Ebro Delta Birding Experience Tour, Catalonia, Spain - 6 Days

Our trip to the Ebro Delta was our first foray into overseas birding and I hope that this review will convince you to take the plunge as it was simply incredible. My girlfriend and I went on the tour in May 2022 and we were accompanied by 2 fellow tourists who we did not know prior to the trip. The Birds We saw over 100 species which was phenomenal. It's hard to select my personal highlights but they include: purple swamphen, gull billed tern, great reed warbler, great spotted cuckoo, wryneck, a booted eagle being mobbed by a family of 10+ black kites, numerous heron and egret species, stone-curlew, and of course the Spanish avian royalty - hoopoe, roller and bee-eater. Perhaps more importantly were the circumstances on seeing the beautiful birds. For example we had a good 3 minute view from around 20 metres of the elusive wryneck, and close-up intimate views of great reed warblers and common cuckoos whilst on day 2 (the boat cruise) of the tour. The variety of the day trips were excellent from both a locational and experiential perspective. The 4 days of birding are wonderfully varied in start time, target species and location (from cruising on Al's boat on the Ebro river in the early morning, seeking Eurasian eagle owl at dusk in the hills, to admiring myriad vultures, storks, and birds of prey at an opportune stop at a landfill). The Tour Guide As stated in numerous reviews, Al is a great, down to earth bloke, and he was a significant factor in our enjoyment of the trip. He is clearly passionate about the birds and his knowledge is excellent - not just the location but other interesting facts about the birds eating strategies etc. For example, the first birds we saw on the first day were a group of nesting penduline tits and he knew precisely where to find them. His recommendations of things to do in the area in the evening after the birding, and info regarding taxis etc. were good and you feel like he genuinely cares about you and your experience. He is the sort of bloke that you would love to go for a pint with after a day of birding. The Villa The Villa is good. If you are expecting 5 star accommodation with a complementary masseuse then you should look elsewhere. If you are looking for a cosy villa with everything you need in close proximity to the Ebro Delta, lovely walking routes, and transport to nearby towns then it will be perfect for you. The fridges are stocked with basics with a small and reasonable fee for alcohol etc, and the rooms themselves are a good temperature. We were accompanied by 2 solo travellers and we certainly felt that we had our own space and were not crammed in like sardines. Wendy, Al's wife puts on a good spread in the mornings and is a pleasure to be around. Within a 5 minute walk of the villa, we spotted a few little owls and numerous nightjars (in previous reviews a red-necked night jar was spotted here but I don't at all have the ID skills to posit that we saw one). In the evenings after birding we went to a few local towns/cities, including Tarragona (interesting cultural monuments), L'ampolla (food, bars and beaches), L'Amettla de mar (food, wine!, bars) In conclusion, I honestly can't recommend this tour highly enough and I am confident that you will have a very similar experience to ours. We will certainly be booking a winter tour with Al soon. This tour is an absolute steal and you won't regret it.

Al was a brilliant guide and showed us all kinds of spots to see birds we would never have found on our own - we saw a spectacular variety of birds including Ospreys, Flamingos, Hoopoes, various warblers and a very special 40 minutes in a hide watching a Kingfisher fish. Obviously every day will be different but with Al as your guide you'll be able to see so much more than you would on your own. Thanks for an unforgettable experience!

I had two days spare before a fishing trip and thought it would be a good idea to see the Delta birds with Al. It was a great decision! I have experienced many bird guides on all 6 continents and Al is right up there with the best. He knows his patch inside out, and has excellent field skills. He is very conscious of the best light angles for viewing, and patient when trying to track down a skulking passerine. He is also very companionable, and chose some ideal restaurants for lunch. Local Paella and Eel stew! We saw over 80 species. Can unreservedly recommend this trip.

My son and I booked the 4 day tour with Ebro Delta Birding. Al was an easy going and expert guide, always going the extra mile to show us as many species as possible. We very much appreciated Al’s deep knowledge of the birds and the area, and it was so useful to gain tips on identification and habits of various species. We saw 107 different species, much more than we expected at the end of the summer season.

I had the privilege of a private day’s outing with Al in the Ebro Delta at the end of March, on both the north side and south side of the river. Despite a very strong tramontana wind, which kept the small birds mainly out of site (though Al found a few for me), Al gave me a fantastic tour of the delta. Wonderful waders, highlights for me being several Spotted Redshanks and Wood Sandpipers, and more Greenshanks together than I’ve ever seen before; but also good numbers of Sanderling, Turnstone, Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Kentish Plover, Snipe and Common Sandpiper. Booted Eagle was another highlight, as was an elusive Penduline Tit. And the range of ducks was very good and included C. Teal, Gadwall, Garganey, Wigeon, C. Shelduck and Shoveller, and lots of Red-crested Pochard. And lots of flamingoes! A really good day thanks to Al’s great knowledge of the Delta, and I look forward to doing another tour with him in the future.

We spent 4 days with Al exploring the Delta and surrounding area. Al is great company and has an unbelievable depth of knowledge. Would 100% recommend!

I would give 10 stars if I could to our day birding with Al. He took us to many environments and was so knowledgeable about what we were seeing. We are from the U.S., and we added many more new birds to our life list that day. I would highly recommend him as a guide!

Four day version - packed tour of the Ebro Delta and environs including a river boat excursion, the high plains and mountains, vulture feeding extravaganza and much more with my ‘birding wife’ and fellow non-birding daughter, all brilliantly weaved together by Al. His relaxed but expertly informative style made for a great overall experience and varied holiday, with many spectacular and memorable sights. Plenty of opportunity as we drove round the delta for photography and sightings. Whether you are an expert birder or not (I'm definitely the latter!) doesn’t matter as Al caters for all and his enthusiasm is infectious. All other parts of the holiday worked well with accommodation and smooth transfers. Fab time, great introduction to the area leaving us wanting more. Highly recommended.

This place is special. This guide, Al Henderson, is special. We visited with Ebro Delta Birding, in autumn, on the tail-end of the migration south for many bird species and we were very privileged to witness spectacle after spectacle. Numerous Marsh Harriers cruising in to roost amongst the reedbeds all on a backdrop of hundreds of glossy Ibis criss-crossing the dusk sky and a murmuration of starlings thrown in. 1000 or more White stork shuffling for position before swirling up in turn on the midday thermals amongst red kites, griffon vultures and even a much rarer black stork. And the exchange of roosts between the night heron colonies, with their large bright red eyes, switching places with many hundreds of egrets, cormorant and an osprey, all viewed in reflection too, with the sunset behind, from Al's boat out on the river Ebro. The delta itself has vast numbers of birds, some resident, some migrant. All year round you can also witness the balletic displays of the flamingos, of course and we also took the opportunity to witness a private feeding of over 200 Griffon Vultures at a fantastic mountainside retreat permitting panoramic views from above and below. As a family (not all of whom are 'birders') there was something for everyone... new species, new behaviour, new songs, fantastic photo opportunities and a chance to see a wide variety of landscapes. Well over 100 different bird species were seen on this trip. However, it is the sheer number of birds that was unexpected and that easily rivalled costal reserves in the UK and trips to The Gambia, for example, with the promise of more to be seen at different times of the year too.

We had a fantastic 4 days birding with Ebro Delta Birding. We went to the Northern and Southern Delta, on the river boat trip and to the nearby mountains. Al, our host was extremely knowledgeable about the area, the birdlife and specific places that different species could be found. We would have been completely lost without such an experienced guide. Al is also an excellent photographer and sent us a range of beautiful photographs of the birds we saw. We had four very different days including one on the river, one in the nearby mountain range, featuring over 500 Griffon vultures feeding, and two in different parts of the delta area. We experienced a range of habitats and bird types and were able to get extremely close to the birds, including the smaller ones which are sometimes difficult to see let alone get close to. Al also provided background information on the habits of the various birds. Highlights included Osprey, numerous kingfishers, a Egret Roost, Waders, Vultures, and the small birds incuding a Firecrest and Crested Tit. We very much look forward to returning to the area and Ebro Delta Birding.

This was my first birding tour abroad and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My wife enjoyed it too even though she is not an active birder herself. This is because the tour has been structured so well by Al with a different experience every day. I would like to mention that if your other half is a non birder or passive birder it doesn't matter. Just take them along as they will love the peace and quiet of the countryside villa, the beautiful scenery of delta and mountains, and the variety of experiences on each day of the tour. Even though there is a village 5 minutes away from the villa, we decided to stock up on supplies and cook our evening meals at the villa. There is a large Eroski supermarket that Al took us to on the first day where everything is available. We even bought a nice pair of slippers as we'd forgotten to bring ours. Al was really flexible with the tour and even agreed to an extra half day of birding for an extra charge in the drylands on the way back to Barcelona on the final day. We had booked a 5 night stay in Barcelona after the birding and Al was kind enough to drop us off at the accomodation we had booked. Ok now on to the birding. On the way to the villa we were fortunate enough to get a red necked nightjar! We managed to get a really clear view in the car headlights. A dream start. Al is an expert on the area and new exactly where to go to get different species. The first day we visited the South Delta and got 55 species, 20 of which were completely new to me such as bee eater, collared pratincole, penduline tit and audouin's gull. We also got a great paella for lunch! The second day we visited the griffon vulture observatory which was simply an amazing experience. Hundreds of vultures were fighting for food and being fed by one brave man! We also crossed the river on a car ferry which runs completely on the river current. This was a totally unique experience which we both loved. The third day was the river boat tour which started mid day till sunset. The highlights were little bittern, caspian tern and an osprey towards the end! We managed to get quite close to the osprey on the boat and Al took some great photographs including some aerial shots. My wife loved the boat tour especially the stunning sunset views at the end. The fourth day was the north delta, highlights included slender billed gull, little tern, golden oriole and temmink's stint. Now this was supposed to be the end of the birding but we had decided to do a half day birding on the last day on the way to Barcelona. This was great because it was a different kind of habitat and gave us different species including short toed eagle, roller, pin tailed sandgrouse, woodchat and southern grey shrikes and best of all LITTLE BUSTARD. This was the best bird of the tour as they aren't seen much. All in all we got 101 species, 41 of which were new. This is more than we were expecting during this time of year. Also, Al provided us with some great photos he had taken which he shared via dropbox. I can't recommend Al and this tour enough and we will be back probably in Spring to get a different variety of birds.

Wow!!, 4 days birding, 116 species, in different terrains. Day one in the southern delta with all the usual specials, a field with numerous scattered pratincoles, plus the bonus white winged tern. Day two, exploring the southern LLieda steppes, with blue rock thrush, black-eared wheatear, greater spotted cuckoo and wryneck. Day three, the northern Llieda steppes. Short-toed eagle, red-footed falcon, lesser kestrel, montague harrier and lots of very wary rollers. Day four covered the high mountain fores and a final afternoon back in the Delta covering bits we'd not visited on day 1. Firecrest, crested tit, subalpine warbler and sort-toed treecreeper I have been guided in many parts of the world and whilst obviously biased because of our relationship, I rate Al amongst the best. His sensory abilities are second to none with us finding the firecrest from hearing its call through the open window of a moving car. From the bird locating us, he then heard faint crested tit peeps, the bird was with us within a minute along with the treecreepers. Al's skill with the camera means one can concentrate on the bird experience, knowing he will forward his photos onto you.

Our first experience birding on the Ebro delta and it won't be our last. Al was a super guide and host - we stayed in his very spacious villa (5 bedrooms most en suite). It was located a short drive from L'Ampolla where there are some good restaurants- 20 Euros return by taxi. We had 5 full day trips, one of which was on his boat on the river. Stupendous- very relaxing as the river has little traffic and got us close to the birds. Al seemed to have appointments with the black kite, penduline tits and a variety of herons. The trip to the mountains to see the Griffon vulture feeding station was spectacular- we must easily have seen 150 birds at close range. The trip to Flix nature reserve was also great- finally got good views of nightingale, having heard but not seen about 500 singing all week!! Also the best views of the great reed warblers singing their little hearts out. A treecreeper was also spotted and we had spectacular views of Egyptian vulture, booted eagle, buzzard, black kites and blue rock thrush. The other 2 days we spent north and south on the delta and saw an amazing group of collared pratincoles, a bird we had only ever seen singly before. Another highlight all week was the number of bee eaters in close proximity- having previously mainly eluded us on other birdwatching holidays. To top it all Al is a very good photographer and took photos of most of our sightings, a total of 103 for the week. It was the close proximity to the birds that we found especially good e.g. little bittern, wood sandpiper and a number of warblers and waders. To sum up we would thoroughly recommend the experience with Al and we will definitely be planning a return trip.

Pasamos un día con Al visitando el norte y sur del Delta, aprendiendo el ecosistema, paseando en coche y a pié, haciendo cientos de fotos y disfrutando de la excelente gastronomía de esta tierra (no faltó el arroz pero las navajas, caixetas, calamares, gambas y mejillones no se quedaron cortas!). Contratar a Al fué un regalo de mi mujer y mío para nuestra amiga Liz que venía desde Londres y es una apasionada de las aves. Nosotros no lo eramos, o eso creíamos, pero todo cambió despues de divisar y fotografiar más de 26 especies de aves en total libertad Que alguien te lleve a los mejores lugares y te permita un tour adaptado a cada necesidad es algo impagable, sobre todo cuando tienes poco tiempo. Las tarifas muy razonables. Al atardecer estábamos agotados y felices, con esa sensación de algo especial e inolvidable que nos hizo sentirnos orgullosos de esta tierra, de este Delta sorprendente y cambiante. Un día para perfecto. Gracias Al Javier i Monica, Sant Pere de Ribes.

Dec, May, September. All the usual specials, flamingos, swamp hens, crested pochards.. The winter migrants in December, summer ones in May including roller, Orioles, and pratincoles, loads of raptor in autumn with great osprey viewing from the boat which allows closer approach. Nice accommodation, a friendly guide with great knowledge of the birds and the Delta. Excellent value and experience