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TESTIMONIALS

Just a few comments from satisfied clients of our tours in Doñana during the last few years

 

Please, if after using our services you feel satisfied or you think we could improve something, send us a few words to help us to get better, thanks.

2011                                                                                                                                  

 

October 2nd

Dear Alex
I have to write to you to tell you how much we enjoyed our day at the Cota Donana. The lack of birds was made up by the information you gave us about the Park. You seem to have eyes that are as sharp as those of the Iberian lynx. It was also a pleasure to be with a person who is so enthusiastic about nature and clearly loves his work. We learned a great deal from you in relation to the flora and fauna of the park. We are keen to return in May to see the wide range of birds that are there when there is water. We will e-mail you and arrange to come and would very much like it if you were able to guide us again

Thank you very much

 

May 17th

Hi José

We had a very enjoyable day around Donana. My wife thinks it was the highlight of the holiday. Javi was a great guide and gave us a real feel for the marshlands and the problems they face.

Regards

John

 

May 9th

Hi Jose

We just wanted to say thank you for two brilliant days with you in May. Your knowledge of the area was fantastic and enabled us to make the best of

our short time in Donana for which we are very grateful.

We shall return, probably in the winter period, as we would love to see and

photograph the cranes.

Very best wishes

George and Lesley Carr

 

April 18th

Hi José, 

We are sending this message to thank you for the super-interesting day that we had together in Doñana.

You found and showed us all the birds that I mentioned at the start. Also the species that suddenly came to my mind, like the Stone curlew at the end of the day, for example.

You gave us a GREAT time.

Thank you!

We look forward to visiting Doñana next time in winter.

Kind regards,

Leo 

 

April 15th

Señor Sanchez,

Thank you so much for the tour with Alex yesterday.  All of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were very impressed with the park, and Alex's enthusiasm to show the park off. Alex was fantastic, his birding knowledge was excellent and his ability to find species and secretive birds was brilliant.  His English was very good, despite, what he may tell you...
 
Thank you again...
 
Sincerely
 
Keith, Ellen and Kelsey Rush..

 

April 6th

Hi Jose,

Hope all is well?

Just want to say how much we enjoyed our trip last month. Thought it was absolutly brilliant.

Highlights would be the Nightingale, Little Owl, Night Heron Cettis Warbler, Red-rumped Swallow, and my favourite the Great Reed Warbler.

Hope you have a good rest of the year, can't wait for next years trip already.

All the best

S. Portlock

March 29-30-31

Dear Jose.
This is a very late message to say how much we all enjoyed our visit to Donana. We would not have enjoyed it nearly as much without your expert guiding and your knowledge of where to find all the different species of birdlife was magical. I hope the season has been going well for you. We are suffering from having no rain for close on 2 months. Thank you again for looking after us so well. The Prideauxs also send their thanks and my apologies for the lateness of this message.
Best wishes Martin Findlay

 

March 25th

Hi José, 

This is just a quick email to say thank you for organising our trip around Donana last Friday-Javi was wonderful and we got some great footage.

All the crew thoroughly enjoyed and Javi really knew his stuff, which was great.

Thanks again and best of luck with the coming season,  

Sally

 

2010                                                                                                                                  

 

November 5th

This is the second time I've used Jose (the first back in March) and I've had two superb days. I wouldn't have seen half the stuff (especially in the time available) had I not been with Jose and Donana has quite frankly blown me away both times.

Each visit had different spectacles - this time, the Imperial Eagle blew me away but the sight and sounds of the goose and crane commute between the marshes and the rice fields will stick in the memory.

Many thanks again Jose, I'll be back....!

Matthew

 

November 3rd

Dear Jose,

I am so sorry to be late thanking you for booking our rooms at the Hotel El Toruño for the first week in November and for taking us out into the Nature Reserves to see the birds. 

We really enjoyed our visit which was made all the more enjoyable because of our time spent with you.

At the end of the holiday we had seen 115 birds, and Pauline and Kathy had taken many photos and videos.

Thank you once again,
Warm Regards
Monica, Pauline and Kathy

 

October 26th

Many many thanks for another marvelous day we all loved every minute as usual and were thrilled to see so many birds and so amany rare ones you are clever to show us so much and in such varied habitats the pig and deer were an added bonus .We got back safely and will be regaling our friends about Donana for a long time.

Look forward to seeing you in the spring with the wild flowers


Yrs Alison Gibbs

 

September 28th

Hi José, 

We wish to thank you for the birdwatching trip we had with you, we were satisfied with your guiding and found it to be a good experience altogether. 

I have done some desk research on the Golden bishop (Euplectes afer) and found that it is a native of Africa, present in a wide range of countries, although I have not seen it before. What surprised me was that it had been introduced to some countries outside Africa, including Portugal. Could this be from there that some have spread to Southern Spain? 

Best regards, 

Niels

 

September 15th

Hola José Antonio 

Sólo para decirte que nuestra visita a Doñana fue estupenda y hemos pasado muy bien gracias a tu profesionalidad y dedicación. 

Después de una cervecita en el Toruño, fuimos a Matalascañas para bañarnos y tomar sardinas en un chiringuito. Heather y Richard (mi hermana la “twitcher”) y mi cuñado le maravilla el hecho de poder hacer “un safari” en Doñana por la mañana y encontrarnos en la playa a la hora de comer.

Muchas gracias y esperamos repetir por lo menos una visita en invierno y otro en la primavera. 

Saludos 

Clare Usher

 

May 9th

Hola! Jose.

Thanks for the brilliant morning tour you gave us. Not the best weather for Passerines, but some great Birds seen. The Slender-Billed gulls and the Lesser Short Toed Larks being the Highlights - AND THEN THE  IBERIAN LYNX !!!!! it does'nt get any better!

Thank you for leading a great tour. Anyone that I know who goes to Donana, I will send to you. Hope to see you again sometime.
 
Muchas gracias.
 
Andy Lane & Bob Brooker.

 

March 17th

hello Jose,

 
Just wanted to say what a brilliant time we had with you.
 
Can't believe everything we saw in just a morning! Your knowledge and eyesight is brilliant, driving along the dirt road and spotting the birds was great, i don't know how you do it.
 
We all so many new birds, some favourites of mine were Stone Curlew, Woodchat Shrike, Short toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture and my favourite of all had to be the Night heron, what a stunning bird.
 
We loved the whole trip and didn't want it to end. I will defiantly be booking another trip this year!
 
Keep up the good work Jose.
 
kind regards,
 
Steve, Michelle, John and Ann

 

April 1st

Dear Jose, 

Just a quick email to thank you for organising our trip into Coto Donana. We both had a wonderful time and Alex our guide was very good!

Please pass on our thanks to him once again.

Saludos

Scott and Gill Lamont

 

March 29th-31st

Dear Jose, 

Thank you so very much for the really memorable few days I spent with you last week both in Doñana and Portugal at the end of March.  

Although I have been coming to Doñana for 12 years now, each visit with you still brings the most fabulous new sightings –whether of birds, plants, fungi, insects or other aspects of nature within the Park. Your skills as a naturalist combined with your obvious enthusiasm for the wildlife you share with your clients is simply wonderful. You are certainly the best guide I have ever had as you know the area so intimately. 

I was thrilled to have such great views of the Pin-tailed Sand Grouse in the Park, especially as the group of mixed sexes allowed easy comparisons of the plumage. Other highlights were the Slender-billed gulls and Collared Pratincoles that are always good to see. As a botanist I was also delighted that we spent time on the spring plants: the Mirror Orchid Ophrys speculum was a real treat, especially as we saw both forms. 

Our day around Castro Verde in Portugal was particularly exciting as I added seven new birds to my Iberian list. To have such good views of both Little and Great Bustards, as well as Great-spotted Cuckoo and Black-bellied Sand Grouse was unforgettable!  

Truly, the stuff that memories are made of! 

I look forward to seeing you again in the late autumn. 

Very best wishes,

Joanna

 

March 18th

Just to say that myself and two friends had a fantastic time with Jose.

We had limited time - travelling to Donana for the day from the Marbella area so were up at 3am in order to get there.

Using Jose was just what we needed in order to get a good introduction to the area and Jose knew exactly where to go and what was where.

We started in a lovely area of forest and got several good species like Hoopoe, Woodchat Shrike, Quail and Black Redstart.

Moving on, we stopped at an area of meadows and mixed habitat, adding species like White Stork, Spanish Sparrow, Little Bustard, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Black Winged Stilt, Glossy Ibis, Lesser Kestrel, Stone Curlew and a couple of fabulous Black-winged Kite.

We gradually worked our way towards the National Park, adding more and species - five species of Lark, Red Rumped Swallow, Short Toed Eagle etc etc before we arrived at the Marshes.

Loads of water in Donana, although it has been going down. Looks good for the breeding season. We saw loads of water birds including Purple Swamphen, Red Knobbed Coot, Gull Billed Tern, Egrets, Herons, Stilts and Wood and Green Sandpipers. At the end of the Marshes there was a nice party of Greater Flamingo and we stopped to scan for raptors. Sadly we missed Imperial Eagle but had all three phases of Booted Eagle plus Griffon Vulture and hoards of Black Kite.

Sadly it was time to turn around and retrace our steps (the road to El Rocio being blocked after the floods). But the journey back added Night Heron and Purple Heron and a last detour added a flock of stunning Azure Winged Magpies.

We saw around 90 species during our time with Jose, of which many were new to all of us. This little note doesn't do justice to the birds or the place.

I'd thoroughly recommend Jose if you are thinking of using a guide. In our position, we would not have seen half the places or birds were it not for him and he proved to be friendly and exremely knowledgeable.

Thanks Jose!

Matthew

 

2009                                                                                                                                  

Thank you so much Jose for the most wonderful day of birding that any of us have had for a very long time if ever we all enjoyed every minute and were so impressed by your knowledge and the way you imparted information to us all. Lunch was an experience and so good to have really spanish food with out us having to muddle through the uninteligeable menu !We still cant get over the numbers and variety of birds that you showed us.
We will be in touch early in the year to book for our spring visit till then best wishes and renewed thanks
Yours
            Alison Gibbs (November)

 

Obrigado, José. Obrigado, Alejandro. A visita foi fantástica e ficamos com vontade de voltar na primavera, quando a água cobria o marisma.

Felicidades para todos
            Abraços. José Victor

 

This is just a short message to let you know how much I and two friends enjoyed our guided tour of the natural park last Thursday morning. We wish to express our appreciation to Alex who was our guide. From the very start of the tour right through to the end Alex kept us interested and expertly informed, and his sightings if the birds, especially the raptors, was a real joy. 

We will all return some time in the near future, and it is due to Alex that we have a better understanding of the wonderful work you are carrying out in the Donana, long may it continue.

On behalf of my friends, David Adams, David Pritchard, and myself George Buckland, thank you once again.

Regards.

 

Jose,

A short note to thank you for arranging our tour and to ask you to please pass on our special thanks to Alex who was an excellent guide.

One of my friends was not a birder before coming to Donaña - he is now investing in binoculars and telescope!. The other two saw birds they had never seen before so the morning was a great success. Over the two days of our friends visit we saw over 100 species and saw eco systems that were quite new to them.

I think they will be back for more. 

Once again, thank you very much,

Kind regards

Terry

 

Hello Jose

We have arrived safely back in England.  Thanks very much for a great day out last Saturday.  Probably my best days birding ever.  We were very lucky to see those Pin-tailed Sandgrouse so close and that was the real highlight of the day.

Best Wishes.

John

 

Dear José, 

This is just to say thank you for taking us round the national park last week – we all enjoyed it very much. 

Having such an excellent guide really helps us to get more out of the trip, learning about the park and having well-trained eyes pick out the wildlife for us! 

Best regards

Anne Whitcombe

 

Dear Josè,

Only a few words to thank Discovering Donana and our guide, Alejandro, for the beautiful half day passed together. Alex is a very nice person and an excellent guide, very professional and expert. He shared with us his knowledge, giving us the opportunity to learn a bit more about the Park, its wild inhabitants and about El Rocio, a unique place to stay.

Thank you again.

Roberto e Roberta Colombo

 

Hola José,

Ya estamos de vuelta en Holanda. Nos gustó mucho la visita a Doñana, Alex nos pareció un guía estupendo :-). Nos hemos quedado con ganas de volver otra vez, en primavera. Quizá dentro de uno o dos años. Si es así te pediremos de nuevo una cita con Alex :-).

Un saludo,

Lourdes Gallástegui

 

 

2008                                                                                                                                  

Jose

Thanks again for taking us through Donana. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed meeting you.

We hope to see you again in Spain, or maybe California.

Warmest regards, Chris Carpenter

 

Dear Jose,

Thank you again for a great day of birdwatching this past Friday (1st of February ). We were very impressed by your knowledge of the area and your capacity to quickly find and identify the various birds. To sight them close up through your telescope was an added bonus.

It was undoubtedly one of the highlights of our trip to Spain.

Thank you again,

two Canadians!
(Judith McBride)

 

Dear Jose:

Back in Munic we would like to say thank you again for the  great birding day on April 10th. In spite of bad conditions like heavy rain, strong winds and flooded roads we could observe such charismatic species like Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black shouldered Kite, Great spotted Cuckoo and Stone Curlew. Beside that we saw a big number of waders and all together more than 100 species.  We admire your ability to make us seeing even hidden birds and we also would like to say thank you for your friendly and thoughtful attitude and your big effort on our tour.

Have a good time and a lot of nice bird observations!
 

Best Regards,  Saludos

Wolfgang & Irmgard

 

Dear Jose

A brief note to thank Alex, your colleague, for the tour we had on Monday 28th April. My wife and I really enjoyed it and Alex certainly was enthusiastic and very helpful.

Many thanks once again

regards

Brian Toms

 

Hi Jose
 
We have only just returned from our extended caravan tour of southern Spain.We actually went out with you on 2
May but this is our first opportunity to thank you.
 
Our day with you in Donana was the highlight of a very enjoyable Spanish holiday. When we'd finished our day I totaled up the number of species seen --- a staggering 92!! What impressed us ( as well as your superb knowledge of Donana and it's wildlife) was your  relaxed and easy company for the day(plus a very nice bar meal!).We certainly plan to return to Donana in a year or two and will certianly be contacting you for another fantastic day birding..............
 
Colin Bloor

Bueno José, únicamente quería felicitaros por vuestras atenciones y comentarte que Lourdes y yo pasamos una mañana formidable con Alex y los otros cuatro visitantes en Doñana.
Se nota cuando las personas aman su trabajo y disfrutan enseñando lo mucho que saben a los demás y no tienen prisa alguna por terminar cuanto antes. Además los medios eran ideales (el telescopio y las guías nos facilitaron mucho los avistamientos).
Ni que decir tiene que volveremos en invierno o primavera y que recomendaremos vuestros servicios a todas las personas que tengan pensado acercarse por allí.
Muchas gracias y seguid así.

Pedro Dámaso

 

Hola Jose:

Ya estamos de vuelta en la rutina de Madrid.

Somos el grupo de 11 personas que llevasteis por Doñana el jueves 21 de agosto y queríamos felicitaros por la agradable mañana que nos hicisteis pasar. A pesar de que sabíamos que el verano era la peor época para ver Doñana y las nueve de la mañana una hora un poco tardía para ver muchos animales, a todos nos encantó, aprendimos muchísimo y vimos muchos más animales de lo que pensábamos dada la hora y las fechas. Te agradecemos mucho el que cada uno dispusiéramos de prismáticos, que los de los niños fueran pequeñitos es todo un detalle y los catalejos son un lujo.

Tu compañero, creo que su nombre era Alex (soy un desastre con los nombres, si no es ése discúlpame) no tiene precio como profesor de “conocimiento del medio”, nos dio una lección de costumbres populares, botánica, zoología, sostenibilidad… en fin, hasta los niños comentaron después la cantidad de cosas de las que nos había hablado y lo fácil que era entenderle.

No queríamos despedirnos de Huelva sin ver Doñana, pero habéis conseguido que ahora no queramos dejar de verla en primavera y volveremos, espero que estéis por allí para volver a enseñárnosla. 

Un saludo 

Fátima y otros diez más…

 

2007                                                                                                                                  

Discovering Donana 

I have enjoyed visiting your website and you come well recommended by friends. 

In May, I will be touring Spain with three other birdwatchers and we hope to start our travels in the Coto Donana. Although keen birders we are interested in most aspects of natural history. 

I would like to book two full day field trips for Wednesday 16th May and Thursday 17th May 2007 and accommodation for the nights of 16th & 17th May. I agree your rates and emphasise that we are not budget travellers. I would be happy to confirm the booking with a deposit.   

Clive Viney 

 

Hola Jose

Muchas gracias por todo. El viaje se ha pasado muy bien y felicitación a la empresa Discovering Doñana. Todo fue perfecto, incluyendo el hotel.  

Atentamente    

Andres Miquel desde France

 

Hello Jose,

thanks for a really good day, last week, I really enjoyed it and so did my group. I hope we can work together again in the future. Get in touch when you come to the bird fair as I don't live far away from Rutland Water. Best wishes Chris 

Alison & Christopher Hall
New Horizons (Bird Tours)

 

Hi Jose

Firstly, many, many thanks for a great guided visit to the reserve. We appreciated that you gave us loads of time (and extra) for us to see so much. For me, it gave me a super list for a Donana visit - so many great birds - many of which that were down to your knowledge and skill.. I am going to come again to Donana (Sonia has given me permission!!) on a "hard birding" visit. I am not sure at what time. I want to extend my Donana list to certainly include the eagles. Whatever I would like to book you for a couple of days birding and pay the extra (which I know will be considerable) for private guiding. I appreciate that many of your clients will really want to see the whole Donana experience and not spend hours hunting down specific birds.

Once again Jose - Many thanks.

kind regards 

Phil 

 

Hello José, 

This weekend we arrived in Holland again after a wonderful trip to Andalucia. Especially our stay in El Rocío and the Doñana-tour with you we'll remember as very special. Edwin and I work very hard now to get our pictures sorted out and 'clean' them up a little bit. Mine are not so good, I normally don't take pictures of birds, but ah... I will try again next year or so

It will take some time to make them pretty, but when finished Edwin will send you some to place on your website. 

Take care, 

greetz.........Martie Bax 

 

Hello Jose,

My friends and I returned to Wales last Sunday after a very successful bird watching holiday, firstly in Extremadura and then in Coto Donana. We all agreed that our day with you as our guide was not just the highlight of our holiday but will remain as one of the birding highlights of our lives.  I shall be delighted to recommend you to anyone I know who is considering birdwatching in your part of Spain.

Thanks again and kind regards, 

John Davis. 

 

Hi Jose 

Many thanks for your help last week; I will have to try again next year, perhaps in August.  It was good to meet you and to be able to learn so much about the Coto Donana from you. 

Again, many thanks. 

Best wishes, Richard

 

Dear Jose

We had a great time on our tour on June 3rd with Alex . Do you have an email for Alex or an address where we can send him a thank you? You could also give him my email.

Thank you, Sabrina Felson

 

 

Dear Jose, 

Thank you for a very enjoyable morning last month. 

We would like to return sometime, when the Marsh is at its most interesting. When would you recommend for the best wildlife/bird month? 

Look forward to hearing from you and sharing your company at sometime in the future.

Regards 

Roger Berry

 

Dear Jose, 

I am just writing to thank you for arranging our amazing tour round the edge of the Doñana with my wife and two friends, last weekend. We all enjoyed the tour very much which was so ably assisted by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic Alex. We all saw birds that we had never seen before and were fascinated and thrilled by the sheer scale and beauty of this wonderful natural Park. 

Many thanks and best wishes.

Charles Short

2006                                                                                                                                  

Dear Jose

Seeing pictures in our newspapers of the drought in many parts of Spain reminds me that I meant to tell you how much we all enjoyed our visit to Coto Donana in April and our days with you.  I expect that you have been very busy with tours until now and hope that you have not been too exhausted without your partner.   We wonder whether the very dry spell has continued and whether the pratincoles have not been able to nest as you had feared.  And, did the injured sandgrouse which you found survive at the wildlife centre?

Good luck 

Alan Bowen 

 

Jose


Just to thank you for the wonderful day we had with you in Donana.  We all have said how much we enjoyed it on May 6th.  We also enjoyed the rest of our holiday in Andalusia and hope sometime to return!
Many thanks again


Regards
Janet Kirby and Gang!

 

Jose 

Thanks again for the truly amazing visit, both Steve & I had a great time. I hope we gave you the correct fee, I'm never sure with these things.  

One favour if possible could you please send me a picture of the Lynx, my son wanted to see what they are like. 

Hope to see you at the Birdfair & with luck in Donana next spring. 

Kind regards

Tony Hocking 

 

Jose & Sonia 

Just a quick note to say a BIG thank-you to Sonia for her trip last week. 

We really had a good time and Sonia was so perceptive, informative and observant. 

I realise we were really VERY lucky to see Lynxes........but I am sure we would not have done so without Sonias "quick eyes"! 

Best wishes to you both.....and to the new baby when it comes 

Andy & Barbara Parker

England 

 

Dear Jose 

You took four of us around the Doñana on a birding trip near the end of April 2005. It was arranged by Kotie Swart. I trust you will remember. We had a really wonderful time, and learnt an immense amount from your local knowledge. 

Best wishes 

Stephan Terblanche

Faerie Glen

Pretoria

 

Dear Jose 

We had an excellent two days with you last week.  The Bells, the Webbs & Mrs Baker thought it was fantastic as we did too and they are already talking about coming back.  We will push the word around. 

Please give our love to Sonia and hope all is going well with her. 

Very best regards

David Symington 

 

Hi Sonia 

Many thanks for the excellent tour with the Naturetrek group on Monday - I got some great photos from your Landrover. 

We're looking forward to going back to the Coto Donana during a wet year. 

Best wishes - Roger & Anne Christopher

 

Jose,

Thank you very much for the tour last Friday which we very much enjoyed. We had a great holiday in the area, our final species count of 117 included several "lifers". 

Thanks again,

Kath Stennett

 

Hi Jose, 

Back in Marbella. 

Just a note to say how much we enjoyed the trip. El Rocío was in a class of its own. Never ever seen anything like it and once we found the house, the lady was so nice and charming. 

Sonia looked after us so well also and is a real enthusiast. 

Please pass on our thanks to both 

With every best wish 

Craig and June 

Donald and Kay 

 

Dear Jose, 

I wanted to tell you that we enjoyed ourselves immensely with you last week, and Friday was a truly memorable day.  We cannot thank you enough for having given us such a wonderful time. 

Our list included 86 species, two of which are  not on your check list, namely Sand Martin and Water Pipit.  If the Montague's Harrier was the highlight of last year, this year was the turn of the Great Spotted Cuckoo.  I would also request, if possible, that you send me two prints, one for Richard Hall and one for me, of your best picture of the big, brave cock Partridge who we watched strutting his stuff on the tree stump!  I will, of course, reimburse you. 

I cannot get over how you managed to call in that lovely flock of Collared Pratincoles who behaved like the finest actors on the stage in front of us.  I shall send David Symington a fax of our list and hope that he can improve on it! 

Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing you the next time when we hope to see the Little Crake, Spotted Crake and the Water Rail.  We were very lucky to see Baillon's Crake. 

Robin d'Abo 

 

Jose,

Hi, just wanted to thank you for the fantastic day out we had with you last Sunday. It was lovely to see my parents so relaxed and enjoying themselves so much. We saw 75 different birds that day so my Dad was ecstatic.

We went back to Dehesa de Abajo a few days later, where Mum was able to have a little walk and managed to see a Great Spotted Cuckoo! So thank you for that too.

I will be in England during August with my parents and if I get the chance will visit the bird fair.

So we might see you there.

Clara

 

Hi Jose,

               I just want to pass on my sincere thanks for your hard work and commitment which made my trip so enjoyable.  I enjoyed your company, & gained so much from your expertise and knowledge.  Oh yes!  Thanks for your patience too.

Many thanks.  Perhaps see you at the Bird Fair.

Very best wishes,

                            Ralph

 

2005                                                                                                                                  

Dear Jose,

many thanks for the excellent guiding of the Greentours Group last March. We are coming again in 2006 and would like to book your services again. 

Best wishes, Ian Green

 

Jose, 

Many thanks – I’ll pick some photos from the web. I hope the rains will be good for you  this year – we might come out again as we enjoyed it so much last time. If so, we’ll be in contact. 

Felix

 

I contacted a company in El Rocio (Huelva), Dicovering Donana www.discoveringdonana.com - info@discoveringdonana.com . The guide I had in the Park is deeply expert and he also gave me extra free services, such as booking for my accommodation and lift to public transportation. I had an exciting stay in Doñana. 

Best regards

Roberta Manzi 

 

Hi Jose 

Thanks for two very good days bird watching. 

Best wishes, 

            Stephen. 

 

Hi Jose,

Thankyou so much for the excellent tour you gave myself, sister and friend last Friday. We very much enjoyed it and learnt a lot.  

Lis Woollard

 

Hola Jose 

He visitado Donana contigo y mis dos hijas hace un año y medio.  Y ahora mi hermano tambien quiere visitar el Parque con uno de sus hijos.  Sería posible visitarlo contigo?  Te pongo en contacto con él.  Él no habla español. 

Espero que todo vaya bien.  Me gustan mucho tus fotos de la web.  Felicitaciones. 

Barbara Vagliano

New York City

 

Hello José!

I want to thank you for the Doñana trip we had on Saturday. It was great! We are back in winter climate with snow but can still recall the Blackshouldered Kite and other beautiful views. We were lucky the fog disappeared at last! 

See you some other time

Tomas

 

Hi José,

We're back in England now after a great week in Seville.

Just a quick note to thank you for a great trip around the Donana. We really enjoyed ourselves and saw many more birds than we expected. The Donana is a truly unique place and we'd love to return.

Thanks for the experience.

Regards

Sue and Peter 

 

¡Hola, José!

Quisiéramos agradecerte por la visita estupenda el 28 de febrero. Nos gusto muchísimo - ¡sobre todo a Richard! Seguro que te recomendaremos si nuestros amigos deciden visitar Doñana.

¡Buena suerte con tu negocio en el futuro! Esperamos que tu resfriado se ha ido ya.

Diana, Tom, Lesley y Richard
 

 

Jose,

I want to say 'thank you' again.

It was too short to discover Doñana, but we enjoyed ourselves enough. It would be a unforgettable day in my life. And thank you for delicious lunch as well. We liked that restaurant very much. 

Adiós

Satomi 

 

Dear José

We have just been reading your website with the story of Derrick and Helga's visit to Doñana! That was a great day for us; especially seeing the Spanish Lynx. 

Helga and I send you our very best greetings and invite you to visit us if ever you come to this part of the world. (We were embarrassed about the money and hope you got the small envelope we left at your house) 

Unfortunately we do not have a website, but this carries our email address. 

We hope to come to Doñana another year. 

Very best regards

Derrick & Helga 

 

Dear Jose 

We are safely back in a cold and wet London!  Thank you for making our trip to the Donana so exciting. 

I have attached some pics 

Phil

 

Dear Jose, 

apologies for the delay but I finally attach Natalie's photos of the dung beetle and yellow wagtail. We really enjoyed our bird-watching outing with you  from El Rocio, and your experience and perceptive eye made the experience very rich for us. I hope we have a chance to visit again.  

best wishes 

Susan Lawrence

 

Hello Jose, 

We would like to thank you again for the nice day we had in Donana  with you on the 15th of May.

The photos we promised to send are not as good as I hoped, but included anyway. 

Muchas gracias, 

            Paul & Shaira

 

2004                                                                                                                                  

Dear Jose 

I am afraid I never thanked you and Sonia for a most enjoyable day in April when you showed us around. 

Everyone really enjoyed it and you were both excellent with your knowledge and help. 

We plan to do it again probably the same sort of time next year.  Is there any possibility of having a  second day somewhere in the region so that we could book you for two days.  Obviously we do not want to do the identical trip two days running. 

Best regards 

David Symington

 

Jose, 

Bruce was so impressed with your knowledge, your equipment and what we were able to see.  He tells anyone who asks that the day we spent in Parque Donana was the best day of the month we spent in Spain.

Many thanks 

Madelyn Glickfeld

 

Dear Jose,

Bruce and I want to thank you for one of the highlights of our month long trip to Spain.  We only wish we could have stayed longer (without the pilgrimage).  Just as an expression of our appreciation, I am sending you a copy of the book Wild Spain.

We will be sending out an email to all of our friends interested in natural areas and birding to let them know that Parque Donana is a necessary trip for anyone interested in wetlands and birds.  We will be giving Discovering Donana as the best way to see the park. 

Thank you again for your patience and willingness to answer all of my questions.

Madelyn Glickfeld

 

Hi,señor Jose Sanchez,

thank you so much for the excellent bird trip through the natural-donana-park last Tuesday. it was so great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a luck ,that the weather changed at afternoon, so that we could see so many interesting birds, from very small to very big. Your information was very informative and well solid.

High points for us were the falcons, flamingos, blackstork, spoonbills a.s.o., we dont see them in germany.

and at least the owls !!! shortly before darkness. i think there were more than 80 different birds !!!

thanks again,

muchas gracias

have a good successful year

greetings from Hermann and Barbara from Oldenburg

 

Dear Jose 

Firstly I must thank you for the super day you organised for Irene and I last week. We really enjoyed the trip and were most impressed with all of the species seen. You worked extremely hard for us and I wanted you to know how grateful we were. 

I am trying hard to sort out some dates for a weeks trip next Spring and will be in touch again shortly to see if you can help. 

Thanks once more for your help and hope to see you soon. 

Best wishes

Bernard Hendy

 

2003                                                                                                                                  

Hi Jose, 

We wanted to thank you for the tour you gave us on the second of June though the national park Coto Donana. It was very nice and we appreciate the effort you took for the tour. If we will ever visit Donana again I will know how to look for and will recommend you to all my friend birders here in the Netherlands. 

Again thanks and maybe until later. 

Greetings Joke and Rik Feije 

 

Dear Jose Antonio and 'Discovering Donana', 

Perdón. Mi ordenador no tiene acentos y hablo Espanol un poco.  

Gracias por nuestra aventura estupenda en Donana el martes 27 mayo. Mi esposa, hermano y mi cuñada tuvieron una experienca especial también.

Your patience, expertise and precise knowledge of the wildlife are much appreciated. I have already recommended 'Discovering Donana' to friends and colleagues and plan to visit again myself very soon.  

I enjoyed the photographs on your website. 

Gracias, 

Phil Jamieson. 

 

Dear Jose,

Many thanks for an excellent day's birding last Friday.   Both we and our guests enjoyed it enormously and your own knowledge and enthusiasm made the day truly memorable.

We sighted and, with your help, identified 53 different breeds in the half day tour, many of them new to us.

The day was truly appreciated.  We shall certainly come again.

Graeme Ward

 

2002                                                                                                                                  

Hi Claudio,

            It was great birding with you on Saturday.  What a day!!!  We were absolutely pooped at the end of the day!  But what a trip. On Sunday, we tried for the little bustard, unsuccessfully.  Dave thinks he might of seen it, but I did not.  We then birded La Rocina, the hides.. wonderful place. We checked out of the hotel and headed to south of Seville.  We missed the grape fields but did find the canal along the river.  Saw more of the same birds we saw in El Rocío area, but no new birds.  Headed south/east to the mountains.  What mountains they were... very nice. 

enjoy and thanks again.  good birding. 

Barbara and Dave Horn

2001                                                                                                                                  

Dear Claudio

Now that we're safely home and sorting ourselves out, I do want to send you most grateful thanks from both Jen and me for starting us off in Donana in such a truly wonderful way.  We have never had such an exciting day's birdwatching anywhere in the world as that first day (15 hours!) out with you.  Your tireless energy and enthusiasm were utterly inspiring - we will both treasure the memory of the perfect post-mating Italian gentlemanly manners of the black winged stilts!! 

    In addition to the 70+ birds Jen was able to list (so many of them so very special, which only you could have found for us)during our day out with you, on the following days we saw at different reserves in Donana a wryneck, Dartford warbler and of course the expected, but nonetheless so beautiful, azure winged magpie.  At Ronda (we were staying 15 kms outside the city at a converted farmhouse, El Horcajo, in beautiful country full of gorgeous wild flowers) from the top of the celebrated gorge we saw choughs and had a dazzling "bird's eye" (!) view of lesser kestrels. 

    Altogether an unforgettable holiday.  We hope your old dog is recovering well - and possibly also the stork?  Again warmest thanks (also for your recommendation of the excellent El Toruno Hotel) and best regards from us both  -  Brian. 

P.S.  I in fact sent this yesterday but today got a message that it couldn't be delivered - so here's hoping for better luck this time! 

Brian Brooke-Smith

 

2000                                                                                                                                  

Dear Claudio,

Just a quick note to say thank you again for our most wonderful day in the Marismas with you.  We saw so many interesting birds and learned a great deal.  However, to have seen an Iberian Lynx was a dream come true.  The memory of it sitting there in the morning light will remain with me for ever. 

The rest of the holiday was far less spectacular.  We saw some Wild Boar piglets running after each other on the little trail at El Acebron the following evening. We also saw A Cirl Bunting and some Tree creepers.  Above Grazalema we saw Black Wheatear, Rock Buntings, and an immature Golden eagle.  Near Ronda we saw Ibex and Bonelli's eagles. 

What a fantastic time we have had.  It has really fired my enthusiasm for more serious birdwatching.  With any luck next year my parents will come to Spain, and we will persuade others as well.  We will be recommending you unreservedly.  If ever you need an assistant i will volunteer. 

Thank you again for a wonderful day. 

Yours sincerely,

Bernard.

 

Hello Claudio, 

Just a short note to say thanks for making our trip to Donana so memorable. Thanks also for all the help you gave us with the minor problems, your friendly company, the benefit of your great knowledge, and for all your effort and hard work you put in to ensure that we, especially Ross, experienced everything Donana had to offer. Fantastic!! 

We hope that the tours you led after we had left were very successful and that the people were as lucky and privileged as we were to be with you to experience Donana. 

Brilliant!!

Graham Fellows

 

Dear Claudio, 

Many thanks for the excellent outing when we reallydid enjoy meeting your very special birds. I counted 14 lifetime first sightings which is pretty good for a half day with a late start.

We spent some time by the wetlands near El Rocio as you suggested and managed to see some Red-rumped Swallows ( two newly fledged juveniles being fed in a tree ) and also enjoyed good views of Whiskered Tern.

Hope we can meet you again sometime when we'll plan to spend longer and start earlier ! 

Best wishes, 

Jill and Geoff Horn

 

Dear Claudio,

Once again, many thanks indeed for all your help on our marvellous birdwatching holiday on the Cota Donana.  We could not have had a nicer or more expert person to guide us.  Thank you too for shepherding us to Bollulos which was not only an excellent place to leave Richard Martin's car but where we thoroughly enjoyed our fish lunch.  We hope to have the opportunity to see you again sometime.

Best wishes,

Jeffery Bowman