| Birdwatching in Andalucia | ||
| Birdwatching Articles | All Articles | Editor : Keith Seville |
| A Profile of John Butler, Birdwatching Guide and Author | |||
|
|||
| Background | |||
|
John's career in the British Army, as a Prison Officer and publican do not suggest the typical profile of a birdwatcher. But John's lifelong interest in birding and his disciplined approach to the subject have built a formidable level of expertise which is hard to rival in his field. John not only knows the best sites to visit under any given set of conditions, he has an impressive ability to spot and identify birds from the merest glimpse or from a brief snatch of song. Anyone who has been on just a single trip with him will vouch for this. |
|||
| Moving abroad | |||
|
Five years ago John moved to the Canary Islands to find a new home and way of life with his wife, Rebecca, also a keen birder and walker. In only a few weeks it became obvious that Tenerife and the other Canaries were not the place for them. Too small and limited, the Islands offered little potential for further exploration and particularly for the extensive variety of birdwatching which they he had in mind in future. So in "the best move we ever made" John and Rebecca decided to try mainland Spain and moved to the Costa del Sol. In contrast, like all twitchers they have found that this region provides the richest and most varied birdwatching opportunities in Europe (if you need convincing, click here). |
|||
| A respected local author, broadcaster and guide | |||
|
John has now relocated to the Donana region, having previously lived in Estepona for over four years. In that time his passionate hobby has - more by chance than intent - become a thriving small business and John is widely known and respected on the Costa for his knowledge and expertise. He is the author of a dozen or so published site guides which give very detailed descriptions and maps of specially selected birding locations in the area. These inexpensive guides are worth every penny, particularly to the visitor with little time to seek out his or her own birding sites. For more details of these guides click here. John is currently writing a book on birding and sites in the Western Costa del Sol. The book is based on the existing guides with additional material and a large number of new locations. It will published by Santana Press in late 2001 or early 2002. John also regularly appears on local radio, talking about birding matters and answering phone-in questions. (Tune to 101.6 MHz FM - watch this site for schedules). What started as John taking out a friend or two for a day's birding while staying on holiday has now developed into Doņana Bird Tours. John will guide a maximum of three people for a great day's birding. For more details click here. |
|||
| What John's clients say.... | |||
|
As regular visitors to our site will know, John has only recently come on board as one of our birdwatching guides. It was great to hear from his very first client who booked a tour with John as guide in Donana, a father and son from the USA and UK (don't ask me how that works!). What follows are completely unedited comments. Keith - the trip was a roaring success. Please be sure to let John know that we enjoyed it and would be happy to serve as happy reference customers. - Dylan Fuller, UK I am a serious lister from California. I have never birded Eurasia south of Paris before this so I had a want list but no idea where to find most of the birds on it, except to look up for raptors and find water for the shorebirds. Mr. Butler's sense of humor, extensive field experience and ability to quickly ID birds by sight or sound were immensely helpful and appreciated. My only regret is that I didn't have more time...and our next visit will be in winter. Butler's knowledge of the habits and habitats of the birds made watching my first Purple Gallinules and Great Crested Grebes even more enjoyable. Highlights: finally seeing the Cuckoo that had been calling in the rain for an hour...and seeing the Gallinules pull reeds from the mud and carefully eat the soft inner pulp. Mr. Butler even knew one spot where the Nightingales did not bother to hide in the shade...and when he conjured up a Mustachioed Warbler, I knew we were in the presence of a master birder. Thanks. - Harry Fuller (Dylan's father) USA |
|||
|
This is just a note to tell you how much I enjoyed my days birdwatching
with John. He picked me up from the hotel at 8 am sharp as promised, and
right from the first moment I think we struck up a common interest in most
things. I found him to be extremely polite, very professional and extremely
knowledgable. He was patient but kept us moving steadily through the day. We saw 57 species of which 14 were first time sightings for me. I ended up with 88 species and 33 new sightings, most of these were down to John pointing me in the right direction, and a bit of luck around the hotel. I asked John to show me the "Little brown Things" ie warblers etc which as someone from the UK I would find difficult to identify easily. But John was superb, he found me quite a lot in the day but he is so quick and sure and he knows the birds so well he can give you the specific markings or actions that enabled me to spot them so easily and confidently. He fills in a sheet for you as the day goes on so you have a permanent record. All I can say is - excellent. If anyone else decides to go out with John and wants a reference I will be more than willing to e-mail them for you. - Bill Greaves, UK (bill.greaves@virgin.net) |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
