waking up on the marshes of El Rocio

What i loooooooooooooovvvvveeed about Spain was watching the sunrise and "waking up" with the marsh. Coto Donana is so birdy, and to feel the pulse of life here is an experience of a lifetime. Loads of cattle egrets, the lone squacco heron(LUV that name) looked on each am from the very same post, like an old man not ready to get out of bed ... the Cetti's warbler announcing the dawn with explosive singing - anything but timid - quite the opposite of the penduline tit - that avoided being seen or heard, which made a glimpse of it all the more precious. Amaiiiiiii, don't you LOVE that sunset? I DID die and go to heaven when i saw it .... and i've never come back to life since, thankfully.


The town of El Rocio, steeped in religious tradition, rests adjacent to the spectacular marshes of El Rocio, where we discovered the richness of bird life - with spotted crake, holy ibis, and so many other awesome finds - amidst an abundance of sweet songsters - every day was a symphony just waiting to be savored.


... and what have we here? Three macho Spaanse caballeros drinking a little champagne and enjoying being in the center of the universe. Makes you wonder how commonplace is this behavior ... and does it influence their success in life? Are men that are MORE bold .... MORE successful at spreading their genes?


During the weekends ... there were horse, horses, horses everywhere. The Spanish love their horses and use them as a means of getting to town and back. The sandy roads must feel better on their hoofs. But I can only imagine how hard the HOT, DRY summers are on these beautiful equines ... how many of them will perish from the stress?


Seville was beautiful, especially because we had spectacular views of LITTLE KESTRELS that nested in the monstrosity of the cathedral. Looked more like a city to me, with layers upon layers of construction that must've taken eons to design and build. Couldn't tell where it began and where it stopped -was breathtaking, but overbearing in my opinion.


First, we explored Coto Donana safari-style, which gave great views of the pristine coastline, expansive dunes and marsh complexes. Saw more birds than expected this way (due to patient driver that stopped for birds more often than expected), with Audouin's gull and glossy ibis being new lifers for me. Wild boar and deer were quite abundant, which was another happy surprise.


A pit stop during the safari tour to search for Spanish Imperial Eagle! No doubt an impressive sight, but most of us were not to behold it during this trip in spite of multiple attempts to find them. A few lucky ones did catch a glimpse at Acebuche! But we did see 150 species of birds during our 8 days of birding in southwestern Spain. And I got 16 new WP birds (West Palearctic) ... Audouin's gull, Goshawk, Glossy Ibis, Pallid Swift, Squacco Heron, Penduline Tit, Spotted Crake, Black-crowned Night Heron, Spanish Sparrow, Black-winged Kite, Red-knobbed Coot, Little Bittern, Holy Ibis, Dartford Warbler, Black-eared Wheatear, and Common Scoter.


Acebron gave great views of virgin cork forest, which reminded me so much of the gnarly live oak forests of the southeastern United States, and for good reason -- CORK trees are in the same genus - QUERCUS!!!!! Felt at home on the sinuous trails, and also watching the black-crowned night herons on the marshes, but without the ALLIGATORS that you'd see in Florida.


Experienced the most challenging roads between Villamanrique and the visitors center at Jose Antonio Valverde - there were humongous potholes! And happy to say we navigated them smoothly! Had splendid views of black-winged kites hovering in the air, plus kestrels mating (yee-ha!), Spanish sparrow, and an albino corn bunting:)


Gilbert exemplified our mantra for the week: Eat, Pray, BIRD! Gil IS the fanatical type of birder that literally lives, breathes, "eats" birds 24-7. With him around, there's little time for R&R, but then in a place like Coto Donana, who can "rest & relax" when there's so much to SEE!


... enjoying the sun after a visit to la Huelva to see replicas of the vessels that Christopher Columbus used to discover the New World - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.

... enjoying a few drinks and live music in Seville

... Jos and Josette took the liberty to enjoy the music more than the rest of us, but maybe we enjoyed watching them even more.

... at Ribetehelos, we had excellent views of the Dartford warbler, a precious little bird. What a great trip this was, not just for the birds, but also for the comraderie and the relationships forged during this adventure ... may they last a lifetime.