Gredos
Birdwatching in Spain | Birding in Spain | Birdwatching tours in Spain
AVILA, THE HEART OF CASTILLE (6 days)
Raptors, steppe, mountain and forest birds
Dates: 4-9 May 2009
Cost per person: 1100 Euros (single supp. 120€)
Ávila, a medieval World Heritage Town best known for its 12th century
city walls and its mystics, is located on the edge of Castille’s Northern
Plateau, only 100 km NW of Madrid. This enchanting town will be our base
for the whole holiday. For birding, this town is strategically located at or
near a variety of habitats such as the Gredos Mountains, the vast plains of
Castille, and Holm Oak habitat amongst others which yield a great diversity
of birds.
Day 1 : having met at Madrid airport in the morning, we
shall drive towards Ávila stopping along the way at various
places where we shall start looking for raptors with possibilities of seeing Montagu’s
Harrier, Booted Eagle, Red and Black Kites, as well as Red-billed
Chough, Hoopoe and Common Stonechat. When we
reach Ávila, we shall settle in our small hotel, our home for
the duration of the trip and, time permitting, we can bird-watch in one of the
town parks which are surprisingly rich in birds and delight in the show put
on by thousands of Common Swifts that come back to their nests
in the old city walls in the evening.
Days 2 to 6:
on Day 2, we shall cover the
nearby valleys, rocky outcrops, streams and pine forest that are within easy
reach of Ávila and which are home to Black and Griffon Vultures, Golden
Eagle, Honey Buzzard, Black Stork, Southern-Grey
Shrike, Crested Lark, and Black-eared Wheatear to
name a few.
Day 3 :
will be spent on the northern slopes of the Gredos Mountains,
a one hour drive from Ávila, to look for Bluethroat, Ortolan
Bunting, Rock Thrush, Skylark, Dartford Warbler on higher ground, Crested
Tit, Crossbill, Pied Flycatcher, Short-toed Treecreeper in the Pine
Woods, and Yellow, Grey and White Wagtails and Dippers in
the mountain streams.
On the morning of day 4 :
we shall explore the nearby hills and
open forests of Holm oaks where we may see Short-toed Eagle, Rock Sparrow,
Corn Bunting, Bee-eaters, Thekla Lark, Subalpine Warbler and Woodchat
Shrike.
The afternoon of Day 4 will be free for those who would like to have some
time to visit the town of Ávila or just to relax. There will
also be an optional bird watching afternoon trip for those who are keen to continue
birding!
Day 5 :
our last full day, we shall drive North to the vast
plains and the saline lagoons near the area known as Villafáfila. This
steppe-like habitat is home to the largest population of Great Bustards in
Europe and also has a large population of breeding Lesser Kestrels. Marsh
Harrier, Hobby, Calandra Lark, Tawny Pipit may also be seen. The birds
to be seen in the lagoons will be dependent on the amount of recent rainfall
but birds such as Black-winged stilt, Avocet, Gull-billed Tern, Fan-tailed
Warblers, Great Reed Warblers breed here.
On our final day, 6 : , we shall have various options for our return journey to Madrid depending on what birds remain to be seen. We shall aim to be at Madrid airport by 14h00.