2007 AUGUST 22nd

  Human colonies, passing birds and lost birders

Not many foreign visitors make their way down to Doñana in Summer time and those who come are not here for the birds normally. During the dry season the marshes and forests are not the most visited areas but the beaches. Thousands of Spanish holiday makers find in Doñana's virgin sandy beaches a perfect spot to relax for a few days, and most of them concentrate in the coastal "colony" called Matalascañas, 15km south of El Rocío.

If you still plan to visit the area in August or September to see the park I would recommend you to choose your lodge in El Rocío and book an organize tour to see both the south and the north of the park. The south route going along the beaches, sand dunes and forests still offers good scenery and sights of mammals during the summer time. Our tours to the northern marshes and forests will still give you a chance to get a Lynx and a good number of resident and passing species of birds. The dry marshes look now more like a desert and only a number of Larks and sandgrouses survive in this wild territory, even in this mild summer we are having.

The migration has already started. Well, actually Black Kites disappeared from our forests and marshes several weeks ago and now we are getting a good number of them passing through again along with the first Short-toed Eagles. A good number of Booted Eagles are also still with us or passing along with Melodious Warblers and Wheatears. Spectacled Warbler has been extremely easy over the last few weeks all along the road edges through the marshes. Squacco, Night and Purple Herons are still not difficult along the Caño Guadiamar and small flocks of Glossy Ibis fly often over it. Spoonbills, Flamingos, Purple Gallinules, Avocets, and Egrets concentrate along the Caño as well. And the first small groups of waders such a Common, Green and Wood Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Little Ring and Ring Plovers are already moving around.

But without any doubt, during the dry season, the best birding spots can be found  in the rice fields north of the park and the tidal marshes in Cadiz and Huelva. Most of herons, egrets, flamingos, ibis, storks, ducks, coots and waders have moved there. Collared Pratincoles,  Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns are still common in the vast flooded fields around Isla Mayor. The water restrictions have reduced the usual 35.000 has. of rice fields down to about half of it but still there is plenty to explore. Now, there are two options: either you are an expert explorer and don't get lost easily even without a detailed map of the area or you get someone to guide you around the complicated net of dirt tracks that cut through the flat fields. Both options sound good to me, both can get you a lot of fun.

MAY 19th

  Nature and culture

We can feel summer coming soon these days. Temperatures are going up and the marshes are slowly drying out. The rain we had at the beginning of the month secured a good breeding season this year but nothing can stop seasons to move on. Nevertheless, Doñana still looks good and offers a good nature experience to its visitors.

In the Mother of the Marshes, the shallow lagoon by the settlement of El Rocío, several hundred Whiskered Terns keep the place busy with their goings and comings carrying nesting materials to the colony. Several Black and White-winged Terns can also be seen flying over the area.

Beyond the boundaries of the marshes everyone is getting ready for the coming main event in El Rocío: the yearly pilgrimage. In a few days people from all over Andalusia and beyond will fill the sandy tracks with is horses, traditional customs and music. A few days of hard walking along the traditional routes that will take hundreds of thousands pilgrims through some of the most beautiful spots of the National Park. The itineraries will be diverted to minimize the effects on the most sensitive species like the Imperial Eagle or the Lynx.

Fallow and Reed Deer males are now regenerating their antlers and Black Kites patrol forests and marshes in search of resources to raise their chicks. Larks keep themselves busy in the marshes, Calandra and Short-toed are the most common while the smallest relative, the Lesser Short-toed, is more difficult to find. Purple Herons, Spoonbills and Glossy Ibis spread over the reeds and ponds. Large flocks of small waders including mainly Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Curlew Sandpiper and Grey Plovers, most in breeding plumage, are still passing through.

Red Crested Pochard and Great Crested Grebe are abundant in the Caño Guadiamar. Crested Coot and White-headed Duck are often seen here too along with Little Bittern, Great Reed Warbler and Savi's Warbler.

Thousand of Ibis, Herons and Egrets turn the lagoons around Jose Antonio Valverde visitor centre into the main attraction of the park. The last Short-toed Eagles are still passing and Egyptian Vulture is often seen circling over the near marshes.

Good temperatures and clean skies, the perfect stage for a great day out in Doñana

APRIL 10th

  Coots can't count

Spring in Doñana is always an outstanding experience. The abundant rain we had in Autumn is making  Doñana to look at its best. Weather has been a bit strange since then though. Winter was unusually warm and that kept many birds up north; now we are having some unusually low temperatures and persistent northern winds. A group of Cranes didn't go until the end of March, a month later than normal and the migration from Africa is coming a bit later this year.

Black Kites and Booted Eagles were punctual and spread all over since early March and now you can see hundreds of them displaying and carrying sticks for their nests in Matasgordas Cork Oak Forest. Yesterday we saw the first White Stork chicks in one of the colonies near Palacio del Rey. Also there, we followed with our binoculars a Crested Lark which was carrying food in its beak. You could think that after that clear sample of human intelligence we had found the nest easily. Three people, 2 eyes each, that makes 6 eyes (I am not a coot, I can count) scanning every centimetre of the grounds along with  6 feet trying not to step on something soft and feathery. Well, when I was just about to quit, one of my clients pointed at something about 1 metre to left of where they were standing behind me. We beat the feathery and smart little Lark just by a bit.

Bee-eaters are increasing numbers while Great-spotted Cuckoo are becoming more rare to see. Winchats, Wheatears and Redstarts are still passing but I haven't seen any Roller or Oriole yet. Most of Warblers are with us by now but Reed Warbler and Melodious Warbler are still to be added to the list of species recorded this spring. Great Reed and Sedge Warblers are performing free concerts at the Caño Guadiamar River every day though. Squacco Heron is looking at last smashing with its surprising electric blue bills and Purple Herons are increasing their numbers too. The breeding colony around Jose Antonio Valverde Visitor's Centre is a place you should not miss if you visit the area, even if you are not specially interested on birds or nature. A noisy crowd of Herons, Egrets and Ibis finding their way through reeds and tamarisks, carrying little pieces of vegetation and sticks to their particular nest is a well worth sight.

That is what I and my clients were doing this morning: enjoying the hectic activity in the colony and looking at a Common Coot feeding three of its chicks with little bits of green stuff taken from underwater. Suddenly a young Gull dropped down from the sky and, with a flashing pirouette, took one of the chicks away in its beak. We saw it flying just a few tens of meters away from that place, landing in the lagoon and swallowing the little thing in a second. It was not much the mother coot could do. But that wasn't what amazed us the most, it was seeing the mother coot continuing with is task of feeding its two chicks left without much hesitance. Did it really realize that one of the chicks had disappeared? How many chicks did it have originally? Are Coot's paternal feelings affected by these events? Can coots count?

It is sad, isn't it? But that's nature. The bright yellow  eyes of the Short-toed Eagle are also out there to be seen these days, and some of the last Black Storks, and the fly of the Imperial Eagle defending its nest from Black Kites or, if you are lucky, the king of the forest, the Iberian Lynx, patrolling its territory unaware and careless about little coot chicks being taken away by gulls.

FEBRUARY 28th

  An early Spring

The unusually mild Winter we are having this year has clearly reduced the number of birds wintering in Doñana this year. The high temperatures and lack of snow in northern latitudes have made unnecessary a long migration to the normal winter quarters in southern Spain. Geese and waders have been less abundant in Doñana and the marshes seem quitter than normally.

In the other hand we have had plenty of rain unlike previous years. Our forests and marshes look at their best in our early Spring. Green is the dominant colour all around in the pine woods. It combines with white in the marshes where: a green carpet of grass alternates with large patches of white buttercups. We can predict a very good breeding season this spring. High temperatures plus plenty of water means also mosquitoes, so if you are planning to visit Doñana this spring don't forget some anti-mosquito lotion.

Every animal in Doñana is now getting ready for breeding so now Partridges go always in pairs along the sandy tracks through the pine forests. Great, Blue and Crested Tits are very busy trying to find and keep the best hole in the pine and cork oak. The old Great Spotted Woodpecker holes are among the best ones. Cerinthe lutea abound now under the pines and several species of wild geranium begin to come up in the meadows. Narcissus serotinum is still very common in the most protected corners among the bushes.

The first Black Kites and Booted Eagles can be seen flying over the green cover of trees while White Storks and Tree Sparrows keep themselves very busy carrying materials to the nests. Large herds of Wild Boar can also be seen often running away from us and out of sight in the bushes. The blues skies are full or Swallows and Martins all over, they are not empty any more. Serins show off loudly from the top op the Ash trees and Green Woodpeckers laugh in the background.

When moving through the cork oak forest is not rare to find small groups of Griffon Vulture perching lazily on the old trees, waiting for the sun to lift and heat their large bodies before starting to patrol the marshes for food. Unaware of them rabbits have their vegetarian breakfast next to the giant mastic tree that house them. A bit further, next to the edge of the marshes, we can listen every day to the dispute between Magpies and Great-spotted Cuckoos, a noisy chat that contrast with the melodious song of a hundred Goldfinch flying over the thistles. A Sardinian Warbler seems to defend its territory against us hidden in the bushes and groups of Fallow Deer graze quietly in the distance.

In the marshes the last Greylag Geese converse like planning their route and the squawks of several hundred Flamingos get to us from the far side of the flooded plain. A 1 km long pinkish thin line suddenly broken by a group of males with their necks stretched toward the sky. Calandra and Lesser Short-toed Larks whistle while flying and the few Lapwings that have decided to stay make acrobatic pirouettes. Numerous Kestrels sat on the fence posts wave their wings at us and a couple of Little Owls watch us from behind the flowers in the corner of the bridge on the road to Jose Antonio Valverde Visitor Centre. Some Coots are building their nests already; a National Park warden says to us that he has seen the first chicks near Caño Guadiamar. Once we get there we have to stop to scope over a group of about 20 Purple Gallinules. The first Sedge Warbler this season is singing in a Tamarisk; a flock of Glossy Ibis fly over us towards the colony which will become in a few weeks one of the biggest concentrations of birds in the whole area.

From the bridge over the Guadiamar you can see just marshes over kilometres around with the sand dunes in the background to the south and pine forests to the north. Flocks of Shoveler and Red-crested Pochard decorate the blue waters. Black-necked Grebes, Great-crested Grebes and Little Grebes displaying in pairs and Common Coots fight for the prettiest female. Some laugh, others squawk and some others sing their melodies in a relaxing symphony. An untagged Crested Coot is a good finding along the Caño and the distant Great White Egret put a note of elegancy in the picture. Will some of them stay this year at last and breed in Doñana? The pair of Barn Owls in the old pumping house aren't used to the light traffic along the road yet and fly away as soon as one tries to watch them through the whole in the wall. The unmistakable sound of Cranes in the distance encourage us to keep moving further across the cereal fields. The last few hundred of them are still arguing with the farmers for a few fresh barley buds. Soon the dispute will be over.

A few Squaco Herons, the first Short-toed Eagle passing through, a Red Kite circling high, a very welcomed Spanish Imperial Eagle gliding over the marshes, the last Short-eared Owl having a sunbath, a male Hen Harrier on his way north, a female Peregrine falling from the sun and a couple of fragile Subalpine Warbler among others helped us to have a very nice day.

A perfect temperature, a beautiful sky and an unsurpassable setting for an unforgettable day out in Doñana.

JANUARY 15th

Happy New Year. I hope you all will have a good start to this 2007. Good luck for everyone

  The day of the Owls

Just a few days ago I met Isabel and James, an English couple, very early in the morning at their hotel in El Rocío. I knew them from a previous visit to the park. This time they wanted to see Doñana in the winter and they had a special wish: they wanted to see owls. That meant we would have a long day out, starting with the Tawny Owl at sunrise (with a bit of luck) and finishing with the Eagle Owl at sunset. And a long area to be covered from the pine forests in Doñana to the low rocky hills in the Andévalo, north of Doñana.

I don't use recorded calls to attract birds, I consider that this technique changes the natural behaviour of animals too much, so we just entered the pine forest before sunrise with the hope to hear the Tawny Owl defending its territory. They are early breeders here in Doñana, so if you choose the right place you have good chances to hear them in January. We didn't only see it but we also saw it! The sky was not black anymore, but turning grey to the east, when we first heard one of them and them saw it flying and seating on a branch of an Ash tree. That was a good start.

On the way to the marshes we found fresh lynx tracks showing some strange marks. It was like a zigzagging wide line in between the pads. Isabel and James didn't know what to attribute this to, but I had seen those markings before. Just imagine a small rabbit caught by the neck and hanging down from the fauces of the wild cat. It will add its own posthumous contribution to the composition. The sandy soils of Doñana tell daily stories to those who can read them.

How the hell did you see that? That was their remark after seeing what  I was pointing to them. There is a little trick in this, that was my answer. Many birds have stable behaviours and that little expert in camouflage was just living there. We were looking at a Little Owl perching on an eucalyptus stem surrounded by many other roots of this tree. The administration of the park is trying to put the number of rabbits up in Doñana as a measure to improve the conditions for large predators like the Spanish Imperial Eagle or the Iberian Lynx. Rabbits had always abound in this spot but Mixomatosis first and Pneumonia later have affected very seriously their populations.

In the fields to the other side of the road, a good hundred of deer grazing. About half of them were reed and the other half Fallow Deer. A Black-shouldered Kite hovering for its breakfast and several Red Kites gliding for it. One more surprise was around the corner: two Great-spotted Cuckoo were having a sun bath seating quietly on a small ash tree. Soon they will fill the forest with their noisy claims. Last year we reported the earliest sight of these birds in Doñana, on the 7th of December, this time these first Cuckoos arrived when expected.

A small flock of Greylag Geese flow over our heads while scoping over the herds of deer from La Escupidera Gate and went to join a few thousand more on the wet marshes. We knew they would be there because we could here them from far as we approached them. Large flocks of Godwits and ducks manoeuvred over the horizon when I decided to turn over and check the fences at my back. A young female Peregrine was scanning the area from one of the tall post of a cattle corral; a cold gust of wind put us on the move again.

I stopped the land rover a bit further to go out and see a flock of about 50 Pintail Sandgrouse flying over and took the opportunity to check the area with my binoculars. You never know who is watching you out there. A small male Merlin was fully aware of our presence but felt secure at some three hundred meters from us. A small group of Rock Sparrows felt different caught in crossed fire between the predator and the two-legged animals. We used our two legs to get them car and they their wings to get distance from us.

A compulsory stop at the bridge over the Caño Guadiamar gave us some good sights of Black Stork, Red-crested Pochard, Purple Gallinule, Great White Egret, Flamingo and Spoonbill, among others. My clients were surprised to see a couple of Swallows moving around us in the middle of the winter. I had to explain that this year I had seen them for the first time staying over the winter in the park. Blue Throat and Penduline Tit were also spotted in the reeds near the bridge. During a short drive along the caño we unexpectedly found a Crested Coot, its knobs were unusually big considering the time of the year.

It's not easy to find a Barn Owl unless you know where to look for. And not always you see what you are expecting to; that is nature. We tried a couple of places I knew where we would have good chances to watch one  without much disturbance for them, but we failed. I thought that was one down on the list of owls but nature showed again unexpected. A little later, while driving along the Lucio de El Lobo I saw a silhouette in a tamarisk. It turned to be a Barn Owl that had chosen that tree for rusting. I kept on seeing it in the same place for the next few weeks.

Our next target was presumably waiting for us hidden in the bushes next to Huerta Tejada Farm House. In sunny days they come out to enjoy the warm temperatures but that day was dull and cold so I was expecting a hard search for them. And so it was. When Isabel eventually watched through the scope the yellow eyes of the Short-eared Owl through the bushes thought they could not be real. Again a break in the usual silhouette of the bushes attracted my attention while driving slowly along the dirt track. We counted 6 in a short section of the road of about a hundred meters. The group of some 30 Stone Curlew we saw in the field behind was just a nice bonus.

On the way to a well deserved lunch break I decided to pass by Veta Hornitos, a plot of semi natural marshes next to a northern section of Caño Guadiamar. We counted there several thousand Flamingoes and Greylag Geese, along with huge flocks of Shoveler, Pintail, Coots, Teals, Mallard and Pochard. Nothing unusual in wintertime. But coming from behind a narrow island covered with glasswort not far from us a male White-headed Duck made more than good the drive.

At Bar El Tejao in Isla Mayor we had a couple of delicious tapas an a glass of red wine. Recovered our strength we head for the kingdom of the last owl on the list. It is a 90 minutes drive to the spurs of Huelva's Sierra Morena, an area shared by species as valuable as Great Bustard or Eagle Owl. We were lucky enough to see the small relatives of the first, a flock of about 60 Little Bustards left when looking for the big ones.

A fortifying cup of coffee at a local bar and there we went on search of our last target, the Eagle Owl. I always say, maybe I shouldn't, that it always attended its appointment with me so far. The usual rocky ridge at the usual time. You first enjoy its strong call and then you find it seating on its throne of stone up there in the hill. A short fly to the top to give us the best sights and later, when you can hardly see it blurred in the darkness, it flies away for its first hunting patrol. Some good 15 minutes of nature in live, the best way to finish a birdwatching day.

DECEMBER 15th

  The wettest Autumn

It hasn't been until the current week when the winter has come down from the north. Temperatures have dropped at last to only 5 or 6 degrees around sunrise. As a result of this unusual weather situation the migration has been clearly affected. The first big flocks of Cranes were not reported until the last week of November, around a month later than normally. And many of the expected 70.000 Greylag Geese are still to come. In addition, this is said to be the wettest Autumn in the last 30 years in the area and a very good one in most of Spain. You just have to take a drive around the Doñana region to notice it: there is water everywhere. Every depression in the forests is flooded, the lowest parts of every field or meadow are covered in water, the marshes are close to look like the ocean the turn into every good winter. Too much water to conquer for the reduced flocks.

In the Park, Red-legged Partridge and Reed Deer graze reluctant in the forests while geese and Fallow Deer do the same in the marshes next to them. Lynx tracks in the wet sand and noisy gangs of Azure-winged Magpie moving through. White Storks are taking positions on their nests around Palacio del Rey and the pair of Imperial Eagles in the rice fields are doing the same. Serins and Goldfinch also gather in big groups over the dry marshes in Matasgordas; a pair of Black-winged Kite can be spotted every day over the same fields. Kestrels and Buzards are getting more and more abundant. Large flocks of ducks and waders can be seen filling the skies over the far edge of the marshes and several thousand Greylag Geese can be seen in the early morning in the dry meadows of Marisma de Hinojos. Peregrines and Red Kites fight for the same piece of hunting grounds around the Cancela del Vicioso and Lesser Short-toed Larks take sand baths on the road in small groups.

Guts of cold wind distress Stonchats sitting on the fences and birdwatchers along the Muro de la Fao in the early morning. Beautiful sunny days and clear views of the sand dunes in the distance. Lapwings and Golden Plover decorate the green islands taken by herds of horses and cows. A few Shelduck here and there. In the Caño Guadiamar Common Coots begin to gather and Marsh Harriers abound over the lagoons around Jose Antonio Valverde visitor centre. Big flocks of Flamingoes, Stilts and Avocets move around the area. One day they are here , the next they choose Lucio del Lobo. An occasional Black Stork go away from the rice fields to explore the vast marshes for a day or two.

A bit further east from the visitor centre, in the fields around Huerta Tejada, we found several hundred Stone Curlew rusting at day time and the first Short-eared Owls patrolling the low bushes. Deeper inside the marshes small groups of Common Cranes can be seen feeding on snails and other small invertebrates in the wet fields of Caracoles State. A nice collection of happy animals.

NOVEMBER 15th

  Quince little summer

That's how Spanish call a period of warm days we get often in Autumn. This year they have come unusually late and hot. We have enjoyed temperatures over 20º and near 30º in some areas in the last few weeks. That is apparently over.

This has clearly altered the normal way of things in the Park. Mosquitoes have been persistently upsetting visitors in the sunny periods between low pressures and Dragonflies have taken advantage of the favourable conditions for our pleasure; marshes are turning green at a wrong time, all that grass will hopefully get covered by the rising of the water level in the next few weeks; Fallow Deer mating season has lasted a bit longer and you can see males showing clear signs of being still ready for fulfilling their male duties. Winter migrants have been postponing a bit their arrival in the area. Only several hundreds Geese and a few dozens of Cranes have been reported so far. Few but happy this year. Geese gave found most of the marshes flooded and the grounds soft enough to dig out the roots of the aquatic plants they like so much.

Temperatures are going down at last and that will bring things to normal very quickly. Some more rain is expected tomorrow, that will keep working the water level up in the marshes. Not many insects flying around anymore and plenty of mushrooms decorating the green fields in the forests and meadows.

Large flocks of ducks can be seen flying all over the parks. Flamingos have also come back to the marshes along with Avocets and Black-winged Stilts. The rice fields are still working like a good food store for thousands of Gulls, Herons, Egrets, Storks and Ibis. Black Stork is now easy all over.

Hundreds of Goldfinches, Serins and Greenfinches move in huge flocks over the dry marshes while Skylarks and Calandra Larks do the same over the cereal fields. Several hundred Stone Curlew have also gathered in the usual fields.

AUGUST 24th

  Nothing to write home about

There is not much exciting to write about during the summer, that's why I hope Bob you will excuse me for not having given you my usual monthly report for the next few months. But now I can feel the new season is coming so I am back on my task.

Migration has begun, it's now difficult to see a Black Kite flying over Doñana; they were very scarce already by the beginning of the month. Very early? Well I can tell you that Great Spotted Cuckoo move through back to Africa in June. Several Osprey made their way south also in early June. And Bee-eaters moved away from the area also several weeks ago. We still hear them flying high south.

Hinojos Marshes are just a dusty plain these days where large trucks are carrying away loads of marsh sedges after the excellent production of last spring. Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and Montagu's Harrier abound. Good number of Wheatears and some Spotted Flycatchers are joining Crested Lark and the last Short-toed Larks along the road to Jose Antonio Valverde. Spectacled Warbler has also become very common along the route. Juveniles of Lesser Short-toed and other Larks are easy around the drinking through at Chozas de los Pastores, near the Caño Guadiamar. Easy to see but a good exercise to tell apart.

The first couple of young Black Stork have been around for the last few days at Caño Guadiamar and Pintail Sandgrouse are common in the marshes and cereal fields near it. Not in their best look but still attractive in their eclipse plumage. Red Kites share the pylons and wires with Short-toed Eagles and the first wintering Peregrines. This is the only flooded area in the whole of the marshes: the course of the river north of the bridge near Jose Antonio Valverde up to Hato Blanco rice fields. Still good numbers of Flamingoes and Spoonbills can bee seen there.

But where things are really happening during the summer is in the rice fields. Only a little tiny problem we have here my friend. There are about 350 square kilometres of it. Flooded fields that haven't been planted or failed ones, those are the good ones. Flocks of Black-winged Stilt, Cattle and Litlle Egrets, Glossy Ibis and Black-tailed Godwit concentrate on certain places. Squacco Heron is very common too. Some Purple Heron and Little Bittern are still with us.

White Stork migration has also begun. Huge whirls of them move over the area these days to settle down on an empty place and turn it into a a crowded one. And this has just started, there will be soon about 20,000 of them feeding on the harvested fields in a few weeks. I can't wait anymore to see that again along with enormous numbers of herons and egrets, ibis, waders and gulls.

MAY 30th

  Hard times for parents

The marshes are getting dry very quickly these days. Temperatures have gone up so evaporation is accelerating the process. Food is getting scarce for aquatic birds, specially for those still working in the breeding. The chicks in the Jose Antonio Valverde heronry are pretty safe from raptors and other predators, but life is not so easy for others.

The usual sources of food for many birds are nearly exhausted so they have to find alternative sources. It's not rare to see these days good examples of this along the Caño Guadiamar. Grey and Purple Herons, usually happy with their frogs and fish, are now predating on duck chicks. It is an unfair fight. There is not much a female Pochard can do to stop the stilted giant taking its ducklings away. There is not much one can do either, it is just the hardness of nature showing up before our eyes.

Not much a Little Grebe can do against the power of the huge red bill of a Purple Gallinule coming through the reeds and stealing one of its chicks. The usual vegetarian diet of this spectacular sort of hen is not enough now when they have to raise a few hungry chicks.

A bit further, in the dry Marshes of Hinojos, herds of sheep and cows walk free in the plains searching for the green vegetation around the last paddles. This is the area chosen this year for a few hundred Collared Pratincoles and some Lapwings to breed. Luckily, most of the chicks are now walking skilfully through the bushes, but some of them are not quick enough to get away from a group of 50 sheep packed together.

Still a bit further, outside the park, in the Dehesa de Abajo Natural Reserve, we find again a tough example of live and death in Nature. As one of last flooded areas in the area, the reservoir next to the Stork colony holds large numbers of aquatic birds, including several hundreds pairs of Whiskered Terns. They have built several breeding colonies in areas with shallow water near the edge of the lagoon. 500 Flamingos, a good number of Common and Crested Coots, several pairs of White-headed Ducks and Marbled Ducks and many Avocet, Black-winged Stilts and other waders, share the area with them in peace as good neighbours. But again, herons and gallinules find in chicks and eggs a good source of proteins. It is a bit pitiful to see 30 little terns making as much noise as they can and working as hard as they know, flying very close each other in a solid group trying to scare away one of these monsters. I guess they get to shorten a bit the visit to their colony at least. The battle with Jackdaws seems a bit more equal, they are not so different in size and luckily they don't attack in groups. But still, they manage to land near one of the nest and steal one egg. It flies away with it and then it turns back to fly just over the colony and join the flock of about 100 of their friends perching on the trees by the edge of the water, some 30 away from the colony of terns. How many eggs will open and how many chicks will survive this year? Not many I guess.

This is life for parents in Doñana in the late Spring.

Apart from these, Lynx is still drawing fresh tracks on the sand every morning; Bee-eater and Sandgrouse putting the brightest colours in the sky; Black Kite and Booted Eagle flying over the forests; Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron and Little Bittern keeping themselves busy at Jose A. Valverde breeding colony; Short-toed Eagle hovering over the cereal fields north of the park and Imperial Eagle still doing fine with their two chicks.

Rice fields are attracting more and more birds so now we have a new huge area to explore

APRIL 28th

  What you can expect to see

Putting aside funny stories, this is what the park looks like these days and what you can expect to see in one of our half day tours:

A good time to start the tour in the late April is something between 7.00 and 7.30. After crossing Puente del Rey, at the beginning of the famous pilgrim track called Raya Real, Crested Larks are common and Bee-eaters seat on the wires left of the sandy road. While crossing the ford over Caño Marín Nightingale and Cetti's Warbler sing restless in the bushes and after entering officially the National Park we normally see Little Owl and Tree Sparrow on the dead Cork Oak Trees along the track. Pairs of Red-legged Partridge and Hoopoe on the ground and Sardinian Warbler in the Mastic Trees. Black Kites seating on the fences to the right and White Storks on the trees in the background.

Crested Tit in the Pine Trees to the left and, some lucky days, Lynx under them. At El Pinto Wild Olives  Oriole is passing these days while Long Tailed Tit sings in the Ash Trees. Some Booted Eagle and a dozen Black Kites will welcome you into Matasgordas Cork Oak Forest. Still some Great Spotted Cuckoo are possible mobbed by Magpie and Oriole just come back from Africa. Red Kite and Montague's Harrier often fly over the open fields at the beginning of the marshes. Short-toed and Calandra Lark fill the skies with their melodies.

Deeper into the marshes, flocks of Collared Pratincole feeding while flying and Griffon Vultures waiting for the first thermals in small groups near the cattle. Pintail Sandgrouse singing in flight in small flocks and Grey Plover showing its best breading plumage on its way back north. Kentish Plover is not difficult at the edge of shallow ponds, along with Dunlin, Ringed Plover and some Little Stint; occasionally also Curlew Sandpiper. Lesser Short-toed Lark is also around for those skilled enough to tell them apart from other relatives. Redshank, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank are normally seen along this road too. Several hundred or thousand flamingos will be spread all over the marshes. Black-eared Whetear is still passing through.

As you get close to Caño Guadiamar Black-winged Stilt get common, along with Little, Black-necked and Great-crested Grebes. Common and Reed-crested Pochards abound. You begin to see flocks of Glossy Ibis and some Purple Heron flying over. Avocet and Spoonbill are common too. From the bridge there Great Reed and Savi's Warbler can be heard and seen, along with Little Bittern and Squacco Heron. Flocks of Sand Martin and Swift are still passing through. These days we have an unexpected visitor in this spot, a male White-headed Duck, normally found swimming looking north from the bridge. We found today a little Tenmick's Stint there.

The usual show live is waiting for us every day at Jose Antonio Valverde's Breeding Colony, something not to be missed in your visit to the area. Marbled Duck is possible here but this year they have been very elusive so far. Spanish Imperial Eagle and Short-toed Eagle are often seen flying over the area.

On a short drive along Caño Guadiamar we normally find some groups of Purple Gallinule and a few Red-rumped Swallow. And it is also worth it to take a look over Lucio de El Lobo, east of the visitor centre.

In summary, a good bird list for a morning tour. Some other very interesting species wait out of the boundaries of the Park for those who come with energy enough to keep going for the whole day. Species like Crested Coot, Marbled Duck, Great-spotted Cuckoo, Spanish Sparrow, Pintail Sandgrouse, Montague's Harrier, Black-shouldered Kite and Slender-billed Gull were recorded today north of the Park.

APRIL 24th

  What a local guide is good for

I like my job, I love it, but these days I feel specially grateful to be able to enjoy Doñana's Nature.

Today's group was integrated by four enthusiastic young Dutch. They had spent the day before birdwatching around the park, trying to get as many species as possible out of their target list, but they ended up the day with 6 nice gaps on it. Luckily for them, they had foreseen that something like that might happen so Hans, who meet me in the summer of 2005, had arranged a half day trip with me to fill them up.

The 6 species needed were: Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Marbled Duck, Crested Coot, Rufous Bush Robin and Olivaceous Warbler. When I meet them at 7.30 in the morning and they explained the situation I thought to myself "Hard work today"

We had around 6 hours to cover the distance between the Eagle and the Robin, about 75 km, and find other 4 difficult species on the way. It was possible, I said, difficult but possible. Possible because I knew the right places to go for every species. Difficult because Marbled Duck had been very elusive in the last few weeks, I had only heard the first Olivaceous Warblers coming trough and I was not sure whether the Robins had come in already or not. But I am always optimistic so I told them that we would get it.

To put things a bit more difficult, the day started with a thick fog covering marshes and forests. So going first for the Eagle was discarded. The distance of 500 metres from the observation point to the Eagle's usual perching tree was too far to have chances of a good sight of it. So we went first for the Black-shouldered Kite. There is a great area for this species north of the Park. We found it with no difficulty seating on a dead tree, so we went for the second one on the list.

From a bridge over the Guadiamar River we had an ideal overview point over the thick cover of Poplars and Willow trees along the banks. Nightingale, Reed Warbler and Cetti's Warbler in a confusing concert but in the background we heard something different, that was the song I was hoping to hear. Now we had a direction to look at. Some Penduline Tits, Willow and Garden Warblers confused us several times but after a few minutes we got to have a good view of the pale Olivaceous Warbler we were looking for.

The mist has cleared away and given us a perfect bright day so it was the time for the Spanish Imperial Eagle. We moved for half an hour across the rice fields to get to the eagle spot. Luckily for us, the chicks seemed to have hatched because the mother was just standing on the nest and not seating on it like the previous days. We enjoyed some beautiful views of it, but only for a couple of minutes, any  superfluous disturbance had to be avoided.

Not too far from there, next to the rice fields edge, we stop the car by a small lagoon covered by white buttercups. That has been the best spot for the Crested Coot in the previous few weeks so I expected that day not to be the first bad one. We counted 5 of them, all wearing a white collar around the neck and a pair of big red knobs on the forehead. Impossible to mistake this time.

It was the Marbled Duck turn. Just a few kilometres south from there, at Dehesa de Abajo, these rare ducks have been seen several times this Spring. On a first try at the north edge of the lagoon we spotted a White-headed Duck which despite of not being on the target list was a nice find. Then  I stopped the car half way down to the south end and, without getting out of the land rover, we spotted the one we were after, two of them on one of the islands.

Now we had to drive all the way back to nearly the starting point in El Rocío to get the last one on the list: the Rufous Bush Robin. And we did. In a small olive plantation we heard the song of a Woodchat Shrike and something else, a much more melodious song in short intervals. That was the unmistakable song of our Robin. It didn't take us very long to find it perching on one of the olive trees some 100 metres from where we were.

On the way back to El Rocío Hans, the organizer of the tour, was saying something in Dutch to his friends and suddenly they all laughed and patted my shoulders. I asked Hans what was all about. He said: "Well we were saying that without your help it would have taken weeks for us to find all these 6 species and by then our girlfriends would have found someone better to be with. We all agree on this being a good example of what a local guide is good for"

I have to say that there was a bit of luck on the success. I went back for the Robin in the afternoon with a couple of English clients and we could not find any. Apparently we saw in the morning one of the first ones coming back from Africa. Luck is a part of the game.

MARCH 25th

  The marshland at its best

Now we can say we shall have a good spring this year !! The forests and marshes have exploded in a beautiful symphony of colours. This year the conditions are good enough to try and recover from the dry 2005.

A half a meter tall layer of Yellow Charlock covers the the pine wood grounds in Coto del Rey along with scattered patches of  Snowflake and White Narcisus. The first lynx cabs have born in the area so we should see them soon playing around. In Matasgordas Cork Oak Forests Blue Anchusa abounds and a matching mixture of reddish Dock and pink Stork's Bill decorates the under trees. Deer are loosing their antlers and Lion-ants are ready to start building a new set of deadly traps in the sandy soils. The first snake tracks zigzagging trough the roads and a hundred Black Kites flying over them. Partridges in pairs picking grass on the fields and restless caterpillars getting bigger and bigger everyday. Everyone is keeping very busy now trying to attract the best partner, build a solid nest or find the best corner to live the next few months.

And we are lucky enough to  be here and see it. The water level in the marshes has gone up now enough to foresee a good breeding season this year for birds. Green and white alternate to cover the surface of the water. A constant buzz of Lark songs come with us all along the road through them. Martins, Swallows and Swifts are still passing through; the last White Wagtails can still be seen next to their yellow relatives. Whetears are also coming back these days and flocks of Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns fly low across the vast wetlands. Several thousand Flamingos spread over the area and Short-toed Eagle can be seen moving north along with Osprey, Egyptian Vulture, Hobby and Sparrow Hawk.

Purple and Night Herons are starting to concentrate at Jose A Valverde Heronry. Glossy Ibis are also moving around in different flocks. The first Little Bittern and Squacco Heron have also been seen here. Reed and Great Reed Bunting are back and Subalpine Warbler is passing in high numbers these days. Chiffchaffs have given way to Willow Warblers. Purple Swamp Hen and Black-necked Grebe are in full breeding plumage now. Great Crested Grebes in display all along Caño Guadiamar and Garganey showing itself better than usually this year. The first flocks of Collared Pratincole can be seen performing their spectacular dance over the visitor centre. Red-crested Pochard and Avocet are easy to find now and Spoonbills, Marsh Harrier and Montagu's Harrier are not difficult to find around.

Bittern is still outside the marshes in several particular spots and Black-shouldered Kite is already hatching eggs not far from the National Park. The Spanish Imperial Eagles in the rice fields are also very busy taking care of their eggs and the White Stork colony in Dehesa de Abajo is as busy as any other good Spring.

You will enjoy a visit to Doñana this Spring for sure, no doubt of that.

FEBRUARY 24th

  It's time for a change

I always enjoyed these days at the end of February. There is a time and a place for everything. Derrick and Helga will never forget today's tour.

We started the day with some excellent views of a Black-shouldered Kite in the fields at the edge of the Coto del Rey Pine Woods. It was on their target list. The next species was not on it but they enjoyed like the lifer of all lifers. We were just talking about the difficult situation the Iberian Lynx was going through and  Derrick spotted Viciosa seating next to the track under the trees. She is a 3 year old female lynx wearing a yellow radio transmitter around the neck. She walked away slowly behind a bush to appear again 10 metres ahead in front of the land rover. She was miaowing like a big cat, the big cat she is. She looked at us for a couple more minutes, looking relaxed and distant and moved back into the forest.

After that we moved ahead towards Palacio del Rey in order to try and find the second most famous species in Doñana: the Spanish Imperial Eagle. And we did, perching on an electricity pylon not far from its nesting tree. It was the perfect sight under the perfect light of the early morning.

Then we went back to the National Park to go through Matasgordas Cork Oak Woods where we saw the first two Black Kites this season gliding over the edge of the marshes. A pair of Red Kites and another one of Buzards were playing games in the air. Everyone is getting ready for the breeding season.

We left the forests to enter the marshes. In Veta Zorrera we found, for the joy of Derrick and Helga, 2 pairs of Great-spotted Cuckoos. They are some of the earliest migrants to come back from Africa. Three weeks ago I counted 13 of them in this spot, today we found only these two pairs keeping Magpies in the area busy, so most of the have already come through.

These days things are changing very quickly so you can see the first Booted Eagles back from Africa flying north over the marshes and the Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails also moving north to go back to their breeding grounds somewhere in northern Europe. Yesterday was a grey, cold and rainy day and we saw several thousand Greylag Geese spreading over the marshes; today was a beautiful spring day so we struggle to find about 30 of them and just 6 Cranes in Caño Guadiamar area.

Just at the bridge over the Caño I stopped the car to look over the flocks of Coots moving away from us and got other species on my clients list: the Crested Coot, showing a couple of big reddish knobs on its forehead. Soon they will be nesting in the reeds. Just before starting the engine again we found two more interesting species sharing the same bunch of reeds: a male Reed Bunting and a male Bluethroat picking invisible things from the surface of the water and the branches of a Tamarisk. They were obviously trying to get ready for their trip back north. A Yellow Wagtail, the first this season for me, came to join them. Everything is on the move these days.

We took a break at Jose Antonio Valverde visitor centre and while having a cup of coffee we enjoyed the sight of several Glossy Ibis wondering about, like choosing the best location for the nests they will soon build on these reed beds. A couple of flamingos played their mating games in front of us and a Purple Gallinule showed us its best colours. A flock of about 50 Spoonbills flew passed and a Peregrine flew across for a couple of seconds. Barn Swallows and Sand Martins danced in the air with stile.

Before going back to El Rocío after a 6 hour session I decided to go and have a lock along the Caño Guadiamar and that was a good idea because we found 3 Great White Egrets in a group of Little Egrets, a Booted Eagle circled over us and an Egyptian Vulture glided over the fields just in front of us.

Helga had never seen a Merlin before I told her that it was a bit late to see them around but the day was going to be just perfect. We came across a female Merlin seating on a fence post ahead of us. I tried to get a picture of it but no results. She played with me for several hundred metres moving further ahead as soon as she saw me ready for the shot. Maybe next winter.

I love these days at the end of February.

JANUARY 27th

Spring is coming !!

It might sound incredible but Spring is coming down here. As usually, the first Swallows and Martins are flying through our skies already. Soon they will be full of life, crowded with Bee-eaters, Swifts, Black Kites, Collared Pratincoles, and many other come back from Africa.

These days we are getting some very good rain, we need it to fill up the marshes and to attract back again thousands of herons and egrets to breed in Doñana. Right now, while writing this, water runs down El Rocío streets as if they were rivers. All that water will end up in the marshes.

A few pairs of Great Spotted Cuckoo are still showing themselves very well at Veta Zorrera, in the National Park. Those I reported a few weeks ago were nothing but the earliest records ever we have of them in Doñana. First one was spotted on the 7th of December. Is the world climate really changing?

Most of Cranes have disappeared, gone back north somewhere, unusually early this year. But most of Geese are still with us. Flocks of Dunlin, Ring and Little-ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and Ruff are still performing their dancing show at the "Rice fields Playhouse" It is must seen attraction in the area.

Last Wednesday was one of those days amazing days when you have the chance to observe 2 of the main attractions of the park: the Iberian Imperial Eagle and the Iberian Lynx. Early in the morning, we were lucky enough to come across a lynx. It was just standing still in the middle of the track, looking at us. There are 8 lynx in the Doñana area wearing radio transmitters collars with different colour codes. This one was the white-green code of Arrayán, a 3 year old male. He move around slowly for several minutes and then moved away of sight behind a bush. I don't have to say that it was a great experience for John and Robert, my clients that day.

Later on, we went to try the pair of Imperial Eagles at the spot in the rice fields. It wasn't the best time of the day to find them there since it was around midday but there they were. Both perching on the usual trees and showing perfectly under the soft light of the winter. While enjoying the sight we had the chance to see a flock of White Storks just coming back from Africa soaring high in the sky over our heads. They descend rapidly to land on one of the rice fields next to us. Several Black Storks were also in sight from where we were.

For more experiences like these ones, I just invite you to come and join me on a tour through the forests and marshes in Doñana. You will enjoy it as much as John and Robert did this day.

2006  JANUARY 2nd

We wish you a New Year full of birds 

2005´s last week brought us some very good tours and sights.

Odiel Marshes in Huelva is at its bests now. The winter brings the most interesting sights in this tidal marshes to us. A wide variety of Waders including Whimbrel, Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Avocet, Ruff, Bar-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Grey Plover and Black-winged Stilt. Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Caspian and Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Audouin´s Gull, Razorbill are also easy to spot. El Portil Lagoon well worth a visit for the Ferruginous Duck and possible White-headed Duck. The same as Las Madres Lagoon for the Crested Coot, Pintail and Squacco Heron.

The Rice Fields was a very productive area with its Glossy Ibis, Black Stork, Osprey, Short-toed Eagle, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Booted Eagle, Black-winged Kite and its flocks of Waders.

Brazo del Este, also was found to be a good destination at this time of the year. Osprey, Booted Eagle. Red Kite, Red-crested Pochard, Purple Gallinule by the hundred, Glossy Ibis, Black Stork, Spoonbill, Night Heron, Bluethroat, Golden Bishop, Waxbill and Penduline Tit, made a good day for us there.

Lucio of El Lobo and Cerrado Garrido offer a large concentration of aquatic birds and the chance to see the Peregrine in action. Flocks of Pintail Sandgrouse keep flying over the Hinojos Marshes.

After December we will have more chances to see the scarce Iberian Lynx. Five of them are wearing a collar with a radio transmitter in the area now. Every animal with a different colour code. We hope this new year will also bring some good new for them.

A special mention for the several records of Great-spotted Cuckoo this winter, an usual season for them.

DECEMBER 19th

Waders in the rice fields 

Just to let you know a couple of things and keep you up to date.

The unexpected Great Spotted Cuckoo we mentioned earlier this month is still with us and showing itself in Hinojos Marshes.

A look around the Isla Mayor marshes is well worth it. Waders in flocks fly over the fields in a well practised performance. Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Redshank, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing and many other species spread over the flooded plains in uncountable numbers. There is only one little problem: several days would be needed to explore the 35,000 has of rice fields in the Guadalquivir Marshes area and the complicated net of tracks makes necessary the guiding of a local expert and an appropriate vehicle. Alternatively you can have a try on your own; in wet weather keep away from the grey tracks which are too soft even for a 4WD vehicle, good luck.

50,000 Greylag Geese covering the whole Caracoles State and several thousand Common Crane can be found somewhere in the cereal fields north of it or along Entremuros stripe.

DECEMBER 9th

Dry and sunny 

Too dry I would say. Most of the marshes are not flooded yet but Geese and Cranes have plenty of green to feed on. Thousand of them spread over the Hinojos Marshes, Caracoles State, recently included in the park, and the farm land to the north. Lucio of  El Lobo and the lagoons around Jose Antonio Valverde Visitor´s Centre have been artificially flooded; hundreds of Flamingos, Ducks, Avocets and other Waders concentrate there.

Glossy Ibis are getting close to their usual winter quarter in La Rocina and they are now commonly seen at La Madre along with large flocks of Flamingos, Ducks and Waders. If you have time you can try to check the Common Coot flocks for the elusive Crested Coot.

Large flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing mixed together in the green plains around Palacio del Rey. Firecrest, Treecreeper and Crested Tits abound in the cork oak forests and Hawfinch is back in low numbers like every winter. A very small number of Great Spotted Cuckoo is reported every winter in the area, we have been lucky enough to see one of them today in Veta Zorrera fields. Today also Rock Sparrow along Hinojos Marshes and Spanish Sparrow around Lucio of El Lobo.

Red Kites and Buzards are common in the forests and marshes. Merlin and Hen Harrier are hunting low over the plains. Imperial Eagle has been seen several days in a row hunting around in the marshes around Jose A Valverde and Caño Guadiamar. Stone Curlew concentrates again in high numbers in their usual winter fields.

Bittern has been reported back in Entremuros

NOVEMBER 17th

Black-shouldered Kites on Sale

If you want to see one of them you don't need to hire me or another guide this year, they are just everywhere. I counted four of them while driving on the A-49 from Seville to El Rocío the other day. A pair is normally in the fields at the northern edge of the village and several are normally found every day in and around the marshes.

The Mother of the Marshes, that piece of marshland next to the village of El Rocío, is now flooded and is attracting many birds: Geese, Flamingos, Ducks and Waders.

Today we saw 107 species in a very productive day, including Squacco Heron, Great White Egret,  Black Stork, glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Red-crested Pochard, Black-shouldered Kite, Griffon Vulture, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Osprey, Merlin, Peregrine, Purple Swamp-hen, Red-knobbed Coot, Crane, Avocet, Stone Curlew, Golden Plover, Ruff, Curlew, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Wood Lark, Bluethroat, Dartford Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Crested Tit, Penduline Tit, Great Grey Shrike, Azure-winged Magpie, Spanish Sparrow, Tree Sparrow and Common Waxbill.

NOVEMBER 3rd

Weather stays good

That is keeping many birds away in the north but Cranes, Geese, Ducks and Waders are increasing numbers.

They are being attracted by the flooded rice fields. In some of the them it's possible to see several hundreds Common Crane, White Stork and Greylag Geese along with a good number of Black Stork, Common and Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit and several species of small waders. Osprey is still passing. In our last visit to the southern rice fields we spotted 3 of them.

The pair of Spanish Imperial Eagle which nested east of the park last spring are till using the same trees as an usual perching platform. So luckily they are still easy to see there.

Glossy Ibis have moved this week to the eastern banks of the Guadalquivir River, they will move freely across a large area of feeding grounds where they will stay until late this winter when they will move closer to the breeding colony in Jose A. Valverde Visitor Centre.

Several hundred Black-winged Stilt concentrate at Dehesa de Abajo reservoir.

OCTOBER 25th

Cranes are back

Weather is just perfect: sunny and warm, about 25ºC, ideal to go out and explore the area for birds, insects, flowers ...

Sand along the tracks to the marshes is wet so mammals leave clear prints behind. Wild Boar, Deer, Badger, Mongoose, and Lynx are some of the tracks we see often while driving through the forests. Not so often but still sometimes we are lucky enough to see one of the last Iberian Lynx we have left walking in front or just lucking at us quietly.

First Croccus giving the pine woods a bright purple touch. Butterflies and dragonflies taking advantage of the fine conditions to catch up with their reproductive duties.

Wheatear is getting scarce and Redstart has taken over them in our forests and fields. Some of them are also searching for their winter spot among the houses of El Rocío. Dartford Warbler is also common in the low bushes.

Merlin is coming back from their northern quarters and Crane is doing the same. Still in small flocks here and there in the cereal fields. These small flocks of 5-10 will soon turn into 50-100.

Species like Squacco Heron and Bittern are at last coming back to our wetlands. Two of these camouflage  specialists has been seen in the last couple of days in the Brazo de la Torre. The number of Flamingo, Lapwing and Wood Sandpiper is also increasing in the rice fields.

The Short-toed Eagle spotted several times around the Casa Bomba might stay over the winter with us and Black-shouldered Kite is just everywhere. Common Buzzard and Red Kite are getting more and more common while some solitary Booted Eagle fly through the sky over the marshes. Griffon Vulture perching on dead trees in the forests as usually.

OCTOBER 18th

Migration south to Africa is still going on.

We expect to get more rain in the next few days. The marshes are just ready to start getting flooded. We can see now in La Madre, next to El Rocío, some paddles getting bigger and bigger and flocks of aquatic birds concentrating there.

Honey Buzzard, Wheatear, Whinchat, Spotted and Pied Flycatcher, Willow and Garden Warbler, Black Redstart and Ortolan Bunting among others are still coming through. A very late Woodchat Shrike has been seen today.

Numbers of Black Stork, Red Kite, Marsh and Hen Harrier, Common Kestrel, Peregrine, Greylag Goose, Common Teal, Pintail, Gadwall, Shoveler (ducks in general), Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, are increasing. Flamingo is coming back to the area in large flocks. Most of Waders are still waiting for the weather to get colder up north but there are already plenty of Common Snipe and Wood Sandpipers in some rice fields in Cantarita..

Stone Curlew and Pintail Sandgrouse (in eclipse) are now getting together in flocks again for the winter. Some Little Bustard in the cereal fields and edges of the marshland. Black-winged Kite is also spreading unexpectedly in the surroundings of marshes and rice fields, 4 of them in one day without going to the usual breeding areas is a good number.

Going to the rice fields these days will make you think that there cannot be any more Sea Gulls and White Storks in Western Europe. Many thousand of them will take advantage for the next few weeks of the easy food available at the harvested fields.

I knew they were there but I had never seen one of those Red Adavadat before . It's just spectacular.  A photograph will come some day.

We now are getting the first Autumn flowers. Mandrake is already coming through at the road edges and some meadows and fields are getting covered in Autumn Snowflakes or small white Narcissus (N. serotinus)

OCTOBER 11th

It is raining at last ! 

Migration is still going on. Raptors like Osprey, Hobbie and Gowshawk are passing through and others like Red Kite, Peregrine and Common Kestrel are coming from the south to stay over the winter.

First small flocks of Geese reported in the last few days.

Ducks are also coming back from the north and concentrating in the flooded rice fields and other wetlands in the area. The harvested fields attract thousands of White Storks and other aquatic birds. Black Storks are back from their breeding areas. Huge flocks of Sea Gulls are the first to locate the tractors working in the fields to take advantage of the easy food there. The Glossy Ibis are back; several thousand of them dance in the sky over the fields looking for the best one to feed on.

Robins, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Thrushes are also back in our forests. and Wheatear has become very common everywhere on their way back to Africa.

Waders are also moving south and spreading over the 90.000 acres of rice plantations. This rain will double their potential area. A couple of Dotterel in Dehesa de Pilas, a very uncommon sight in Doñana.

It is Fallow Deer rut season so it has become much easier to see them around.