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Oliva Rama Holidays Short Breaks Birding Diary Contact Us
All you have to do is get two cheap flights and pack your binoculars.
*This is an offer based on two people sharing a 4 night stay at Oliva Rama Pension (or alternate local accommodation), 4 days guided birding, transfers from and too Alicante or Valencia airports, all for £340 each. (based on a 1.33 exchange rate)
A typical short break should produce between 110 - 140 species depending on the time of year
A typical itinerary would be as follows:-
Day 1 - A pick up from either Valencia or Alicante Airport we will kick-start your break with a couple of hours birdwatching before returning to Oliva. If flying into Valencia we shall visit Moro Marsh the home of breeding Crested Coots amongst other excellent wetland species with breeding Little Bittern, Purple, Night & Squacco Herons, Collared Pratincole, Purple Gallinule, Common, Little & Whiskered Terns, Moustached, Savi's & Great Reed Warblers. If you decide to fly into Alicante we can visit one or two sites in that area that are not part of the normal itinerary, such as Maigmo for woodland species like Crossbill, Crested, Coal & Long tailed Tits, Short toed Treecreeper, Firecrest, Rock & Cirl Bunting or Monnegre for birds such as Black & Black eared Wheatear, Thekla Lark, Bee-eaters, and Rock Sparrow. At a suitable time we will make our way back to Oliva Rama Pension where your room will be waiting along with a cool drink on the roof terrace, which could yield a bird or two from the extensive orange groves and hills behind the house.
Day 2 - Depending on time of year we may begin on the coast looking for species like Balearic & Cory's Shearwater's, Audouin's, Mediterranean & Yellow legged Gulls, Gannets, Razorbill, Sandwich Tern, Sanderling & Kentish Plover. Next we go to Oliva/Pego Marsh looking for the resident Moustached Warblers, Little & Cattle Egrets, Purple Gallinule, Kingfisher, Crested Larks, Cetti's Warblers and Zitting Cisticolas. Breeding species include Little Bittern, Night, Purple & Squacco Herons, Black winged Stilts, Whiskered Terns, Yellow Wagtails, Savi's, Eurasian Reed & Great Reed Warblers, Woodchat Shrikes, and Turtle Doves. During winter & early spring flocks of finches, larks, sparrows & buntings feed in the paddy fields and consequently Booted Eagles, Marsh & Hen Harriers, Common Buzzards, Sparrowhawk, and Peregrine Falcon are all seen on a regular basis. Recent rarities include Glossy Ibis, Sociable Plover, Marsh & Pectoral Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, & Snow Bunting. Next we drive up into the mountains through the Vall de Gallinera hopefully seeing it's resident Golden Eagles, Crag Martin, Cirl Bunting, and Red billed Chough. Breeding species include Golden Oriole, Wryneck, Woodchat Shrike, Rock Sparrow, Melodious Warbler, Black eared Wheatear and Turtle Doves. Finally we visit the hills behind Alcoy where we will see Griffon Vultures at close quarters and possibly Woodlark & Thekla Lark, Crested, Coal & Great Tit, Raven, Rock Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush and Crossbills. It is then back to the guesthouse to allow you time to reflect on the day's events and relax with a drink before you can sample one of Oliva's excellent local restaurants.
Day 3 - This day is in total contrast to the others with an early breakfast and drive into Castilla La Mancha. We will head straight for the Albacete region, where our target species are Great & Little Bustard, Black-bellied & Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Stone Curlew, Calandra, Crested & Short toed Larks, Rock & Tree Sparrows. Apart from our target species there is always a chance of other classic species during the breeding season such as Great Spotted Cuckoo, Black-eared & Northern Wheatear, Red & Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Marsh & Montagu's Harrier, and the scarce Lesser Kestrel. Also there are the lagoons of Petrola & Higuela, which are both excellent for waders & wildfowl with recent tours finding species such as Ferruginous & Marbled Ducks, Pintail, Gull billed & Black Terns, Temminck's Stint, Wood & Curlew Sandpipers, Spotted Redshank, and Greater Flamingos. This area is fantastic all year round, in late autumn/winter there are various flooded fields, which hold good numbers of birds making for a great day out.
Day 4 - One day will be spent around the Alicante area in the south looking for many of it's resident and breeding speciality species. Along the coast in the late spring and summer are a few Rufous Bush Robins as well a good possibility of migrants such as Common Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Wood, Bonelli's & Sub-alpine Warblers during passage season. Next we will visit the 'Clot de Galvany' a small wetland reserve with it's breeding White headed Ducks, Purple Gallinules, Iberian Green Woodpeckers, Little Owl, Southern Grey Shrike, Dartford & Sardinian Warblers and the possibility of a Marbled Duck. We then go the short distance to the 'Santa Pola Salinas', this large area of commercial saltpans hold several thousand Greater Flamingos, various species of gulls & terns, waders and wildfowl all year round. Again here anything can turn up with regular visitors like Great White Egret, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Caspian Tern, & Osprey. After lunch we visit arguably the 'Valenciana Communitat' s premier bird reserve 'El Hondo', as well as some of the above species it also has breeding Roller, Montagu's Harrier, Lesser Short toed Larks, Collared Pratincole, and Little Bittern. Other species regularly seen in this area also includes Bearded Tit, Hobby, Glossy Ibis, and Temminck's Stint plus during passage periods significant numbers of wildfowl and waders can occur within the reserve. Depending on 'time of year' a meal will be taken at Finca Bonelli's Eagle above Crevillente, with it's resident pair of Bonelli's Eagles as well as Black Wheatears, Rock Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Alpine Swifts, Thekla Larks, & Raven.
Day 5 - Depending on where your flight leaves from we shall return to one or two of the sites previously visited trying to locate any species we may have missed previously. Another option is to drive through to Denia (the next town south) looking for the resident Monk Parakeets, and then on to Cap de San Antoni looking for it's breeding Mediterranean Shags, Peregrine Falcons Black Wheatears, Blue Rock Thrush, Sardinian & Dartford Warblers. Whatever we decide your break will finish on a high and you will be go home having seen another fantastic area within Spain.
Eagle Owl & Red necked Nightjar Extensions
An extension to the Alicante Tour to look the breeding Eagle Owls that nest in the hills above Elche. There is an extra cost of £30 per person, which also includes your 3-course evening meal & drinks (from January - May).
An extension taken any night from Oliva Rama Pension with an excellent chance of seeing the beautiful Red necked Nightjar at very close quarters. There is an extra cost of £15 per person (from May - October).
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or contact - info@olivaramatours.com or telephone 0034 96 285 4374