romancitizen
Well-known member
This is turning into a bit of a 'Let us now praise Julian Sykes' board, but when he offers such a superb birding-trip experience (which of course includes a comfortable B&B run by his lovely wife, plus access to good restaurants and excellent wine and ale) then it's not surprising. Not only is Jules a really easygoing guy, he is amazingly tolerant - he had to be, given our level of birding skills - and he quickly adapted to what we wanted from the trip, i.e a birding holiday, not an exhausting species bashing exercise like some trips I could name. Even so, going at a very relaxed pace we saw over 130 species in four days, which gives some clue as to the diversity of the area.
My wife Agi (inexperienced birder), two good friends (Mike and Sue, inexperienced birders) plus myself (ungifted amateur) spent four wonderful days with Jules at the start of April, and will certainly ask him to guide us again. The report below has been part pinched from Jules' diary on his website, with colour added by myself.
As my wife put it, 'This guy deserves to succeed': I need say no more.
Friday 31st: Arrived an hour late due to our spring-legged friends across the channel (when did you ever hear of the German Air Traffic controllers going on strike ?) to be met by a smiling Jules and brilliant sunshine: a quick transfer to Oliva, followed by lunch at the Pelut and a siesta (some of these foreign habits are an excellent idea) set us up for the rest of the day. A late afternoon cuppa on the roof terrace produced a migrating Booted Eagle, Barn Swallows perching about 5 yards away, plus House Martin, Spotless Starling, and an initial burst of excitement over some very exotic pigeons (apparently the locals dye the feathers and then bet on which bird will mate first). A Cockatiel rounded off a slightly surreal half-hour.
Jules joined us and peering down into the orange grove below found a Sub-Alpine Warbler. We weren’t due to start birding with Jules until the next morning, but he was going ringing in the evening so we took advantage of his kind offer and tagged along. An amble around Pego Marsh set us up for the next four days, Hoopoe, Kingfisher, Purple and Grey Heron plus Marsh Harrier quickly appearing, Sue then spotting a Water Rail strolling across the track. Serin and Goldfinch quickly followed, before we returned to the ringers. After we had all been deafened by a Cetti’s Warbler, Jules found Great Reed and Savi’s Warbler, plus Zitting Cisticola, Agi found a Blackcap and the ringers produced a Sand Martin. After a late supper we worked the Zs in.
Saturday 1st :- Our first full day and Jules suggested staying reasonably local, so we started out with some sea-watching which produced several Balearic Shearwaters, 2 Gannets and Yellow legged Gulls, with Spotless Starlings, Sardinian Warblers and White Wagtails amongst the dunes: however conditions were against us and relatively few birds were around We returned to Pego Marsh starting at the north end seeing Savi’s Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Kingfishers, Yellow Wagtails, Marsh Harriers, Purple & Grey Herons, Little Ringed Plover, Whiskered Terns, Green & Wood Sandpipers, and Black Winged Stilts (the latter showing in abundance throughout the trip). At the south end we found a male Northern Wheatear, Hoopoes, Wood Sandpipers, Snipe, Mallard, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard and 4 Garganey. A walk round the hillside produced a singing Nightingale, Blackcaps, Sardinian Warblers, Long Tailed Tits, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. After returning to the guesthouse for lunch we headed inland to the Alcoy Hills and the vulture re-introduction centre. Over two hours were spent obtaining fantastic views of Griffon Vultures (at least 12 birds), as well as a bonus Short toed Eagle. Kestrel, Red legged Partridges, 2 Woodlarks, Great, Coal & Crested Tits, Common Ravens, and a superb male Black Eared Wheatear were all seen over the course of an afternoon spent in a magical location, surrounded by fabulous views. On the way home Mike was able to treat us to a brief history of the Spanish matchmaking industry (formerly based in this area).
In the evening our incompetent sense of direction meant we failed to find the restaurant recommended by Jules, but we had confirmation that rude waiters are not confined to Britain - our only disappointment of the trip.
Sunday 2nd :- Before breakfast a quick check of the orange grove from the roof terrace, produced a male Sub-alpine Warbler again, Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, and Blackbirds. Once ready we set off to Castilla la Mancha, and the agricultural fields of Bonete. On the road to Coral Rubio the first stop produced 20+ distant Great Bustards some of which were displaying – we had all seen GBs before, but never fluffing themselves out in their slightly comical way. Also here were several Northern & a couple of Black Eared Wheatears, a Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Red legged Partridges, Calandra & Thekla Larks. A little further on we stopped and found 4 Little Bustards including one displaying male. The next stop produced a nice surprise, a Tawny Pipit, with nesting Rock & House Sparrows, Linnets, Corn Buntings, Crested Larks, Raven, Hoopoe and Woodpigeons. The minor road to Petrola produced a few more (closer) Great Bustards, Stock Doves, and Magpies. After lunch we visited Petrola Lagoon where we found Black necked Grebes, Grey Herons, Little Egrets, Greater Flamingos, Shelducks, Gadwall, 2 male Garganey, Shoveler, Common & Red Crested Pochards, Common Teal, Marsh Harriers, Little Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Common Redshanks, Green & Common Sandpipers, Ruff, Whiskered & Gull billed Terns, Crested Larks, Yellow & White Wagtails, 2 Water Pipits and Tree Sparrows – and I left my infamous hat behind (deliberately, it was falling to bits), which to my amazement no-one had claimed when Jules went back last week. The return to Coral Rubio was quiet seeing a lot of similar species seen previously including more Great Bustards (50+ for the day), Calandra Larks, and a few Lapwings. Just outside Coral Rubio we visited La Higuela lagoon where we found more Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards, Ruff, 2 Greenshanks, Black necked Grebes, & more wildfowl
Monday 3rd :- Day 3 saw us all travelling down to the Alicante region and initially birdwatching around the Santa Pola area. We started at the Clot de Galvany, an oasis in a desert of inappropriate development, which produced Little Grebes, Eurasian Teal, Shelducks, 10+ Common Pochards, 6 White headed Ducks, Marsh Harrier, 2 Booted Eagles, 4 Purple Gallinules, Moorhens, Coot, Black winged Stilts, Wood Sandpiper, Common Cuckoo, Little Owl, Hoopoes, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Crested Larks, Blackbirds, Great Reed, Willow & Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, Southern Grey Shrike, Carrion Crow, Spotless Starlings, Greenfinches (but almost yellow, had to look twice to check what they were), Goldfinches and Serins.
Next we drove the short distance to the Santa Pola Salinas where during several stops along the road we found 6 (very close) Marbled Ducks (bird of the trip for me, what a beautiful bird), Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Little Egrets, Greater Flamingos, Shelducks, Red Crested Pochards, Avocets, a Greenshank, Audouin's, Yellow legged, Lesser Black backed, Black headed, Slender billed (another lovely bird) & Mediterranean Gulls, Sandwich & Common Terns, Sand Martins, and Yellow Wagtails.
After this we visited a couple of areas on the edge of El Hondo reserve seeing 5 Montagu's Harriers, Marsh Harrier, a few Short toed & Crested Larks, a Stonechat, Zitting Cisticolas and calling Cetti's Warblers. It was now time to head into the hills above Crevillente for our evening meal whilst watching out for the Bonelli's Eagles. A quick look at the eyrie on arrival revealed the female with it's young: as it took off for flight, a Kestrel appeared, followed by a Peregrine: the sight of the female Bonelli's Eagle soaring down the valley chase it off will live long in the memory, just fantastic. The male then returned to the canyon and we were treated to some very close views as they soared around their territory and perched on the rock face. During our 2 hours there we also saw 30+ Alpine & Common Swifts, a Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Thekla Larks, Crag Martins, Red rumped & Barn Swallows, 2 male Blue Rock Thrushes, Dartford & Sardinian Warbler, Black Wheatears, Jackdaws, & Raven.
As evening was fading we made our way into the hills above Elche for our final target, arriving just in time. Within a couple minutes a familiar call heralded the arrival of the male Eagle Owl sat showing very well in it's canyon, and as night fell we were treated to Eagle, Little & Scop's Owls all calling at the same time, the latter an unexpected bonus (apparently one nested in the centre of Oliva last year and treated the locals to 3 months of calling all night: the trees have been heavily pruned to prevent a repeat of this pleasurable experience).
Tuesday 4th :- This was our final day and we decided to spend it checking out the local sites. A quick visit to the beach produced 50+ Balearic Shearwaters, Gannets, Sandwich Terns, a few Kentish Plovers and 9 Sanderlings. Next we went to Pego Marsh finding 30+ Audouin's Gulls on the paddy fields with Moustached, Savi's, Eurasian Reed & Great Reed Warblers around the ringing area. Other birds seen around here Grey & Purple Herons, Little Egrets, Marsh Harriers, Kingfishers, Common Swifts, Crested Larks. After breakfast we headed up to the Val de Gallinera where we got fantastic views of an adult Golden Eagle both flying around and sat on various crags. The Eagle disappeared, and Agi suggested a beer before we left the area. A short trip up the valley found us in a delightful roadside café wih a Nightingale in the tree overhead: as we supped our ale the Eagle re-appeared much closer and treated us to a magnificent display. This was yet another new bird for us all and we spent a good part of the afternoon enjoying the experience. We also saw a pair of Bee-eaters, Common Cuckoos, Common Buzzard, Kestrels, Red billed Choughs, Jackdaws, Red rumped Swallows, Blackcaps, Sardinian Warblers, and heard a Wryneck and Green Woodpecker (which Jules and I initially had for a Wryneck, until Agi put us firmly in our place). Finally we returned for a quick visit to Pego Marsh and incredibly found 2 Great White Egrets sat in the open with Grey Herons. A final stroll up the hill added our final new bird, a lovely male Woodchat Shrike.
The view from the hill showed how much danger the Pego Marsh is in – I suspect it now consists of about 10% of it’s previous area, and Jules has already appeared on Spanish TV as part of the campaign to save the remainder.
My wife Agi (inexperienced birder), two good friends (Mike and Sue, inexperienced birders) plus myself (ungifted amateur) spent four wonderful days with Jules at the start of April, and will certainly ask him to guide us again. The report below has been part pinched from Jules' diary on his website, with colour added by myself.
As my wife put it, 'This guy deserves to succeed': I need say no more.
Friday 31st: Arrived an hour late due to our spring-legged friends across the channel (when did you ever hear of the German Air Traffic controllers going on strike ?) to be met by a smiling Jules and brilliant sunshine: a quick transfer to Oliva, followed by lunch at the Pelut and a siesta (some of these foreign habits are an excellent idea) set us up for the rest of the day. A late afternoon cuppa on the roof terrace produced a migrating Booted Eagle, Barn Swallows perching about 5 yards away, plus House Martin, Spotless Starling, and an initial burst of excitement over some very exotic pigeons (apparently the locals dye the feathers and then bet on which bird will mate first). A Cockatiel rounded off a slightly surreal half-hour.
Jules joined us and peering down into the orange grove below found a Sub-Alpine Warbler. We weren’t due to start birding with Jules until the next morning, but he was going ringing in the evening so we took advantage of his kind offer and tagged along. An amble around Pego Marsh set us up for the next four days, Hoopoe, Kingfisher, Purple and Grey Heron plus Marsh Harrier quickly appearing, Sue then spotting a Water Rail strolling across the track. Serin and Goldfinch quickly followed, before we returned to the ringers. After we had all been deafened by a Cetti’s Warbler, Jules found Great Reed and Savi’s Warbler, plus Zitting Cisticola, Agi found a Blackcap and the ringers produced a Sand Martin. After a late supper we worked the Zs in.
Saturday 1st :- Our first full day and Jules suggested staying reasonably local, so we started out with some sea-watching which produced several Balearic Shearwaters, 2 Gannets and Yellow legged Gulls, with Spotless Starlings, Sardinian Warblers and White Wagtails amongst the dunes: however conditions were against us and relatively few birds were around We returned to Pego Marsh starting at the north end seeing Savi’s Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Kingfishers, Yellow Wagtails, Marsh Harriers, Purple & Grey Herons, Little Ringed Plover, Whiskered Terns, Green & Wood Sandpipers, and Black Winged Stilts (the latter showing in abundance throughout the trip). At the south end we found a male Northern Wheatear, Hoopoes, Wood Sandpipers, Snipe, Mallard, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard and 4 Garganey. A walk round the hillside produced a singing Nightingale, Blackcaps, Sardinian Warblers, Long Tailed Tits, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. After returning to the guesthouse for lunch we headed inland to the Alcoy Hills and the vulture re-introduction centre. Over two hours were spent obtaining fantastic views of Griffon Vultures (at least 12 birds), as well as a bonus Short toed Eagle. Kestrel, Red legged Partridges, 2 Woodlarks, Great, Coal & Crested Tits, Common Ravens, and a superb male Black Eared Wheatear were all seen over the course of an afternoon spent in a magical location, surrounded by fabulous views. On the way home Mike was able to treat us to a brief history of the Spanish matchmaking industry (formerly based in this area).
In the evening our incompetent sense of direction meant we failed to find the restaurant recommended by Jules, but we had confirmation that rude waiters are not confined to Britain - our only disappointment of the trip.
Sunday 2nd :- Before breakfast a quick check of the orange grove from the roof terrace, produced a male Sub-alpine Warbler again, Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, and Blackbirds. Once ready we set off to Castilla la Mancha, and the agricultural fields of Bonete. On the road to Coral Rubio the first stop produced 20+ distant Great Bustards some of which were displaying – we had all seen GBs before, but never fluffing themselves out in their slightly comical way. Also here were several Northern & a couple of Black Eared Wheatears, a Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Red legged Partridges, Calandra & Thekla Larks. A little further on we stopped and found 4 Little Bustards including one displaying male. The next stop produced a nice surprise, a Tawny Pipit, with nesting Rock & House Sparrows, Linnets, Corn Buntings, Crested Larks, Raven, Hoopoe and Woodpigeons. The minor road to Petrola produced a few more (closer) Great Bustards, Stock Doves, and Magpies. After lunch we visited Petrola Lagoon where we found Black necked Grebes, Grey Herons, Little Egrets, Greater Flamingos, Shelducks, Gadwall, 2 male Garganey, Shoveler, Common & Red Crested Pochards, Common Teal, Marsh Harriers, Little Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Common Redshanks, Green & Common Sandpipers, Ruff, Whiskered & Gull billed Terns, Crested Larks, Yellow & White Wagtails, 2 Water Pipits and Tree Sparrows – and I left my infamous hat behind (deliberately, it was falling to bits), which to my amazement no-one had claimed when Jules went back last week. The return to Coral Rubio was quiet seeing a lot of similar species seen previously including more Great Bustards (50+ for the day), Calandra Larks, and a few Lapwings. Just outside Coral Rubio we visited La Higuela lagoon where we found more Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards, Ruff, 2 Greenshanks, Black necked Grebes, & more wildfowl
Monday 3rd :- Day 3 saw us all travelling down to the Alicante region and initially birdwatching around the Santa Pola area. We started at the Clot de Galvany, an oasis in a desert of inappropriate development, which produced Little Grebes, Eurasian Teal, Shelducks, 10+ Common Pochards, 6 White headed Ducks, Marsh Harrier, 2 Booted Eagles, 4 Purple Gallinules, Moorhens, Coot, Black winged Stilts, Wood Sandpiper, Common Cuckoo, Little Owl, Hoopoes, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Crested Larks, Blackbirds, Great Reed, Willow & Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, Southern Grey Shrike, Carrion Crow, Spotless Starlings, Greenfinches (but almost yellow, had to look twice to check what they were), Goldfinches and Serins.
Next we drove the short distance to the Santa Pola Salinas where during several stops along the road we found 6 (very close) Marbled Ducks (bird of the trip for me, what a beautiful bird), Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Little Egrets, Greater Flamingos, Shelducks, Red Crested Pochards, Avocets, a Greenshank, Audouin's, Yellow legged, Lesser Black backed, Black headed, Slender billed (another lovely bird) & Mediterranean Gulls, Sandwich & Common Terns, Sand Martins, and Yellow Wagtails.
After this we visited a couple of areas on the edge of El Hondo reserve seeing 5 Montagu's Harriers, Marsh Harrier, a few Short toed & Crested Larks, a Stonechat, Zitting Cisticolas and calling Cetti's Warblers. It was now time to head into the hills above Crevillente for our evening meal whilst watching out for the Bonelli's Eagles. A quick look at the eyrie on arrival revealed the female with it's young: as it took off for flight, a Kestrel appeared, followed by a Peregrine: the sight of the female Bonelli's Eagle soaring down the valley chase it off will live long in the memory, just fantastic. The male then returned to the canyon and we were treated to some very close views as they soared around their territory and perched on the rock face. During our 2 hours there we also saw 30+ Alpine & Common Swifts, a Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Thekla Larks, Crag Martins, Red rumped & Barn Swallows, 2 male Blue Rock Thrushes, Dartford & Sardinian Warbler, Black Wheatears, Jackdaws, & Raven.
As evening was fading we made our way into the hills above Elche for our final target, arriving just in time. Within a couple minutes a familiar call heralded the arrival of the male Eagle Owl sat showing very well in it's canyon, and as night fell we were treated to Eagle, Little & Scop's Owls all calling at the same time, the latter an unexpected bonus (apparently one nested in the centre of Oliva last year and treated the locals to 3 months of calling all night: the trees have been heavily pruned to prevent a repeat of this pleasurable experience).
Tuesday 4th :- This was our final day and we decided to spend it checking out the local sites. A quick visit to the beach produced 50+ Balearic Shearwaters, Gannets, Sandwich Terns, a few Kentish Plovers and 9 Sanderlings. Next we went to Pego Marsh finding 30+ Audouin's Gulls on the paddy fields with Moustached, Savi's, Eurasian Reed & Great Reed Warblers around the ringing area. Other birds seen around here Grey & Purple Herons, Little Egrets, Marsh Harriers, Kingfishers, Common Swifts, Crested Larks. After breakfast we headed up to the Val de Gallinera where we got fantastic views of an adult Golden Eagle both flying around and sat on various crags. The Eagle disappeared, and Agi suggested a beer before we left the area. A short trip up the valley found us in a delightful roadside café wih a Nightingale in the tree overhead: as we supped our ale the Eagle re-appeared much closer and treated us to a magnificent display. This was yet another new bird for us all and we spent a good part of the afternoon enjoying the experience. We also saw a pair of Bee-eaters, Common Cuckoos, Common Buzzard, Kestrels, Red billed Choughs, Jackdaws, Red rumped Swallows, Blackcaps, Sardinian Warblers, and heard a Wryneck and Green Woodpecker (which Jules and I initially had for a Wryneck, until Agi put us firmly in our place). Finally we returned for a quick visit to Pego Marsh and incredibly found 2 Great White Egrets sat in the open with Grey Herons. A final stroll up the hill added our final new bird, a lovely male Woodchat Shrike.
The view from the hill showed how much danger the Pego Marsh is in – I suspect it now consists of about 10% of it’s previous area, and Jules has already appeared on Spanish TV as part of the campaign to save the remainder.
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