Our wildlife programmes offer some of the best wildlife watching from the open ocean to the great extensions of the Northern Plateau of Spain , renowned for its birding diversity and the opportunity to experience the splendour of the ocean. The sea element offers both cetaceans and Pelagic birds and details of sightings within the programmes will be provided within each of our 6-day holidays. In Spain our local Guide, Fernando Jubete, one of Spain’s top Wildlife Guides will take over. He will make your visit a memorable experience as you join him in observing some of the best wildlife in these incredibly spectacular places. Nice hotels and good food and wine will enhance your visit!
On Sunday - Meet at the Plymouth Ferryport where we catch the 1745 sailing to Spain. A 2-berth cabin is provided and upgrades are available as detailed in Essentail Information. Our Guide, Paul Burley, will meet you in the Terminal Building at Plymouth Ferryport.
We wil lbe setting off from Plymouth and crossing the English Channel towards the Ushant on the north western tip of France. We will be hoping to see Great skua, Manx shearwater, Kittiwake, Gannets and more. We will also be looking for Common dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Harbour porpoise and Minke whale as these animals are frequently seen in these waters throughout the year.
The next morning we are in the Bay of Biscay where we resume looking for pelagic seabirds and the various whale and dolphin species that makes the Bay of Biscay one of the best places to observe cetaceans in Europe. We will be hoping to see the big whales, Beaked whales and a variety of dolphin species along with the many surprises that Biscay has to offer. On arrival in Santander at 1530 we drive southwards to Ampudia to check into the 5* Hotel La Posada La Casa del Abad. Here Fernando will join you for a talk about the days to come. The hotel has a swimming pool to cool you down after a hard day's observation!
Tierra de Campos and La Nava wetland.
We leave the hotel after breakfast on the second day and drive to the county of Tierra de Campos where we explore the cereal pseudo-steppe for the observation of steppebirds. We will visit a lek (a place where birds gather during the mating season) of great bustards with more than 300 specimens. Other steppe birds will be observed such as calandra lark, greater short-toed lark, crested lark, Montagu’s harrier or lesser kestrel. At lunch time we visit a bar in Fuentes de Nava.In the afternoon we travel to La Nava wetland. In this shallow lake we can expect to see birds such as the marsh harrier, purple heron, white stork, black-winged stilt, penduline tit,Savi’s warbler, bluethroat, etc. As this is a migratory season, we can expect to see a goodnumber of waders and gulls. We return to the hotel for dinner and overnight El Cerrato. On the third day we leave the hotel after breakfast and travel to the county of El Cerrato. First we visit to the village of Baltanás to follow a path through an area of gypsiferous slopes and a valley with pasture-quejigal. At lunch time we will take refreshment in a Baltanás bar.Our afternoon exploration starts from the village of Antigüedad, where our stroll will take place through an area of Mediterranean woodland with Spanish juniper, holm oak and Portuguese oak. Target bird species for the day: booted eagle, black kite, Spanish imperial eagle, european bee-eater, Eurasian hoopoe, Iberian magpie, western black-eared whetear, the kla’s lark, spectacled warbler, western subalpine warbler, tawny pipit, Spanish sparrow, ortolanbunting, etc. Species of butterflies targeted for the day: swallowtail, Spanish festoon, Cleopatra, western dappled white, clouded yellow, orange tip, green hairstreak, Provencehairstreak, etc. We return to the hotel for dinner and overnight
On Thursday we return to Santander to catch the 1830 sailing and we will once more be crossing through the Bay of Biscay to look for sea birds and cetaceans.
On Friday morning we will be crossing the English channel to repeat our search for birds and cetaceans. We reach Plymouth at 1530.
We can not guarantee the wildlife that you will see but here is a report on the species we saw October 2023. Click here to view report.
| October 6th 2024 | £675 |
Includes: Ferry crossings with cabin; coach transport in Spain;three nights 4* hotel accommodation with breakfast and dinner; Spanish and English Guides.
Single Supplement : £160
Pick up point : Plymouth Ferryport