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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..............
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
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