Extremadura,Spain advice needed?

[Justinj]

Hi,

Could anyone tell me please if there is an entry charge to get into Monfrague National Park or can you just drive in and explore at will?

Are there any other parks or locations that are recommended in the area,I'm aware of Donana National Park which sounds promising,any other good locations that you can recommend?

The primary reason for the trip will be for some bird photography,as well as birdwatching of course.Is a 400mm lens on a 1.6 crop digital body (effective 640mm focal length) long enough for photo oppurtunities in the above areas,particularly for the raptors/vultures,etc.

Any advice on the above would be much appreciated,

Thanks,

Justin.

[Highway Man]

Hi,

Could anyone tell me please if there is an entry charge to get into Monfrague National Park or can you just drive in and explore at will?

Are there any other parks or locations that are recommended in the area,I'm aware of Donana National Park which sounds promising,any other good locations that you can recommend?

The primary reason for the trip will be for some bird photography,as well as birdwatching of course.Is a 400mm lens on a 1.6 crop digital body (effective 640mm focal length) long enough for photo oppurtunities in the above areas,particularly for the raptors/vultures,etc.

Any advice on the above would be much appreciated,

Thanks,

Justin.

There's no charge to enter the Park, but you must stick to the designated Parking areas and be sensible about where you wander i.e. if there's a fence there it's there for a reason. You will have no problem with a 400mm lens with things such as Griffon Vultures, Storks etc but the Imp' Eagles and B-S Kites might be tricky. You have not mentioned where you will stay, there are several places on the edge of the Park in Torrejon el Rubeo (probably spelt wrong) and a camp site in Monfrague - but sleeping in the car or camping elsewhere is a big no no as the Park is patrolled at night.
Hope this helps.

Mark

[Justinj]

Thanks Mark, much appreciated.

[aguila]

if you go through the park coming from torrejon el rubio, you will reach
Villa Real (or similar). drive through the small village. after about 1km
you can go on to plasencia or turn right.
if you go to plasencia there is a small place where you can park the car about 250m after the crossing. park there in the mornind wait for raptors.
I saw a Bonelli's Eagle there. this is supposed to be one of the best places for this
bird. also regular Short-toed Eagle, all species of vultures and more.

if you turn right instead going to placencia drive for about another 20km.
this is as far as I know close to the to point where the road leaves the park. the road is close to the river and there is a parking place to the right. to the left at the other side of the river there is a huge rock with griffon vultures.
I do not know how the "Mirador" (watch point) is called.
park there and ask any of the british or spanish bird watchers for Eagle Owl and
most important for the Spanish Imperial Eagle nest which you can see from there.
there is also Black Stork, Short-toed Eagle, Blue Rock Thrush and more.

with 400 x 1.6 crop you may even get some flight shots of the Imperial Eagle. (if your AF is fast. I had the EOS 10D with the Canon 100-400L and that combination sucks).

hope you enjoy your trip.
I was there 3 weeks ago and it was one of the best trips so far in my life.

if you have any more questions, just ask.

Markus

[Iben]

Hi Justin

I have just posted a trip report from a recent visit to Extremadura which might give you some ideas of where to go. We went birding there for a week and visited the areas around Monfragüe and the steppes of Serena. You can find the trip report here: http://www.audouinbirding.com/index.php?id=extremadura2006. Feel free to contact me for further information.

Best wishes,

Iben