APRIL 20TH - DAY 1 - ANDALUCIA 7- DAY. TOUR

GAUCIN TO MALAGA AIRPORT WITH A VISIT TO THE DESEMBOCADURA DE GUADALHORCE

Vern and Trish are staying for a few extra days to see local birds so I dropped them off at the Rio Genal before carrying on to the Airport at Malaga.


It was dry, a little cloudy and a cool wind had come in, but the sun shone. I drove to Malaga to collect Stuart and  David, unfortunately David's flight had been cancelled and he was delayed some 5 hours! So Stuart and I went birding near the airport.

Common Sandpiper

It wasn't so windy at the coast so we had a very enjoyable time, firstly on waste ground near Guadalmar and later at the Guadalhorce nature reserve. We quickly found Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Spotless Starling, Jackdaw, Barn and Red-rumped Swallow. WE walked across some sandy banks where last week I had seen a Stone Curlew but alas the bird had flown. Along  a stream we found two pairs of Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper and we got closer to the Hoopoe and Bee-eaters.

Dunlin

We then drove the short distance to the Desembocadura de Guadalhorce and spent 3 hours walking the tracks and visiting the superb hides there. From the elevated hide overlooking the Laguna Grande we saw many species; White-headed Ducks were pairing off, the males were looking smashing with their bright blue bills. Black-winged Stilts dashed about making a lot of noise and a good selection of other waders were present. We saw Wood Sandpiper, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper and more Little ringed Plovers.

Wood Sandpiper

Lots of Monk Parakeets were flying across the reserve as were Sand martins, House Martins and Swallows of two types. We saw Gadwall, Common Pochard and more White-headed Ducks. Passerines sightings were restricted to finches, Sardinian Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas and sparrows.

Moorish Gecko

At 4:30pm we collected David and then drove to Gaucin making one stop at the Sierra Crestellina where we watched Griffon Vultures and not much else. On the climb up to Gaucin we saw both Booted and Short-toed Eagles.

We all met up at 7:30pm and enjoyed a lovely home cooked dinner made by my gorgeous wife, Dawn.

APRIL 19TH - DAY 8 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7- DAY...

EL ROCIO TO MALAGA THEN TO GAUCIN WITH VISITS TO LAGUNA DULCE AT CAMPILLOS AND THE RAPTOR WATCH POINT AT TEBA

Our final day started with a lie-in!!  We took breakfast at 9am at the hotel and set off for Malaga at 10am, we made a couple stops along the way for coffee and toilets and we listed over 30 birds during the journey, the most interesting being a couple Montagu's Harriers and several Turtle Doves perched on roadside wires.

Our lunch stop at the Laguna Dulce just outside of Campillos was excellent. The sun was shining the water level on this seasonal lake was high but so was the temperature and humidity. The lake was covered in birds as usual with many grebes of three species in good numbers. We soon located out target bird the White-headed Duck, at least two pairs were present. Then we got a surprise when we found a Red-knobbed Coot, (now referred to as Tomato Head by the group), but a great find. Many Gull-billed Terns and a few Whiskered Terns hawked over the lake and the surrounding fields.

fantastic wild flowers around the laguna

White Headed Duck skulking in the reeds at laguna Dulce

We ate our picnic lunch in the picnic area provided and then drove off to the bird observatory near Teba. This is usually a good place to see Bonelli's Eagle and sure enough we had good views of a pair. We also watched Red-billed Chough, Turtle Dove, Short-toed Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Common Kestrel and avery high Eurasian Hobby.

Our drive into Malaga went uneventful, we dropped off Paul and Claire at their hotel where they were spending a few more days before flying back to the UK. Vern and Trish, my American clients came back to Gaucin with me and are staying a few more days for local birding.

On the way back to Gaucin we stopped to look at the our 'local' pair of Bonelli's Eagles, one was seen standing on the nest and then both of them went off for some soaring and dispalying. Many Griffon Vultures also appeared and we did see a small flock of Lesser Kestrels near Casares.

Well that concluded the tour of EXTREMADURA and COTO DONANA , we had a great time with wall to wall sunshine and some fantastic sightings. The flowers were extraordinary, a blaze of colour where ever we went and the birding was superb. We saw just under 200 species, a great effort! This small group certainly put the work in to make it an unforgettable experience.

APRIL 18TH - DAY 7 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7- DAY...

THE NORTHERN MARSHES OF DONANA WITH VISITS TO: CORREDOR DE VERDE - DEHESA ABAJO - THE RICE FIELDS - JOSE VALVERDE CENTRE AND VILLAMONRIQUE PINE WOODS

Another fabulous day with glorious sunshine and warm temperatures, it was very misty at first but it soon burnt off.


We set off at 7am from El Rocio and drove in the dark to Villamonrique, one very nice sighting was of a Tawny Owl as it flew up from the roadside carrying its prey, this was quickly followed by views of a Little Owl sitting on a fence post. Not long after that we turned onto dirt tracks to visit the Corredor de Verde. Because of the mist, sightings were limited to roadside birds, even the laguna at Quema was virtually devoid of birds - not a great start to the day. We did see lots of Corn Buntings, Woodchat Shrikes, Hoopoes, Azure-winged Magpies and we heard many Nightingales and Cetti's Warblers. Hundreds of finches flitted across the track with Goldfinches and Serins numbering in their hundreds.

Black-necked Grebes in the mist

Great Reed Warbler in a typical pose

We stopped on our way to Dehesa de Abajo to look along a feeder water channel and saw a huge colony of Black Crowned Night Herons we also found Marsh Harrier and many Black Kites, White Storks, Grey Herons, Cattle & Little Egrets were also sighted.

Once again there was very little wind, hardly a breeze, so the reservoir at Dehesa de Abajo was like a mill pond, we could right across to the far side in excellent light. We quickly located Red-knobbed Coot, in fact we found 5 of them, we saw a couple of males displaying too. Other species seen on the water were Common & Red Crested Pochard, our first Shovelers of the trip, likewise Black-necked Grebe. Gadwall, Common Coot, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Little & Great-crested Grebes were also seen. The water was a little too deep for waders except for Black Winged Stilts, Spoonbills and a large flock of some 200 Greater Flamingos.

Another colony of Black Crowned Night herons sat in the tamarisk and we also found Great Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticolas were seen everywhere and a nice find was a male Orphean Warbler.

Next we drove to a venta for coffee and toast but just before we got there we stopped to look at a much smaller laguna at the side of the road. A good choice because we found 5 more Red-knobbed Coots and a pair of Marbled Ducks, the ducks were very wary of our presence and unfortunately they soon flew off.

Black-crowned Night herons were everywhere

typical flowers

Our journey to the Valverde Centre was punctuated with stops both short and long, the heat had increased and now we had to contend with heat-haze. We found half a dozen Great White Egrets, Purple Heron, Squacco Herons, Sand martin and many Greater Short-toed Larks.

Near the Valverde visitor's centre the whole area was awash with huge shallow lagoons, the roadside ditches were a blaze of colour with hundreds of flowering plants, the sky was dotted with raptors egrets, ibis, storks, herons, swifts, swallows, martins and our ears were bombarded with the sweet songs of the larks - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

one of the thousands of Black-winged Stilts seen

Cattle Egrets can look beautiful when they make an effort!

Our visit to the centre was enhanced with great views of the nest birds, thousands of Glossy Ibis were joined by equal numbers of Cattle Egrets and fewer Little Egrets and Night Herons, the noise was deafening at times. In the pools around the centre's buildings were found Purple Swamphen, Pied Avocet, lots of Black-winged Stilts and the usual duck species.

The next 2 hours was spent driving along the dirt tracks stopping every few meters to watch the throngs of birds out in the water meadows, it was an extraordinary sight. There were literally thousands of birds out there, Greater Flamingos must have numbered over 3000, whilst Black-winged Stilts just at the side of the road were estimated at 2000. We also found several new species for our list: Lesser Short Toed Lark sat on a post and sang to us, a flock of five Ruff were joined by a single summer plumage Spotted Redshank and a pair of Lapwings flew over the marshes. Once again the sky was full of birds, a flock of Collared Pratincoles hawked insects overhead, whilst hoards of Whiskered Terns, Black-headed Gulls and a few Gull Billed Terns did the same over the marsh. It was truly an amazing experience and a memory to treasure for ever.

Claire, Paul, Trish and Vern

On the way back out of the marshes we stopped to watch Short-toed Eagles as they sat on pylons and we looked for Imperial Eagle near a known nest site without success, a flock of feeding Eurasian Spoonbills were nice to watch as they dashed through the water sweeping their bills from side to side.

Just before we left the area we made a couple of short stops, the first was at a eucalyptus wood where there must have been over a thousand pairs of Spanish Sparrows nesting, what a noise. Whilst watching the sparrows we found 3 Whinchats, one was a very nicely marked male, a single Northern Wheatear, many Bee-eaters and a couple of Woodchat Shrikes were also seen.

Our last excursion was a walk in a pine wood near Villamonrique, it was hot and quite quiet but we found Tree Sparrow, Sardinian Warbler, Chaffinches, we heard a Green Woodpecker and we flushed 3 Red-legged Partridges.

The pine woods near Villamonrique

Well that concluded our fabulous visit to the 'true' Donana, we had seen nearly 100 species (95) and we all agreed that we had had one of our most enjoyable days of the trip.




On

APRIL 17TH - DAY 6 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7- DAY...

EL ROCIO - LAGUNA PRIMERA DE LOS PALOS (HUELVA) - MARISMAS DE O'DIEL - LAGUNA EL PORTIL - RIO PIEDRAS (EL ROMPIDO) - LAGUNA DE MARISMAS DE LA MADRA

WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY - THIS HAD TO BE MY BEST BIRDING DAY OUT IN SPAIN THIS YEAR (SO FAR) - WE CLOCKED 97 SPECIES AND FOUND SOME TRULY GREAT BIRDS INCLUDING A RARITY FOR SPAIN IN THE SHAPE OF A BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER. WE LISTED 21 SPECIES OF WADER, 6 GULLS AND 6 TERNS PLUS A WRYNECK.

At 7pm we set off from El Rocio towards Huelva, the sky was clear, it was already warm and there wasn't a whiff of air. We drove through some thick patches of mist before arriving at the Laguna de Los Palos near the outskirts of Huelva. The water was like a mirror, perfectly still, everything was visible and although we didn't see many species it was still very enjoyable.

Laguna de los Palos with the oil refinery in the background

We found Gadwall, Red-crested and Common Pochard, Whiskered Tern, Purple Swamphen and a couple of Squacco Herons flew over.

Next we stopped at the laguna Calatilla at the entrance to the Marismas de O'Diel near the salt pans. It was fairly quiet but we did find a male Little Bittern sitting high up in the reed -bed.

some shots of the obliging Little Bittern - a male in breeding plumage, note the red bill

We then spent an hour scanning the salt pans with great success despite some of the birds being a long way off. Thousands of birds were present with hundreds of Dunlin, Curlew Sandpipers, Grey Plover, Red Knot and Greenshanks. We also noted good numbers of Redshank, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Sanderling and an Osprey.

Next we drove a little deeper into the salt marsh and spent sometime watching more waders in a muddy channel and it was there that we found our star bird and a rarity for Spain, the Broad-billed Sandpiper, it showed extremely well down to about 50 meters, these are the best shots I could get of this busy little blighter.

a rose between two thorns? Broad-billed Sandpiper and two Dunlin

seen here besides a Curlew Sandpiper

After the great excitement of finding this bird the next few hours seemed somewhat underwhelming, however, our enthusiasm for birding didn't wane one iota.

We added some larger waders to the list as we got further into the salt marsh: Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pied Avocet and Oystercatcher and then we hit a second purple patch further down the road.

We had just been watching Caspian Tern and Collared Pratincoles in flight when we found a laguna with lots of species feeding or loafing in it.  A good flock of gulls held both Audouin's and Slender-billed Gulls as well as Mediterranean, Black-headed, Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed. It was a rare opportunity to see so many species in one place, the light was excellent and they were not too far away.

Tern numbers were quite high too, lots of Sandwich Terns were joined by a single Common Tern, 25+ Black Terns and hundreds of Little Terns. Wader counts were pretty good too, with 8 species present!

So in this little laguna we saw 6 species of gulls, 4 tern species and 8 species of waders, how fantastic is that? it was a rare sight that we were privileged to witness.

bath time for the Little Terns

We the drove a little further along the causeway to for a place to turn around and as we did so a shout went up from the back of the bus "Pratincole". Sure enough just a few meters from the bu, sitting on the bare earth was about four Collared Pratincoles. We watched them for 30 minutes or so and even saw them displaying to one another, great views.

the crowd pleasing Collared Pratincole, it looks just as good in flight!

On the way back out of the marshes we stopped at laguna Calatilla for a second look and found a Northern Gannet sitting there???? How bizarre is that?? The bird was obviously not well and it could not fly off, it also looked as though it was oiled on it underside.

you won't get better views of this beautiful bird but it was unfortunate that the bird was injured and without help it will surely die. Luckily it was on water adjacent to the main visitor's centre on the reserve and was being watched by several officials from there.

Our journey continued along the coast and our next stop was the laguna at El Portil, this large  'urban' body of water is usually covered in ducks and it is a great place to find Ferruginous Duck. Today, however,  the water level was very high and very few birds were present. We did see Common and Red-crested Pochard, Gadwall and both Great-crested and Little Grebes. A Crested Tit flew over us and a beautiful little Mediterranean Chameleon was found in the tamerisk.

We ate lunch on the terrace of a restaurant in El Portil, lovely warm sunshine and good food made it a very enjoyable experience and it was hard to drag the group away from there! We then spent some time searching the heath at the Rio Piedras in El Rompido in the hope that a late Bluethroat was still present but we never saw one. It was now late afternoon and it was very warm so bird movement was at a minimum. We did find many Sardinian Warblers, a couple of Dartford Warblers, Northern Wheatear, Stonechat and we saw 4 Montagu's harriers in the distance. Along the river there were several Caspian Terns and lots of waders that we had seen earlier.

As we drove off the heath we stopped to look at a warbler and as we did so a Wryneck flew up from the ground and landed in a tree not too far away. Splendid! We all got prolonged 'in-the-scope' views of this remarkable creature, we watched it licking ants off the bark of a pine tree, a little gem of a find and well appreciated by all of us.

We drove back to El Rocio and arrived at 6pm, a long day but a very enjoyable one. We spent the last hour looking into the laguna from the old, elevated road. This road is now closed and makes for a perfect bird watching platform. We added a couple of species to our day list but the laguna itself was pretty much devoid of bird life, not what it is usually like. A few Glossy Ibis flew in the distance over a flock of feeding Greater Flamingos. A single Eurasian Spoonbill sat on a small island as did Common Sandpiper, Redshank, a couple of dozen Black-winged Stilts and about 50 Whiskered Terns fed over the water. The light was superb and the warm sunshine on our backs made it difficult to move away, but we did, it was a lovely ending to a perfect birding day in Southern Spain.

APRIL 16TH - DAY 5 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7- DAY...

EL ROCIO - MATALASCANAS CLIFFS - ACEBUCHE VISITOR'S CENTRE - LA ROCINA VISITOR'S CENTRE AND LAGUNA MARISMAS DE LA MADRA

Our day started at 7am as we met in the car park of the hotel, it was still dark and the town was shrouded in a thick mist. We set off to the coast in the hope that the mist would have cleared there but when we arrived it had not. We spent an hour idling around  until the mist cleared enough for a bit of sea-watching, it was very disappointing as we only saw a few species: Northern Gannet, Yellow-legged and Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Common and Sandwich Terns.

one of the hides at Acebuche showing a profusion of flowers in the foreground

After breakfast taken back at the hotel we drove to the Acebuche centre and spent 4 hours visiting the hides and strolling along the boardwalks. The mist completely cleared and we had a very warm clear day, from the hides we looked over the lagunas which were full of water but not too many birds. It was the trees and bushes that held the most. We found many Pied Flycatchers and Garden Warblers and up to 3 Golden Orioles. From one of the hides we saw Reed Warbler, heard a Great Reed Warbler singing and saw a Melodious Warbler also in full song.

Azure-winged magpies were found everywhere in the reserve

On the lagunas we watched Red-crested and Common Pochard, Spoonbills, Purple Herons and lots of Whiskered Terns. A nice find was an Ortolan Bunting, which posed for our cameras and a couple of Tree Pipits. The sky was full of Black Kites, Booted Eagles and White Storks, the bushes and open ground held Woodchat Shrikes and Azure-winged Magpies, all in all it was a magical morning, dripping with migrants and full of bird song.

La Rocina was much of the same except that it was hotter in the afternoon, much hotter. We spent most of the time in the hides adding a few species to the day list: Tree Sparrows were common, Bee-eaters and Hoopoes popped up everywhere, Reed Warblers sang all the time and we saw Purple Swamphens, Black-crowned Night Heron and many more Whiskered Terns.

Melodious Warbler

an obliging Ortolan Bunting

Finally we stopped at the Laguna adjacent to El Rocio, the light was fantastic even at 6pm. No new species had arrived but we counted 5 Redshanks, 2 Common Sandpipers and a host of Black-winged Stilts, Whiskered Terns, Greater Flamingos, 3 Yellow Wagtails and lots of ducks.

record shots of Purple Heron and Purple Swamphen

We ate our evening meal on the hotel terrace in a sombre mood as we had just heard of the bombings in Boston it was especially upsetting for our American group members.

APRIL 15TH - DAY 4 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7- DAY...

EXTREMADURA to  COTO DONANA WITH STOPS AT EMBALSE SIERRA BRAVA - VEGAS ALTAS RICE FIELDS AND LAGUNA MARISMAS DE LA MADRA EL ROCIO

It was transfer day today so most of the time was spent travelling. We all met at 7:30am for a walk in the superb grounds at Finca Santa Marta, the highlights were a couple Hawfinches, Hoopoes at close quarters, Common Cuckoo, Garden Warbler and Blackcaps.

I didn't take many pictures today so it was hard to produce anything special - Barn Swallow

The whole ambiance of this unique setting is an unforgettable experience and I am already looking forward to my next visit and I am happy to report that Henri, the owner is still alive and very well after his health scare 4 years ago.

We left about 10am and drove immediately south passing through Zorita before stopping at Sierra Brava reservoir, we stop along the way to look at Rollers, Common Buzzard, Calandra Lark and Bee-eaters.
The morning was warm but not so bright as very high cloud shielded the sun somewhat, however there wasn't a whiff of air and the reservoir was at still as a mill pond. We logged a few species but the water was extremely high and most of the birds were very distant.

In the rice fields near to Madrigalejo we found several new species for trip list, I had a very excited group on my hands when we found a flock of 20+ Collared Pratincoles, the birds were hawking insects above the rice fieldsand were especially pleasing for our American contingent. We made several stops in the area and got good views of Bee-eaters, Little-ringed Plovers, little Stints (a small flock were flying around), Cetti's Warbler and Nightingale. We spent some time on a bridge overlooking a flooded stream and surprisingly we found a Purple Swamphen there, our first for the trip!

Next stop was referred to as  "THE PET SHOP RUN" by our American group members as we saw Common Waxbill, Red Avadavat and Indian Silverbill, all escaped cage birds, they are all breeding in good numbers in this area. Nice views of European Tree Frog were also had.

The next leg of the journey was the long drive to El Rocio via Merida ans Sevilla, we arrived at 4:30pm. A short stop was made once we reached the Donana area to watch a Black-winged Kite, what a little beauty that bird is, so dainty and delicate in flight.

At the Laguna Marismas de la Madra just outside El Rocio we were again disappointed by the lack of birds due to the high water level, however we log a few goodies. Both the Red-crested and the Common Pochard were seen along with Eurasian Spoonbill (2), Little Egret (1) and singles of Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, and Glossy Ibis. A large number of Whiskered Terns hawked over the water and above them the sky was peppered with raptors which were mainly Black Kites.

The Laguna de Marismas de la Madra looking across to El Rocio - note the high water level

 We called it day at 6pm and we went to check into our hotel in the centre of El Rocio, we did take a short walk at 7pm but apart from some excellent close views of Bee-eaters and Hoopoes it was generally quiet. A lovely dinner was enjoyed by all as we sat out on the terrace in a lovely warm, summer temperature.

APRIL 14TH - DAY 3 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7- DAY TOUR

MONFRAGUE NATIONAL PARK

It was another excellent day of bright sunshine, but it was quite windy to start with. Temperatures ranged from 10C – 32C but even at 32C it felt much cooler because of the northerly wind. We set off from the finca at 7:30am and drove through Trujillo to the national park of Monfrague, a couple of stops along the way produced Hoopoe, Common Redstart (a lovely male) and Azure-winged Magpies.

the Rio Almonte at dawn

Our first destination was the Castillo de Monfrague which was getting the full force of the wind. Recent renovation and improvement work has increased the enjoyment of the visit, superb viewing platforms are now in place and a lovely sheltered approach walk gives you much better birding opportunities. As always, the views from the castle were stunning, we could see for miles in all directions, in fabulous clear daylight. The sky was littered with vultures, 50 -80 Griffons were up there and just as many were seen perched on the Salto de Gitano (a pinnacle of limestone with hundreds of ledges and caves). The odd Black Vulture would venture into view and a single Egyptian Vulture circled above us as we were watching a pair of Peregrine Falcons. A few passerines flitted about the castle walls, we saw Blue Rock Thrushes, Black Redstart, Blue Tit, Great Tit and lots of Chaffinches.

Spanish Bluebells

Back down on the main road through the park we drove to the base of Salto de Gitano which was much more sheltered and it felt quite warm. Now we were looking up to the pinnacle as we watched the vultures in their hundreds. We found several Black Storks, two of which were nest building. We had superb views of a Wren singing as it perched on a rock and as we drove deeper into the park we saw lots of hirundines and good numbers of Alpine Swifts. Other stops, taken just before lunch, produced Black-eared Wheatear, Woodlark, Subalpine and Sardinian Warblers and several parties of Bee-eaters. We ate lunch at picnic tables overlooking another rocky pinnacle with several pairs of Griffon Vultures in residence and an equal number of Black Kites were milling around often delivering their horse-like whining call. A couple of Hawfinches dropped into the tress quite near to our picnic tables and whilst we searched for them we discovered Greenfinch, Serin and Siskin.

one of the birds nesting in the garden of Finca Santa Marta

The afternoon was spent doing much of the same, stopping at interesting miradors found throughout the park, in particular we spent some extra time at the Puerto de Tierta. It was there that we found a superb Spanish Imperial Eagle, what a great sighting and it was also excellent to see such a large number of Spanish birders watching it too, perhaps there is hope for Spanish conservation after all? The couple of hours of the afternoon were spent walking through the Cork Oak woods on the northwest side of the park. Despite the high temperature there were still many birds singing and dashing about. We found Common Cuckoo (both the male and the female called), Woodchat Shrike, Short-toed Treecreeper, Eurasian nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Rock Sparrow and many common species.

At 4pm we decided to call it day and set off back to Finca Santa Marta which took us an hour. We hadn’t seen that many species but we got quality birds today rather than quantity.

APRIL 13TH - DAY 2 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7-.DAY TOUR

BELEN PLAIN - RIO MAGASCAR - SANTA MARTA - MONROY - RIO ALMONTE - EMBALSE TALAVAN - LLNOS DE CASARES

Another smashing day with fantastic weather and some superb bird sightings. We went out at 7am in the dark and headed to Belen Plain. Unfortunately there were severe roadwork disruption with a diversion in the village and massive road repairs out on the plains. This only delayed us and did not prevent us having a tremendous time time as the sun began to rise.

Once the light had improved we began to find our target species, many Calandra Larks were singing alongside Thekla, Crested and Short-toed Larks. But it was the Great Bustard that caused a major reaction in the group, we saw at least four birds displaying, what a strange and unusual sight.

We then located a Little bustard, it was quite distant but showed well. The bird song all around was amazing all the larks were competing  with Hoopoes, Corn Buntings, Stonechats and Starlings. A tawny Pipit was a nice find and many Griffon Vultures, Black Vultures, Black kites, Red Kites, Ravens, Cattle Egrets, White Storks and Montagu's Harriers began to fill the sky.

We eventually got back to Finca Santa Marta for breakfast just before 10am and it wasn't until 11am that we were back out on the road. The rest of the day was spent driving along the country lanes across the dehesa and open grasslands between Trujillo and Casares where we found an abundance of wildlife and some beautiful scenery. Everywhere we looked we could see a blaze of colour with thousands of spring flowers in full bloom. We found a flock of some 22 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos, and hundreds of raptors.

We ate lunch at the Embalse Talavan where nearby we found the nest of a Golden Eagle, two birds were present and we were lucky enough to witness a nest change-over as one adult left whilst seconds later the other one appeared and settled on the nest. In and around the water we found a couple of good species worth mentioning: two Black Terns were feeding over the water a very unusual sighting for central Spain and  a pair of Garganey fed close to the far shoreline.

Our search for Roller ended when we eventually found two of them sitting alongside one of the hundreds of nest boxes strapped to each powerline pole. We finally arrived back at the Finca at 6pm, it had been a long day but a very successful one, with 84 species on our day list we were all tired but well satisfied..

Common Cuckoo seen in the garden at Finca Santa Marta

 An evening walk after dinner produced only Scop's Owl and nightingale both heard not seen, no nightjars called at all despite perfect weather conditions.

APRIL 12TH - DAY 1 - EXTREMADURA AND DONANA 7-DAY TOUR

MADRID AIRPORT TO TRUJILLO  WITH STOPS AT ARROCAMPO, JARAICEJO AND THE RIO ALMONTE

The group assembled in an hotel near Madrid airport in preparation for this 7 day tour of Extremadura and the Coto Donana. We left the hotel at 7:30am and negotiated the complex motorway system around Madrid before heading off Southwest towards Extremadura. There was a clear blue sky at first but it soon clouded over as we left the city.

Claire, Paul, Vern and Trish at Arrocampo

After an hour or so we were out of town and the bird sighting began to increase, we saw White Storks, Black Kites, Wood Pigeons and even Monk Parakeets. After  a breakfast stop we pulled off the motorway to view a couple of road side pools where we found: Gadwall, Mallard, Great Crested and Little Grebes, Common Sandpiper, Corn Bunting, Crested Larks and Goldfinches. Raptors where everywhere, Red Kites, Griffon Vultures, Common Buzzards and a single Montagu's Harrier were added to our sightings list.

 We spent a couple of hours at the new reserve of  Arrocampo where we visited a few hides and watched many new species. Herons and egrets where the birds of the moment especially Purple Herons and  Little Egrets. We also saw a single Great White Egret, a couple of Squacco Herons, Grey Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Gull-billed Terns, Little Bittern, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Common Coot and many Great Cormorants. Passerine sightings included: Zitting Cisticola, White Wagtail, Cetti's Warbler, Corn Bunting and Spanish Sparrow.

After driving a few kilometers further along the motorway we pulled of to a well spot on the heathland above Jaraicejo. This is suitable habitat for Dartford and Spectacled Warblers, both which were seen  but it was the Dartford that proved to be the most obliging. Other birds seen were: Southern Grey Shrike, Booted Eagle, Black Vulture and many Crested Larks.

Next we stopped at the Rio Alomonte where three generations of bridges can be seen in a steep sided valley. We spent an incredible hour watching some terrific birds, the best of which had to be a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, this male bird appeared on a dead tree out in the open and was so obliging I couldn't believe our luck. The bird had excavated a couple of holes and kept flying back and forth from the nearby woods to the the nest sites, incredible.

as you might imagine a took quite few pictures of this hard to find little beauty

I have never, in 40 years of birding, seen such an obliging Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

At the river we watched from the old bridge where we saw; Crag Martin, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Rock Bunting, Spanish Sparrow, Woodchat Shrike, Red-rumped Swallow, Stonechat and a Common Nightingale sang from the nearby trees.


We drove a little way upriver and whilst watching a Common Sandpiper we found 3 Otters playing in the river!1 How cool was that? A Cirl Bunting was singing from the nearest bushes and gave great views.

For the last part of the afternoon we drove to Finca Santa Marta which is just south of Trujillo. This superb converted olive mill has many hectares of land with superb track from which we saw a good variety of species. After settling into our rooms we took a short walk and found Azure-winged Magpies, Serin, Blackcaps, Hoopoes and many common species.

Azure-winged Magpie

Our evening concluding with drinks on one of the many terraces of this unique accommodation before we got ready for dinner. What a great day! Despite traveling some 300 kilometers we listed 82 species with some excellent sightings.