Photo Gallery
Photo by James Lidster unless otherwise noted
Our tour begins on the steppes west of Madrid, where bustards and sandgrouse will vie for our attention and the first European Rollers will be back on territory.
Raptors feature prominently every day, with the endangered Spanish Imperial Eagle—here tussling with a Eurasian Griffon Vulture—a key target.
Great Spotted Cuckoos are early breeders, fond of hassling Magpies.
Southern Gray Shrikes are dramatically different from their northern relatives.
Greater Short-toed Larks share their steppe habitat…
…with Tawny Pipits…
…Eurasian Griffon Vultures (one of three vultures species we’ll see)…
…and Short-toed Snake Eagles, which take eager advantage of Spain’s abundance of reptiles.
We’ll head south to the famous Coto Doñana, where the sandy streets of El Rocio meet bird-filled marshlands.
Red-knobbed Coot is a specialty here…
…and large flocks of Collared Pratincoles gather at dusk.
Red-rumped Swallows can be seen anywhere near water…
…and we hope to find both Audouin’s and Slender-billed Gulls…
…European Turtle Dove…
…Western Black-eared Wheatear…
…Woodchat Shrike…
…and Azure-winged Magpie, the Iberian population recognized by some authorities as specifically distinct from the birds of Asia. This one has just stolen our picnic cheese.
We may get a taste of raptor migration, too; here a Eurasian Honey Buzzard mixes with Black Kites.