GAUCIN CHESTNUT WOODS - ENCINAS BORRACHES -
LLANOS DE LIBAR - COTO DONANA –
EL ROCIO – MATALASCANAS BEACH FROM THE HOTEL
Our first
full day began at 7:30am at breakfast; we all assembled in readiness for a full
day’s birding and transfer from Gaucin to Matalascanas on the beach deep in the
Coto Donana. We planned to spend the whole day travelling with several
scheduled stops, the first of which was 2 km from the house, just north of
Gaucin on the road to Ronda.
It was
8:45am when we pulled over, it very chilly, with a brisk northerly blowing down
from Ronda way. Once we were in the shelter of the tree it wasn’t so bad. As
soon as we got out of the bus we found a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers
sitting quietly on some dead branches and very soon we located a very
vociferous Eurasian Nuthatch. Next we found a Spotted Flycatcher and soon we
were watching a Crested Tit and a showy Firecrest, other than that we didn’t
see much else: we heard a Jay and saw Wood Pigeon, Great Tit and Sardinian
Warbler.
Our drive
towards Ronda was uneventful, we passed through some stunning scenery as we
drove higher into the mountains, we did see some Griffon Vultures and a Common
Kestrel before we stopped by the roadside to view a rocky valley. In the valley
we found at least 3 Black Wheatears, Rock Bunting, Great Tit and a Sardinian
Warbler.
We then stopped near Ronda at the Encinas
Borrarches track where a short walk produced numerous species. A Southern Grey
Shrike sat quietly on a bush which also held Corn Bunting and Goldfinch. We
also had great views of Thekla Lark, Linnet, Northern Wheatear, Rock Sparrow,
we had fleeting views of Rock Bunting and a fly-by Green Sandpiper (there are
two man-made pools on the side of the track).
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| Two view of the beautiful llanos de Libar |
A little
further along the track we stopped to watch Cirl Bunting, Northern Wheatear and
Stonechat, but a very cold, biting wind from the north drove us back to the
warmth of the bus.
What a
contrast the next stop proved to be, we drove through Ronda, over the famous
gorge and onto the Seville road. After a while we turned off towards Montejaque
where we stopped for a coffee. We sat out in the lovely sunshine, it was bright
and warm with no sign of the cold wind, what a joy.
The next
two hours were spent walking in the hidden valley above Montejaque, called
Llanos de Libar. It was fantastic, lovely sunshine, beautiful scenery and some
good birds. We found Black Wheatear (6), Blue Rock Thrush (6), Black Redstart
(4), Northern Wheatear (1), Rock Bunting (2) and the star of the morning – Ring
Ouzel (sub-species alpestris ). Many
Griffon Vultures drifted overhead and littered the cliff ledges, we had brief
view of a ‘probable’ Bonelli’s Eagle and great views of Rock Bunting just
before we left.
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| Blue Rock Thrush - distant but you see the blue colouring |
After a
tapas lunch in Montejaque we continued our journey to Coto Donana, we stopped
just outside of Alnazcazar, the scene of the infamous ‘heavy metal’ spillage
during 1998. Our first was as catastrophic we stopped at the Botanical garden
just outside of the town where we found: Common Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Common
Kestrel and a Red Kite were found along the roadside. Along the river (which
was just a series of pools), we found a Common Waxbill (carrying food),
Kingfisher and we heard another Cetti’s Warbler. Along the track we found Grey
Wagtail, Stonechat and lots of Goldfinches.
The last
stage of the journey took us through El Rocio, the marshes were completely dry
and no birds were presents but we did log: Common Magpie, Azure-winged Magpie,
Raven, Southern Grey Shrike and White Wagtail along the road. At 6pm we arrived
at our hotel on the beach at Matalascanas, all our rooms overlooked the beach
and sea. We logged L B B Gull and Sanderling on the beach and a few Balearic
Shearwaters over the sea before we went down to dinner.
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