It is very difficult to see the Wolf', saidSeñor Mozo. Then, pointing to numerouspoints all over a large map of the area,he added 'he can be anywhere'! Ourchances of a Wolf sighting looked slim, yet,by the time of our first tours in March 2006,Naturetrek staff had paid 14 visits to theregion and had successfully encounteredWolves on all but one of those visits. Wehave been delighted that this success ratehas proved sustainable whilst visiting ingroups, with 95% of our tours to datehaving seen Wolf. We have also seen WildBoar and 16 species of birds of prey. Wolf-watching can, indeed, seem very difficultduring the long hours that need to be put into track down such a notoriously elusiveanimal, but we believe that on this tour youhave as good a chance as any of actuallyseeing a Wolf in Europe!The Cordillera Cantábrica and its outlyingranges hold the vast majority of Spain's2,500 to 3,000 Wolves and are thestronghold of the species in Europe. Thisis a population that has increasedmarkedly since an estimated all-time lowof just 500 individuals in 1970. Thedepopulation of Spain's rural regions, asSpaniards have increasingly migrated intothe cities, has benefitted the Wolf, as hasa changing attitude towards an animal thatwas once viciously persecuted.The particular area in which we have beenwatching Wolves in recent years, and onwhich we focus during this holiday, is aregion of rolling hills and broad valleyswhich affords excellent opportunities toscan wide areas of open land and whichmay easily be accessed via an extensivenetwork of metalled roads and gravelledforest tracks. It is a landscape that is partScotland, part New Forest; a rollingtapestry of conifer plantations, sprawlingoak woodlands, extensive heaths, ancientgrazing meadows enclosed bytumbledown dry stone walls, and dampgrassy hollows marked by elegant poplarstands. Much of the birdlife here is sharedwith such similar habitats in Britain. Birdsof prey are much in evidence, and includeRed Kites, Hen Harriers, Sparrowhawks,Common Buzzards, Kestrels, Merlins andeven the occasional Golden Eagle. Coniferforests are filled with Firecrests, Coal andCrested Tits, Jays and large and noisyflocks of Crossbills. The heaths holdWoodlarks, Stonechats and DartfordWarblers, whilst Ravens honk evocativelyas they pass overhead. Good numbers ofboth Red and Roe Deer (the prey of theWolf!) complete the picture. But, take alook around the traditional granite-builtvillages of the region and the CrestedLarks, Black Redstarts, Southern GreyShrikes, Spotless Starlings, RockSparrows, Serins, Cirl Buntings and RockBuntings soon confirm that you really arein southern Europe ... as, too, do the WildBoar that are common in this region.Looking for Wolves requires a great deal ofpersistence, patience and stealth. It alsorequires a lot of luck . not least with theweather! We will spend much of each day(certainly the first and last three or fourhours) touring the roads and tracksthroughout the hills and stopping forvariable periods at suitable viewpoints inorder to scan for Wolves, and any othermammals and also birds that we mayhappen to see. We may also go out afterdark to listen for Wolves. En route to and from the hills we will detourto a very special area of rolling agriculturalland. Here, low intensity farming ispractised specifically to encourage birdlife,especially the Great Bustard. The areaoffers a bleak yet charming landscape,almost from a bygone age, its undulatingplains stretching in all directions to thehorizon, a mosaic of stubble, plough andset-aside grasslands broken by wildwetlands and traditional old farmingvillages, often of mud construction andeach dominated by a giant church withstatutory Storks' nests adorning eachimposing bell-tower. Lavish antique 'pigeonhouses' and grain silos, both ornatelyfashioned from mud and clay tiles, furthercharacterise the landscape. Here, GreatBustards occur in vast numbers, severalhundred or more generally being easilyobserved within a single visit. We will alsolook for the flocks of Common Cranes andthe thousands of Greylag Geese and otherwaterfowl that winter here, together withMarsh and Hen Harriers, Merlins, Red Kitesand other raptors. Amongst a great manyother species that we will hope to see maybe Little Bustard, Black-bellied Sandgrouseand numerous larks, finches and buntings.So good is this site that it might even merita full day's excursion for anyone wishing fora break from the routine of our dailysearches for Wolves, for, as Señor Mozostressed, 'it is very difficult to see theWolf'. but a lot easier finding Bustards!Wolves & Bustards in Rural SpainA 5-day holiday to a little-known and very rural corner of northern Spain in search of Wolves in the hills, and Common Cranes and Great Bustards on the plains.Friday 21st October - Tuesday 25th October 2011 Cost: £695Friday 23rd December - Tuesday 27th December 2011 Cost: £695Friday 23rd March - Tuesday 27th March 2012 Cost: £695Monday 22nd October - Friday 26th October 2012 Cost: £695Sunday 23rd December - Thursday 27th December 2012 Cost: £695122Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip ItineraryFRANCEPORTUGALSEVILLEBILBAOCORDILLERA CANT!BRICAVALLADOLIDMADRIDATLANTICOCEANMEDITERRANEANSEASPAINGreat BustardRural SpainWolfWolf country!'Outline itineraryDay 1Fly Valladolíd; transferto the hills.Day 2/4Daily programme ofWolf-tracking, and/orbirdwatching, excursions.Day 5Fly Stansted.Accommodation A simple but clean and comfortablevillage hotel (that doubles as thevillage inn); all rooms haveattached private bathrooms. Food All included in the price.GradingGrade A. Some easy walks, butmost of our Wolf-tracking/watchingis done by patiently scanning frompanoramic viewpoints. Focus Wolves, Great Bustards and otherbirds and mammals.LeaderGerald Broddelez, Byron Palaciosor Dave Pierce.Single room supplement£65.ExtensionAn extension to the Parque NaturalHoces del Rio Duratón for Dupont'sLarks and other steppe species canbe arranged on request.Web quick search: ESP19

Book direct on 01962 733051or see page 280 for Booking Information123Mention the idea of a Spanishholiday and the mind seemsautomatically to fill with images ofvast hotel conurbations, over-crowdedbeaches, phoney flamenco dancers andfake bullfights, which have all long beenserved up to visitors as if they wererepresentative of Spain's authenticnational life. Somehow, our impression ofthe country finds it hard to escape theseholiday-brochure cliches. Yet, ironically,most of this large country remainsunknown to foreigners. Even the Spanishthemselves live largely near its longcoastline, leaving the mountains and highrolling plateaux of the interior undevelopedand sparsely populated.Partly for these reasons, Spain has someof the last true wilderness in westernEurope and is the continent's mostimportant country for birds. It has, forexample, a third of its Red Kites andMontagu's Harriers; half of all its Black,Griffon and Egyptian Vultures;three-quarters of the Booted and Bonelli'sEagles and, not surprisingly, nearly all theworld's Spanish Imperial Eagles. Forgrassland birds it is outstanding, retainingmore Great and Little Bustards thanprobably any other single country inEurasia. Then there are a number ofMediterranean endemics - Red-neckedNightjar, Black Wheatear, MelodiousWarbler, and Spotless Starling to name buta few - of which Spain holds majorpopulations. And finally there are birdsthat have just a toehold in western Europe- Marbled Duck, White-headed Duck,Crested Coot and Purple Gallinule - thatcan only be seen in this exceptionalcountry. This tour aims to find as wide aselection as possible of these many birdsand to experience some of the diversity ofIberia's magnificent scenery.We begin our holiday in the Spanishcapital of Madrid, from where we headsouth-west through rolling hills, olivegroves and Cork Oak woodland to thecentral plateau of Extremadura, where wefind extensive sheep-grazed grasslandsand Cork Oak forests known locally asdehasa. For the next four nights we will bebased near the beautiful medieval town ofTrujillo, an ideal spot from which to explorethe adjacent steppes and the magnificentMonfragüe National Park. Flocks of LesserKestrels and Pallid Swifts wheel aroundTrujillo's beautifully preserved ancientchurches, whilst White Storks peer downfrom their roof-top nests or clatter theirbills to greet a returning mate. Our maingoal, however, will be to witness one of themost exciting bird spectacles in Europe,the breeding display of the Great Bustard.During this, the males - the world'sheaviest flying birds - convertthemselves, by a series of bizarredistortions, into huge white balls offeathers that revolve slowly in an almostmilitary step. While they look stately anddignified, the nearby Little Bustardsperform an awkward, head-throwing actionaccompanied by a comical buzzing sound.The two species are certainly the starattractions of this region, but it offers farmore besides, including many othergrassland specialities such as Quail,Stone Curlew and Black-belliedSandgrouse. In the surrounding Cork Oakdehasawe will look for Hoopoes, Azure-winged Magpies, Great-spotted Cuckoos,Woodchat Shrikes and Short-toedTreecreepers. Overhead we will keep aneye out for 16 species of raptor which,with luck, may include the localised Black-shouldered Kite.For the second part of our tour we head south, past Seville, and on through thecultivated lowlands of Andalucía, over thegreat Guadalquivir River and on to theCoto Doñana National Park, one of thefinest wetlands in Europe. From our basein the small village of El Rocío we willexplore the mosaic of marshes, Stone Pinewoodland, open heathland and sanddunes in search of the park's breedingand migrating birds. Flocks of Whiskeredand Black Terns pick for insects off thewater's surface, whilst Spoonbills, LittleEgrets and the occasional Glossy Ibis feedin the shallows. Reedbeds hold goodnumbers of Little Bitterns and PurpleHerons and we will have our secondopportunity to catch up with some ofsouthern Spain's specialities, in particularPurple Gallinule, Marbled Teal, CrestedCoot and the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle,together with our first chance of Red-necked Nightjar. We will also visit themarshes, saltpans and freshwater lagoonsalong the eastern bank of the GuadalquivirRiver. With a hot and sunny climate thispart of Andalucia is a major fruit growingarea and, while agriculture has intensifiedhere since Spain's inclusion in theEuropean Union, it remains rich in wildlife.Here such Andalucian specialities as therare White-headed Duck and PurpleGallinule can be seen and the Bonanzasaltpans are aptly named and well worth avisit, being a haven for vast numbers of waders and a noted site for the localisedSlender-billed Gull. The sheer numbers ofbirds in the Doñana never ceases toimpress even the most well travellednaturalist, helping to make this localityperhaps the highlight of our Spanish tour.Azure-winged Coto DoñanaMagpieOutline itineraryDay 1 Fly Madrid and transferto Extremadura.Day 2/4Monfragüe/steppes. Day 5/8 El Rocío. Day 9 Fly Seville to London. AccommodationPleasant family-run hotels in Trujillo and El Rocío, all withprivate facilities.FoodIncluded in the price, except fordinners in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.Allow £25.GradingA. A traditional birding tour with limited amounts of easy walking.FocusBirds.LeaderPeter Dunn, David Morris or ByronPalacios.Single room supplement£165.ExtensionsArranged on request, with orwithout car rental. Extra nights inSeville are popular and worthwhile.Web quick search: ESP11FRANCEPORTUGALTRUJILLOSEVILLESANLÚCAR DE BARRAMEDAEL ROCÍOGUADALQUIVIRRIVERMADRIDATLANTICOCEANMEDITERRANEAN SEASPAINSpain's Coto Doñana & ExtremaduraA 9-day birdwatching tour to Spain's southern wetlands and the bird-rich steppes of Extremadura.Tuesday 17th April - Wednesday 25th April Cost: £1,395Sunday 22nd April - Monday 30th April Cost: £1,395