November 1st 2011 - Camino Gibraltar

A short walk this afternoon down as far as El Nobo produced several birds in song: Blackcap, Robin and a Sardinian Warbler in full song.

Bird of the moment must be the Black Redstart it is everywhere, the last few weeks has seen a massive invasion of these iconic winter visitors. You can see them squabbling /feeding/resting on nearly every roof in many streets in the village and lots more can be seen in the campo. But what a little beauty. At least 3 are roosting in my courtyard everynight.

PROPOSED NEW ROUTE FOR FUTURE WINGSPAN TOURS

Watch this super video of what is reputed to be the most dangerous footpath in the world!! It is due to be renovated and will be the new centre-piece of the launch of "THA LAKE DISTRICT OF ANDALUCIA".

Caminito del Rey


http://youtu.be/y1Nd1qtk1Go


A FULL REPORT OF THE FOOTPATH CAN BE READ BELOW


Caminito del Rey: My journey up adrenaline alley

January 13, 2011

EXCLUSIVE: By Anatoly Kurmanaev


CREEPING along the narrow exposed pathway hugging the El Chorro gorge I accidentally looked down through one of the glaring gaps in the concrete.
A river rumbled over 100 meters below me while a vulture, perhaps knowingly, circled overhead.
It was absolutely terrifying and for a couple of seconds I froze and thought there was no way I could go on.
But it would have been anything but easy to turn back.
I was already half way along Malaga’s infamous Caminito del Rey, the world’s most dangerous walkway and, what could soon be, Andalucia’s premier outdoor attraction.
Built in 1905 to connect two hydroelectric plants, the pathway has sadly fallen into serious disrepair.
Currently it is missing its handrails and in three sections the floor has actually caved in leaving just the metal frame.
It has been officially closed to the public since 1999 because of the safety concerns. In the last 10 years alone, six people have died on it and 30 people have been injured. But this has not stopped the path from remaining a rite of passage for any fun-loving Andalucian youth.
And those willing to brave the heights are certainly rewarded with one of the most beautiful walks in the world, as well as an incredible adrenaline rush to boot.
Most accidents have been caused by the recklessness of local daredevils not taking the correct precautions and the path is generally safe to cross with the right safety equipment and, above all, an experienced guide.
Indeed, on a good day the Caminito is full of adventure seekers as the El Chorro area is one of Europe’s top climbing destinations.
“The guards took off parts of the wooden planks hoping it would stop people walking through,” said my guide Martin Heywood, from Merseyside, 45, who has lived here for six years.

“What they didn’t count on was that most people here are climbers.”
But the hair-raising travail along the deteriorated concrete path, with its naked steel beams poking out above the abyss will soon become a thing of the past.

After nearly 20 years of promises, Malaga’s provincial government has finally allocated 8.3 million euros to restore the walk.

Work is set to begin any time soon and by 2016 the Caminito is expected to become a world-class outdoor attraction, with easy access for all.
Setting off from the village of El Chorro, visitors will be able to easily reach the pathway and then walk through the breathtaking gorge all the way to the beautiful Guadalhorce reservoir above.
The opening is expected to become a massive dynamo for the so-called ‘Lake District’ area of northern Malaga.
And is expected to see thousands of tourists arriving from around the world every week to rise to the challenge.
The Olive Press revealed exactly a year ago, that it had been added to the official government boletin as a key tourism project.
A strategy document seen by the paper, estimated that around 1000 people a day would pay three to five euros to travel along the path.

They will be carefully monitored by up to 100 employees with safety being of major importance.#

“There could even be special trains brought in from Madrid, just for the experience,” revealed a local hotelier.
The village of El Chorro itself is a peculiar outpost of several dozen houses perched between hydroelectric plants and imposing crags.

Little would tell an unsuspecting visitor that this hilly hamlet between Malaga and Antequera is a world-famous climbing hub.
One of the main focal points for foreign climbers is undoubtedly the Olive Branch B&B run by Surrey expats Gary and Melanie Burns.
On Boxing Day when I visited it, the B&B was packed with outdoor enthusiasts from around the world recovering from a large communal Christmas meal the night before.
Just bring a harness and chances are you’ll meet someone to climb with here
“We took over this inn in 2008, without realizing it was right at the foot of the Las Encantadas crag, one of the best climbing locations in the world,” said Gary.
After a late communal breakfast, lodgers head off for the crags.
“If the sun is out, it’s perfect conditions for a day of climbing. It’s never too cold around here,” said my guide Martin.
“The limestone rock here has plenty of nice holds and there are loads of pre-made routes,” he continued.
“You just need to bring a harness and chances are you’ll meet someone to climb with here. It’s a very friendly place.
“Whatever grade you climb doesn’t make it any more or less enjoyable.”
Londoners Matt and Tom Williams, who came to El Chorro for a Christmas holiday, agree.
“It’s been a great experience,” said Matt, 25. “The climbing community is very welcoming, even if you haven’t done much climbing. People are always trying to help you out.”

OCTOBER 24TH . 9 - DAY TOUR (9)

Day 9 – TRUJILLO – SANTA MAGASCA ROAD – ARROYOCAMPO PARQUE NATURAL – EL PARDO (MADRID COUNTRY PARK) – MADRID AIRPORT –GAUCIN.

Our last day started with rain and then more rain and then a cold wind and rain. By 10am it started to clear and we saw a few birds. Arriving on the plains at 8:30am it was barely light enough to see but we tried. The usual birds were seen on the tracks and in the nearby grasslands: Lapwing, Great and Little Bustard, Calandra lark, Crested Lark, Skylark, Corn Bunting, Spanish Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, Southern Grey Shrike, Northern Wheatear and Stonechats. A few Red Kites sat on fence posts looking miserable in the cold wind and a few Griffon Vultures drifted over.


TOM AND JERRY - GETTING COLD AND WET LOOKING FOR THE MYTHICAL SANDGROUSE

It was just as we were watching over the last field before we departed for Madrid that we finally found SANDGROUSE. At last, after hours of searching we found a flock of some 40+ Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, they remained hunkered down but occasionally they would stand up and shake the rain from their feathers. A great relief too, as the my two comrades thought that sandgrouse were purely mythical birds!


THE RAIN BEGINNING TO ABATE AND THE SUN APPEARING OVER THE PLAINS

We set off towards Madrid and stopped at a favourite site of mine, the 3 Bridges over the Tajo. However, we didn’t get out of the car because of the rain. Such a shame, we did see Spanish Sparrow, Serin, Black Redstart and White Wagtail.

It was a nuclear power station that provided our next venue, the large embalse (man-made lake) that is used for cooling purposes is also a nature reserve with several observation hides. We spent an hour or so there but we couldn’t see many species either on the water or in the reed-beds. A Yellow Wagtail was a nice surprise found in with a flock of White Wagtails, we also Purple Swamphen (3), marsh Harrier, lots of Cormorants and Grey Herons.


A GREAT SPOT BY COLIN - WHO FOUND THIS WOODPECKER

Lastly we visited the huge park found on the north side of Madrid, called El Pardo. We arrived just after a rainstorm, which was very good for birding, as many species came out in the brief sunshine to feed and dry out. We added our last two species to the weekly list, Wren and Firecrest, two of the smallest birds of Europe, this was followed by a sighting of one of the biggest birds of Europe, the Spanish Imperial Eagle. Another (albeit the last) Wow was muttered by my sidekicks. A great find and in such close proximity to central Madrid. We also saw Chiffchaff, Monk Parakeet, Robin, Griffon Vulture, loads of Magpies and Wood Pigeons. Our very last stop found us on the open grass fields on top of a hill which overlooked the Spanish Capital, we looked for Green Woodpecker but only found more Magpies and a large mixed flock of Spotless and Common Starlings.

IT WASN'T ALL BAD - BUTTERFLIES CAME OUT EVENTUALLY TO BASK IN THE AFTERNOON SUNSHINE - BATH WHITE

We then drove to Madrid airport where I deposited my two trusty companions and then I set off for the 6 hour drive home, singing all the way and arriving at 11:30pm tired but happy that the week went so well.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE BEWTEEN THESE TWO SPECIES OF STARLINGS

OCTOBER 23RD . 9 - DAY TOUR (8)

DAY 8 - THE TRUJILLO PLAINS – SANTA MAGASCA – MONROY – RIO ALMONTE – TALAVAN NATURE RESERVE

Bird of the Day: GOLDEN EAGLE

A Great Bustard and a Little Bustard seen near Trujillo today at 5pm

Our last full day start cold, wet and overcast, what a change, my shorts are packed away for the winter! We started early and arrived on the open fields near Santa Magasca just after first light. A chilly wind kept our outside activity to a minimum, we scanned the fields from beside the van in the lee of the wind. We quickly found half a dozen Great Bustards and hundreds of Corn Buntings, Spanish Sparrows, Crested Larks, Skylarks and Calandra Larks. The fields were dotted with Lapwing and many flocks of Spotless Starlings, the odd Northern Wheatear joined the Stonechats along the fence lines. Southern Grey Shrikes were quite numerous too, we counted 10 in the first couple of hours. Now for the raptors, A few Common Buzzards sat on poles and posts whilst Red Kites drifted over us, we watched a couple of Common Kestrels before locating a male Merlin sitting low down on a rock, a good bird. Then we found an enormous raptor sitting on another rock, the bird was being mobbed by a couple of Common Magpies which looked tiny in comparison. It was a Golden Eagle, fantastic and our 5th Eagle of the Tour – before long it flew off and was lost behind a ridge, wow, that warmed us up.

We stopped at the bridge over the Rio Magasca on our wat to Talavan where we found a Kingfisher, Crag Martin, Green Sandpiper and Blackcap, three Hawfinches also flew over.

Next we visited the fairly new Reserve at Talavan, this consists of an artificial lake, an embalse, with reed-beds and a couple of hides. As soon as we got there we saw two Otters along a near bank, these normally shy creatures were very obliging and came very close. (see my film on Youtube). We also watched a very obliging Water Rail which fed just below us! Along the lake shoreline we could see Common Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Little Egret and Little Grebe. We then drove round to the dam ‘end’ of the embalse and found quite few more species which included: Black-winged Stilt, Little Stint, White Stork, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail, Mallard and Great Cormorant. As we left, we stopped to watch a couple of Hoopoes, some very close Thekla Larks and a Black Redstart all found on or near the track.

A couple of pics of the obliging Water Rail seen at Talavan

At the bridge over the Rio Almonte we spent some time looking for Black Wheatear and eventually one showed up, but we located Blue Rock Thrush, Blackcap, Crag Martin, Barn Swallow, Robin, Serin and several Griffon Vultures in the process.

Northern Wheatear - several were seen today


Back on the plains we drove towards Trujillo before turning off to Aldea de Obispo and it was along this road that we found our first Little Bustards, there were 22 of them and we also found 15 Great bustards in the same field.

Our journey back to Santa Clemente was via Monroy and Santa Magasca, we made many stops to look for the elusive Sandgrouse without luck, at one stage we saw a Peregrine which put up a flock of Calandra Larks that must have numbered well above 500.
A very poor picture of a Little Bustard - it was very windy in poor light and at distance


We did find more Great Bustards and a flock of 9 Little Bustards later on and despite not seeing the sandgrouse we were happy to see the thousands of other birds in huge flocks.

OCTOBER 22ND . 9 - DAY TOUR (7)

DAY 7 - MONFRAGUE NATIONAL PARK

We spent the whole day in and around the park at Monfrague and had agreat time. We set off at 7:45am , in the car park we saw an Owl fly from a post, in the dark we thought it was a Little Owl, we drove the 60 kilometers to Monfrague without further sightings. It was overcast, a bit chilly and still quite dark when we arrived at the base of the Castillo de Monfrague.


SUN RISE WITH UNCERTAINTY?



ROCK BUNTING


It was amazing because as we arrived we noticed at least 100 Vultures had taken to the air and were circling above the road, we notched two Black Vultures in amongst the masses of Griffon Vultures. By the time we had climbed the steps to the castle it was light and we had logged Hawfinch, Firecrest, Long-tailed Tit and lots of Chaffinches. In the castle ‘grounds’ we found a superb male Rock Bunting showing very well and lots of Blackcaps, also Black Redstarts, Blue Rock Thrush and many Song Thrushes. But the star of the show had to be the WHITE RUMPED SWIFT that flew over and around us and even gave us a fly-pass in the strengthening sunlight, what a gem.

On the way back down we found several Griffon vultures perched, afew Crag martins and more Hawfinch sightings were had. At the Pena Falcon rock we watched more vultures, Black Redstarts, a Short-toed Treecreeper on the rock face? Better views of Blue Rock Thrush were had and Grey Herons were down by the water.



ABBOTT AND COSTELLO - IN COOL MORNING AIR AT CASTILLO DE MONFRAGUE JUST BEFORE SEEING THE MAGICAL WHITE RUMPED SWIFT

Next we stopped at the roadside just passed the main bridge to watch Griffon & Black Vultures at close range and whilst doing so we found a fantastic Bonelli’s Eagle as it drifted over the ridge another WOW! was let out by the lads!

The pine woods above the dam were disappointing but we did see Mistle Thrush , Azure-winged Magpies and several common species. The cork woods just passed the watch-point at Puertillo de Tietar provided our next venue. We quickly found Eurasian Nuthatch and then after some leg work and good detection we found another star bird, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.


THE CORK OAK WOODLAND WHERE WE FOUND THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER

We took a tapas lunch at a roadside bar and then went back into the park for more birding. We spent from 2:30pm until 5pm revisiting many of the sites and added several birds to the list which included: Raven, Crested Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Red Kite, Common Crossbill and a Green Woodpecker was heard.

On the way back to Trujillo we stopped at a bridge which spanned the Rio Almonte where we found: Kingfisher, Rock Sparrow, Southern Grey Shrike, Crested Larke, Serin, Crag Martin, White Wagtail, Black Redstart and a little further down the road we saw a flock of 7 Red Kites.

OCTOBER 21ST . 9 - DAY TOUR (6)

DAY 6 - COTO DONANA TO EXTREMADURA – WITH VISITS TO MOHEDA ALTA NATURE RESERVE – MADRIGALEJO RICE FIELDS AND THE PUSEDO-STEPPE NEAR ZORITA

We ate breakfast at 7am and departed at 7:45am in the dark as usual. The trip went smoothly and uneventful as we passed through Sevilla and headed north to Merida. We stopped for a break near Merida and arrived at the Rice fields near Madrigalejo at 12 noon. Birds seen along the way included many Common Buzzards, Red Kites, Azure-winged Magpies, Cattle & Little Egrets, Grey Herons and a new bird for the trip Common Crane. In fact, at our first stop near Vegas Altas we saw hundreds of Cranes flying here and there in small flocks. Our visit to the rice fields near Madrigalejo was highlighted by great views of the Red Avadavat, we saw quite few and some were carrying nesting material whilst others carried food for chicks. We also had good views of Common Waxbill, Cetti’s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, large flocks of Spanish Sparrows, finches and egrets.

DON QUIXOTE AND SANCHO PANZA LOOKING OVER THE RICE FIELDS AT MADRIGALEJO


After taking a tapas lunch in the village we made a visit to the newly established nature reserve at Moheda Alta, the whole area is geared-up for the conservation of land to encourage Common Cranes. It seems to be working as we saw about 1000, a great sight of them all in the air at once was spectacular. We also found Greylag Geese, Shoveler, Gadwall and Lapwing.

RED AVADAVAT - MANY WERE SEEN BUT FEW WERE PHOTOGRAPHED - THE LITTLE BEGGERS WOULDN'T KEEP STILL!!!

Back at the rice fields we searched for Penduline Tit getting only brief glimpses of this elusive little begger, but we did see Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, many Chiffchaff, Waxbills (again), Skylarks, Robins, we also heard a Water Rail squealing ‘like a stuck-pig’ great expression!

HOOPOE


During the last leg of the journey we passed the wide open steppe-like countryside near Zorita where we saw a couple of Great Bustards quite close to the roadside, we also found a fairly large flock of Skylarks and Calandra Larks. Overhead a few Griffon Vultures drifted over and lots of Common Cranes called noisily as they passed.

SOUTHERN GREY SHRIKE


Just before we entered the village where we are staying we stopped to walk along a quiet lane where we found both Mistle and Song Thrushes, Hoopoe, Southern Grey Shrike, Blackcaps, Black Redstart, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Spotlees Starling, White Wagtail and Crested Lark.

We arrived at our Casa Rural in San Clemente at 5:30pm with time enough to rest before dinner. Only 4 new species were added today but tomorrow we are going to Monfrague National Park and hoping for more!

OCTOBER 20TH . 9 - DAY TOUR (5)

DAY 5 - THE NORTHERN MARSHES – COREDOR DE VERDE – DEHESA ABAJO – THE RICE FIELDS OF ISLA MAYOR - JOSE VALVERDE CENTRE

Another super day of unbroken sunshine, mid 20’s temperature and a nice light breeze – Oh I could live here!!!

Top Birds - Male Hen Harrier (stonking good views) but also a superb Bluethroat, 3 Ruddy Shelduck (scarce visitors) and Yellow-crowned Bishop & Common Waxbill (novelty factor).

BIRDS! BIRDS! BIRDS! Everywhere we went today, the sky, fields and lakes were full of all kinds of birds, we logged nearly 90 species without raising a sweat!

PINKY AND PERKY AT LUNCH IN THE RICE FIELDS AND BELOW AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE NATIONAL PARK



We set off at 7:45am in the dark (again) heading north passing through El Rocio and then east across to Villamonrique before turning onto the tracks leading to the Coredor de Verde. Our first birds were Greenfinch, Serin, Goldfinch, Hoopoe and a brief view of Black-winged Kite, one flew off a pylon and disappeared round the bend in the track. We drove a little further and walked another track to relocate the bird, we had great views of it hovering & gliding whilst hunting. Another bird joined it and after some interaction they both flew off, a Sparrowhawk flew across the trees whilst we were looking for the Kites.

The launga de Quema was full of wildfowl, many Coots to search through but no luck with the Red-knobbed variety. Also Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall, Red-crested & Common Pochard, all 3 Grebes of the region, Kingfisher and Grey Heron.

Another Laguna, (Zorita), provided: Great White Egret (2), Green Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilts, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail and 3 more Hoopoes.

We by-passed the large man-made lake at Dehesa de Abajo so that we could search the small ponds and lagunas at the nearby gravel pits, however most of them were dried up but we did find some water where we located Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, White Stork, Night Heron, Glossy Ibis & lots of ducks.

Back at Dehesa de Abajo we scanned the large lake for an hour or so and what a great time, There must have been 5000 birds on it! We saw Black-winged Stilt (1500+), Greater Flamingo (500+), Cormorant (200+), Avocet (100+), Shoveler (500+), Mallard (500+), Grebs (3 species 100+), Spoonbill (50+), Grey Heron (100+) - add to that Gadwall, Teal, Pochard, Red-crested Pochard, Coot, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Night Heron (20+), Glossy Ibis (200+)…plus Kingfisher, Sand Martin (200+), White Storks (50+).. the list goes on and on!



RARITY VALUE - RUDDY SHELDUCKS (4 IN TOTAL WERE SEEN)

From our raised position on the road we could look behind us over the vast expanse of rice fields where we could see birds everywhere, several flocks of Glossy Ibis numbered in their hundreds each flock that is, Gulls, Egrets, Storks and many Marsh Harriers were also drifting over.


NIGHT HERON (juvenile)

We ate lunch beside two recently flooded rice fields and we sat right next to a rice harvester machine. In the channels and gullies surrounding the rice fields we found a very obliging Squacco Heron, some Common Waxbills, Yellow-crowned Bishops and a single Bluethroat, we also saw several Green Sandpipers, Zitting Cisticolas, Goldfinches and Spanish Sparrows. Raptors became more obvious in the hazy sky, Booted Eagle, Peregrine Falcon (perched on a pylon), Common Kestrel, Red Kite and Common Buzzard were seen.

The afternoon was spent driving along the tracks to the Valverde Centre, passing the very dry and arid fields which held huge crops of Cotton but many were recently ploughed. Along the way we logged several Common Buzzards, lots of Lesser Kestrels, a small flock of Black Storks (7), countless Stonechats, a Common Redstart, two Black Redstarts and a Red Kite. We stopped to look over one ploughed field after we had seen a small group of Northern Wheatears fly into it. What a good move! Within minute we had located a flock of some 200 Calandra Larks, 50+ Skylarks and the icing on the cake, 100+ Lesser Short-toed Larks, Wow!

As we approached the Valverde centre we put up a male HEN HARRIER, what a fantastic sight and to add to the spectacle a male MARSH HARRIER joined it as it circled above us, two great birds in superb plumage and fantastic light. A nearby laguna held quite a lot of water and had attracted many Spoonbills, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Common Coots, Grey Heron & Purple Swamphens. The tracks around the Valverde centre held many Northern Wheatears, White Wagtails, Stonechats but not much else.

After a coffee stop we headed back along a different route hoping to find an Eagle or two, instead we found a lot more Lesser Kestrels, a herd of Fallow Deer and more distant Flamingos. We arrived back at the hotel at 5:30pm, a long day but a very enjoyable last day in the area.

FALLOW DEER - JUST OUT OF THE MIRE!

Tomorrow we are heading north into Extremadura, carrying forward a list in excess of 140 with at least 20 more target species to find, watch this space!

OCTOBER 19TH . 9 - DAY TOUR (4)

DAY 4 - LAGUNA PRIMERA DE LOS PALOS – PARAJE NTURAL DE MARISMAS DE O’DIEL – LAGUNA DEL PORTIL – RIO PEIDRAS EL ROMPIDO


STAR BIRD OF THE DAY - BLUETHROAT

BRIGHT sunshine throughout with nice temperatures with a nice cooling breeze. We set off in the dark towards Huelva and stopped at the lagunas del Palos just before the city. With a backdrop of a large oil refinery this superb nature reserve looks so out of place, however over the years I have recroded many species there, including Re-knobbed Coot. We couldn’t find the Coot but we watched many other wildfowl, we added Wigeon, and Pintail to our list.


THE GRUESOME TWOSOME ON THE HEATH AT EL ROMPIDO





At the Marismas de O’diel we first stopped at the laguna Calatillo where the Coot had bred for the last few years, again we dipped but there many birds wading or floating in the water. Waders included our first Turnstone, but also Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Sanderling and a single Curlew Sandpiper. The other species included Greater Flamingo, Pintail, Shovler, Teal, Gadwall, Common Pochard and Mallard.

FLAMINGOS IN THE MIST

DUCKS AT FIRST LIGHT

GREAT WHITE EGRET

We then spent the next couple of hours drive down towards the lighthouse on this superb salt marsh, we passed ancient salt pans, open dry scrub, stone pine woodlands and lagre expnses of marshes with open brackish water. Species present we in their thousands, we found White Stork, Great White Egret (2), Little Egret, Cattle egret, Eurasian Spoonbill (50+), Oystercathcer, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Stone Curlew (32), Knot, Redshank, Grrensahnk, Spotted Redshank, Grey plover, Little Stint and many of the other waders already listed. A few Common & Sandwich Terns sat amongst the Audouin’s, Lesser Black-backed and Yellow=legged Gulls.

On the dry marsh we added Crested Lark, Northern Wheatear, Stonechat and a single Hoopoe to the tally.

Next we made a short trip to the lauguna found at the roadside just outside of El Portil. A good amount of water held many birds, no new species but we searched for Ferruginous Duck and whilst doing so added Red-crested Pochard , Black-necked and Great Crested Grebe to the day list. We ate a lovly tapas lunch sitting in the sunshine before making the short drive to El Rompido.

On the semi-marsh alongside the Rio Piedras we searched for Bluethroat, we found at least 4 individuals, three of them were first winter specimens whilst the fourth was a nice adult male showing nice colours. During our spell on the marshland we also saw Southern Grey Shrike, Whinchat, Darford Warbler, lots of Sardinian Warblers, a Blackcap and a couple of Chiffchaffs.

OCTOBER 18TH . 9 - DAY TOUR (3)

DAY 3 – COTO DONANA – MATALACANAS CLIFFS - ACEBUCHE VISITOR’S CENTRE – EL ROCIO (LAGUNA MADRE DE LA MARISMAS) – LA ROCINA

TOP BIRD - WRYNECK

Another superb day in Donana. We ate breakfast at 7:30am and left the hotel at 8:30am reaching the cliffs at Matalascanas within 10 minutes. There was a chill to the air so fleeces were the order of the day but it was bright and clear. Out to sea not a lot was happening, a Gannets flew by as did two groups of Audouin’s Gulls and a Sandwich Tern. On the beach we saw many Lesser Black-beck Gulls and Yellow Legged Gulls and small flocks of Sanderling.



BILL AND BEN LOOKING OVER THE LAGUNA AT EL ROCIO

At Acebuche we stopped to watch a Hoopoe (the first of 8 birds) along the entrance drive and then we spent sometime in the car park watching the antics of the Azure-winged Magpies and tried to get decent photographs. From the hides we could see that the water level was extremely low and much of the laguna had dried up, however, we did some interesting birds. A Water Rail showed very well as did Common Snipe, Purple Swamphen and Spoonbill. We also great views of Dartford Warbler as a pair flitted from tree to tree. A Kingfisher was superb in the morning light and other species included Shoveler, Marsh Harrier, Teal and Little Grebe.

Back at the car park you wouldn’t believe it, we had just finished watching a Male Dartford Warbler when we noticed a WRYNECK sitting just above our van!! How incredible, we followed the bird as it searched for food on the trunks of the pine trees and eventually it flew off – what a show stopper!







The laguna at El Rocio was virtually dry but we drove through the town to the new visitors centre and scoped from there. Greater Flamingos were joined by Lapwing, Golden Plover, Greylag Geese, White and Yellow Wagtails, Little and Cattle Egrets and we also found two Great White Egrets. We ate lunch in the town before driving the short distance to La Rocina, we took the woodland walk to the Palacio de Acebron before visiting the hides. During the walk we didn’t see many species but we enjoyed the walk. Birds seen Eurasian Robin, Long-tailed Tit, Common Redstart and we heard both Great Spotted Woodpecker and Eurasian Nuthatch.


AFRICAN GRASS BLUE

From the hides and along the boardwalk we added Pied Flycatcher, Mistle Thrush and we heard a Cetti’s Warbler singing.

OCTOBER 17TH . 9 - DAY TOUR (2)

DAY 2 - LAGUNA DE MDEINA – SALINAS DE BONANZA – LAGUNA TARELO – MARISMAS DE TREBUJENA

Top bird – SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE



We had a great day today – it was transfer day we left Gaucin for the long journey to Matalascanas in Coto Donana.

After an early breakfast we set off at 8;30am and drove down to the coast before turning inland towards Jerez. We saw several good species along the way including White Stork, many attending their nests near Castellar, Griffon Vultures, agood flock of 30 something over the hill in the Alcornacales Cork Oak Forest.

TWEEDLE-DEE & TWEEDLE DUM - LOOKING AT THE WADERS AT SANLUCAR (NICE WEATHER)


At Laguna de Medina we spent a nice hour walking to hide and watching many grebes and ducks. In the filed behind the reserve we found the usual Black-winged Kites, Red-legged Partridges and to our great delight we had very good views of Stone Curlew.

From the hide we listed the three grebes, Shoveler, White-headed Duck and not a lot else. We heard Penduline Tit several times but didn’t get any views, Iberian Chiffchaff, Common Chiffchaff showed well and Cetti’s Warblers were very vocal. Along the track we noted up to 5 Egyptian Mongoose and below us from the hide we saw another 2 very close.

We stopped in Sanlucar to eat our lunch whilst looking over the river Guadalquiver, the tide was low, but rising. Many waders were feeding on the exposed mudflats: Dunlin, Sanderling, Common Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper were joined by Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Sandwich Terns and Grey Heron.

On the salt pans it was business as usual with a huge number of birds present: namely Greater Flamingo, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Knot, hundreds of Redshank but also Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover. Special sightings included: & Black Storks (7) on the thermals, two Opsreys, Two Red Kites showing superbly, and a couple of Caspian Terns.




WHAT THE HELL IS THAT - ANSWERS ON A POST-CARD PLEASE

HERE IS A CLUE?



AHA! - NOW WE KNOW - IT'S BOB AFTER A NIGHT ON THE TILES!!! LOL.


At laguna Tarelo most of our time was spent looking for Marbled Duck, which we eventually found as we were leaving (5), but whilst doing so we found Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal, Red-crested and Common Pochard, Black-necked Grebe, Night Heron, White-headed Duck and many common waterfowl. Along the fence-line we found a very obliging Chameleon and a couple of large Preying Mantis.

Lastly we drove through the Algaida Pinewoods without stopping but we did spend sometime looking over the large lagunas at the Trebujena Marshes. This where we found a BIRD OF THE DAY – SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE. The bird flew up over the launga and circled right above us before drifting off eastward, wow what a sight, terrific!

We drove up through Sevilla and on towards Huelva before turning south and into Coto Donana. We passed El Rocio, noting that the laguna was almost dried up, and down to Matalascanas. Along the way we saw lots of Azure-winged Magpies and several Eurasian Magpies.

We checked in at 6pm and enjoyed a lovely meal at 8, our count for the day was 77 species with 3 heard but not seen, which included Balearic Shearwater, Common Tern and many Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen from our hotel balconies as we looked out to see from the 5th