Recent Sightings

Below you will find recorded (beneath the 2010 birdwatching trip prices), what would normally be considered unusual birds for the time of year or for this area of Spain and also sightings during trips either on the Ebro Delta or in the Els Ports mountain range or Montsia mountain nature reserve, with occasional clients' reports. We will also record sightings from around the casa pequena/Bona Vista country house rural accommodation.

Guided birdwatching trips can be provided to both the Ebro Delta's Northern & Southern arms, these will include the lagoons, dunes, reedbeds, estuary areas as well as use of our Leica Televid 77 scope. Trips to birdwatch in the mountains usually follow our many hiking itineraries, please see Hiking Itineraries for details. Our trips are never set in stone so therefore don't be afraid to suggest local areas that you might wish to visit. We will be pleased to discuss your requirements before you decide to book your trip.

Ebro Delta Natural Park

A day's birdwatching on the Ebro Delta for one to four people including use of a Leica Televid 77 scope, packed lunches and transportation, costs €125 euros. All additional people will then be charged at €10 euros each up to a maximum of 7 in a group. (Payment will be collected on the day, immediately after the excursion).

Els Ports Mountains Natural Park

A day's birdwatching in the mountains for one to four people including use of a Leica Televid 77 scope (where appropriate), packed lunches and transportation, costs €110 euros. All additional people will then be charged at €10 euros each up to a maximum of 7 in a group. (Payment will be collected on the day, immediately after the excursion).

Guests staying in the casa pequena and/or Bona Vista rural accommodation are entitled to a 15% discount on the above prices.

Feel totally at ease during the entire delta birdwatching excursion as we use a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle to ferry you between birdwatching locations. The transport is also an ideal base from which to view the scenery. For mountain birdwatching trips there will be more walking involved, although normally using easy, flat mountain tracks. For both mountain and delta trips we will always arrange to meet you at a convenient location from which to start the excursion.

To enquire about booking a trip or for further information please email us or use our enquiry form

Around the Els Reguers accommodation, Caramella valley/Mont Caro mountain & Ebro Delta

David and Yolande Gascoigne from Bushey in Hertfordshire, UK, stayed in the casa pequena for a week between 15th & 22nd May. This was not the first time we had met, as we had the pleasure in June 2009 of taking them out on an Ebro Delta trip as part of their wedding anniversary celebration. We took them out again this year, but this time on a day trip into the Els Ports natural park & surrounding areas. This turned out to be a trip with a few more surprises than we bargained for. They have very kindly supplied a report with some photos relating to their birding holiday here.

Our regular birding client, Allen Moore, Isle of Man, UK, returned yet again to us this year (he must be a glutton for punishment!) & spent 4 nights in the Casa Pequena accommodation from 10th to 14th May. This time we conducted 2 guided birding trips to the Ebro Delta spending a full day on the northern side, and most of a day on the southern side which included a quick trip on the way to the delta to the Caramella valley & nearby old quarries. We also spent a day in the Els Ports Natural Park but this time visiting the northern Ports & the wine-producing Terra Alta region including the Picasso village of Horta de San Joan. Allen has now been on 18 guided trips with us since 2001 & many thanks to him for again providing a report & list (including some of his photographs from the trips) of his 4 night stay during which time he recorded 97 species.

On Thursday 8th April, we had an excellent day trip to the delta with experienced birders Richard & Julie Birch from Aylesbury, Bucks, UK who have visited the delta on numerous occasions in the past, Over 60 species were spotted that day & the full list is as follows: little & great-crested grebe, cormorant, night heron; cattle, little and great white egret; squacco, purple & grey heron, glossy ibis, flamingo, shelduck, mallard, shoveler, red-crested pochard, marsh harrier, kestrel, moorhen, coot, purple gallinule, avocet, black-winged stilt, collared pratincole; ringed, kentish & little ringed plover; little stint, dunlin, sanderling, redshank & greenshank, wood & common sandpiper, bar-tailed godwit; black-headed, Audouin's, slender-billed & yellow-legged gull; common, sandwich, little, gull-billed, Caspian & whiskered tern; hoopoe, sand martin, swallow, house martin, redstart, crested lark, yellow & white wagtail, zitting cisticola, willow warbler, blackcap, nuthatch, magpie, startling, reed bunting; house & tree sparrow.

Richard & Julie contacted us by email when they returned back to the UK with a short update on what they had seen the day after our trip. An excerpt from their email is shown below.

'Just back home in UK. We enjoyed our day with you very much - thank you! Table on beach for picnic lunch and convenient conveniences all appreciated. We went to Les Olles d'Ampolla next day and found a very good mixture and birds easy to see. Slender billed, Audouins's and Caspian tern all present, also, ibis, gadwall, reed warbler and first swifts. Restaurant looked interesting too.

We then went back to the Migjorn tower area where there had been a fall of warblers - sub-Alpine in scrub by fence at edge of protected area, garden and endless willows with pied flycatcher by Illa de Buda ferry, where we also had a very viewable little bittern at last. Green sandpipers and whiskered terns were on the new ponds being created there, which look promising. Next time we'll come a little later and hope to be able to get up into Els Ports with you for some raptors - please keep working till 2012.'

Weather-wise, March continued with cooler temperatures. However, midway through the month, during a 2 hour afternoon foray into the Caramella valley we witnessed tussles between bonelli's eagles and griffon vultures possibly due to competition for nesting sites as well as a peregrine falcon chasing a pair of griffons. Also seen that afternoon were blue rock thrush, nightingale, stonechat, firecrest, goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, serin, long-tailed tit and great tit.

Later in the month, it was pleasing to see above the Els Reguers accommodation, short-toed eagles hovering, and at least 50 black kites on one occasion circling overhead.

The start to the new year brought in unusual weather conditions for this area - the lower reaches of the Cervera valley was subject to heavy snowfall (our first for five years!) while our neighbours a kilometre away just had a sprinkling. This is typical of the microclimatic conditions that prevail in this part of the lower Ebro valley, partly a result of the proximity and abrupt relief of the Els Ports natural park mountains.

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Early January snowfall at the finca

In spite of the extreme cold this winter, the usual bird species have been seen on and around the finca, such as chaffinch, black redstart, blackcap, song thrush, goldfinch, starling, robin, blackbird, house sparrow, great tit, blue tit, crested lark, cirl bunting, stonechat, white wagtail, hoopoe and sardinian warbler

A late afternoon short 2 hour foray on the 18th February to the delta produced a remarkable list of 34 different species (all spotted on the southern side of the delta within the salt pans of Tancada, L'Encanyissada and El Clot lagoons) namely: cormorant, cattle egret, little egret, great egret, grey heron, flamingo, mallard, marsh harrier, kestrel, moorhen, coot, purple gallinule, avocet, lapwing, dunlin, redshank, common sandpiper, snipe, bar-tailed godwit, curlew, black-headed gull, slender-billed gull, hoopoe, kingfisher, crested lark, meadow pipit, white wagtail, zitting cisticola, chiffchaff, spotless starling, house sparrow, reed bunting, bluethroat, willow warbler.

While on a climb up to the Montaspre ridge above the mountain village of Pauls on 19th February, we witnessed an impressive display of a peregrine falcon chasing off a pair of golden eagles. The two eagles were casually flying in the direction of the fortress-like summit of the Moleta d'Alfara (800m) when suddenly we noticed in the distance a bird flying at high speed towards them. It soon became apparent when the bird very quickly caught up with the eagles and engaged them that it was a peregrine falcon.

As the walk encompasses a natural spring at the centre of a sheltered grassy bowl, we were fortunate to spot a group of ibex (around 40 of them) at the watering hole headed by a grand old male with his spectacularly shaped horns.