Report on LEARN FROM THE BIRDS IN SPAIN retreat

Posted: 02.12.23 in Articles category

What an amazing place to watch birds. El Palmeral retreat house in South East Spain is very close to several excellent birdwatching locations which we explored during our 13-17 November 2023 retreat. We visited El Hondo (an internationally acclaimed wetland reserve), an impressive coastal salt marsh and also climbed up through limestone scenery to view a reservoir and dam above the nearby town of Elche. Yet there were plenty of birds in or around the retreat centre itself including Sardinian Warblers, Stone Curlews, Hoopoes and a surprising number of Booted Eagles seen with frequency each day.

 Bluethroat was one of the highlights for many of us who had never seen one before and was one of the jewels in the array of the 80+ different bird species we saw. That number was added to on the day after the retreat when some of us (who weren’t flying back till the Sunday) went back to El Hondo for the day and took the total to just over 90! The rarest was the White-headed Duck, but Glossy Ibis, Purple Gallinule, flocks of Flamingos that spectacularly flashed crimson in flight, Marsh Harriers in abundance and lots of Black-winged Stilts held our attention. 

 Mark Winter led our retreat with the evenings spent looking at birds in the Bible and what they teach us of God, as well as discussing our sightings that day. We had midday prayer out on the reserves which tied in with the pattern of the Northumbrian Community morning and evening worship that El Palmeral use daily. It’s special to worship the Lord in the open air surrounded by bird sounds and sightings!

 Mike and Julie at El Palmeral provided full board and served us truly wonderful, homemade Spanish cuisine, while their pool and the bar made for an idyllic setting for good fellowship, fun and laughter.

 The weather was spectacularly good for November with wall-to-wall sunshine and very warm temperatures. The eight of us had a wonderful week, praising and thanking God for his wonderful creation - even the sparrows!

 Ann Fitzgerald, Olivia Lambert and Lynn Wood