Flight of the Pratincole – four Suffolk birders go to Spain
Introduction
Chatting amongst the group of friends, members of the Suffolk Ornithologists' Group, it was mentioned wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a birding holiday abroad. Extremadura in Spain was deemed an excellent place with lots of species on offer. One of the guys had been 2 years previously but it would be a first for everyone else. Plans were formulated and preparations made from the August with accommodation looked at, choosing April as a good time of year, due to the ability to see bustards in display, migrants starting to come in, the grass not to tall or too much heat haze and that it didn’t clash with the Easter break.
Accommodation & Food
We had decided to go self-catering as that would allow us the flexibility of when and where we went as well as being cheaper. A lot of accommodation in Caceres province was bed & breakfast, so we widened our search and found a four bedroom house in Orellana La Vieja in Badajoz province for £400. This was a great base for us, lots of room for four and well equipped. Visit the web site for more details - Orellana holidays.
Accommodation address: No 7, Calle Hernan Cortes, Orellana la Vieja, Badajoz, Extremadura available via Mike Adams, 111 Alwyn Road, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5EN email: hernancortes ‘at’ btinternet 'dot' com
As we were self-catering we used a couple of small town shops and visited larger supermarkets in Madronera and Trujillo.
Flight & car hire
We then checked airlines and found that BA, although only slightly costlier than other airlines, gave us the suitable flight times we needed so we got a flight + car rental package with them, flying from Heathrow. We drove 1990km whilst in Spain.
Information
We scanned web sites for trip reports, looked at books for places to visit and species to see.
References:
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/triprepo...xtre-may-08.htm
http://www.birdwatching-extremadura...0Apr%202008.pdf
http://www.travellingbirder.com/tri...port.php?id=579
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/pdf-area/EXTREMADURA.pdf
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/triprepo...-april-2009.htm
http://home.tiscali.nl/jvanderw/spain98/extr98b.html
http://www.birdingextremadura.blogspot.com/
http://www.birdinginspain.com/free-...trip-report.pdf
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1815
http://www.travellingbirder.com/tri...port_may-08.pdf
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tracy.mann/Extrem1.htm
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paulosw/extremadura.html
http://www.birdforum.net
http://www.eurobutterflies.com/
http://birding.villuercas-ibores-jara.com/
Collins Bird Guide, 2nd edition by Svensson, Mullarney & Zetterstrom
Collins Butterfly Guide by Tolman & Lewington
Collins Mediterranean Flowers by Blamey & Grey-Wilson
Collins Field Guide, Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe by Arnold, Burton & Ovenden
Crossbill Guide to Extremadura, Spain 1st edition
Extremadura Birdwatching Routes by Regional Government of Extremadura, Department of Culture and Tourism.
Where to watch birds - Southern & Western Spain by Garcia & Paterson, 1st edition
Michelin Touring & Motorist atlas Spain & Portugal 1:400 000
Budget
The exchange rate was 1.09 euros to the pound. The amount below is cost per person, based on the four of us. It was extremely good value and made it an inexpensive trip.
Accommodation £100.00
Flight + car hire £174.00
Spending (food and fuel) £ 90.00
UK car park & fuel £ 24.50
Total £388.50
A few photos from Orellana la Vieja.
1.Our accommodation
2.The local church
3.Sunset view from the road we stayed on