A Birdwatching Guide to Do–ana

About the Book

Although much has been written about birdwatching in Doñana, there has never been a fully comprehensive and in-depth book that has given visiting birders to the region the opportunity to explore the endless possibilities that exist here. The main purpose of this book is to make information available and to guide you to some of the finest and most productive birding sites in Europe. All of the information contained herein is based on my extensive knowledge and experience, gained after five years of living and working as an independent bird tour guide in this region, conducting hundreds of tours and guiding thousands of birders, with my own birding company "Doñana Bird Tours". I believe that my intimate knowledge of the region, the birds, their migration patterns, their breeding grounds and their feeding habits, together with t'he effects of local climatic condition changes, makes me suitably qualified to write the most comprehensive guide book to this region.

This book gives detailed information on almost 50 sites within the Doñana region, and although a few of these have been mentioned in other publications, some are new and are seldom found by visitores to the area. The precise directions and descriptions contained within will lead you into the heart of this birdwatching wonderland and open up a treasure chest of previously un-recorded sites and areas, where geese, ducks, flamingos, cranes, ibis, herons, egrets and waders gather to feed, roost and breed in their thousands. You will also find areas wth high raptor densities and the breeding grounds of some of Europe's scarcest and most endangered species, such as the Red-knobbed Coot, the Marbled Duck and the Spanish Imperial Eagle. You will be able to discover for yourself the sites that I refer to as "the hidden Doñana".

About the Author

John is an English professional bird tour guide with many years of birding and guiding experience, both in England and here in Southern Spain. Prior to arriving in Spain with his wife, Rebecca, he lived in Devon, where he spent 4 years in the British Army, 7 years as a publican and 20 years in the Prison Service. In 1996, he took early retirement and moved to Spain in January 1997. After two years he set up his own birding tour company in Estepona, on the Costa del Sol and whilst there he regularly appeared on a local English-speaking radio station, discussing birds and birding and answering phone-in questions from listeners. It was at this time that he write his first bird guide book Birdwatching on Spain's Southern Coast, which was published in December 2001. The book has proved to be a great sucess, selling thousands of copies and helping resident and holidaying birders alike to discover previously unknown sites. An updated second edition was publihed in August 2004. John and Rebecca moved to the Do–ana region in April 2002 and they now live in Villamanrique de la Condesa, just a few kilometres from the National Park, where John's intimate knowledge of the area and birds has resulted in him becoming the best known and most active bird guide operating in Do–ana and their birding tour company, "Do–ana Bird Tours", becomig the market leader for day tours and inclusive packaged birding holidays in this part of the country.