Granada Wildlife 2015 Spring Tour.
Granada, Malaga, Seville and Cadiz Provinces.
Saturday 25th April to Saturday 2nd May.
Basic Itinerary of Eight Day Tour: Day One. Pick up at Malaga Airport and have a look at Guadalhorce Nature Reserve during the morning / afternoon (depending on arrival times), here we will look for several resident species including White-headed Duck, Purple Swamp-hen, Spoonbill, Gull-billed Tern, Great Reed Warbler and Kentish Plover. We will also keep an eye on the skies to pick up a few late migrants and have a scan out to sea for Cory's and Balearic Shearwaters, Northern Gannets, Gulls and other species. Later in the day we will make our way down the coast towards Tarifa and around to Vejer de la Frontera birding on the way and having a quick look at the Northern Bald Ibis colony on the cliffs below the town before going to our hotel nearby. In the area around the hotel there are Scop´s, Tawny and Eagle Owls. Day Three.
We will start the day with a bit of a drive (just over an Hour) to our first site which is near the town of Chipiona to check the main town beaches for waders, gulls and terns and have a look for the Little Swift which breeds in this area. Later moving on to the salt pans at Bonanza which give the chance of close views of several species of wader and heron. Slender-billed Gulls will be one of the main targets here along with Great White Egret, Spoonbill, Lesser Short-toed Larks and many more. After the salt pans we will visit three small pools in amongst the not so pleasent green houses and fields nearby where we will look for White-headed Duck, Red-knobbed Coot, Greylag Geese, Little Bittern and Squacco Heron. Our next site will be the pine woodland of Algaida where we will have a look for passerines before moving on a few KM out onto another dirt track, at the far end of this road we will take the track out to the edge of one of the larger salt pans checking several pools and reedbeds along the way for interesting species. Later we will retrace our way back to the main river and follow its western bank, along here we will scan the rice paddies and fields for our target species the uncommon Pin-tailed Sandgrouse. We will also get nice views of some heron and wader species along the river. Our last stop for today and first for tomorrow will be in the large expanse of agricultural land to the west of Los Palacios y Villafranca, in the canals, fields, and wet areas we will look for Black Stork, Glossy Ibis, Squacco and Night Herons and Great White Egret, Great Spotted Cuckoo and Lesser Short-toed Larks. A little further along this track we will move into areas of open water and reedbeds and our targets here will include Marbled Duck, Osprey, Penduline Tit, Savi's Warbler and the exotic Common Waxbill, Black-headed Weaver and Golden Bishops which have colonised this area in good numbers. From here we will head to the hotel in Dos Hermanos. Day Five.
We will leave the hotel as early a possible for a 45 minute drive to Fuente de Piedra where we will check all the pools and hides at the main reserve before popping in to the view point on the western side of the pool. From here we will go across country to Laguna Dulce and other smaller pools. Later in the day we will visit Teba and another site near Antequera for Rufous Bush Robin, lunch at a bar either in Fuente de Piedra or Campillos. Our target species today will be Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo (if present at Fuente), White-headed Duck, Garganey, Red-crested Pochard, Purple Swamp-hen, Ferruginous Duck, the beautiful summer plumaged Black-necked Grebe, Gull-billed, Black and Whiskered Terns, Purple, Grey and Squacco Herons and a nice selection of waders, which could include such species as Marsh Sandpiper, Temmincks Stint, Black-tailed Godwit and Spotted Redshank, these will be on and around the lagoons and lakes. In other areas we will also look for Black-winged Kite, Little Bustard, Stone Curlew, Bonelli's Eagle, Spanish Sparrow, Iberian Yellow Wagtail, Zitting Cisticola, Marsh Harrier and Little Owl. At the end of the day we will drive to Huétor Tajar to the hotel Cortijo de Tajar. Day Severn.
From the hotel we head up the local sierra’s. Here will catch up with some exciting upland species including Black, Black-eared and Northern Wheatears, Black Redstart, Blue-rock and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrushes, Rock Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Thekla Lark, Spectacled, Subalpine, Orphean and Dartford Warblers, Azure-winged Magpie, Crag Martin and Eagle Owl. During the late afternoon we will check out some oak woodlands to the west of the sierra, here we will be searching for Bonelli's Warbler, Cirl Bunting, Common Cuckoo, Common Quail, Golden Oriole, Hawfinch, Montagu's Harrier, Nightingale and Woodlark. During the evening we will visit a local site to watch the Red-necked Nightjars that summer here. The total cost per-person is €885:00 based on 6 guests. Included in the price is collection and return to Malaga Airport, all transport costs (in 9 seater minibus) during the tour, seven nights accommodation (two person sharing) with breakfast and at least a two course evening meal (Either at the hotel we are staying at or in a nearby bar or restaurant) a species check list, all guiding fees and 21% IVA (VAT). Single room suppliment €140:00. Not included in the price are lunchtime meals, drinks (unless included in the evening meal price by the hotels) and snacks, travel insurance, flights to and from Malaga and any purchases of a personal nature. |
Day Two.
Our starting point today will be just across the road from the hotel where we will go and have a look at the breeding colony of Northern Bald Ibis on the cliffs. These are birds from the very successful reintroduction program (Proyecto Eremita) which is coordinated by Jerez Zoo. From here we will head out to the coast and have a look at the pools and creeks along the road from Barbate to Zahara de los Atunes where we will be looking for Audouin's Gulls, Caspian Tern, Collared Pratincole and Wader species. We will then head towards the Northern entrance on to La Janda, once a large wetland, it is now dominated by agriculture after being drained many years ago. The canals and rice paddies provide sites for some great birds and other wildlife. Target species here will be the cracking little raptor the Black-winged Kite which is locally common here, Spanish Imperial, Bonelli's, Short-toed, Booted and Golden Eagles, Marsh and Montagu's Harriers. Other species seen at this site include Raven, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Rufous-bush Robin and Purple Swamp-hen. There are also breeding Cattle and Little Egrets, Glossy Ibis and other herons in the poplars along the canals. Continuing south we will have a look at a couple of spots near to Tarifa including Los Lances Beach where we will look for Gulls, Terns and Wader and around the town it's self looking for the Common Bulbuls (if present) which have started to breed in the town. Our next stop will be near the famous Roman site of Bolonia where we will spend a short time checking the caves of Sierra Plata for Little and White-rumped Swifts species and watch the resident Griffon Vulture soar along the crags along with the more uncommon Egyptian Vulture which breeds in the area. Day Four
We will leave the hotel at a decent time as we have not got a great distance to travel to todays first stop which will be at yesterdays final spot in the large expanse of agricultural land to the west of Los Palacios y Villafranca, in the canals, fields, and wet areas we will try and fill any gaps from yesterdays visit before an hours drive over to Osuna where we will have lunch and head out on to the fields. Here we are looking for Great Bustards which still occur here in small numbers and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, along with the commoner Little Bustards and Stone Curlews. We will also visit a couple of derelict cortijo's were we will have good views of both Lesser Kestrels and Rollers which breed in the old buildings. In the air there are good numbers of raptors which can include Black-winged, Black and Red Kites, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Montagu's and Marsh Harriers and Griffon Vulture. Later between La Lantejuela and Osuna we will check out several laguna's, our target species will include Collared Pratincole and Olivaceous (Isabelline) Warbler, we will also look for White Stork, Ferruginous Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Glossy Ibis, Hoopoe and many others before heading to the hotel in Osuna. Day Six.
From the hotel after breakfast we head down the Cacín Valley for the whole day. Lunch in a bar in Cacín. We will start the day on a large agricultural area about 20 minutes from the hotel where our target birds will be Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Little Bustard, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Calandra and Short-toed Larks, Roller, Stone Curlew and Black-winged Kite. Our next stop will be in the pinewoods down in the Cacín Valley where we will spend some time looking for Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Crossbill, Crested Tit, Firecrest and a little further down the valley amongst the broad leaved trees Melodious Warbler, European Bee-eater, Golden Oriole and Wryneck. All along the valley we will be scanning the skies for raptors which may include Booted, Bonelli's, Golden and Short-toed Eagles, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Goshawk. Next we will look at what is on the water at the Embalse de Cacín before continuing on down to the Roman Bridge and gorge at the far end of the valley. Along here we will again be looking for raptors as well as Alpine, Pallid and Common Swifts, Red-billed Chough, Sardinian Warbler and Red-rumped Swallow. We will start to make our way back up to Cacín and then take a road which will climb over a nearby ridge, again checking the skies for raptors just in case we get lucky and pick up one of the immature Spanish Imperial Eagles that spend time hunting here, we will also look for both Woodchat and Southern Grey Shrikes in this area before heading back to the hotel. Day Eight.
The last day of the tour will be determined by guests flight times, hopefully they will be later in the day and we will spend a few hours birding in the morning at a wooded Valley on the way down to the airport where we had a very successful time in 2014. This is just a basic itinerary and is only to give you an idea of some of the species that can be seen in the areas we will visit. During the whole tour there will also be a great many wild flowers, orchids, butterflies, dragonflies and other species to be seen, this trip is not just for the birders.
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© of all Photographs and text on this web site and the blog belong to Mick Richardson and Granada Wildlife 2009/17.
Número de Seguridad Social (Social security Number) 18-1056440238 and Responsabilidad Civil (Public Liability Insurance) by Ocaso.
Número de Seguridad Social (Social security Number) 18-1056440238 and Responsabilidad Civil (Public Liability Insurance) by Ocaso.