Spain Secret Aragon - Spanish Steppes & The Sierra de Guara
Sunday 8th to Saturday 14th March 2009
AA9009
Aragon,
a region of dramatic yet panoramic landscapes – highlighted by
marvellous sunrises and sunsets, may give the feeling that one is
birding in Arizona, through being in a diverse and contrasting
environment of desert and mountains. This region holds a host of much
sought after resident steppe species, that can be quite elusive for much
of the time. Birding on the Spanish Steppes is a great experience, for
in a unique habitat - wild and perhaps appearing desolate, with few
roads and little traffic but an array of superb and rare birds. Amongst
the species we will search for, are the notoriously difficult to locate
Dupont’s Lark and a magnificent supporting cast, including: Lesser-short
Toed & Calandra Larks, Pin-tailed & Blackbellied Sandgrouse and Stone
Curlew. In contrast, our visit to the Sierra de Guara, will provide us
with quality bird watching in a beautiful and tranquil mountain chain,
where raptors feature highly. Within a wonderfully Alpine environment
are a host of superb bird species, including: Lammergeier, Wallcreeper,
Alpine Accentor, Snowfinch and Citril Finch and many other avian gems.
Day 1: Flight from UK to Zaragoza,
and then within one hour’s drive from the airport we should be birding,
checking out a superb valley, which is the haunt for numerous raptor
species, including Bonelli’s & Golden Eagles. En route to our hotel at
Quinto, we will make a stop at El Planeron nature reserve to acquaint
ourselves with the habitat and it’s inhabitants.
Overnight - Quinto.
Day 2: An early start in an
attempt to witness the haunting call of the Dupont’s Lark. The stillness
and scenery are just magical and the entire experience very atmospheric.
Both species of sandgrouse are likely as well as Stone Curlew. After
breakfast the day will be spent birding other areas, mainly off road
making an effort to find wintering raptors including Golden Eagle,
Merlin and Hen Harrier with the possibility of Little Bustard.
Overnight - Quinto.
Days 3 - 6: Over the next few
days we will explore the Sierra de Guara and surrounding countryside at
our leisure. Many of the bird-rich habitats are close by and little time
will be spent in the vehicle driving long distances. At this time of
year Wallcreeper and Alpine Accentor are often found at much lower
altitude taking advantage of the higher temperatures and the
availability of their food supply. In the surrounding habitat, we may
have a good chance of locating Rock Sparrow, Crag Martin, Blue Rock
Thrush, Spectacled Warbler and Black Wheatear. The entire region will be
full of raptors with vast numbers of Griffon and occasionally Egyptian
Vultures. One of the highlights will be a visit a vulture feeding
station, where it is possible to observe Lammergeiers as well as Griffon
Vultures. One evening, we will seek out Eagle Owl, hopefully to hear its
evocative call and perhaps see it as it appears from its diurnal roost.
We may also find Black Woodpecker, Crested Tit or even Citril Finch and
migrants moving through central Spain.
Overnights - Loporzano.
Day 7: We return to Zaragoza Airport for the flight back to the UK.