Introduction
With the mostly non-birding Czech Republic portion of the vacation behind us, I set my sights on what was anticipated to be a great time birding Andalucia. Previously, as usual, I had meticulously searched eBird for hotspots, printed target lists and mapped out my plan. I built a couple of no-birding days into the itinerary to catch-up with some friends from my time in Vietnam who had just had a baby. It was for this reason that we were excited to catch up and see the new addition. The rest of the 10 days would be about the great outdoors and the birds.
A Little Thing Called FIESTA!
Oh, but wait, there was a little thing called New Years Eve that we needed to survive…in Barcelona…with a couple of our children. Consequently, birding Andalucia would need to wait another day.
Arriving in Barcelona on the 30th, we checked into our hotel and headed out to find the best paella within walking distance. Not only did we find it, but we stuffed ourselves with that traditional delicious dish. Even black paella was on our plate. If you must know, it is black due to the addition of squid ink. Honestly, it was difficult to notice the difference in taste even though the appearance was markedly different. Did I mention Sangria?
The next morning, we explored Barcelona and prepared for the evening in Plaza de Espana. I am not sure how many people were packed into the plaza but by the time midnight rolled around, I fully understood how a crowd of people that gets panicked can result in tragedy. We could not move for about two hours. The drone display, supplemented with traditional fireworks went on for 30+ minutes, in fact, it was the most impressive that I have ever seen. By the way, I did get my 12 grapes down within the time frame. That along with a carp scale in my wallet from a Czech Republic Christmas dinner should keep me flush with good luck for the rest of the year. I’m going to need it. We have a packed agenda for 2024.
Saying goodbye to the young’ins was difficult but meant that the real birding would officially begin.
A Slow Start to Birding Andalucia, Seville
For two days we explored the ins and outs of Seville. We Airbnb’d a small apartment on the outskirts of town and used the metro to get us to the city center. Seeing Columbus’ final resting place was a priority for me, but Columbus would have to wait, the line to enter the Cathedral de Seville was massively long. Consequently, we settled for The Mushroom and enjoyed some food and drink. Not surprisingly, we fell in love with the Tapa culture.
As you might imagine, there was not much birding in the city, but it was interesting to see Monk and Rose-ringed Parakeets in good numbers. Escapees that have done well in many cities around the world.
The Road to El Rocio
If the above sub-heading sounds like the title of a western movie, then you are right, and you will soon understand.
El Rocio would be the location we would stay for the next two nights. Of course, we left our Seville apartment bright and early and headed that way. In due time we arrived at Reserva Natural Concetada Dehesa de Abajo. Firstly, we stopped at two forested areas with meadows and agricultural edge habitat. Secondly, were wetlands along the road marking the southeast boundary of the park. If we only had more time, then we could explore the reserva in more detail. After all, there are maintained trails with bird blinds set-up.
Nevertheless, this was a great spot and many lifers were added to the list. These included Iberian Magpie, Sardinian Warbler and White Stork. Unexpectedly, I had a flyover of a Great Spotted Cuckoo. This uncommon bird was a real treat, but unfortunately, I did not have enough time to get the camera on him.
At the wetlands, there were also Pied Avocets, Marbled Ducks, Common Shelducks, Greater Flamingos and Graylag Geese, all lifers.
Indeed, my birding Andalucia vacation was off to a great start!
When it comes to the Charadriiformes (the order of birds commonly known as waders or shorebirds plus gulls and terns), I think I am particularly fond of the family Recurvirostridae, Stilts and Avocets. I think it is the long legs and dainty bills that attract me. Anyway, before I get too excited, these birds gave me some great photo opportunities at this location.
El Rocio, A Quirky Birding Paradise
We arrived in El Rocio in the evening, before dark, in time to check in to our tiny Airbnb and head to the boardwalk along the waterfront.
El Rocio is lost in time, but they like it that way. The town has a strong equestrian culture and riding horseback is a common mode of transportation around the town. Just like in the old western movies, the streets are sand, yes sand! The architecture is old Spanish ranch style. Besides there being a hitching post in front of every house, there are numerous horse training rings. There are neither stop lights nor streetlights nor stop signs. Winter is not their prime time, but you can tell that in the summer the place is hopping.
Unquestionably, El Rocio is the perfect location to explore western Doñana National Park.
As we walked along the boardwalk, Doñana National Park was to the left and the town social center was to the right with many bars, restaurants, and shops. As I have noted, most of them were closed for the winter. It was here that I saw and photographed my first Eurasian Spoonbill, another somewhat less common bird for the area. Contrast that with some nice photos of the very common Spotless Starling.
Matalascañas
From El Rocio we explored the beach town of Matalascañas. Here you can see La Torre de la Higuera, a 16th century watchtower that toppled into the sea during an earthquake in 1755. You can also see sanderlings on the beach, meadow pipits and black redstarts in the grass and if you time it just right, then two naked female van lifers shamelessly bathing in front of you. Man, that coffee was worth it!
More Doñana NP
The Doñana Park Visitor Center just outside of El Rocio is another must stop location. There are well developed trails and above all, a very good variety of birdlife. It was here that I became enamored with the Dartford Warbler. This colorful warbler is tiny in size but big on personality. We spent three and a half hours in this location and during our walk many lifers were seen in addition to the Dartford Warbler. For example, there were many Common Pochards in the water. Additionally, I had excellent photo sessions with a Water Rail, an Iberian Gray Shrike as well as a Theckla’s Lark.
One final stop in this area was the Acebuche area of Doñana NP. Here I finally added Song Thrush to my life list and got some nice photos of the Iberian Magpie, Crested Tit and Eurasian Hoopoe.
Birding Andalucia along the Way to Algeciras
The next morning, we woke early and left for the trip to Algeciras because here we would meet with our friends from Vietnam. We would, however, stop along the way. Top priority for the entire trip was the endangered White-headed Duck. If we were lucky, then we could find them in a couple of small ponds not too far off our route to Algeciras.
As soon as we arrived at the Laguna de Camino Colorado the ducks were visible. In addition there was a Western Swamphen, the European equivalent of the Purple Gallinule, who was not particularly camara shy. Using my best camera, in flight skills, I attempted to capture a great photo of the many Eurasian Crag-Martins flying erratically but this proved to be very difficult.
In due time we made it to lunch in Cadiz. Basically, another amazing tapas experience in a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant. We chatted with an Australian lady travelling alone from Madrid where she has some family. A stroll on the beach and the jetty yielded some nice photos.
There was one final stop along the way at Alcornocales NP – Embalse de Celemín. It was nice to see the Eurasian Griffons weighing in at 25 lbs soaring over the Little Ringed Plovers weighing less than 2 oz while a European Stonechat gave me my best photos to date of this bird. It was on this hike that we crossed paths with some South African boondockers. They were travelling and living in the most amazing overland vehicle. What a journey they were making!
Weekend with Friends
Our friends were amazing hosts for the weekend. After all, they welcomed us into their home where we spent Three Kings Day (a big holiday in Spain) with their family (her sisters). Certainly, it was a wonderful time. They also showed us around their town and took us to Europe’s most southern point, Tarifa.
Imagine walking into a bar in Tarifa and seeing Woody Harrelson. Furthermore, asking if it is really him and then hanging with him for the evening. Sadly, this did not happen to me, but it did to my friend, Javier. Seems like Woody was bound for Paris and then changed his mind, in flight, and asked the pilot to divert to somewhere else. What a great story!
We certainly learned much history in Tarifa, as it is a history rich town, mostly involving Moorish conflict. As can be seen, this is a birding blog, so I will forgo that discussion. Follow the links for Guzman the Good and the Tarifa Castle for some interesting 13th century history.
Ok, so there was one early morning rise for me to go out on my own while everyone else slept in. As I walked to the far north end of Playa del Rinconcillo in Algeciras, all of the sudden, the flats exposed themselves to me and hundreds of shorebirds were in view. I logged twenty-two different species here. Happily, I also recorded three lifers, specifically, Little Stint, Northern Gannett and Slender-billed Gull. Without doubt, the pre-dawn alarm was worth it.
Spending this weekend with friends in the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar was an especially great experience that will not be forgotten. On the next trip we will go to the Rock.
Birding Andalucia on the Downhill Slope
From Algeciras we headed up the coast to spend our last three nights in Andalucia at an apartment in Marbella right on the beach. Once again, the tapas in the local restaurants were fantastic.
One aspect of the Spanish Riviera that really surprised me was the size of the deviation between my expectation and reality. I was expecting a much lower overall density of development. You know, quaint towns with charming centers dispersed along a coastal highway with dramatic views all the way from Gibraltar and Malaga. The reality is that due to the intense development, you cannot tell where one town ends and the next one begins. No offense intended, but it was disappointing.
The first place that I wanted to go was Sierra de las Nievas NP, near Tolox and hike the Sendero de las Cascades. Even though this was a nice strenuous hike, and I did eventually get my lifer Iberian Green Woodpecker, there were several misses on this trail and a minimal amount of bird life. Only 13 species in almost 3 hours with several of them being “heard only”.
More exciting but less rigorous was the high elevation pass at Puerto del Viento near Ronda. I would have loved to have more time to explore this location. Despite spending only a few minutes here five species were identified including Red-billed Chough, a lifer. There are trails here and the higher elevation brings different species into play.
We spent a few hours walking around the town of Ronda. This is a magnificent town perched on a cliff with phenomenal views as can be seen in the photos. The city is very walkable.
Andalucia Birding – The Big Letdown
One morning, I awoke early and was on the road before sunrise for what should have been one of the best birding spots of the trip, Desembocadura del Guadalhorce, just outside of Malaga. This reclaimed wetland is a large natural paradise surrounded by city. Furthermore, it is developed for biking, hiking, running and specifically for birding including several bird blinds. There were many new birds that I was hoping to find here, particularly the Reed Bunting, Common Scoter, Eurasian Wigeon, Audouin’s Gull and the Eurasian Penduline-Tit. All these birds are commonly reported at this location during the winter.
After driving for about 40 minutes and parking my car, with excitement I walked to the entrance only to find it locked closed with a big “Sorry for the Inconvenience” sign. Seems there was some work being done on one of the trails that required the entire park to be shutdown. Despite the situation, I made the best of it and walked around the outside of the park and along the beach. I had 30 species, so not too bad. With satisfaction, I captured my first photos of a European Serin and some great shots of a Greater Flamingo during the walk. The flamingo was white, not pink, presumably it was resident in this park and the food source did not color the feathers as much as usual.
Off to Madrid
There would be one final stop to finish birding Andalucia in Jaén at Laguna del Cadimo. This was a hotspot noted on eBird and indicated as a hiking trail on google maps. Another let down. The access to this small lake was locked for unknown reasons. Despite this, I made the best of it by walking the roads in the area for an hour or two. The birding Andalucia trip ended on a high-note with three last minute lifers: Wood Lark, Red-legged Partridge and Mistle Thrush. This brought my final Spain total for the trip to 110 species.
Conclusion
The European “birding” trip yielded 38 lifers and a lifetime of great memories of time spend with the wife, kids, friends and nature. Birding Andalucia offers a unique birding opportunity due to its proximity to the Straits of Gibraltar. This close point of approach to Africa is a major migration route as well as a spillway for African birds to reside in this part of Spain.
I vow to return during the spring before too long to observe some of this action.
Really enjoyed this post Joel!
Thanks Jaye!
Once again, another exciting report. I never expected so many local residents. Species that caught my eye were Iberian Magpie,
Eurasian Hoopoe, Western Swamphen, Water Rail. It appears that Spain is serious about preserving their wildlife. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thanks Clyde, See you next week. I’ll be looking for a Sedge Wren at the North Shore reserve!