Spain Birding Tour
Extremadura, Doñana and Tarifa April 2019
Organized for Travel Fever Tours
DAY 1: Airport – Trujillo (Extremadura) Upon arrival at Seville, we transfer to hotel in Trujillo. Birding en route stopping in Alange with excellent chances for seeing Bonelli's Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Great Spotted Cuckoo and Great Bustard, both sandgrouse species, amongst others. We will visit the Arrocampo reservoir, in search for breeding Squacco Heron, Purple Herons, Little Bittern and other waterbirds.
DAY 2: Monfragüe National Park Monfragüe is an impressive mountain region full of raptors & Black stork breeding. We will also have opportunities for watching Griffon, Black & Egyptian vultures, Spanish Imperial Eagles both Black and Red Kites, Short-toed and Booted Eagles. Blackcap, Dartford and Sardinian Warblers. On the cliffs possible species include Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Red-rumped Swallow, Crag Martin, Black Stork, Eurasian Eagle Owl. Overnight at Trujillo (Same as previous night).
DAY 3: Cáceres plains After breakfast we will travel to the plains. An immens esteppe region with rocky hills Trujillo and Cáceres towns seperated with isolated woodland patches. A great opportunity to see some of the specialities of the steppe habitats such as Stone Curlew, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Montagu's Harrier, Great and Little Bustards, Lesser Kestrel, Corn Buntings, Calandra Lark, Black-eared Wheatears. Eurasian Spoonbill, Cattle Egret, Spanish Sparrow, Crested Lark and Zitting Cisticola. Transfer to El Rocío.
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
DAY 4: El Rocío – Southern Doñana Area The best places to watch birds in the Doñana area are in the surroundings of the National Park. We visit the Asperillo, a scrubland on top of old dunes to look for warblers. Then we go close to the river La Rocina which enters the "Marsh Mother" at El Rocio, an astonishing birding spot when it is wet. Nearby, there are several visitor centers with nice footpaths and hides where we will have a look at little and water birds such as Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, Crested Tit and Long-tailed Tit, Serin, Iberian Chiffchaff, Bee-eater, Dartford Warbler, etc.
DAY 5: El Rocío – Northern Doñana Area Today we will go right into the heart of the marshland along a sandy road that leads to the visitor centre named in honour of the naturalist Jose Antonio Valverde. In the surrounding fields and wetlands, it is possible to watch species such as Great Reed Warbler, Purple Swamphen , Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, Little Bittern and with luck, the rare Marbled Duck. We will make several stops along the journey before reaching the visitor center to see other typical species of the open fields such as Greater and Lesser Short-toed Larks, Stone Curlew or Pin- tailed Sandgrouse. In the nearby Dehesa de Abajo the rare Crested (or Red- knobbed) Coot breeds.
DAY 6: El Rocío – Odiel Marshes This is a day out to the “Kingdom of the Tide” to look for waders, seabirds and other water birds. By the road that connects some of the islands in the Odiel Marshes we can get to Anastasio Senra´s Visitor Center and continue to have nice spots in the mudflats at the South of this wader´s paradise: Dunlin, Little Stint, Godwits, Avocets, Sanderlings, Sandpipers... On the way back we go to Domingo Rubio´s Creek to enjoy the amazing concentration of Flamingos, Herons, Spoonbills and many others.
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
DAY 7: El Rocío – Tarifa It is time to leave the mythical Doñana. On our way to Tarifa we visit Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Laguna de Medina, where we will search for White-headed Duck, Marbled Teal and Red-knobbed Coot. We will bird in salt pans, marshes, and lagoons and try to find any birds that we may have missed so far. If we still have time at our arrival, we can visit one of the watchpoints of Tarifa to see the first raptors crossing the Strait, such as Booted and Short-toed Eagles, European Honey Buzzard and maybe also Black Stork. Rarer migrants, such as Rüppell's Vulture and Long-legged Buzzard, might turn up at any time and so we keep our eyes open throughout the trip to look for these.
DAY 8: Tarifa – Algeciras After breakfast heading to Los Lances beach, one of the best places to see waders on migration as well as different species of gulls and terns. Among a range of commoner species, we look for rarer birds which regularly appear such as Lesser Crested Tern or perhaps Eurasian Dotterel which use this reserve during their migration. The road leading to Algeciras provides some of the best places to see thousands of birds on active migration... flocks of European Honey Buzzards, Black Kites and White Storks are some of the species that should be seen from such watchpoints... plus Booted and Short-toed Eagles will be seen for sure, while smaller numbers of Black Stork and Egyptian Vultures use the same route to fly northwards. * It is possible to organize a boat trip in the afternoon to watch cetaceans and seabirds on migration.
DAY 9: Tarifa – Sierra de la Plata – La Janda Two of the rarest birds in Europe, White-rumped and Little Swifts, usually breed not far from the known as Sierra de la Plata. We might also see Black - eared Wheatear, Blue-Rock Thrush, Red-rumped Swallow, Griffon Vulture, Common
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
Kestrel, Peregrine and European Honey Buzzard. Then time to visit the fields of La Janda, a top migrant site where Glossy Ibis, White Storks, Yellow Wagtails and Spanish Sparrows are often found by hundreds. Purple Heron, Squacco Heron, Black-winged Kite and both juveniles Bonelli's and Spanish Imperial Eagles are fairly possible.
DAY 10: Tarifa – Airport If flight times allow we will do some birding on the way to the airport.
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
Possible birds to be seen on the tour:
1. Great Crested Grebe 2. Little Grebe 3. Black-necked Grebe 4. Cory's Shearwater 5. Mediterranean Shearwater 6. Northern Gannet 7. Great Cormorant 8. Little Bittern 9. Black-crowned Night Heron 10. Cattle Egret 11. Squacco Heron 12. Little Egret 13. Great White Egret 14. Grey Heron 15. Purple Heron 16. Black Stork 17. White Stork 18. Eurasian Spoonbill 19. Glossy Ibis 20. Northern Bald Ibis 21. Greater Flamingo 22. Greylag Goose 23. Common Shelduck 24. Ruddy Shelduck 25. Mallard 26. Gadwall 27. Pintail 28. Northern Shoveler
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
29. Common Teal 30. Garganey 31. White-headed Duck 32. Marbled Duck 33. Red-crested Pochard 34. European Pochard 35. Ferruginous Duck 36. Common Scooter 37. Black-winged Kite 38. Black Kite 39. Red Kite 40. Egyptian Vulture 41. Cinereous Vulture 42. Eurasian Griffon Vulture 43. Montagu's Harrier 44. Western Marsh Harrier 45. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 46. Northern Goshawk 47. European Honey-buzzard 48. Eurasian Buzzard 49. Golden Eagle 50. Spanish Imperial Eagle 51. Bonelli's Eagle 52. Booted Eagle 53. Short-toed Eagle 54. Osprey 55. Eurasian Kestrel 56. Hobby 57. Lesser Kestrel 58. Peregrine Falcon
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
59. Merlin 60. Red-legged Partridge 61. Common Quail 62. Spotted Crake 63. Water Rail 64. Moorhen 65. Common Coot 66. Red-knobbed Coot 67. Purple Swamphen 68. Great Bustard 69. Little Bustard 70. Eurasian Oystercatcher 71. Stone Curlew 72. Black-winged Stilt 73. Pied Avocet 74. Collared Pratincole 75. Greater Ringed Plover 76. Little Ringed Plover 77. Kentish Plover 78. Grey Plover 79. Northern Lapwing 80. Ruddy Turnstone 81. Sanderling 82. Red Knot 83. Curlew Sandpiper 84. Dunlin 85. Ruff 86. Eurasian Curlew 87. Whimbrel 88. Black-tailed Godwit
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
89. Bar-tailed Godwit 90. Common Redshank 91. Spotted Redshank 92. Greenshank 93. Wood Sandpiper 94. Common Sandpiper 95. Green Sandpiper 96. Marsh Sandpiper 97. Common Sandpiper 98. Great Skua 99. Arctic Skua 100. Mediterranean Gull 101. Slender-billed Gull 102. Black-headed Gull 103. Audouin's Gull 104. Herring Gull 105. Yellow-legged Gull 106. Greater Black-backed Gull 107. Lesser Black-backed Gull 108. Gull-billed Tern 109. Sandwich Tern 110. Common Tern 111. Little Tern 112. Caspian Tern 113. Black Tern 114. Whiskered Tern 115. Black-bellied Sandgrouse 116. Pin-tailed Sandgrouse 117. Common Wood Pigeon 118. Rock Dove
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
119. Eurasian Collared Dove 120. European Turtle Dove 121. Common Cuckoo 122. Great Spotted Cuckoo 123. Barn Owl 124. Long-eared Owl 125. Eagle Owl 126. Tawny Owl 127. Eurasian Scops Owl 128. Little Owl 129. Red-necked Nightjar 130. Little Swift 131. White-rumped Swift 132. Alpine Swift 133. Common Swift 134. Pallid Swift 135. Common Kingfisher 136. European Bee-eater 137. European Roller 138. Hoopoe 139. Wryneck 140. Iberian Green Woodpecker 141. Great Spotted Woodpecker 142. Lesser spotted Woodpecker 143. Skylark 144. Wood Lark 145. Crested Lark 146. Thekla Lark 147. Short-toed Lark 148. Lesser Short-toed Lark
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
149. Calandra Lark 150. Crag Martin 151. Sand Martin 152. Red-rumped Swallow 153. Barn Swallow 154. House Martin 155. Meadow Pipit 156. Tawny Pipit 157. White Wagtail 158. Grey Wagtail 159. Iberian Yellow Wagtail 160. Wren 161. Robin 162. Rufous Nightingale 163. Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin 164. Common Redstart 165. Black Redstart 166. Whinchat 167. Common Stonechat 168. Northern Wheatear 169. Black-eared Wheatear 170. Black Wheatear 171. Blue Rock Thrush 172. Blackbird 173. Song Thrush 174. Mistle Thrush 175. Savi's Warbler 176. Grasshopper Warbler 177. Zitting Cisticola 178. Cetti's Warbler
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
179. Great Reed Warbler 180. Sedge Warbler 181. Eurasian Reed Warbler 182. Isabelline (Western Olivaceous) Warbler 183. Melodious Warbler 184. Dartford Warbler 185. Subalpine Warbler 186. Spectacled Warbler 187. Garden Warbler 188. Common Whitethroat 189. Blackcap 190. Sardinian Warbler 191. Orphean Warbler 192. Western Bonelli's Warbler 193. Willow Warbler 194. Iberian Chiffchaff 195. Common Chiffchaff 196. Firecrest 197. Pied Flycatcher 198. Spotted Flycatcher 199. Penduline Tit 200. Crested Tit 201. Blue Tit 202. Great Tit 203. Long-tailed Tit 204. European Nuthatch 205. Short-toed Treecreeper 206. Iberian Grey Shrike 207. Woodchat Shrike 208. Spotless Starling
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com
209. Golden Oriole 210. Eurasian Jay 211. Eurasian Magpie 212. Azure-winged Magpie 213. Red-billed Chough 214. Eurasian Jackdaw 215. Common Raven 216. Tree Sparrow 217. House Sparrow 218. Spanish Sparrow 219. Rock Sparrow 220. Avadavat 221. Common Waxbill 222. Common Chaffinch 223. Hawfinch 224. European Serin 225. Greenfinch 226. European Goldfinch 227. Common Bullfinch 228. Linnet 229. Corn Bunting 230. Cirl Bunting 231. Rock Bunting 232. Golden Bishop
Manuel Mojarro Soler – ES48927751N – Victoria Kent 2, Casa 23 CP 21120 – Corrales, Huelva AT/HU/00049 – (+34) 676 894674 – [email protected] – www.wilddonana.com