We recorded 205 species during our time in Spain, and 44 of these were new birds for The Biggest Twitch. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and were very pleased with the fantastic birds we saw. We began our birding in Extremadura based at Casa Rural El Recuerdo, just south of Trujillo, and would again like to thank Martin and Claudia Kelsey for their wonderful help and hospitality. It was also in Extremadura that we met John Muddeman who helped us nail Wallcreeper and Alpine Accentor in the same scope view.From here we moved on to the Coto de Donana where we stayed in our mobile home at Camping La Aldea just outside El Rocio. We were joined by our friends from North Wales, Marc and son Aled, Mike and Rob. The birding here was non-stop, including two Big Days and a healthy chunk of seawatching. Most days ended up back at the superb lagoon at El Rocio, where birding just doesn't get any better, sitting in the bar scoping the myriads of birds with a beer in your hand! From here to the open plains near Belchite, where our pre-dawn start rewarded us with excellent views of Dupont's Lark, a high priority species.Next stop was the Picos de Europa, where we stayed at the attractive Apartments Olmares in the little village of Basieda near Potes. Our highlights in this area included Alpine Chough and Alpine Accentor again on the snowy summit of the Picos and woodpeckers galore around the village of Tudes, including Middle Spotted, Great Spotted, Green and Wryneck, and on our last day in the area, Black Woodpecker.Our transfer from London Gatwick to Heathrow Airport failed to produce any new year ticks, despite our constant scanning from the coach in the hope of a fly-by Ring-necked Parakeet over the M25. In fact mammals proved easier to see than birds, with Red Fox and Roe Deer both seen from our high rise viewpoint in the coach.As many of you have noticed, a couple of things on the website are not working too well: the map of our route and the table of species recorded against target. Sadly for reasons beyond our control we are unable to update these at the moment.Bird species list: 1913
Posted London Heathrow airport, 12th April