Bird Watching Tours in Extremadura
Birding Extremadura is a family run specialist business which focuses on private and exclusive Extremadura bird watching tours to one of Europe’s top birding and nature-watching destinations. Martin Kelsey is your leader and he has taken people on customised tours over 125 times in Extremadura.
Martin and Claudia Kelsey also offer guest house accommodation and have been based in the heart of this region since 2005, catering for birders and other naturalists, especially those travelling independently.
They are passionate about Extremadura and love to share that passion with other wildlife enthusiasts. They work closely with local government and non-government organisations to support their activities on birds, conservation and wildlife tourism.
Birding Extremadura offers customised private birding and nature tours throughout Extremadura. These holidays are exclusive to you so that you will receive dedicated guiding support from Martin. The holiday are set at your pace to meet your specific needs and expectations.
Their private Extremadura birdwatching tours are normally seven nights/eight days with flexible dates to suit you throughout the year. Shorter or longer holidays are also available on request. Since these holidays in Extremadura are personally customised, they can include visits to historic towns, and aspects of other nature interests such as botany, butterflies or dragonflies.
Why Extremadura?
Extremadura lies in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It boasts an amazing diversity of vast landscapes with mainly traditional farming. This makes it a unique corner of western Europe. Wildlife populations are sustained that have become just distant memories elsewhere.
Extremadura is a year-round destination, but with distinct seasonal differences. Spring (from March to May) offers a luxuriant diversity of wildlife. Winter visits are extremely popular because of the sheer abundance of birds and superb conditions for photography. Autumn rains bless Extremadura with a second spring, with a resurgence of growth and delightful autumn flowers. The hot dry summer has a charm of its own, combined with a slower pace and the richness of wildlife like dragonflies now at a peak.
Extremadura has so much to offer in terms of wildlife (birds – including 23 breeding species of raptor, 120 species of butterflies, 55 species dragonflies, wonderful flowers). For those with a love of landscape, authenticity, gastronomy, culture and history (there are three World Heritage Sites as well as a Geological Park within an hour from Martin and Claudia’s house) the experience is amazing.
Your Guide
Martin is your specialist guide for your exclusive custom holiday. He has led over 125 holidays over the last 16 years in Extremadura. Passionate about nature and conservation, he has been fascinated by nature since childhood. He is a founder member of GUIDEX, which was the first association of professional nature guides established in Spain.
Sharing their passion for nature in Extremadura since 2005
See Martin’s regular blog for insights into nature in Extremadura: https://www.birdingextremadurablog.com/
Martin and Claudia also organise special activities, run by invited and widely-acclaimed tutors, broadcasters and writers, covering themes like nature-writing and landscape painting. Keen photographers can also be linked-up with the local business offering hides for birds of prey and passerines.
Casa Rural El Recuerdo
Birding Extremadura and its guesthouse, Casa Rural El Recuerdo, offer a full range of options for guests, from Bed & Breakfast to Full Board. With our expert local advice guests can explore the area for themselves as well as taking guided day trips and fully inclusive private tours if requested.
El Recuerdo is also their home, so as they welcome you in, they hope you will feel at home. You will enjoy meals that are based on local products, some of which they produce themselves from our own garden. Martin and Claudia’s experience and knowledge mean that the wishes and requirements of each guest can be individually met. Their private tours are customised to your interests and your pace.
They can organise a Zoom call with you to discuss your requirements and expectations.
COVID-19 Compliance
At Birding Extremadura they are strictly following the Spanish government’s protocols for reducing the risk of COVID-19 contagion, both at their guesthouse as well as in the field.
They are registered under the government’s Responsible Tourism category as compliant with government protocols.
With these measures, guests can be confident that they are offering nature holidays in Extremadura that are safe and secure.
At the house, hand sanitiser gel, tissues and disposal containers are available at both the entrance of the establishment. Guests are requested to disinfect outdoor shoes and remove them as they enter the house. Check-in registration is done using an App, no pens required. Room keys are disinfected.
The dining room has a layout to allow social distancing. All meals, including breakfasts, will be served at the table. The First Aid Kit has a thermometer to check the temperature of anyone feeling unwell and a protocol is in place for follow-up of anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19.
On guided field excursions, use of face masks is obligatory. Hand sanitiser and wipes will be available. To ensure social distancing, the middle seats of vehicles will not be used and rotation between seats is not allowed during the day.
At the end of the day, the vehicle will be disinfected using permitted products. Binoculars will not be shared. The telescope eyepiece ring and the focusing wheel will be disinfected, before and after individual use, if the equipment is shared.
Their tours are exclusive and private. This means that with Martin as your exclusive guide, you will not be sharing the days in the field with anyone else. They know that this is the best way to experience nature in Extremadura safely.
Spain has created a Responsible Tourism kitemark for businesses to demonstrate they have followed official guidelines for reducing the spread of Covid-19. Birding Extremadura has secured this important accreditation.
World Wide Traveller Protection
For traveller protection see:
- https://www.blueskywildlife.com/worldwide-traveller-protection-for-wildlife-holidays/
- https://www.blueskywildlife.com/worldwide-traveller-protection/
Birding Extremadura is registered by the Government of Extremadura OA-CC-00052 and is a proud member of the Birding in Extremadura Product Club.
Birding Extremadura contributes to local conservation effort both through annual donations and through voluntary work to census and monitor critical species.
We support the conservation charity AMUS, which runs a wildlife recovery centre, as well as species reintroduction projects in Extremadura, elsewhere in Spain and in other southern European countries. Here is the link to their website: http://www.amus.org.es/
Birding Extremadura and Casa Rural El Recuerdo are part of the Birding in Extremadura Product Club. This is a partnership between the business sector and government of Extremadura aiming to promote and develop sustainable and conservation-conscious birdwatching and wildlife tourism in Extremadura.
Martin has been president of the Extremadura Nature Guides association, GUIDEX. He is a board member of the Common Crane Conservation Working Group in Extremadura. He helped to form the Extremadura Rarities Committee. Claudia is a board member of the local rural development body ADICOMT, which brings together the public and private sector.
We adhere to the GUIDEX Ethical Code for nature guides, ensuring that the welfare of the nature is put first https://www.guidextremadura.com/english/ethical-code/
We are blessed in being in the heart of a gastronomic paradise. This makes sourcing local wholesome and sustainably produced food very easy. We use our very own organic olive oil and produce from our garden when in season.
We provide re-usable water bottles to guests on our customised tours. We have eliminated our use of plastic water bottles and no longer use plastic bags.
And thanks to the installation of solar panels, most of our domestic energy requirements are now self-produced!
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