Hi everyone! I wasn't sure whether or not this was the right place for this sort of topic, so forgive me if it isn't!
Two friends and I have a few weeks of free time this July, and so we were playing with the idea of doing a kind of "birding road trip" through Spain (and passing through France, as we're from Belgium and the Netherlands). The basic trip outline was to drive in a big circle: from the low countries to the Pyrénées National Park, Extremadura, Donana and surroundings, and then back up North via the coast and Spanish Pyrenees, potentially picking up the Camargue and the Crau on the way back home.
The time frame for this would be about 3 weeks, and to keep it somewhat budget we're planning on going camping instead of going to hotels. We would do the entire trip by car. We are aware that July is definitely not the best month to go birding in Spain/Southern France, but it happens to be when we have the most time, so it'll have to do.
Our main goal is just to see as many birds as possible, preferably the ones we can't already see in our home countries of Belgium and the Netherlands. Some of our main targets would be vultures (black, egyptian, bearded, possibly rueppell's if there's a reliable spot for them), eagles (spanish imperial, golden, booted, bonelli's, short-toed), both bustards, woodpeckers (iberian green, grey-headed, white-backed, black), wallcreepers, sandgrouses, stone curlews, flamingos, ducks (white-headed duck, marbled teal), ibises, owls, spotted cuckoos, bee-eaters and rollers, and then passerines like rock thrush, alpine accentor, citril finch, black-eared wheatear, shrikes, choughs, larks, warblers, dipper... Basically any species we don't have in the low countries. It won't be the focus but nice mammals like lynx, wolf, chamois or Pyrenean desman would definitely be interesting as well.
The reason I post this thread (sorry for the long introduction!) is to ask a few questions to the people more knowledgeable about the area; which areas are worth staying in for a few days and in which areas will we have more than enough time with just one? Are there extra areas we should consider adding, or areas I listed that we shouldn't bother with? What are the best places to see any of the target birds mentioned above (or others, as mentioned anything we don't have in the low countries is interesting for us)? Are there hides or certain birding hotspots along the way that we should definitely stop at? Any personal experiences with campsites or birding tours (is it true Donana can only be done with a tour guide?)?Has anyone spent 3 weeks in Spain or does anyone know someone who has, and are there detailed trip reports of that that we should read? How would you organize three weeks in Spain?
Thanks in advance, all advice is more than welcome!
Two friends and I have a few weeks of free time this July, and so we were playing with the idea of doing a kind of "birding road trip" through Spain (and passing through France, as we're from Belgium and the Netherlands). The basic trip outline was to drive in a big circle: from the low countries to the Pyrénées National Park, Extremadura, Donana and surroundings, and then back up North via the coast and Spanish Pyrenees, potentially picking up the Camargue and the Crau on the way back home.
The time frame for this would be about 3 weeks, and to keep it somewhat budget we're planning on going camping instead of going to hotels. We would do the entire trip by car. We are aware that July is definitely not the best month to go birding in Spain/Southern France, but it happens to be when we have the most time, so it'll have to do.
Our main goal is just to see as many birds as possible, preferably the ones we can't already see in our home countries of Belgium and the Netherlands. Some of our main targets would be vultures (black, egyptian, bearded, possibly rueppell's if there's a reliable spot for them), eagles (spanish imperial, golden, booted, bonelli's, short-toed), both bustards, woodpeckers (iberian green, grey-headed, white-backed, black), wallcreepers, sandgrouses, stone curlews, flamingos, ducks (white-headed duck, marbled teal), ibises, owls, spotted cuckoos, bee-eaters and rollers, and then passerines like rock thrush, alpine accentor, citril finch, black-eared wheatear, shrikes, choughs, larks, warblers, dipper... Basically any species we don't have in the low countries. It won't be the focus but nice mammals like lynx, wolf, chamois or Pyrenean desman would definitely be interesting as well.
The reason I post this thread (sorry for the long introduction!) is to ask a few questions to the people more knowledgeable about the area; which areas are worth staying in for a few days and in which areas will we have more than enough time with just one? Are there extra areas we should consider adding, or areas I listed that we shouldn't bother with? What are the best places to see any of the target birds mentioned above (or others, as mentioned anything we don't have in the low countries is interesting for us)? Are there hides or certain birding hotspots along the way that we should definitely stop at? Any personal experiences with campsites or birding tours (is it true Donana can only be done with a tour guide?)?Has anyone spent 3 weeks in Spain or does anyone know someone who has, and are there detailed trip reports of that that we should read? How would you organize three weeks in Spain?
Thanks in advance, all advice is more than welcome!
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