Europes "Big 5", March 2011 
- Jan Kelchtermans searchs for Wolf and Lynx in Spain and sees lots of birds too...a large report in .pdf format (5Mb)
A Winter Weekend in Spain. February 2008
- Cheap flights ,car hire and accommodation make a long February weekend in Spain a very affordable, welcome escape from the dreary, cold of north east England...Alan Jack reports.
Tour of Coto Donana and Extremadura September 20th - 27th 2007
- Large pools of rain water littered the sandy roads of El Rocio and the main laguna was bursting at the seams, an unusual site for September. However the excessive water did not deter the birds and the laguna was teeming with life...Robin Griffiths reports.
Spain - Extremadura & Coto
Doñana 19-26th May 2007
- We had brief flight views of
our only Golden Orioles of the trip here, as well as an obliging
party of four Wild Boar that waded across the pools in
front of us. Our first Purple Gallinules of the trip were
seen and two Water Rail called from the reedbed...Mike
Hodgkin reports
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Southern
and Western Spain (Coto de Donana, Extremadura and Sepulveda)
16
- 25th May 2006
- We started
birding at Laguna de Medina next to Jerez. The lake produced
about 20 White-headed Ducks, 1 singing Moustached
Warbler and 5 singing Melodious besides a lot
of Great Reed Warblers. 4 Spoonbills were standing
in the shallow water while 5 Griffon Vultures and
1 Short-toed Eagle were circling overhead...Jan
Goedelt reports.
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A short overview of the Steppes
of Lleida - Stephen Christopher
Spain - Extremadura and Coto Donana 1st
to 11th May 2006
- As anticipated the bull ring produced
good views of Lesser Kestrel which were nesting in the roof.
As always around Trujillo the sky was full of hirundines as well
as Lesser Kestrel, including Pallid Swift...David
Mason reports
A Winter Weekend in Spain. February
2004
- Cheap flights ,car hire and accommodation make a long February
weekend in Spain a very affordable, welcome escape from the dreary,
cold of north east England. Five days is just enough time to fit
in both the famous Coto Donana and the steppe and hill country
of Extramadura, the two sites some five hours drive apart....Alan
Jack reports.
Spain,
Sepulveda, Extremadura & Coto Donana 18-26th May 2005
- Altogether, we drove 2690km in 8 days. We set off with 10 target species between us and dipped out on only one, Common Waxbill, but picked up 3 extra with Bald Ibis, Ferruginous Duck and Iberian Chiffchaff...Ray Thorneycroft reports
Egrets we've had a few......Central
and Southern Spain 2nd May
to 10th May 2005
- Sunshine, paella and birds, birds, birds. What more could you
ask? Well, wine that didn’t taste like vinegar, I guess,
and hoteliers who were a little less like Juan Cleese. Overall
though, in spite of some initial reservations, this trip got
a big thumbs up from us all....Lee Nixon reports.
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The Ebro Delta, Spain
and the Ile de Re, France May
2004
- During May we made a trip to France
and northeast Spain, partly business, partly birding; there
was no rigid birding itinerary. The Ebro Delta was the only
site we had definitely planned to visit. In the event, we
managed to squeeze in a fair amount of birding, including
a few days at the Ile de Re, a large island in the Bay of
Biscay...Nick Ransdale reports
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Spain 6-13
February 2004
- It has been a wonderful trip in a way that
the weather was nice and consequently, the birds were sympathetic.
Also, I was astonished to see some migrant species already set,
at such dates. Moreover, the quantity and diversity of birds,
especially in Donana, are amazing, It's a fantastic site that
absolutely needs to be seen. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough
time to check all the area...Olivier Fontaine reports.
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“In search of Dupont’s
Lark” Spain March
2003
- The following report describes a 5-day
trip to central Spain in March 2003. Our main goal was to
find the Dupont's Lark, a species rarely seen by ornithologists,
as it occurs away from the main birding areas...Gonçalo
Elias reports.
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Ogston Bird Club, Spanish Pyrenees-Belchite-Ebro
Delta May 14th -29th 2003
- To Belchite for 0600 hrs and our date with
Dupont's Lark. Immediately we opened the car doors we heard them
calling. We had distant views but they were almost impossible
to locate, I think they have burrows. An amazing experience listening
to this very rare bird...Richard Wesley reports
Southern Spain 4-17
September 2002
- Where open water could be found there were
a few waders, but the best pools were around and immediately west
of the centre. These held good numbers of Black-winged Stilts,
Avocets, Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, Kentish Plovers, Greenshanks
and Spotted Redshanks. A large flock of Griffon Vultures fed
nearby. Other raptors included Red Kite, Montagu's Harrier and
another distant Black-shouldered Kite...Ian Barthorpe &
Tim Strudwick report.
The Magnificent Marshside Seven
do Espana April 2002
- We trudged off towards our potential nemesis,
after all Dupont's Lark was the main reason for the trip in the
first place. Supplications were offered to any god that might
be listening and I seriously considered the ritual sacrifice of
my troublesome telescope, in return for decent views of the devil
bird, by offering to hurl it over the precipice into the river
many miles below us...but the omens looked very bad......a super
humerous report from John Bannon.
South Western Spain
21st to 28th April 2002
- This report covers the period from 21st to
28th April 2002
inc. The area covered was the South Western area of Spain from
our base, the Hotel Cortijo Blanco nr San Pedro, in the Costa
del Sol of Spain. This was not a touristy holiday but a total
birding holiday with my new partner in life, Ros. In one week
we covered 2,102 km and visited areas as far away as Sierra Nevada
and also the Coto Donana....John Jennings reports.
A Birding Trip to Southern
and Western Spain 16th-22nd January
2002
- This was the best area for Black Vulture,
birds being in the air constantly. The habitat was very poor,
as all the vegetation had been cleared, leaving bare earth for
miles! You then cross the dam and the habitat suddenly comes back,
the spruces above the dam being excellent for Hawfinch. The habitat
then opens up, allowing several areas for raptor scans and also
being good for Azure-winged Magpie...James Eaton reports.
Spain October
4-15th 2001
- The sun had barely risen when we added our
first lifer of the trip: Great Bustard. We started off at one
of the recommended sites in the Caceres - Trujillo Plains in the
WTWB in SW Spain book. Several were seen flying over the general
area. We basically drove from one recommended spot to another
and birded. We soon added Azure-winged Magpie and through the
corner of my eye while driving, some Black-bellied Sangrouse...Alex
Kirschel reports
Trip report, Spain (and a few hours
in Portugal) 13-26/5 2001
- Preparing for the trip I listed of some very-much-wanted-species
- our special "target species", most of them "lifers" to us both.
Our goal was to try to see all these species, if possible. We
based our itinerary on this list. Originally the northern part
of the country (Picos de Europa) was not included in our plan,
but after calculating the distances and thinking of the mouth-watering
species hopefully present (Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, Snowfinch,
Alpine Chough etc.), we decided to visit this area too...Joakim
Djerf reports
Extremadura (and
a few other destinations) May 2000
- Chris Jackson and I drove from England to
Extremadura and back taking in The Pyrenees, Zaragoza, Monfrague,
Trujillo and Caceres, Picos de Europa, La Brenne, Fontainebleau
and Calais. Phil Cruttenden reports
SW and Central Spain 16th-25th
April 1998
- Into Spain via Castro Marim on the Portuguese
/ Spanish border then on to the Coto Doņana for a couple of days,
then drive north through the steppe regions to Extremadura, based
in this region at Monfragüe, with one day north into the Sierra
de Gredos mountains, then return south back to the Coto Doņana,
then out of Spain via Castro Marim again...Richard Dunn
reports
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