Ebro Delta
Flamingoes, ibex and orchids
Saturday 2 - Saturday 9 May 2009 (8 days)
Join Mike Lockwood and Fran Trabalón for a full week amidst one of Europe's best wetlands and the 1,400-m high craggy limestone mountains lying a few miles inland.
In terms of its importance for migratory and breeding birds in the western Mediterranean, the arrow-shaped Ebro Delta in southern Catalonia can only be equalled by the world famous Camargue and Doñana. However, for many the Ebro Delta is even better as an all-round wildlife site given the proximity of the limestone mountains of Els Ports and El Montsià, which boast Iberian specialties such as Bonelli's Eagle and Black Wheatear, as well as a wealth of flora in the centuries-old olive and carob groves. Likewise, the area houses interesting invertebrate and mammal communities. This is the leaders' home ground, and their local knowledge and contacts will keep us up to date regarding any migrants passing through in what is the most species-rich week for birds of the whole year!
One of Catalonia's top birders, Fran Trabalón has birdwatched on five continents but is happiest on his own patch in Catalonia. He'll be leading for us again this year in the Ebro Delta, one his favourite sites. When not birding (which isn't often), Fran works as a forest ranger for the Catalan Government.
One of Catalonia's top birders, Fran Trabalón has birdwatched on five continents but is happiest on his own patch in Catalonia. He'll be leading for us again this year in the Ebro Delta, one his favourite sites. When not birding (which isn't often), Fran works as a forest ranger for the Catalan Government.
Price: £ 1,395
Single supp.: £ 245
Deposit: £ 200 per person
The price is per person and includes scheduled flights London-Barcelona and Barcelona-London, airport taxes, accommodation, all meals, incidental tips, transport and the services of the leaders.
The price excludes holiday insurance, drinks and other personal expenses
*For an ex-flight cost of the tour (Barcelona/Barcelona) please deduct £105 per person from the tour cost.
Leaders: Mike Lockwood & Fran Trabalón
Itinerary
Days 1 - 8
We fly to Barcelona airport, where we meet up with Mike and Fran and head for a three-star hotel in the heart of the Ebro Delta, set amid rice paddies which are teeming with birds, in particular Audouin's Gulls, Squacco Herons, Avocets and Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns.
The Ebro Delta is transformed from the third week in April onwards when the sluice gates are opened and the rice paddies are flooded in preparation for the planting of the region's most important crop. Almost overnight the delta is converted into a huge lake, which, together with the delta's permanent reedy lagoons and salt pans, lies spot on the main western Mediterranean flyway route for dozens of migratory birds. In early May migration is still in full swing, but most of the delta's breeding birds will have arrived and be busy mating and nest-building in the ever-lengthening days.
Common breeders include five species of tern (Common, Sandwich, Little, Gull-billed and Whiskered, along with a few pairs of Caspian), Greater Flamingo, Purple and Night Herons, Glossy Ibis, Great White Egret, Audouin's and Slender-billed Gulls, Collared Pratincoles, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plover, Purple Swamp-hens, and, amongst the passerines, Crested and Lesser Short-toed Larks and Savi's and Great Reed Warblers. Also most anything can turn up on migration, with ducks, waders (above all, Tringa and Calidris species, godwits), raptors and passerines all prominent.
We will be dividing our time more or less equally between the delta and the inland limestone mountains of Els Ports de Tortosa and El Montsià. At lower levels the ancient olive and carob groves are home to nesting Woodchat Shrike, Nightingale, Hoopoe, Bee-eater and Orphean Warbler. As we push a little further inland and uphill, amidst the crags and forest, we look for Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Thekla Lark, Black Wheatear, Subalpine and Melodious Warblers and Rock Sparrow. The road to the top of Els Ports' will take us into a completely different world the realm of the Spanish Ibex that is covered by Scots pine forests and dominated by towering limestone peaks, home to Alpine Swift, Crested Tit, Firecrest and Short-toed Treecreeper, and a nesting site for a healthy population of Griffon Vultures.
The whole area is good for raptors and we can expect to see Short-toed and Bonelli's Eagles, Hobby, Peregrine, Kestrel, Black Kite, Montagu's and Marsh Harriers and just possibly Egyptian Vulture. Passage will bring more raptors to the Ebro Delta, while Eagle Owl is a distinct possibility if the breeding season is not too advanced. We will also make an evening excursion for Red-necked Nightjars, which like to rest on the delta's tracks during migration, and breed just inland.
The limestone flora inland is superb and we will be looking for orchids such as Ophrys fusca, woodcock orchid, sword-leaved helleborine and violet limodore, as well as typical plants such as the silvery Convolvulus lanuginosus, the very attractive rusty foxglove, dwarf fan-palm (Europe's only native palm tree), strawberry-tree, a yellow Jerusalem sage Phlomis lychnitis and many, many others.
The butterfly fauna inland is typically Mediterranean and common species include Common and Scarce Swallowtails, Cleopatra, Black-eyed and Adonis Blues, Provenal and Violet Fritillaries, the orange-and-brown nominal form of the familiar Speckled Wood and Large Wall Brown.
If time permits, we'll visit the quay at Sant Carles de la Ràpita just as the local fishing fleet is docking in the company of thousands upon thousands of gulls. Here too it is fascinating to watch the fish and other marine creatures of all shapes and sizes being unloaded and then auctioned off to the local restaurants and hotels.
Accommodation: Hotels with all rooms en suite.
Numbers: Max. 12 clients
Days 1 - 8
We fly to Barcelona airport, where we meet up with Mike and Fran and head for a three-star hotel in the heart of the Ebro Delta, set amid rice paddies which are teeming with birds, in particular Audouin's Gulls, Squacco Herons, Avocets and Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns.
The Ebro Delta is transformed from the third week in April onwards when the sluice gates are opened and the rice paddies are flooded in preparation for the planting of the region's most important crop. Almost overnight the delta is converted into a huge lake, which, together with the delta's permanent reedy lagoons and salt pans, lies spot on the main western Mediterranean flyway route for dozens of migratory birds. In early May migration is still in full swing, but most of the delta's breeding birds will have arrived and be busy mating and nest-building in the ever-lengthening days.
Common breeders include five species of tern (Common, Sandwich, Little, Gull-billed and Whiskered, along with a few pairs of Caspian), Greater Flamingo, Purple and Night Herons, Glossy Ibis, Great White Egret, Audouin's and Slender-billed Gulls, Collared Pratincoles, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plover, Purple Swamp-hens, and, amongst the passerines, Crested and Lesser Short-toed Larks and Savi's and Great Reed Warblers. Also most anything can turn up on migration, with ducks, waders (above all, Tringa and Calidris species, godwits), raptors and passerines all prominent.
We will be dividing our time more or less equally between the delta and the inland limestone mountains of Els Ports de Tortosa and El Montsià. At lower levels the ancient olive and carob groves are home to nesting Woodchat Shrike, Nightingale, Hoopoe, Bee-eater and Orphean Warbler. As we push a little further inland and uphill, amidst the crags and forest, we look for Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Thekla Lark, Black Wheatear, Subalpine and Melodious Warblers and Rock Sparrow. The road to the top of Els Ports' will take us into a completely different world the realm of the Spanish Ibex that is covered by Scots pine forests and dominated by towering limestone peaks, home to Alpine Swift, Crested Tit, Firecrest and Short-toed Treecreeper, and a nesting site for a healthy population of Griffon Vultures.
The whole area is good for raptors and we can expect to see Short-toed and Bonelli's Eagles, Hobby, Peregrine, Kestrel, Black Kite, Montagu's and Marsh Harriers and just possibly Egyptian Vulture. Passage will bring more raptors to the Ebro Delta, while Eagle Owl is a distinct possibility if the breeding season is not too advanced. We will also make an evening excursion for Red-necked Nightjars, which like to rest on the delta's tracks during migration, and breed just inland.
The limestone flora inland is superb and we will be looking for orchids such as Ophrys fusca, woodcock orchid, sword-leaved helleborine and violet limodore, as well as typical plants such as the silvery Convolvulus lanuginosus, the very attractive rusty foxglove, dwarf fan-palm (Europe's only native palm tree), strawberry-tree, a yellow Jerusalem sage Phlomis lychnitis and many, many others.
The butterfly fauna inland is typically Mediterranean and common species include Common and Scarce Swallowtails, Cleopatra, Black-eyed and Adonis Blues, Provenal and Violet Fritillaries, the orange-and-brown nominal form of the familiar Speckled Wood and Large Wall Brown.
If time permits, we'll visit the quay at Sant Carles de la Ràpita just as the local fishing fleet is docking in the company of thousands upon thousands of gulls. Here too it is fascinating to watch the fish and other marine creatures of all shapes and sizes being unloaded and then auctioned off to the local restaurants and hotels.
Accommodation: Hotels with all rooms en suite.
Numbers: Max. 12 clients