 SPANISH
PYRENEES and EBRO STEPPES
All the mountain specialities, plus both Sandgrouse, Little
Bustard and Roller.
Saturday 7 June – Saturday 14 June 2008
Price: £1145 pp
Single Supplement: £105 pp
Deposit: £300 pp
This holiday is special because we combine the high Pyrenees with the steppes of central Spain; this allows us to target a much wider range of specialities than an ordinary Pyrenees birding holiday. Key birds in the Pyrenees are of course Wallcreeper and Lammergeier, and we also cover the best areas for Little Bustard and both Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse. With all the special birds from the magnificent scenery of the high mountain tops to the steppes of central Spain, this holiday is a very effective use of a full week birding the Pyrenees and a real favourite with Heatherlea clients.
 
We spend five nights high in the mountains
north of Hecho to see Lammergeier, Wallcreeper, Black Woodpecker, Snow
Finch, Alpine Accentor, and Alpine Chough.
There are many Red Kite and Black Kite, and we take an evening drive for
Nightjar and Eagle Owl. Other birds include Citril Finch, Red-billed Chough,
Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Woodchat Shrike, Cirl Bunting, Serin,
Golden Oriole, Booted Eagle and Honey Buzzard. Our rural hotel is family run and very attractive both in location and accommodation - we have great fun here.
 
We then head south through
the plains of Aragon for a complete contrast. In Riglos, incredible sandstone
towers pierce the sky. Here we see vultures at the nest, Alpine Swift,
Short-toed and Golden Eagle, with Dartford Warbler, Rock Sparrow,
Linnet and Black Redstart in the stony scrub above the towns. Near
Huesca we look for Black Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Crested Lark,
Montagu’s Harrier, Spotless Starling and Thekla Lark.
In the steppes we search for Little Bustard, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed
Sandgrouse, Roller, and many more including Little Owl, Hoopoe, Great
Spotted Cuckoo, Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark and Red-necked Nightjar.
We may also add Bonelli’s Eagle, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Melodious
Warbler, Ortolan Bunting and, if lucky, may hear Dupont's Lark. Take a look at the Trip Reports available as part of our
‘EXTRA’ Pack - this outstanding
two-centre holiday is a brilliant way to bird the Pyrenees!
Price includes: return scheduled flight from London - Zaragoza, airport
taxes, ground transportation, en suite accommodation with all meals, picnic
lunches, incidental tips, and the services of leader Cristian Jensen, who will be joined by another from our team with more than 7 clients. Max. 14 clients.
Please note: all itineraries are given as a guide only. Actual
holiday content may vary according to the judgement of your guide, and
elements beyond our control (eg weather).
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