At first sight, Chapin seems a fairly uninteresting place for birdwatching. But if you take a closer look, there are different areas which birds seems to like in this spot in the middle of the city of Jerez de la Frontera. In the few years that I have considered this place to be one of my favourite local patches, I have observed over thirty different species, a slightly surprisingly high number because of its location. If you choose to go birding here, try to avoid busy days at the weekend, because then you may find a lot of people practising sports, which doesn't particularly attract many birds.
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| Path next to the pond |
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| The small pond |
Near the pond there is usually a Grey Heron in spring. As the pond houses large fish, it is an interesting location for some amazing photos, so long as you stay at a discreet distance.
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| Another resident at the pond |
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| Depending on the season, check the huge main pitch for a variety of species |
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| Horse jumping practice area |
Check the horse jumping practice area for House Sparrows, Chiffchaffs and Common Redstarts. Near the horse stables chances are high to spot Crested Lark.
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| Good spot to find Crested Lark |
Again, depending on the time of year, some interesting species can be observed on the football training pitch: Yellow-legged Gull, different types of Swifts and Swallows, and quite frequently: Hoopoe.
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| Public athletics track around the football training pitch |
Type: circular (1.5 kilometres)
Difficulty: easy
Best season: year round
Number of species to expect: 10+
Find Chapon on the map.
Check out some of our visits to this place: