Holiday in Spain. Info wanted

[Birder Ozzie]

Hi all,

My family is looking for a holiday in Spain which will accommodate all of us. My brother wants tennis, and I would like some birdwatching and wildlife photography opportunites. If possible, my mum would love a golf course nearby. Sorry to be so picky. Any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Oscar.

[Alf King]

Does it have to be Spain or have you also considered the Algarve? You will get all of these there, although I'm told the golf is expensive.

[ori76]

Tennis: Everywhere. Maybe the north coast may get a lot of rainy days that wont alow to play tennis

Golf: Everywhere but Málaga has nearly as much golf courses as the rest of the country

Birding: That will depend WHEN. Now tarifa is a great place because of the migration: Best places fot birdwatching (Doñana, Albufera Valencia, Delta del Ebro...)

[Birder Ozzie]

It would be in Summer holidays so July or August

[Stephen C]

Hi there Chiswick man (spent many years working there)

You should consider Catalonia, i.e. the area around Barcelona. It has all the sport activities you mention, the highest number of breeding birds on the Iberian peninsular (therefore good for summer of course) and non of the oppressive heat that for many disadvantages southern Spain.

Let me know if you have key species in mind and I'll tell you what's possible.

Hope it helps. Let me know if there's anything more I can do.

[Birder Ozzie]

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for the info. Ideally it would be somewhere with good photographic opportunities, but also with many species of birds, and lots of them. Do you have any trip reports from July/August on your blog?

Cheers

Oscar

[John Cantelo]

You wouldn't catch me playing golf or picking up a tennis racket, but almost anywhere along the coast won't be too far from the required facilities. For a birder the obvious destinations would be the Coto, the Ebro delta, the Barcelona area and Extremadura. The latter probably has fewer tennis courts/golf courses, but I'm sure there are some! However, as some will have guessed, I'd look seriously at Cadiz province - it has most of the key species, loads of good birding sites and is great for raptor passage. Try somewhere near Vejer, maybe Jerez itself or one of the coastal resorts (Conil?). PM me with your email address and I'll send you my birding notes for the area.

If simply enjoying your birding is the plan, rather than getting new birds, then what about 'green Spain' - Galicia? It has a good track record for interesting birds in late August even if Spanish specialities are thin on the ground. The scenery is fantastic too and it's not too hot!

[Stephen C]

Do you have any trip reports from July/August on your blog?

Oscar

The Ebro Delta, Aiguamolls and Barcelona's two wetland reserves of Filipines and Cal Tet all have very well positioned hides for easy photography but there's a lot more here too. All in all Catalonia is a quarter the size of England and has the widest variety of habitat in the region with the Pyrenees, the Steppes and those above all within easy reach.

I've just checked my blog and it appears I've omitted those two months from last year - thanks for the reminder! If you want to send me an email I'll have a look and forward some from previous years, with full species lists, etc. Meanwhile here's a brief summary from 2007:

http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/summary2007.html#birding_in_spain_july_07_summary_ anchor

Check out Andy Strouthouse's comments opposite september. He came for a week in august and couldn't believe what was around.

There are also summer summaries for each location of the website such as the one for the Steppes here:

http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/STE%20bird%20watching%20trips.html#bird_watching_t rip_barcelona_spain_summer_anchor

but don't forget to check the 'all year round' summary too of course.

As I said if you want a full possible species list for the summer let me know.

I think that's all for now. All the best

[Birder Ozzie]

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for all the info. Are there other sites near to the wetland sites?

Oscar

[Apodemus]

Just choose an area that's great for birdwatching and photography, and tell the others that there's a golf course and tennis courts there. By the time you arrive and they realise they've been conned, it will be too late.

[Stephen C]

Are there other sites near to the wetland sites?

Oscar Hi

The Garraf Massif (again see website but has Black and Black-eared Wheatear, Bonelli's Eagle, Eagle Owl, Spectacled Warbler, Rock Thrush, Tawny Pipit, Bonelli's Warbler, Nightjars, etc.) is close to the reserves at Llobregat.

The area around the wetlands of Aiguamolls has a wide variety of other habitats supporting raptors, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Wryneck, Western Orphean Warbler and Roller amongst others.

And just north of the Ebro Delta there's the mountains of Els Ports, accessible from Tortosa.

All the best

[Stephen C]

Do you have any trip reports from July/August on your blog?

Oscar here's a couple of brief archive ones from before the blog was set up to give you an idea...

Pyrenees:
http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/trip%20report%20PYR.html#trip_report_spain_6_july_ 2006_pyrenees_anchor

Steppes:
http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/trip%20report%20LLE.html#trip_reports_spain_lleida _steppes_27_july_2006anchor

Garraf:
http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/trip%20report%20LLO.html#trip_reports_spain_llobre gat_delta_garraf_massif_27_july_2006_anchor

Ebro Delta:
http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/trip%20report%20EBR.html#trip_reports_spain_ebro_d elta_10_july_2006_anchor

Llobregat:
http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain%20birding/trip%20report%20LLO.html#trip_reports_spain_llobre gat_delta_garraf_massif_27_july_2006_anchor

Again all the best

[ori76]

It would be in Summer holidays so July or August

Then maybe Cadiz and Málaga are not the best places. Cataluña should be better for that time of the year.

[billy ruck]

hiya oscar,have alook at www.billysbirdwatching.com,golf is only about 8miles away and tennis is only about 200 yards away,the bird watching is second to none.good luck.Billy

[davemo]

Hi You may be interested in our holiday Villa in Huelva which is ideally located for birding in the nearby area, good access to very good birding locations along the Costa de Luz including Donana. We have a tennis court and swimming pool and are not far from Golf courses. See [url]www.spainandalucia.org for more info. Tel 0034959500452 Available early part of July for 3 weeks. Hope this is helpful to you. Can tell you a lot more about the area if you are interested. David Ashby

[bellow]

Birder Ozzie, you dont say how many of you want to go.My daughter has an apartment in Algorfa, a small village about 10mins from Alicante. 2 Double Bed,Lounge, Kitchen Bathroom,Balcony, Swimming Pool all new.!! Golf course 5mins away, Salt marshes 15mins away & Reservoirs & reserves all within 10-15 mins drive More species than you can imagine. Web www.AlgorfaSpain.co.uk take a look and see what you think. Roly(bellow)