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The Ebro Delta, Catalonia, Spain (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Iben
- Start date
:-O :-O :-O
Hi Iben, I am making palns for the Ebro in May and any accommodation contacts would be usefull.
Regards.
John.
Hi Iben, I am making plans for the Ebro in May. Any accommodation contacts would be welcome.
John.
Ebro Delta accomodation
Hi John
I am happy to hear that you are coming to the delta! May is an excellent time for birding here, and it is not a very busy time regarding beach tourists :t:
As I mentioned in my earlier post, there are lots of options for accommodation in the area. I don't know exactly how you plan on travelling/staying nor what you wish to include in your holiday apart from birdwatching, but I will give you some general advice and you are of course welcome to get back to me for more info. All the accommodation mentioned below can be linked to from our Ebro Delta website (click and scroll down). Birdwatching in the delta without a car is difficult, but most of the places I've mentioned below have at least some good birding spots nearby if you feel like walking a bit.
The village of Eucaliptus in the southern part of the delta has great birdwatching opportunities within walking distance (Riet Vell, Tancada, and Platjola) and is also situated right on the beach, which is great if you are visiting with your family or other non-birders. In Eucaliptus there's a campsite (Camping Eucaliptus) and a small two-star hotel (Mediterrani Blau), and there are also plenty of private properties for rent.
Sant Carles de la Ràpita is on the southern edge of the delta and is a good option if you'd like to experience a bit more of the local life and visit nice restaurants in the evenings without having to drive. In town you can find relatively cheap hotels like Llansola and Juanito Platja, and on the road following the Alfacs Bay (going into the delta) you have the Tancada campsite. The harbour in Sant Carles de la Ràpita is very good for gulls, particularly in the afternoons when the fishing boats come in!
Poblenou is a charming village situated between Sant Carles de la Ràpita and Sant Jaume d'Enveja, and here you have a wide selection of rural accomodation (and good restaurants, too). If this is the type of accomodation you are mostly interested in, I can get you some contacts, but only a few of these places have websites of their own. Poblenou is situated on the edge of the Encanyissada lagoon and within walking distance of the Alfacs Bay.
In the northern part of the delta you can find good hotels in Deltebre, for example Delta Hotel and Hotel Rull, and there are lots of houses for rent in Riumar. In Riumar, which is situated right on the beach (like Eucaliptus on the southern side), you also have birding sites within walking distance (Garxal, El Niño Perdido), and you are surrounded by the great dunes leading towards the Fangar peninsula.
Hope this helps you!
Best regards,
Iben
Hi John
I am happy to hear that you are coming to the delta! May is an excellent time for birding here, and it is not a very busy time regarding beach tourists :t:
As I mentioned in my earlier post, there are lots of options for accommodation in the area. I don't know exactly how you plan on travelling/staying nor what you wish to include in your holiday apart from birdwatching, but I will give you some general advice and you are of course welcome to get back to me for more info. All the accommodation mentioned below can be linked to from our Ebro Delta website (click and scroll down). Birdwatching in the delta without a car is difficult, but most of the places I've mentioned below have at least some good birding spots nearby if you feel like walking a bit.
The village of Eucaliptus in the southern part of the delta has great birdwatching opportunities within walking distance (Riet Vell, Tancada, and Platjola) and is also situated right on the beach, which is great if you are visiting with your family or other non-birders. In Eucaliptus there's a campsite (Camping Eucaliptus) and a small two-star hotel (Mediterrani Blau), and there are also plenty of private properties for rent.
Sant Carles de la Ràpita is on the southern edge of the delta and is a good option if you'd like to experience a bit more of the local life and visit nice restaurants in the evenings without having to drive. In town you can find relatively cheap hotels like Llansola and Juanito Platja, and on the road following the Alfacs Bay (going into the delta) you have the Tancada campsite. The harbour in Sant Carles de la Ràpita is very good for gulls, particularly in the afternoons when the fishing boats come in!
Poblenou is a charming village situated between Sant Carles de la Ràpita and Sant Jaume d'Enveja, and here you have a wide selection of rural accomodation (and good restaurants, too). If this is the type of accomodation you are mostly interested in, I can get you some contacts, but only a few of these places have websites of their own. Poblenou is situated on the edge of the Encanyissada lagoon and within walking distance of the Alfacs Bay.
In the northern part of the delta you can find good hotels in Deltebre, for example Delta Hotel and Hotel Rull, and there are lots of houses for rent in Riumar. In Riumar, which is situated right on the beach (like Eucaliptus on the southern side), you also have birding sites within walking distance (Garxal, El Niño Perdido), and you are surrounded by the great dunes leading towards the Fangar peninsula.
Hope this helps you!
Best regards,
Iben
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Bad News
Bad news for the Ebro Delta. It appears that the water transfer scheme hasn't gone away.
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_15033.shtml
Bad news for the Ebro Delta. It appears that the water transfer scheme hasn't gone away.
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_15033.shtml
Typical!
That IS just 'Typically Spanish'!! :C
Things like that never seem to go away here, they just go under cover for a while! The discussion regarding the passerine trapping with glue is also still going on in the Ebro/Montsià area; luckily our local bird and conservation NGOs are keeping an eye on these things, and hopefully they will continue to win the fights.
Interestingly, I just read in the Wild Spain website that the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente/Ministry of Environment are planning to de-regulate the Spanish rivers where possible, and that at least some of the artificial barriers are likely to be removed. Let's hope Cristina Narbona keeps her position - assuming that diverting the Ebro River to Valencia/Murcia is also considered a form of regulation!!? You just never know...
You can see the full article in Spanish here:
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/01/24/ciencia/1201179782.html
That IS just 'Typically Spanish'!! :C
Things like that never seem to go away here, they just go under cover for a while! The discussion regarding the passerine trapping with glue is also still going on in the Ebro/Montsià area; luckily our local bird and conservation NGOs are keeping an eye on these things, and hopefully they will continue to win the fights.
Interestingly, I just read in the Wild Spain website that the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente/Ministry of Environment are planning to de-regulate the Spanish rivers where possible, and that at least some of the artificial barriers are likely to be removed. Let's hope Cristina Narbona keeps her position - assuming that diverting the Ebro River to Valencia/Murcia is also considered a form of regulation!!? You just never know...
You can see the full article in Spanish here:
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/01/24/ciencia/1201179782.html
Riet Vell - good and bad news!
Despite it's relatively small size, it always seems that lots of things are going on at the SEO/Birdlife reserve at Riet Vell. This time good and bad stuff has happened at more or less the same time (don't know whether to put an angry or a happy smiley, so won't put any at the moment!).
Early yesterday morning, the volunteers (have just spoken to them on the phone) woke up to the surprising sight and sounds of the reserve's reed bed burning :C!! Any management of the reeds at Riet Vell is always done by cutting, so they instantly knew that this was not meant to be happening, but they could do nothing to stop the flames that eventually destroyed one third of the reeds (one of my favourite ringing sites :-C). This happens after a recent hunters' demonstration in Amposta, where the daily leader of Riet Vell was declared persona non grata in the delta, and unfortunately it seems that the fire was started intentionally. So what springs to mind?
The good news is that two male Little Crakes were found today in the lagoon, and they seem just as cooperative as last year (so far).
So come get 'em, Alan!
I will know more tomorrow, as I am going to the usual Saturday ringing session in Riet Vell - don't know where we'll ring, but there will be a place somewhere else, I hope.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR :C:C:C (Okay, there they were!)
Despite it's relatively small size, it always seems that lots of things are going on at the SEO/Birdlife reserve at Riet Vell. This time good and bad stuff has happened at more or less the same time (don't know whether to put an angry or a happy smiley, so won't put any at the moment!).
Early yesterday morning, the volunteers (have just spoken to them on the phone) woke up to the surprising sight and sounds of the reserve's reed bed burning :C!! Any management of the reeds at Riet Vell is always done by cutting, so they instantly knew that this was not meant to be happening, but they could do nothing to stop the flames that eventually destroyed one third of the reeds (one of my favourite ringing sites :-C). This happens after a recent hunters' demonstration in Amposta, where the daily leader of Riet Vell was declared persona non grata in the delta, and unfortunately it seems that the fire was started intentionally. So what springs to mind?
The good news is that two male Little Crakes were found today in the lagoon, and they seem just as cooperative as last year (so far).
So come get 'em, Alan! I will know more tomorrow, as I am going to the usual Saturday ringing session in Riet Vell - don't know where we'll ring, but there will be a place somewhere else, I hope.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR :C:C:C (Okay, there they were!)
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Hang on to the crakes Iben. I'll be there 27th April in the hide.
Tie them up if need be!
Terrible news about the fire. Even worse, the attitude of the locals. Very sad.
Tie them up if need be!
Terrible news about the fire. Even worse, the attitude of the locals. Very sad.
fire
Iben Hi
Many thanks for passing this on - its devastating. I was disappointed when I initially registered the shortness of your post as I knew it wasn't going to be one of your rather excellent reports but I didn't expect this.
Can you tell us more about the situation with the hunters, the demonstration, etc? Is it the pressure to get the law enforced re spring hunting or something more specific? I've come across a few head cases my self but never anything like this.
Please keep us posted on any developments.
All the best and keep up the good work.
Iben Hi
Many thanks for passing this on - its devastating. I was disappointed when I initially registered the shortness of your post as I knew it wasn't going to be one of your rather excellent reports but I didn't expect this.
Can you tell us more about the situation with the hunters, the demonstration, etc? Is it the pressure to get the law enforced re spring hunting or something more specific? I've come across a few head cases my self but never anything like this.
Please keep us posted on any developments.
All the best and keep up the good work.
After spending the day at Riet Vell, I now know a bit more about the incident. Apparently the fire was started intentionally at two places at the same time, and it moved quickly with the strong winds that have swept across the delta this last week. This meant that 2 hectares - the equivalent of half of the reedbed - was destroyed in a very short time, and it was only possible to stop the fire once it was forced to turn back on itself (at the end of the reedbed) and go up against the wind. The staff and volunteers at Riet Vell initiated the battle against the flames, and later the fire brigade arrived and made sure no smouldering bits were left. You can not really see the affected area from the public area, but if you take the back road from Eucaliptus to Els Muntells it is really obvious.
Today, in the middle of the burnt area, I saw what appeared to have been a Mallard nest with 13 eggs in it. The nest was burnt, all the eggs were black, and I noticed that they all had strange holes in them. I took a closer look and realised that inside the eggs were fully developed ducklings which had all attempted to make their way out of the eggs during the fire. Needless to say, they failed. :-C
Stephen, the situation here is really complex. The demonstration in Amposta was related to the national one in Madrid last week, where hunters were demonstrating against the changes in the 'Biodiversity Law', but it also included a strong element of local indignation and a wish to maintain the old traditions of the delta area. These include a wide array of seemingly unrelated activities such as fishing, bull running, spring hunting, and hunting with bird lime, and the activists had also managed to include issues such as water restrictions, farming methods etc. to attract a variety of people to the demonstration. But only 522 people turned up - a relatively small demonstration - and it was not given much attention. The daily leader of Riet Vell and one of the rangers in the delta were declared unwelcome (mildly put) in the delta, and it is almost certainly no coincidence that the reeds in Riet Vell have now burned for the first time in seven years, less than three weeks after this demonstration!
Alan, doesn't seem necessary to tie them up at the moment, they were visible at close range throughout the day, and one of the volunteers even saw a Spotted Crake walking alongside them at one point this afternoon. :t:
Today, in the middle of the burnt area, I saw what appeared to have been a Mallard nest with 13 eggs in it. The nest was burnt, all the eggs were black, and I noticed that they all had strange holes in them. I took a closer look and realised that inside the eggs were fully developed ducklings which had all attempted to make their way out of the eggs during the fire. Needless to say, they failed. :-C
Stephen, the situation here is really complex. The demonstration in Amposta was related to the national one in Madrid last week, where hunters were demonstrating against the changes in the 'Biodiversity Law', but it also included a strong element of local indignation and a wish to maintain the old traditions of the delta area. These include a wide array of seemingly unrelated activities such as fishing, bull running, spring hunting, and hunting with bird lime, and the activists had also managed to include issues such as water restrictions, farming methods etc. to attract a variety of people to the demonstration. But only 522 people turned up - a relatively small demonstration - and it was not given much attention. The daily leader of Riet Vell and one of the rangers in the delta were declared unwelcome (mildly put) in the delta, and it is almost certainly no coincidence that the reeds in Riet Vell have now burned for the first time in seven years, less than three weeks after this demonstration!
Alan, doesn't seem necessary to tie them up at the moment, they were visible at close range throughout the day, and one of the volunteers even saw a Spotted Crake walking alongside them at one point this afternoon. :t:
More Little Crakes at Riet Vell
These two birds have now been joined by at least one female, and possibly another male - all of them very user-friendly near the hide :t:
You can follow reports on these and other rare/interesting birds in the Ebro Delta on this webpage, which is updated on a daily basis.
These two birds have now been joined by at least one female, and possibly another male - all of them very user-friendly near the hide :t:
You can follow reports on these and other rare/interesting birds in the Ebro Delta on this webpage, which is updated on a daily basis.
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Great stuff, Iben.
Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the link.
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Hi again Iben.
I see that your website http://www.audouinbirding.com/index.php?id=birdsightingsebro hasn't recorded any little crakes since 6th April.
I'll be there next weekend. Have I missed the show for another year?
I see that your website http://www.audouinbirding.com/index.php?id=birdsightingsebro hasn't recorded any little crakes since 6th April.
I'll be there next weekend. Have I missed the show for another year?
Connor Rand
Norwich resident, Holme devotee
I'll be visitng the Ebro Delta in July and cant wait, sounds like a great area!
Connor
Connor
There is still hope
Hi Alan
I do not know of any recent sightings of the Little Crakes, but they might still be present. Yesterday, Laurent (volunteer at Riet Vell) saw a crake in the lagoon, but the view was very brief and it could have been any of the two smaller species, he said. When forced to hazard a guess, he said it might have been a female Little Crake. Anyway, while you're there waiting for the crakes to show up, the other birds in the lagoon will keep you well entertained. Flamingo, Grey and Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Little Bittern, Purple Gallinule, Audouin's Gull, Whiskered Tern, Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Collared Pratincole, Yellow Wagtail, Moustached Warbler, and many more, are usually present there these days
The flooding of the rice fields was initiated yesterday, and so far just the corners of the fields have received water. The mud is already attracting flocks of gulls, herons, and shorebirds, and next week will be even better! I am really looking forward to seeing the delta flooded again, it is just so much more beautiful than during the dry months!
Best regards,
Iben
Hi Alan
I do not know of any recent sightings of the Little Crakes, but they might still be present. Yesterday, Laurent (volunteer at Riet Vell) saw a crake in the lagoon, but the view was very brief and it could have been any of the two smaller species, he said. When forced to hazard a guess, he said it might have been a female Little Crake. Anyway, while you're there waiting for the crakes to show up, the other birds in the lagoon will keep you well entertained. Flamingo, Grey and Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Little Bittern, Purple Gallinule, Audouin's Gull, Whiskered Tern, Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Collared Pratincole, Yellow Wagtail, Moustached Warbler, and many more, are usually present there these days
The flooding of the rice fields was initiated yesterday, and so far just the corners of the fields have received water. The mud is already attracting flocks of gulls, herons, and shorebirds, and next week will be even better! I am really looking forward to seeing the delta flooded again, it is just so much more beautiful than during the dry months!
Best regards,
Iben
Hi Connor
It IS a great area, you have lots to look forward to :t:
Best regards,
Iben
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Hi Alan
I do not know of any recent sightings of the Little Crakes, but they might still be present. Yesterday, Laurent (volunteer at Riet Vell) saw a crake in the lagoon, but the view was very brief and it could have been any of the two smaller species, he said. When forced to hazard a guess, he said it might have been a female Little Crake. Anyway, while you're there waiting for the crakes to show up, the other birds in the lagoon will keep you well entertained. Flamingo, Grey and Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Little Bittern, Purple Gallinule, Audouin's Gull, Whiskered Tern, Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Collared Pratincole, Yellow Wagtail, Moustached Warbler, and many more, are usually present there these days
The flooding of the rice fields was initiated yesterday, and so far just the corners of the fields have received water. The mud is already attracting flocks of gulls, herons, and shorebirds, and next week will be even better! I am really looking forward to seeing the delta flooded again, it is just so much more beautiful than during the dry months!
Best regards,
Iben
That's good news Iben. They were late flooding the fields last year and the water was just starting to flow from the sluices by the time I was leaving the area.
Thanks for the update on the crakes. I'll be in the hide looking, and you're right about the other birds there, there's always something to catch the eye.
Even better news for you: Today a female Little Crake was seen and photographed at Riet Vell :king:
