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Spain | Inglorious Bustards | Swift Weekender

Spain | Inglorious Bustards | Swift Weekender

11380 Tarifa
Andalusia
Top Birding Ecotours
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Highlights

1. A chance to see all five of mainland Europe's Swift species - Common, Pallid, Alpine, Little and White-rumped -  all over the course of a weekend of fantastic and varied birding!

2. A visit to the eastern salt pans and lagoons of Doñana Natural Park should bring us views of White-headed Duck, Marbled Duck, Red-knobbed Coot, Black-necked Grebe, Purple Swamphen, Little Bittern, Squacco and Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Kentish Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Collared Pratincole, Black-winged Stilt and more!

3. Raptors abound on the plentiful Andalus thermals, including Griffon, Egyptian and possibly even Rüppell´s Vultures, Bonelli’s and Spanish Imperial Eagles, Mediterranean Peregrine Falcon, Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Black-winged Kites and Lesser Kestrels.

4. Other birds and wildlife awaiting you on this trip include Rufous Bush Robin, Northern Bald Ibis, Common Bulbul, Black-eared Wheatear, Isabelline, Melodious and Western Bonelli´s Warbler, Iberian Chiffchaff, Blue Rock Thrush, Thekla Lark, Firecrest, Short-toed Treecreeper and Crested Tit as well as glamorous invertebrates like Monarch butterflies, Two-tailed Pashas, Four-spotted Emerald and Copper Demoiselle all in flight.

5. Experience the legendary Inglorious Bustards picnic, featuring a lavish array of sustainably and locally-produced food and award-winning cheeses!

Overview

Common, Pallid, Alpine, Little and White-rumped.  From our home in Andalusia, we endeavour to bring you together with all five species of that most aerially superb genus, the Swift, all over the course of a weekend of fantastic and varied birding!

Because of its strategic position at the gateway of two continents, Andalusia is a unique blend of European and African, with our beloved Apus species passing through on their way to and from breeding grounds, and the more typically African amongst them choosing the Iberian peninsula as one of their very localised breeding sites in Europe.  It’s one of the very few places in Europe you can see them all!

This unique situation means that the summer birding here is some of the best in the Western Palearctic!  Continuing the theme of birds that are typically more easy to see in Africa than Europe, we´ll go and look for Northern Bald Ibis, Common Bulbul, Rüppell´s Vulture and Rufous Bush Robin, as well as White-headed Duck, Marbled Duck and Red-knobbed Coot.

A visit to the less-explored eastern side of the Guadalquivir River takes us to the edge of Doñana Natural Park, where the salt pans and reed-fringed lagoons hold treasures such as Black-necked Grebe, Purple Swamphen, Little Bittern, Squacco and Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Kentish Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Collared Pratincole, Black-winged Stilt and more!

Raptors abound on the plentiful Andalus thermals, including Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Bonelli’s and Spanish Imperial Eagles, Mediterranean Peregrine Falcon, Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Black-winged Kites and Lesser Kestrels. Perhaps surprisingly, at this time of year, the return to Africa has already begun for some species, so we may well start to see flocks of White Storks and Black Kites crossing the Straits.

This southernmost Spanish province is the most biodiverse region not only in Spain but the whole of Europe.  Other birds and wildlife awaiting you on this trip include Black-eared Wheatear, Isabelline, Melodious and Western Bonelli´s Warbler, Iberian Chiffchaff, Blue Rock Thrush, Thekla Lark, Firecrest, Short-toed Treecreeper, Hawfinch, Red-rumped Swallow and Crested Tit as well as glamorous invertebrates like Monarch and Cleopatra butterflies, Two-tailed Pashas, Four-spotted Emerald and Copper Demoiselle all in flight.

Couple this with tranquil accommodation in a lovingly-restored traditional Spanish ranch at the edge of the Natural Park itself, the chance to enjoy Lesser Kestrels amongst the picturesque streets and Moorish fortifications of the Old Town of Tarifa, and of course the chance to sample some of Andalusia´s best sustainable local food and wine, and you really will have a weekend to remember!

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Ethics

At Terra Incognita we support tours that do good in the world. They must help conserve the environment, support local people and provide educational opportunities for guests and staff, or be actively working to improve in these areas.

What conservation activities do you support through the tour, and your wider operations?

The Migres Foundation are a private non-profit, scientific and cultural foundation, oriented to the preservation and enhancement of natural heritage in the Straits of Gibraltar.

They perform research and awareness programs, develop advanced training activities and environmental education, organise conferences and all kinds of national and international meetings, and encourage activities promoting sustainable local development and nature tourism in general.

Migres manages a long-term monitoring program of bird migration through the Strait of Gibraltar based on standardised constant effort protocols. Every year they run daily counts of migration always using the same observatories and schedule.

Based on this information they are able to calculate abundance indices that reflect the actual number of birds on migration, allowing them to monitor changes in their populations and migratory patterns. The origin of the program dates back to 1997 (soaring birds) and 2001 (seabirds), and is currently one of the greatest sustained efforts for monitoring migratory birds in Europe.

We work closely with Migres in assisting with monitoring, fundraising and promotional activities using our wealth of experience gained whilst working for the RSPB.

Marisma 21 is an organisation devoted to the restoration of the salt marshes in the Bay of Cadiz, on the south western coast of Spain. The salt marsh is an important ecological area and Marisma 21’s objectives are the recovery and holistic revitalisation of the salt pans using artisanal salt production methods. This not only ensures the maintenance of the macro-flora in the salt pans, an important food source for migratory wading birds, but enhances the local environment for aquatic salt-loving species.

The sympathetic management and hand-harvesting of the pans not only generates multiple benefits for wildlife, it also brings employment to the area in the form of salt production work and nature tourism.

You´ll have the opportunity to support their work by taking home some souvenir salt, an incredibly tasty product you´ll also get to sample at our picnics!

How does the tour support local people?

We have teamed up with the Tarifa Ecocenter - a local hub in Tarifa for eco-consciousness.  They operate by the philosophy that "The fork is the most powerful tool to change the planet". Their organic vegetarian restaurant and pizzeria is a great social meeting place where folk can share delicious food and enjoy sustainably-sourced local produce.  We source seasonal picnic fruit and vegetables from the Ecocenter, being grown on organic, wildlife-friendly farms here in the Strait. By supporting this local business we support many small producers who in turn protect the wildlife and health of the countryside for the benefit of all local people.

We support the activities of Marisma 21.  Their sympathetic management and hand-harvesting of the salt pans in the Bay of Cadiz, using artisanal salt production methods, not only generates multiple benefits for wildlife, it also brings employment to the area in the form of salt production work and nature tourism.

What type of environmental education activities do you incorporate into your tour?

We work in partnership with the Tarifa Ecocenter to offer visitors a thought-provoking - yet delicious! - experience around the wide-ranging effects of food choice and how making changes in what we eat can have huge positive effects on our wildlife and the wider environment.

We also work with our local conservation partners, Fundación Migres, to enhance our migration experience by adding an eye-opening, educational angle, making sure that our Flyway Birders leave understanding the human-created challenges that migrating wildlife faces across the Flyway, and understanding how this relates to the choices we make in every day life.

Do you provide any additional conservation, community or educational benefits through your wider operations that you’d like to mention?

All across the East Atlantic Flyway, there are passionate individuals and local NGOs running brilliant small-scale conservation initiatives, making immediate positive differences for their local wildlife.  As our company grows, so does our ability to contribute to their efforts.  Our portfolio of projects expands all the time, and you can read more on our website, but here´s a taster:

The Migres Foundation is a private non-profit scientific and cultural foundation, focused on the preservation and enhancement of natural heritage in the Straits of Gibraltar.

Migres has run a long-term monitoring program of bird migration through the Strait of Gibraltar since 1997, making it the greatest sustained effort for monitoring migratory birds in Europe, and is immensely important in monitoring population change and migratory patterns in many avian species, including endangered species such as Egyptian Vultures and Balearic Shearwaters.

The body of scientific research generated by Migres on interactions between soaring birds and wind turbines has global importance.

They also perform research and awareness programs, carry out advanced ornithological training activities and environmental education, organise conferences, and encourage activities promoting sustainable local development and nature tourism in general.

We work closely with Migres in assisting with monitoring, fundraising and promotional activities using our wealth of experience gained whilst working for the RSPB.

Marisma 21 is an organisation devoted to the restoration of the salt marshes in the Bay of Cadiz, on the south western coast of Spain. The salt marsh is an important ecological area and Marisma 21’s objectives are the recovery and holistic revitalisation of the salt pans using artisanal salt production methods. This not only ensures the maintenance of the macro-flora in the salt pans, an important food source for migratory wading birds, but enhances the local environment for aquatic salt-loving species.

The sympathetic management and hand-harvesting of the pans not only generates multiple benefits for wildlife, it also brings employment to the area in the form of salt production work and nature tourism.

On selected tours, we offer you the opportunity to dine on site at the salt pans, watching breeding Little Terns and Kentish Plovers while eating delicious freshly-cooked tortillitas de camarrones, and shrimps fished from the salt pans just moments before!  You´ll have the opportunity to support their work by taking home some souvenir salt, an incredibly tasty product you´ll also get to sample at our picnics!

Based at Kotu Creek, near Brufut, The Gambia Birdwatchers Association was established in 2007.  It provides a headquarters for the area´s bird guides, trains the next generation of ornithologists, and carries out excellent project-based conservation work, including utilising local volunteers in the restoration of mangrove swamp habitat.  In The Gambia, many important forests are community-owned, and GBA are instrumental in setting up community reserves, training bird guides in the villages and enabling them to benefit from the preservation of forest habitat through well-thought-out ecotourism.

Inglorious Bustards work closely with GBA, giving project advice and consultation.  From 2019, we will be donating 10% of our profits from all our Gambia trips to supporting their high quality, objective-led work.

Certificates

Listed on Terra Incognita Ethical Bird Tours, 2018.

Registered on the Andalusian Tourism Registry (RTA), and licensed to operate in Natural Parks by the Junta de Andalucía.

World Land Trust Corporate Supporter.

Top 5 achievements

The Inglorious Bustards have a challenge!  As conservationists, we are only too aware of the environmental impact of the activities associated with our business.  We want to share with you the joy of watching wildlife all along the East Atlantic flyway, but in doing so we inevitably encourage consumption of the planet´s resources. Our challenge as a responsible ecotourism operator is to ensure that our activities can be channelled into a positive outcome for the environment.  We want to make sure that, when you travel with us, you´ll be benefitting, not exploiting the wildlife we see together.  On our trips, “eco-tourism” is a promise, not an oxymoron.

We call this concept #FlywayBirding.  We have turned traditional so-called “eco-tourism” on its head, putting conservation action and education at the very heart of what we do, not just as a guilt-assuaging afterthought to our trips.  We´ve thought hard about how to bring a completely fresh approach to delivering wildlife holidays from a sustainable standpoint, making only a positive impact on our surroundings.  And we’ve worked extremely hard to build some fantastic partnerships to help us!

Here is how we’re doing it – our #FlywayPromise to you.

1. We encourage sustainable land use.

Our work over decades for the RSPB, attempting to reverse the fortunes of UK, European and African farmland wildlife, has made us recognise the power of food choice and how it can affect the plight of declining species.

Latest findings presented at the IPCC in October 2018 were striking and conclusive.  While everyone talks about electricity generation and fossil fuel consumption, it is an oft-ignored fact that by far the best way of having a positive impact on our planet is to change what we eat.  Currently 85% of the world´s farmed land produces just 18% of our calories.  Loss of wildlife areas to agriculture is the leading cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife.  This is the legacy of meat and dairy production, which has enormous environmental costs in terms of habitat loss, air and water pollution and carbon release.

In order to keep global temperature rise below 2ºC by 2020, we as global citizens will need to eat around nine times less red meat, five times less poultry and five times more legumes, vegetables, nuts and seeds. On our trips we are working towards these changes by offering a higher proportion and better quality of vegetarian options on our dinner menus than ever before.  We want to make the choice to eat ethically an irresistible one!

We are also extremely proud to have teamed up with the Tarifa Ecocenter.  Operating under the slogan “The fork is the most powerful tool to change the planet.”, the Ecocenter is not just a superb vegetarian restaurant, it is a local hub for eco-consciousness.  Here you can partake in delicious, sustainably-sourced meals, made with produce from local wildlife-friendly farms.  The organic produce shop and meeting spaces are a sociable place designed to encourage the exchange of ideas.  We love working in partnership with them, along with their sister project, Molino de Guadalmesi – an organic farm, community centre, eatery and eco-lodge situated in a beautifully-restored water mill.  On selected tours, we visit the mill for dinner, offering our guests a thought-provoking experience around food choice and how positive change can help our wildlife and the wider environment – not to mention be extremely tasty!

Our picnics always contain seasonal local produce from small farmers.  In all of our destinations, we are lucky enough to find a wealth of small artisanal producers, many of whom are organic.  In 2019 we will source at least 50% of the fresh goods in our picnics from them.  Our aim is to increase this to 75+% by 2020.  Luckily, local extensively grazed goats´ and sheeps´ cheeses are invariably superb, and Andalusian organic tomatoes and peppers are quite simply world-beaters!  Our picnic fruit and vegetables for our Straits-based tours are now sourced wherever possible from the Tarifa Eco-centre, being grown locally on their farm.  In all of our trips to Africa, we source fresh from local markets and village traders.

2. We minimise packaging waste.

It seems that after many years of campaigning, the horror of the extent of our plastic consumption has finally entered the public consciousness, and changes might actually be made.  Our history of avoidance, reuse and recycling of plastic goes back many years, but when we are out cetacean-watching on the Straits enjoying copious marine life, we are certainly pleased to be part of the current wave!

Of all the hazardous materials littering our seas today, plastic poses one of the greatest threats.  Thanks to our locally-produced food sourcing, the excess of packaging associated with supermarkets is immediately eliminated.  When we buy dry and other goods, we buy in bulk and manage their use carefully, thus reducing both food and packaging waste. Luckily Niki is from Yorkshire originally, so thrift comes naturally!

We ask our clients to bring their own water bottles which are filled from taps or potable mountain springs.  In countries outside the EU where tap water is not drinkable, we buy large containers and decant into personal bottles to reduce plastic waste.

3. We minimise our in-country transport emissions - what we can´t eliminate, we offset.

In Spain, we minimise the emissions associated with our in-country transport by use of modern, fuel-efficient vehicles.  Our minibus is a Renault Trafic, known as being one of the most economical vans on the market, returning an impressive mpg of 50, with further features such as Stop & Start, Cruise Control and ECO mode adding to its green credentials.

Our focus on hosting trips along the glorious East Atlantic Flyway means that we are able to arrive at 90% of our tour destinations to meet you without boarding a flight ourselves.

We know our areas well, so we are also able to apply careful route-planning to minimise driving distances between sites.

Inglorious Bustards have pledged to offset unavoidable carbon emissions through World Land Trust’s (WLT) Carbon Balanced programme.

Unlike some carbon-offsetting schemes, this is not simply a case of absolving guilt by shoving some trees in an ill-thought-out location!  WLT funds the purchase or lease of threatened land to create nature reserves, protecting both habitats and their wildlife.  By protecting and restoring threatened forest in key areas of conservation importance, CO₂ emissions are prevented and carbon storage enhanced.  To make projects like this work, this fore-sighted organisation includes, rather than excludes local communities.  It funds partner NGOs to employ local people as reserve rangers, sustainably managing some of the world’s most threatened habitats and the animals found within them.

We balance all the CO₂ emissions associated with our staff flights and all in-country travel and accommodation associated with our tours.  In 2018, we offset over 24 tonnes of CO₂, funds for which went directly to acquiring and preserving threatened forest habitat.  We are also encouraging you to offset your own holiday flights through WLT. Currently this can be done directly through their website, but in early 2019 we will be introducing an option to our booking form allowing you to offset as you book your trip!

4. We encourage respectful wildlife-watching.

For the prosperity of the species that we enjoy watching so much, and for our own ongoing enjoyment, it is imperative that we avoid disturbing the wildlife we are trying to see.

We never flush birds.  The reward of seeing a Red-necked Nightjar or a Tawny Owl at rest after patient and quiet searching from afar is so much greater than glimpsing one fly away after some idiot has just booted it out of the undergrowth!  For ground-nesters such as the Moroccan Marsh Owl, we now only offer trips outside the breeding season, and time our site visits to maximise the chance of finding the birds active rather than roosting.

We use fieldcraft to find passerines.  Usually with a little patience and listening, it is perfectly possible to find the bird you are looking for.  On the very rare occasions we choose to use a tape, we do so sensitively, always adhering to the guidelines published in the article “The Proper Use of Playback in Birding” by Sibley et al.

Where we work through other companies, for example for cetacean-watching boat trips or to look for Iberian Lynx, we only work with reputable firms who have non-intrusive wildlife-watching protocols in place.

5. We challenge the unethical.

While we as individuals have no problem with sustainable subsistence hunting within local communities, we personally find hunting for so-called ‘sport’ abhorrent, and unsustainable trophy hunting completely unacceptable.  The hunting industry seems to be out of control, able to damage ecosystems and illegally kill native wildlife with impunity.  Of the thirty optics companies that were examined in the 2018 Ethical Consumer report entitled “Shooting Wildlife II”, 83% were found to specifically market to hunters as well as birders.  And a disappointing 13 of these actively glamorise trophy hunting in their promotional material, including targets like lions and bears.

That´s why we´re proud to be ambassadors for Viking Optical – a British-based company which is one of only a handful of companies that produce high quality optics solely for the wildlife-watching market.  They too have nature at their heart and support a variety of conservation projects including being RSPB Species Champions for two critically endangered birds and long-time sponsors of the Birdfair.  We love the personal contact, trust and compassion involved in working with them.  They really put their optics where their mouth is, enabling us to loan binoculars to volunteers monitoring the raptor migration across the Straits of Gibraltar, to bird-watching newcomers, and to budding young Gambian ornithologists.

What new sustainability steps or initiatives do you plan to take next?

We are growing a little very year, and as we do, so does the work we can do with our partners to deliver real conservation benefits on the ground.  For 2019-20 we have some really exciting projects in the pipeline in Spain and The Gambia.  All will be revealed…

We´re also working closely with our accommodation providers across the board to come up with balanced menus that are not so heavily meat-based.  We are lucky enough to know some really talented chefs, and in 2019-20 we will be working towards introducing at least one meat-free day to every trip (an approach pioneered in partnership with our Straits accommodation provider, Huerta Grande eco-lodge), as well as making sure vegetarian options are as superb as the rest of the menu!

We work with our accommodation providers too, continually making small improvements that add up, including finding practical ways to avoid single use water and shampoo bottles.  Hopefully they feel supported and encouraged to expand this new approach to other groups!

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Company Name

Inglorious Bustards

Birding, Conservation & Wildlife Tours

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About Company

Here at the Inglorious Bustards, experiencing the powerful event of bird migration has led to a life-long fascination with avian migration and #FlywayBirding. It’s no accident that we have chosen our base to be here in the Straits of Gibraltar. Our location near Tarifa puts us right at the epicentre of birding in the Straits and, from a migrating raptor’s point of view, we must surely also be at the centre of the world!

We love not only to marvel at the birds passing but also to follow them on their migratory journey, and explore the whole range of fascinating and varied terrains they traverse each year.

More than that though, we love to share our adventures with you! As well as our home-from-home in southern Spain, we take pride in bringing you the best of birding and migration spectacles along the whole East Atlantic flyway journey, through Europe, and North Africa, right down to the steamy wintering grounds of many of our nomads, south of the Sahara. Our #FlywayBirding tours have nothing to do with racing around ticking birds and everything to do with enjoying landscapes, habitats and cultures and having a good laugh – at a relaxed pace.

If like us you enjoy amazing wildlife spectacles where adventure meets relaxation and fun, then you have found the right place!

Tour Website

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Cost

€750 for 4 days – price includes all accommodation, meals, guiding, transportation, taxes and entrances but excludes flights, incidental refreshments and items of a personal nature.

Deposit: €150

Single supplement: €100

11380 Tarifa
Andalusia
+34 665 945992
info@ingloriousbustards.com
ingloriousbustards.com

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