stage), also we can watch the vultures at very close quarters, a photographer’s dream. The scenery is spectacular and by late afternoon we may well have seen 30-40 species.
Dinner will be taken in the hotel some 15 minutes away from the gorge, a bird log will be held after dinner and I suspect everyone will want an early night after a full day travelling and birding.
Day 2
It is vitally important that we make an early start today as the Dupont’s Lark is best located by its melancholy song which is usually delivered from the ground and during the early hours of the morning and late in the evening. We must arrive on site at the break of dawn to increase our chances of success. Our breakfast will be waiting for us when we return to the hotel a couple of hours later.
Following breakfast we set off for our mountain excursion stopping off at a couple of sites along the way. It is a 90 minute uninterrupted drive but it will take a bird-watching group at least 2-2½ hours. We should arrive around 2pm and stay for 2-3 hours looking for Rock Thrush, Citril Finch, Rock Bunting, Water Pipit, Crested Tit etc. We arrive back at the hotel around 6-7pm.
Dinner will be taken a little later but I’m sure that we will all be tucked up in bed by 10pm.
Day 3
Another early visit to the Hoces del Duraton nature reserve is planned for a second bite at the cherry if we failed to locate the Dupont’s Lark during our first attempt. Following breakfast we will return to Madrid and depending on the time left before our flights we will visit a very interesting park on the outskirts of the city where we may add several new species to our list. Azure-winged Magpie and Spanish Imperial eagle are not unknown in this area!!
Please note that a sighting of Dupont’s Lark is by no means guaranteed on this tour, the bird is extremely elusive and even if one is singing just a few meters away from us it may not show itself! Having said that, I was successful on the three recent trips that I made to this site.
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What’s included?
- 2 nights half-board accommodation
- All ground transport including airport transfers
- The services of the guide
- A ‘Wingspan’ species checklist
- What’s not included?
- Travel insurance
- Flights (Easyjet flights are very reasonable to Madrid, in 2008 the prices were, £25 return in April, £45 in May and £65 in June - inclusive of taxes!)
- Lunches and Drinks and purchases of a personal nature
Sweden - £675
May 9th - 12th 2009 - 3 nights
If you like Owls and Woodpeckers then this the trip for you.
Join us for a fabulous springtime short break to the wonderful bird watching area of northern Sweden. Enjoy some quality bird watching in Taiga forest and wetlands around Svartädalan and the Black River valley of Västmanland.
Experience close encounters with Ural and Tengmalm’s Owls on ringing excursions with some fantastic photographic opportunities. We will search for Great Grey and Pygmy Owls as they hunt at sunset over small meadows and forest glades.
Woodpeckers abound and begin drumming in the early morning, six species are likely Black, Green, Great-spotted, Lesser-spotted, Grey-headed and Three-toed are the species to look for.
A supporting cast of Nutcracker, Slavonian Grebe, Black-throated Diver, Ortolan Bunting, White-tailed Eagles, Goshawk, Osprey, Bittern, Corncrake, Spotted Crake, Black Grouse, Capercaillie, Black Terns, Common Rosefinch, Parrot Crossbill, Woodcock, Wryneck, Common Crane, Crested and Willow Tit and many more.
Summer migrants may include Thrush Nightingale, Grasshopper, Marsh and Icterine Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatcher and many waders can be found on the wetlands.
ITINERARY
Day 1
Morning flight with Ryanair - Stanstead to Västerås arrival late afternoon.
Meet and greet our Swedish guide for the trip over coffee and sandwiches in a small area of wetland near Ängsö Castle watching Slavonian Grebes resplendent in their summer plumage, we also check adjacent Björnön for Icterine Warbler. After our refreshment stop we set off for an excursion to find Ortolan Bunting and just before sunset we arrive with excitement and anticipation at a Great Grey Owl site. We should have an unforgettable experience as these stunning and very obliging birds give breath-taking views as they hunt low over the meadow in close proximity. Then, as the daylight fades and all other birds fall silent the Woodcock begins to rode and the diminutive Pygmy Owl announces his arrival and stakes out his territory in the forest.
After all the excitement we head off to our hotel for dinner a good nights rest at Flackebo.
Day 2.
Following a full breakfast we set off for a morning visit to Lake Ösjön where Black-throated Divers breed and we have a chance of seeing Nutcracker as well as Hazel Grouse. This is also an excellent site for some good butterflies such as Camberwell Beauty, Green Hairstreak and Holly Blue. We will make a short stop along the way to listen for Thrush Nightingales if they have arrived yet.
We continue down to the Black River Valley and its rich wetlands to enjoy some fantastic scenery whilst we take our picnic lunch. We will search the skies for White-tailed Eagle and look over the marshes for Black terns and northern Yellow Wagtails. Summer plumage Common Rosefinch are found here and there will be plenty of waders and wildfowl to look for.
To finish the day we observe a ringing group attempting to ring Ural Owls, this will be both entertaining and educational. This will also be a great photographic opportunity.
After dinner there will be an excursion to look for Pygmy and Eagle Owl (The little and large show?)
Dinner and night at Fläckebo.
Day 3.
We rise early and leave our warm beds before light for a search for Woodpecker in the nearby forest. Wryneck, Three-toed, Grey-headed and Black Woodpeckers being the target species.
We also attend a ringing session of Tengmalm’s Owl, these delightful little owls breed in a series of nest boxes and our visit will give you an excellent opportunity to see them close up with some fantastic photographic opportunities.
We should see Black-throated Divers, Capercaillie, Goshawk, Woodlark and Parrot Crossbill as they all breed in the area.
We take breakfast outdoors and return to the B & B for lunch around noon and take an afternoon siesta.
A relaxed afternoon excursion around the beautiful wetlands of Svartädalen where will should have good views of breeding Black Terns and Little Gulls, also a good variety of waders such as the immaculate summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Greenshank and many more. In the marshland scrub, reedbeds and riparian woodland we should find Eurasian Bittern, Corncrake, Spotted Crake, Grasshopper and Marsh Warbler.
We return to our hotel for a well earned dinner after a long day’s birding.
Day 4
.Our last day but plenty of time for some more excellent birding.
We make an early start to visit a boggy area to witness a Black Grouse lek, the supporting cast of this fantastic show include breeding Common Crane, Osprey, Wood and Green Sandpipers. We visit the surrounding woodland to look for Crested tit, Willow Tit, Crossbills, Cuckoo and several species of woodpecker including Black and Grey Headed.
Sadly we must conclude the tour in the early afternoon as we must depart for the airport for our late afternoon flight back to Stanstead.
Your bird list total will be well over 100 species for this short excursion
What’s included: Dinner, bed & breakfast, packed lunches, hotel accommodation, airport transfer, transport throughout, the services of myself and a local guide.
The cost of the tour for a minimum of 6 people is £675.
Not included: Return flights Stanstead – Västeräs with Ryanair, travel insurance, items of a personal nature such as drinks, telephone calls etc.
