This was a special interest holiday booked through Saga, based at Punta Umbria near Huelva, We flew in to Faro, Portugal. There were seven people in the group plus a local guide. The week before, there had been 15 in the group. Travel was in an 8 seater minibus.
Trips included in the price were to two locations on the edge of Coto Donana, El Rocio, Odiel Marshes, a hilly area north of Huelva and some industrial locations. In some cases, the guides have special access. A trip to the interior of Coto Donana cost extra and was provided by a different guide in a larger vehicle.
Weather was fine all week, with cold mornings and afternoons at 20 degrees plus. Rainfall has been very low this autumn and several of the smaller rivers are dry.
We saw over 130 bird species. My personal tally was 129 and of those, 27 were life birds. Views can often be distant. At El Rocio, for example, the birds can often stick to the far side of the lake if the town is busy on a weekend. Some of the people in this group had done the trip before, but in the Spring, with a similar number of species seen.
A milestone for me was seeing my 700th life bird, which turned out to be a Sardinian Warbler. Now on 726.
I cannot praise our guide highly enough. His knowledge encompassed not just birds but general natural history. We met few other birders and some areas are only open to accompanied groups or individuals.
Bird list, marked * for life birds:
Alpine Accentor - seen in a hilltop village and regarded as the mega-tick of the trip by the guide as it was at a relatively low altitude
Audouin's Gull*
Avocet
Azure winged Magpie (Iberin, has been split)*
Bar tailed Godwit
Black Redstart
Black Stork*
Black Vulture*
Blackbird
Blackcap
Black headed Gull
Black necked Grebe
Black shouldered Kite
Blue Rock Thrush*
Bluethroat
Booted Eagle*
Cattle Egret
Cetti's Warbler
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Collared Dove
Common Sandpiper
Coot
Cormorant
Corn Bunting
Crane
Crag Martin*
Crested Lark*
Crested Tit*
Curlew
Curlew Sandpiper
Dartford Warbler
Dotterel*
Dunlin
Fan-tailed Warbler (Zitting Cisticola)*
Ferruginous Duck*
Firecrest*
Flamingo*
Gadwall
Glossy Ibis
Golden Plover
Goldfinch
Great Black backed Gull
Great Bustard*
Great Crested Grebe
Great White Egret
Green Sandpiper
Greenshank
Grey Heron
Grey Plover
Greylag Goose
Griffon Vulture
Hen Harrier
Hoopoe
House Martin
House Sparrow
Iberian Grey Shrike*
Jackdaw
Kentish Plover*
Kestrel
Kingfisher
Lapwing
Lesser black backed Gull
Linnet
Little Bustard*
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Little Owl
Little Stint
Long tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Night Heron
Osprey
Oystercatcher
Penduline Tit*
Peregrine
Pintail
Pochard
Purple Heron*
Purple Swamphen
Raven
Red Kite
Redshank
Red breasted Merganser
Red crested Pochard
Red legged Partridge
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Bunting*
Rock Dove
Sanderling
Sandwich Tern
Sardinian Warbler*
Serin*
Shoveler
Skylark
Slender billed Gull*
Snipe
Song Thrush
Spanish Sparrow*
Spoonbill
Spotless Starling*
Spotted Flycatcher
Squacco Heron*
Stone Curlew
Stonechat
Teal
Thekla Lark*
Turnstone
Waxbill
Wheatear
Whimbrel
White Stork
White Wagtail
White headed Duck*
Wigeon
Wooklark
Woodpigeon
Yellow legged Gull
Trips included in the price were to two locations on the edge of Coto Donana, El Rocio, Odiel Marshes, a hilly area north of Huelva and some industrial locations. In some cases, the guides have special access. A trip to the interior of Coto Donana cost extra and was provided by a different guide in a larger vehicle.
Weather was fine all week, with cold mornings and afternoons at 20 degrees plus. Rainfall has been very low this autumn and several of the smaller rivers are dry.
We saw over 130 bird species. My personal tally was 129 and of those, 27 were life birds. Views can often be distant. At El Rocio, for example, the birds can often stick to the far side of the lake if the town is busy on a weekend. Some of the people in this group had done the trip before, but in the Spring, with a similar number of species seen.
A milestone for me was seeing my 700th life bird, which turned out to be a Sardinian Warbler. Now on 726.
I cannot praise our guide highly enough. His knowledge encompassed not just birds but general natural history. We met few other birders and some areas are only open to accompanied groups or individuals.
Bird list, marked * for life birds:
Alpine Accentor - seen in a hilltop village and regarded as the mega-tick of the trip by the guide as it was at a relatively low altitude
Audouin's Gull*
Avocet
Azure winged Magpie (Iberin, has been split)*
Bar tailed Godwit
Black Redstart
Black Stork*
Black Vulture*
Blackbird
Blackcap
Black headed Gull
Black necked Grebe
Black shouldered Kite
Blue Rock Thrush*
Bluethroat
Booted Eagle*
Cattle Egret
Cetti's Warbler
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Collared Dove
Common Sandpiper
Coot
Cormorant
Corn Bunting
Crane
Crag Martin*
Crested Lark*
Crested Tit*
Curlew
Curlew Sandpiper
Dartford Warbler
Dotterel*
Dunlin
Fan-tailed Warbler (Zitting Cisticola)*
Ferruginous Duck*
Firecrest*
Flamingo*
Gadwall
Glossy Ibis
Golden Plover
Goldfinch
Great Black backed Gull
Great Bustard*
Great Crested Grebe
Great White Egret
Green Sandpiper
Greenshank
Grey Heron
Grey Plover
Greylag Goose
Griffon Vulture
Hen Harrier
Hoopoe
House Martin
House Sparrow
Iberian Grey Shrike*
Jackdaw
Kentish Plover*
Kestrel
Kingfisher
Lapwing
Lesser black backed Gull
Linnet
Little Bustard*
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Little Owl
Little Stint
Long tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Night Heron
Osprey
Oystercatcher
Penduline Tit*
Peregrine
Pintail
Pochard
Purple Heron*
Purple Swamphen
Raven
Red Kite
Redshank
Red breasted Merganser
Red crested Pochard
Red legged Partridge
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Bunting*
Rock Dove
Sanderling
Sandwich Tern
Sardinian Warbler*
Serin*
Shoveler
Skylark
Slender billed Gull*
Snipe
Song Thrush
Spanish Sparrow*
Spoonbill
Spotless Starling*
Spotted Flycatcher
Squacco Heron*
Stone Curlew
Stonechat
Teal
Thekla Lark*
Turnstone
Waxbill
Wheatear
Whimbrel
White Stork
White Wagtail
White headed Duck*
Wigeon
Wooklark
Woodpigeon
Yellow legged Gull
