Where in Spain? (1 Viewer)

[firefox32]

Hi.

I am looking to go to spain late may/early june for 9 or 10 days. It is going to be a mixture of family holiday and birding. I know there are some excellent birding areas in spain but really don't know where to go.

Would it be better in the north or south near Donana? I really don't know where to go? If anyone can suggest good areas where I can bird and the family can enjoy a holiday, it would be very much appreciated.

Regards.

Fox.

 

[Alf King]

There are so many places to choose from and many on here will have their favourites. In many ways it depends upon what your family are looking for as much as the birding as so many places have good birding close by.

First off you could consider Mallorca, unless you just meant mainland Spain. It is undoubtedly not as good as it once was for birding but there would be plenty for a family to do whilst you're off elsewhere.

My personal advice would be Andalucia and in particular the west, but here there would be less for the non-birder. The beaches and weather are good though and the area between Tarifa and Cadiz would be the place to stay.

Also consider the Catalonia region which offers plenty of interesting resorts as well as good birding.

(My real favourite would be Extremadura but I don't think the family would appreciate it as much.)


HTH

 

[firefox32]

Thanks for that Alf.

We have been to mallorca 3 times, it is indeed a good place to bird and enjoy a holiday. Ideally, we would like manland spain. I have 2 kids, aged 6 and 3, my parents will be with me too. We generally try to holiday a little off the beaten track but reasonably close to the local amenities, i.e. shops and restaurants, butchers/bakers. Basically as long as the place we are going to is equipped with a swimming pool and has decent views, a local market, everyone is generally happy. I am not too clued up where to watch birds in spain but I will check out your suggestions.

Thanks.
Fox.

 

[John Cantelo]

Hi Fox,

It rather depends what your priorities are and how far you need to compromise the needs of your family. Since Extremadura (and I'd guess inland Spain in its entirity) is out three options spring to mind; Catalonia (in the NE), eastern Andalucia (Almeria-Cabo de Gata) and western Andalucia (Cadiz province). Catalonia has good beaches, access to fabulous mountain areas, the Ebro delta and, in Barcelona an iconic city), however others who will surely post here know it far better than me and will give you better advice. Eastern Andalucia I don't know at all, but has plenty of good sites for Spanish specialities (Wh Duck, Trumpeter Finch, Dupont's Lark, R-b Chat, etc).

However, as a devotee of the area, I'd advocate Cadiz province which has a unique combination of habitats. You have marshlands at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, many shallow lagoons for Crested Coot, WH Duck etc), mountains (Alcornocales & Grazalema), etc. I'm not a great one for beach holidays, but you also have some great beaches (Canos de mecca, Tarfia, Chipiona, etc, but it can be very windy). PM me with your email address and I'll send you details of how to download my extensive notes on birding in the area,

 

[Stephen Fletcher]

Since Extremadura (and I'd guess inland Spain in its entirity) is out

Why ?

 

[John Cantelo]

Sorry, I forgot, but if you want to read my trip reports (not all for May) have a look at my episodic blog on the area at http://alcalabirding.blogspot.com
Incidentally, I'm hoping to be out in Alcala de los Gazules (Cadiz) at the same time (half term ...) and you'd be welcome to join me for some birding if our various committments allow it,

 

[John Cantelo]

Why ?

Hi Steve, I thought you might turn up here! There are numerous superb places to bird away from the coast in Spain, but its half term week and 'Fox' says it's a family holiday, so I suspect buckets-and-spades will out vote birding,

 

[Stephen Fletcher]

We generally try to holiday a little off the beaten track but reasonably close to the local amenities, i.e. shops and restaurants, butchers/bakers. Basically as long as the place we are going to is equipped with a swimming pool and has decent views, a local market, everyone is generally happy. I am not too clued up where to watch birds in spain but I will check out your suggestions.

The reason i asked John, is this was in his second post.

 

[Stephen C]

Barcelona

Hi Fox

Barcelona speaks for itself with regards to attractions for the family, and it's coastal, with amazing beaches to the south and north. A google search should give you more ideas than Port Aventura and Montserrat.

Birds? Well you have the Ebro Delta, the Pyrenees, the Steppes, Llobregat, Garraf, etc. (see here: http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain birding/spain birding summer.html for more suggestions).

Catalonia in fact, because of its huge variety of habitat (and most easily within 90 minutes of the city) has more breeding species than anywhere on the Iberian peninsular. Although at the end of May/early June, passage is still continuing too - the best of which are the Red-footed Falcons!

If you don't fancy the city itself, take a look at Sitges to the south - a quite superb picturesque Mediterranean coastal town with narrow shopping streets etc. And it has easy access to Barcelona by train, road, etc. There are many resorts to the north too.

Let me know if I can help further. And good luck

 

[Aegitalos]

Hey Fox: Maybe you can find all the birds in Catalonia now he sees his country in this cold season.
It is the same in southern Spain, the climate here is much milder with sunny days and with sites and species not found elsewhere in the country.
In Andalucia you have the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful sites you can enjoy time with family accommodation and meals of high quality.
Doñana, Grazalema, Fuente de Piedra, Odiel Marshes and endless Natural Spaces hosting a Variety of birds without large displacements and of course qualified agencies will be able to enjoy a fantastic holiday.
Fernando

 

[Rob Smallwood]

We stayed in Pego two years ago, the local marshes are a delight and the local villages are pretty & authentic, and the beaches good for kids.

We also benefited from some great local knowledge from Jules Sykes who would be another good person to canvas.

(www.olivaramatours.com)

 

[Stephen Fletcher]

Although i live in Extremadura, and try to plug it as much as possible, for someone with kids, i would have no hesitation recommending the Barcelona area, fantastic birding, lots of different habitats, and beaches and touristy type things too.

 

[Rob Smallwood]

Hi Fox

Barcelona speaks for itself with regards to attractions for the family, and it's coastal, with amazing beaches to the south and north. A google search should give you more ideas than Port Aventura and Montserrat.

Birds? Well you have the Ebro Delta, the Pyrenees, the Steppes, Llobregat, Garraf, etc. (see here: http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/Spain birding/spain birding summer.html for more suggestions).

Catalonia in fact, because of its huge variety of habitat (and most easily within 90 minutes of the city) has more breeding species than anywhere on the Iberian peninsular. Although at the end of May/early June, passage is still continuing too - the best of which are the Red-footed Falcons!

If you don't fancy the city itself, take a look at Sitges to the south - a quite superb picturesque Mediterranean coastal town with narrow shopping streets etc. And it has easy access to Barcelona by train, road, etc. There are many resorts to the north too.

Let me know if I can help further. And good luck

Could you recommend a small, coastal "resort", quiet bu and perhaps with a good "local patch"?

Flights to Barcelona in summer are cheaper than I thought!

 

[Stephen Fletcher]

Stephen C is the local expert, along with Steve West of course.

 

[Steve Babbs]

Hi.

I am looking to go to spain late may/early june for 9 or 10 days. It is going to be a mixture of family holiday and birding. I know there are some excellent birding areas in spain but really don't know where to go.

Would it be better in the north or south near Donana? I really don't know where to go? If anyone can suggest good areas where I can bird and the family can enjoy a holiday, it would be very much appreciated.

Regards.

Fox.

Almeria area: good beaches and birding. Roquetas has excellent birding on the edge of the town.

 

[bellow]

Hi Fox, Have a quick look at Algorfaspain.co.uk all you need for your holiday. Its on the Costa coast,land at Alicante, great reserves plenty to do for you and family. Having just come back from there,it was fantastic. See my post on Birding on the Costa.
Regards
Roly. :t:

 

[Stephen C]

reminder

Could you recommend a small, coastal "resort", quiet bu and perhaps with a good "local patch"?

Flights to Barcelona in summer are cheaper than I thought!

Hi Rob

Apologies. I keep meaning to respond to this but am wrapped up in tours. I have a bit of time after the weekend but feel free to remind me via email or PM if I forget again.

all the best

 

[wolfbirder]

In my humble opinion the best place to combine an 'easy' and nice family holiday with a consistently good and easy to visit reserve is Alcudia, Mallorca with the superb S'Albufera on your doorstep. Hardly an exotic recommendation but you would not even need a car. It all depends what birds you want and indeed what holiday you want, there are so many great birding areas of Spain including those mentioned.

 

[arodris]

Hi,

It depends on what you want to see. Spain is too big to try to see all areas.

Probably the best birding site is Doñana National Park (South of Spain). The second best place that I recommend to see waterfowl is Delta del Ebro Natural Reserve (http://ebre.info/), in Tarragona (Catalonia) (north-east of Spain). Near Barcelona, and 90' by car from Delta del Ebro, there is an small reserve (Delta del Llobregat); In this last, numbers of birds are low, but you can see them very near. Both Doñana and Delta del Ebro are good places also to go to the beach with the family.

Completely different is Extremadura (south-west of Spain; http://www.turismoextremadura.com/), where you can see black vultures, eagles,...(specially visit Monfragüe National Park). An also some cities are really interesting, as Cáceres (medieval town), Trujillo, Plasencia, and Guadalupe, among others. They are all medieval cities. In all of them you would see lots of european white storks, and Falco naumanni. Obviously, there are no beaches there. Near Extremadura is the Cabañeros National Park, also very interesting, and Daimiel (wet area), that this year has water!!!

All center of Spain is very interesing to see vultures and eagles, and also to see some Otis tarda (I do not know the name in English, I am sorry), and other steppe birds (Tetrax tetrax,...). I recommend to visit Villafafila lacoons in Zamora (http://www.villafafila.com/) and la Nava (http://www.fuentesdenava.com/files/nava_global_nature.htm) lacoons in Palencia province (middle-north of Spain), where you can see also waterfowl if they have water. Both of them are in Castilla y Leon that has at least three cities that are very interesting also for the family (Salamanca, Segovia and Avila; all of them are medieval, with some roman ruins in Segovia). Dont forget some Natural Parks in Segovia (Hoces del Rio Duratón, near the village of Sepúlveda, and Hoces del rio Riaza near Ayllón), both interesting to see vultures, eagles, milvus species, and some interesting passerines, as Dupont's Lark (in Hoces del Rio Duratón). Obviously, no beaches there (except rivers), but any way very interesting for birding and culture.

I recommend you to visit the web of the Spanish Ornithological Society, where you can see some information on where to see birds: http://www.seo.org/donde_ver.cfm

I also recommend to buy the book "Donde ver aves en España" (only in Spanish, I think) (http://www.casadellibro.com/libro-donde-ver-aves-en-espana/1043679/2900001070931/en_gb) (author:Montero JA), or the book "Donde ver aves en Extremadura" (http://dondeveravesnaturalezaextrem.blogspot.com/). Both have routes to see birds, one in Spain and the other in Extremadura.

I think that staying in an island (as Mallorca) is not the best idea to do birding. They have interesting species, with some specific of the islands, but always less than in the continent. If you need beach, choose some in Andalucia (near Doñana if possible), and then, from there, you can try to move to see other areas. In Andalucia you have also the Natural Park Los Alcornocales in Cádiz province (near Doñana), or some areas in Huelva province.

Enjoy it.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Fox

You'll find a lot of informations on many of the places mentioned here in the Opus articles.

Maybe they'll help you to define your choice a little.

D