In the late afternoon of Sunday 11th May eleven members of the Costa Blanca Bird Club arrived in the village of El Rocío and met our guide, Peter Warham. Our accommodation was at the Hotel Pensión Cristina. El Rocío is a horse town where the roads are sand, and there are rails outside the houses and restaurants to tie your horse to. An absolutely lovely place.
Monday 12th May – The day started with a power cut at the hotel and the whole village, so Peter suggested we go to another village for breakfast. After a drive to Villamanrique, for coffee and tostada, we progressed to the Doñana National Parque wetlands, driving around the tracks. Over the course of the day, we saw the following:
Great Crested Grebe, Black-Necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Squacco Heron, Black Crowned Night Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Stork, Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo, Mallard, Gadwall, Marbled Teal, Red-Crested Pochard, Pochard, White Headed Duck, Black Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Kestrel, Lesser Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot,
Black-Winged Stilt, Avocet, Collared Pratincole, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Slender-Billed Gull, Black-Headed Gull, Yellow-Legged Gull, Gull-Billed Tern, Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Swift, Hoopoe, European Bee-Eater, Crested Lark, Short-Toed Lark, Calandra Lark, House Martin, Red-Rumped Swallow, Swallow, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Stonechat, Blackbird, Great Reed Warbler, Fan-Tailed Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Woodchat Shrike, Magpie, Iberian Azure-Winged Magpie, Raven, Golden Oriole, Spotless Starling, Spanish Sparrow, House Sparrow, Yellow-Crowned Bishop, Serin, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Corn Bunting. We also heard Quail, Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler.
The birds of the day for me were the 7 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, of which we had excellent views, but also to mention were the sheer numbers of Black Kites, Spoonbills and White Storks.
Tuesday 13th May – After a quick breakfast of coffee and tostada, we set off to woodlands and heathlands at La Rocina and Palacio del Acebron Visitor Centres. All of the trails were boardwalks, so nice and easy, and a couple of hides overlooking a pool. After a picnic lunch in a lovely setting in the woods, we headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours, before walking around the lake in El Rocío. The birds seen over the day were:
Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Stork, Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Red Crested Pochard, Pochard, Black Kite, Griffon Vulture, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Moorhen, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Swift, European Bee-Eater, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Thekla’s Lark, House Martin, Swallow, Nightingale, Stonechat, Blackbird, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Southern Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Magpie, Iberian Azure-Winged Magpie, Golden Oriole, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Serin, Goldfinch and Greenfinch. Heard but not seen were Cuckoo, Tawny Owl, Woodlark, Savi’s Warbler, Iberian Chiffchaff and Short-toed Treecreeper.
Peter went out with John and Sarah Ryley at dusk to look for Red-Necked Nightjar, and they were successful. My bird of the day was the Melodious Warbler, but also of note were the excellent views of the Golden Orioles.
Wednesday 14th May – Today we headed for the Paraje Natural Marismas del Odiel, which is just past Huelva, to try to find waders. The day didn’t start well as there was not a wader in sight. However, patience rewarded us all. After lunch in Mazagón, we headed to the Visitor Centre at El Acebuche. We walked one of the trails to a hide, but a total lack of water meant only a few birds were seen. Overall, a good day and the following were seen:
Little Grebe, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great White Heron, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, White Stork, Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Pochard, Osprey, Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Black-Winged Stilt, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Knot, Sanderling, Black-Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Whimbrel, Turnstone, Black-Headed Gull, Yellow-Legged Gull, Little Tern, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Pallid Swift, European Bee-Eater, European Roller, Crested Lark, House Martin, Red-Rumped Swallow, Swallow, White Wagtail, Stonechat, Blackbird, Fan-Tailed Warbler, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Short-Toed Treecreeper, Southern Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Magpie, Iberian Azure-Winged Magpie, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Serin, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Corn Bunting. Cetti’s Warbler and Sardinian Warbler were also heard, but not seen.
My bird of the day was the Kentish Plover, but the breeding plumage of the Grey Plovers was also of note.
Another excellent trip with the Bird Club and our guide Peter. Over the course of the 3 days, a total of 111 different species of birds were seen and heard by the group, although not by everyone in the group!
After breakfast on Thursday 15th, we all headed home.
