Spain in Spring

Day 1: The tour begins this evening at our hotel in Malaga.

Day 2: We’ll set off this morning after breakfast. Our journey takes us to one of the most famous migration routes in the world, the Strait of Gibraltar, and depending on the weather conditions we may stop at various migration watch points along the way. Depending on the wind direction we should see moderate numbers of local and migrant raptors, including Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Black Kite and maybe eye-level views of the first returning European Honey-buzzards - the latter species having spent the previous winter or two in western Africa before returning as adults to breed in Europe. Distant groups of Scopoli’s Shearwaters enter the Mediterranean Sea to return to their island breeding grounds, while the endangered and early nesting Balearic Shearwater can also regularly be seen, often already heading out into the Atlantic at this time. Many Yellow-legged Gulls are present along the coast, often forming their own ‘welcome’ party for any incoming Short-toed Snake Eagles. Migrant passerines are usually present in a few wooded areas and we may see both European Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Western Subalpine Warbler, our first Western Orphean Warblers and Woodchat Shrikes or even groups of European Bee-eaters making their way north. Night in Tarifa.

This tour was a wonderful introduction to Spain and its birds. The itinerary and pace were very good and John Muddeman was an excellent guide, a good all-round naturalist with outstanding abilities to hear and see birds, patience to get everyone on them, good ability to plan and also to adjust plans to the unexpected, and very strong people skills. - Catherine K.

Day 3: We take in a series of sites around the southernmost point of Europe, concentrating more or less on the passage of raptors depending what we encountered the day before, but also enjoying a variety of coastal habitats. Near Tarifa a partially flooded beach and its dunes is major attraction for migrant birds, and if the beach is undisturbed (sometimes difficult among the myriad of kite-surfers), we’ll search for Audouin’s Gull and Kentish Plover. Numerous shorebirds, plus a variety of terns and gulls may be present, and even Greater Short-toed and Crested larks, migrant Northern Wheatears, plus Pallid and Common Swifts, and perhaps even migrant European Bee-eaters passing overhead are amongst those in the dunes. Some old salinas provide more quiet feeding habitats for numerous shorebirds, including breeding Collared Pratincoles and Little Terns, the flowery slopes behind support impressively large Calandra Larks and elegant Tawny Pipits and our first Greater Flamingos and Eurasian Spoonbills are often seen feeding in the shallow waters. A nearby rock outcrop with nesting Blue Rock Thrush and Griffon Vultures also affords superb views over the west part of the Strait and over to Morocco, while another houses a surprising colony of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis. We may either start off, or round off the day with a quick visit to Tarifa in the search for one of Europe’s rarest birds, Common Bulbul, and enjoy the aerial antics of the local Lesser Kestrels, while seawatching from our hotel might turn up Atlantic Gannets moving out of the Mediterranean or even an Atlantic Puffin or two. Night in Tarifa.

Day 4: The shallow lagoons around Jerez play host to one of the country’s special birds, White-headed Duck. This will be our main target, but these pools are also home to lots of other exciting birds and new species will come thick and fast. Wet fields, saltpans and small lagoons should hold herons, including both Purple and Squacco, White Storks, Gull-billed Terns and yet more raptors. White-headed Ducks can be on several small lakes, which also host Red-crested Pochard and in some years even Marbled Duck or Red-knobbed Coot. The nearby woodland and scrub holds Melodious and Sardinian Warblers, Crested Tits, and Short-toed Treecreepers. We’ll divert from the main road to check out one of Europe’s rarest breeding species, Little Swift, a common bird throughout Africa that has just a toehold in Spain, before starting the journey north towards Seville and onwards to our destination in the famous Coto Doñana region. Our hotel, settled on the shores of the marismas, is a real gem from which we could see Greater Flamingos and Eurasian Spoonbills within a few dozen yards of our rooms! The wetlands at El Rocio are always exciting and if water levels are low we may see flocks of Curlew Sandpipers, feeding Whiskered Terns and Collared Pratincoles hawking for insects. If the levels are high then species such as Pied Avocet and Black-winged Stilt may find it to their liking. The reedy edges often hold singing Great Reed Warblers, and careful scanning of the shoreline usually produces Glossy Ibis, with possibilities for both Squacco and Purple Herons, and the occasional Little Bittern and Eurasian Penduline Tit. Night in El Rocio.

Days 5-6: The Coto Doñana has been described as one of Europe’s last wilderness areas and during our two days we’ll sample from its rich and varied habitats. If conditions are right, we follow a maze of tracks and spend a whole day birding our way to and from the José Antonio Valverde Centre. In front of the information centre is a superb mixed colony of herons and egrets and Black-necked and Great Crested Grebes breed to a backdrop of noisy Great Reed Warblers. The journey there can be so full of birds that it’s difficult to know how long it will take. The roadside ditches offer a chance of Little Bittern, while Purple Swamphen, Eurasian Turtle Dove and Corn Bunting are all possible, the latter still surprisingly common. Open water areas can hold Great White Egret, as well as more Greater Flamingos, in addition to Gull-billed Terns and various wildfowl and shorebirds, while drier areas support Mediterranean Short-toed Larks. Closer to our hotel a series of nature trails and observation blinds through scrub and woodland offer excellent chances of Iberian Chiffchaff, Azure-winged Magpie, Iberian Grey Shrike, Dartford Warblers, Thekla’s Lark, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow. On one morning we head west towards Huelva, where we have more chances of seeing Western Osprey, Audouin’s Gull and shorebirds around the saltpans and estuary. Nights in El Rocio.

Day 7: Leaving the Coto Doñana behind we’ll begin our journey north into Extremadura, stopping to look for Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Black Wheatear, Rock Bunting, Eurasian Crag Martin and Alpine Swift at different sites along the way. Once into the hills we may start to see more vultures with Eurasian Griffon being the most likely, but both Cinereous and Egyptian, as well as Black Stork, are possible. In the late afternoon we’ll detour to check our first steppic habitat in the region, looking for our first Great Bustards and European Rollers, with a chance of Little Bustard and Black-bellied Sandgrouse as well. Night near Torrejon el Rubio.

Days 8-9: We’ll have two full days to explore the wonders of Extremadura - dividing our time between Monfrague National Park, the steppes and if necessary, the region’s wetlands and valleys. Monfrague has arguably one of the highest concentrations of breeding raptors in Europe and we’ll search for Red and Black Kites, Booted, Short-toed Snake, Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles, and hopefully the globally rare Spanish Imperial Eagle. It’s not only raptors that will hold our attention but also other much sought-after species such as Black Stork, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Alpine Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Western Subalpine Warbler, Black Redstart and both Rock and Cirl Buntings - all breeding in the park. Our visit to the steppes could be no less exciting and we’ll make several stops in search of singing Common Quail, Great and Little Bustards, Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Eurasian Stone-curlew, European Roller, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Little Owl, and possibly Black Wheatear. A few Montagu’s Harriers still breed in the area, providing a lovely sight, and Thekla’s, Crested and Calandra Larks are common. The number of breeding Corn Buntings is a delight when considering how scarce the species has become in north-west Europe, while if we have time, in Trujillo town we can again watch breeding Lesser Kestrels and Pallid Swifts. Nights near Torrejon el Rubio.

Day 10: Sometime after breakfast we’ll make the relatively short journey north to the Gredos Mountains. However, if we still haven’t seen certain species, such as Black-shouldered Kite we’ll alter our route accordingly, including enjoying Monfrague or nearby wetlands again. The high mountains of central Spain support several special habitats and these in turn are home to excellent populations of highly sought-after species, ranging from freshly arriving Eurasian Hobby, Iberian Green Woodpecker, the iberiae race of European Pied Flycatcher, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Firecrest, quirky Crested Tit and Common Crossbill in its pine forests, to healthy populations of Bluethroat, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Iberian Yellow Wagtail, Water Pipit and Ortolan Bunting above the treeline. We’ll look for some of these en route and also for White-throated Dipper and Grey Wagtail which are present on the small rivers, while Citril Finch is generally very scarce in these pine forests but we’ll also make one or two specific stops to search for them. Night in Navarredonda de Gredos.

Day 11: Today will largely be dedicated to walking into a relatively easily accessible higher part of the Gredos to search for the other high mountain species. We also have an excellent chance of seeing the endemic Spanish Ibex here. Night in Navarredonda de Gredos.

Day 12: Today we continue our journey past the historic cities of Avila and Segovia. Once close to our hotel we’ll head directly to a site for perhaps the most sought-after bird of the region, Dupont’s Lark. Contrary to popular belief there is just as much chance of seeing one in the afternoon as there is at dawn, although seeing ‘el diablo’ at any time is far from easy. As the evening sets in the song activity should increase although there will be stiff competition from Calandra and Great Short-toed Larks, Eurasian Skylark, and both Crested and Thekla’s Larks as well! Whilst waiting, we hope to see Red-billed Choughs, Red-legged Partridge, Iberian Grey Shrike, Tawny Pipit and perhaps Spectacled and Sardinian Warblers. The stunted junipers can also hold both Dartford and Western Orphean Warblers, and the rocky terrain is popular with Western Black-eared Wheatear. Night in Sepulveda.

Day 13: A look outside the hotel before breakfast may produce Eurasian Wryneck, Rock Sparrow, Black Redstart, singing Eurasian Golden Orioles, Common Cuckoo, European Serin, Cirl Bunting and Eurasian Hoopoe. Nearby woodland can be alive with Common Nightingales, Garden Warblers and Eurasian Blackcaps. If we didn’t succeed in finding Dupont’s Larks yesterday we’ll try again this morning, including checking a nearby valley as we move north for Rock Sparrow, Rock Bunting, Melodious, Spectacled, Dartford and Sardinian Warblers again. With a long journey facing us into the spectacular Picos de Europa mountains we need to be on the road before lunch to ensure arriving in time for dinner, including stops on the way for another chance of White-breasted Dipper, plus Tree Pipit and possible Middle Spotted Woodpecker and European Bullfinch in the old oak woods here. Night in Potes.

Days 14-15: We’ll wake up to a largely new avifauna, with familiar northern European breeding species such as Common and Black Redstarts, Spotted Flycatcher, Eurasian Blue and Coal Tits, Eurasian Chaffinch and Song Thrush all found around our hotel. The morning will feature one of the more memorable outings during the tour, as we take a cable car ride up to the high mountain alpine pasture and bare rock habitats above Fuente Dé. This area is the realm of a small but remarkable suite of birds including Alpine Chough, Alpine Accentor, White-winged Snowfinch and that enigmatic ‘avian butterfly’, the Wallcreeper, plus further chances for both Water Pipit and Northern Wheatear and perhaps even Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush again. Good weather also sees regular raptors passing over, including chances for the still rare but slowly increasing population of Lammergeier. We’ll spend the afternoon lower down searching for a few of the region’s other special birds including Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Our second day is spent visiting a series of sites on the climb up to a mountain pass, plus on the valley-sides of these impressive mountains, searching for a range of other relatively scarce Spanish species more typical of further north in Europe, such as Marsh Tit, Common Goldcrest, Yellowhammer, perhaps an early-arriving Red-backed Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher and Common Redstart amongst others. Night in Potes.

Day 16: After breakfast we’ll drive directly to Madrid’s Barajas airport where the tour concludes shortly after midday.

Click Here to see the itinerary for the Canary Islands 2027 Extension. 

• 2026 Narrative
• 2025 Narrative

2026 Narrative

In Brief:

Peninsular Spain supports one of the most diverse bird communities in continental Europe, including an enviable list of relatively rare and unusual species, particularly with affinities to the south, the Mediterranean and the Iberian-Maghreb region of endemism. Given the remarkable range of habitats varying from the extremes of semi-deserts in the south-east to true Alpine habitats of the highest mountains in the north, plus one of the major flyways for migrant birds in Western Europe and excellent coastal habitats for breeding, wintering and migrant species, it’s no wonder that mainland Spain figures highly as a destination for birdwatchers and other naturalists alike. The tour is geared to cover as many of these special species by visiting a representative cross-section of these habitats on an amenable journey from south to north, coinciding with the appearance of the last incoming migrant species while catching the tail end of the earlier birds moving through, plus many of its specialties.

In Detail:

Day 1: We all met on 28th April, as pre-arranged and despite having come in via three different routes, in the hotel lobby on the outskirts of Málaga at 1900h. Well, OK, so I came down 1 minute late having only reached the hotel just 11 minutes earlier, having cleaned the minibus following the drive down from Madrid (and yes, we still have plenty of insects to dirty the front of the vehicle!), as well as a good shop for the basics for our picnics!

An hour later we headed out to a tasty tapas-style meal which was enjoyed at a local restaurant less than 10 minute walk away and we retired for a good night’s sleep and for one or two in order to try and shift a little jet lag.

Day 2: It dawned fair and mild on 29th April and after a good breakfast available from 7 a.m., we packed the van just over an hour later and commenced the relatively short hop down towards the Strait of Gibraltar. The traffic along the coast was much heavier than usual, but after almost 90 minutes and a few toll booths we turned off and up a small side road through flower-studded scrubby slopes covered in lush vegetation after a wet late winter period. An unprepossessing pull-off onto a gravelly area turned out to be rather quieter than hoped at first but finally ended up being extremely rewarding!

Up to our left a Common Kestrel adorned a post of a low fence running along the skyline, with the first of a pair of Thekla’s Larks doing the same over to the right. Both sat still long enough for a participant’s scope to settle on them, while a ‘scrambled’ song from the hill-top behind belonged to a Yellow-bellied and Green-backed Melodious Warbler, albeit rather further away.

A pair of Common Linnets passing in flight became a “BVD” (Better Views Desired) species, but it was one participant who noted how a small black-and-white bird had dropped down a steep rocky slope in front and into a gully, out of sight, and so we all walked through the flowers and bushes to get a better angle and look. Indeed, there on a rock among the boulder-strewn slope was a dapper male Black Wheatear, though it took a little while for all of the group to latch onto it. Fortunately, it was behaving very tranquilly and even sat still, puffed out his body feathers and chortled quietly away at one point, presumably to impress his rather browner-plumaged mate who appeared from nowhere to sit a little below him and then also fed quietly among the rock scree.

Despite the very overcast conditions and even light drizzle, we continued on and up towards a lovely small white hill town, where a car park on the edge and short walk up to a bird-watching viewpoint close by turned out to be an excellent choice to make. Two male Blue Rock Thrushes could be heard singing from the crags in front, though it was only when one of these parachuted out on fixed wings before twisting in midair and landing to crown a vertical slab that we could see it and also appreciate the lovely cobalt blue of its head and fore-body. It also nipped off at one point and went to hassle a much browner female nearby, before finally suddenly disappearing as quickly as it had appeared!

Our first European Goldfinches adorned the local bushes and telephone wires, though a calling Eurasian Blue Tit and most of the noisily rattling local Sardinian Warblers stayed firmly out of sight at first, though a couple of the latter did eventually give close views. The first of several Griffon Vultures peered out from a large slab jutting out of a cliff top, with another cruising close past a little later and several more way off in the distance on the local crags, though the weather was hardly conducive for these soaring maestros to be moving freely around.

A pair of Common Linnets tried to catch my attention by singing from a small dead snag, but a third bird which pitched in on top of the same branches was a dapper male Ciril Bunting and clearly took precedence in the scopes!

After trying to convince everyone of the subtle differences from Common Swift of the locally breeding Pallid Swifts, which were wheeling overhead in good numbers, both in terms of their calls and plumage, a fine adult male Peregrine, which appeared carrying prey, naturally caught our attention, though it carried purposefully on inland between some impressive crags before finally disappearing out of view.

We returned to the motorway and continued towards the Strait, the impressive massive lump of limestone known as the Rock of Gibraltar (perhaps deriving from an old Arabic name meaning the rock of the birds), finally looming into view through the murk and once we’d finally negotiated yet more dense traffic, this time caused by some major roadworks, headed out along a lovely winding coastal road on the low cliffs though a verdant green landscape.

A sudden stop was required though and before we even reached our destination, when a fine sub-adult Egyptian Vulture was found wandering on the road shortly ahead! Fortunately, though clearly it was tired having crossed the 15 km or of open sea to the south, it was readily able to take off and flap away to the North as another car approached from in front.

A good ‘raptor watch’ ensued, with increasing numbers of soaring birds coming across the Strait as the cloud lifted a little on the other side and the hazy sun warmed the ground enough for a few thermals… Black Kites formed the bulk, sometimes coming in flocks of 30 or more, with lots of Short-toed Snake Eagles too, little groups of these arriving erratically but giving us some fabulous views. Single Eurasian Sparrowhawk came in irregularly, with four in total watched passing, while a single Common Buzzard was a surprise and two single Western Marsh Harriers more difficult to identify as they could be easily confused with around 20 Booted Eagles that crossed and around 40 European Honey Buzzards. Some individuals of both of these last two gave stunning views as they passed low overhead, being a treat to watch! A group of 13 late White Storks came in-off, along with a single Black Stork much higher, plus small numbers of Barn Swallows, European Red-rumped Swallows coming past, showing how it’s not just a natural bottleneck for the larger soaring species.

Additionally, given the very unusually near windless conditions, we could also see any passing seabirds more readily over the largely flat sea, with a surprise group of 11 Balearic (now Mediterranean) Shearwaters heading out towards the Atlantic the best, but a single adult European Shag notable too. A distant Eurasian Whimbrel feeding on rocks below us was a nice addition as well!

Lunch was taken out of the back of the van in a car park nearby, in order to keep enjoying this festival of migration, before we finally headed off inland as things slowed and tried our luck in the local cork oak-dominated woodland.

It was tough going at first, with most small birds heard easily enough, but little showing. However, patience paid off and we finally all enjoyed views of colorful Eurasian Blue Tit, Short-Toed Treecreeper, a few migrant Willow Warblers feeding high overhead alongside a singing western Bonelli’s Warbler, a nice close European Robin, a migrant Garden Warbler and our first diminutive, but spectacular Common Firecrests. Extending this walk down into a private area I am allowed into, expanded the range of species, including Iberian Chiffchaff, our first Eurasian Blackcaps and a couple of Great Tits at close range, while a single rather flighty Ccrested Ttit was good to see too.

We returned to enjoy a little bit of down time at the hotel before checklist and dinner.

Day 3: A 0700h exit on 30th April saw us reaching the coast just before a beautiful sunrise over the Mediterranean, as it rose just to the south of the Europa Point lighthouse, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar. There was barely a hint of a breeze, but the cool temperature made it a lovely start, only enhanced by a lovely dawn chorus including loudly singing Iberian chiffchaff and common nightingale in the bushes and trees nearby.

The very calm conditions were not so good for the seabirds, our main target however, with just three very distant Balearic/Mediterranean Shearwaters looking like specks passing over the mildly ruffled waters a long way out, even though, finally we were also able to contemplate a few northern gannets moving past in the scopes, with one of these a surprisingly late black, white and yellow adult. Plenty of dolphins, including Atlantic Common and a couple of Bottle-nosed Dolphins could be seen feeding, albeit at extreme range, though a true blow much closer, presumably from a small whale, was noted by a participant, though we were unable to relocate the animal that produced it!

After a correspondingly later breakfast and exit, we headed west this time and headed round the bottom of the Strait, roadworks and Civil Guard checkpoint allowing (!), enjoying the sight of the verdant mantle of green bushes and trees cloaking the slopes this year, including all the way up the military area north of Zahara de los Atunes and turned off down a hard and rather bumpy mud track towards an area of restored salt pans.

This was a great choice, with a host of birds present as soon as we arrived and meaning we changed our original plans at almost every step! Crested Larks were present in numbers, with a few more elusive Greater Short-Toed scattered among them, both sometimes heading up to perform their songs during extended aerial display flights. A Corn Bunting appeared on Merlin, though it stayed hidden deep among the tamarisks where a fine male European Stonechat sat quietly, but in view, while large numbers of Collared Pratincoles, that rather peculiar mix of shorebird and swallow, with two colonies on some low islands occasionally rising up in the face of potential danger, calling loudly and charging around in a sometimes completely disorganized fashion, but making a wonderful sight! Four Slender-Billed Gulls were also a particularly pleasing find on the first pool, though they soon lifted and casually, yet rapidly, headed off low over the little groups of Greater Flamingos resting in the shallows and off into the distance.

Shorebirds were present around the edges of the still very watery pools (following heavy rains from late January through into March), with dapper black-winged stilts catching our eye first, but then a fine mix of common ringed and Kentish Plovers, Sanderling -including one or two molting into breeding plumage- and several diminutive little stints, these already being rather more colorful in their summer dress and almost ready to hide among the dwarf shrubs of the Arctic, feeding in frenzied manner along the water’s edge. A couple of Little Terns hovered just in front over the first pool, with lots more behind on the rather bare muddy islands where hopefully they’ll breed in numbers this year. Careful scanning also revealed a pair of very attentive Eurasian Thick-knees on one island, their rather drab-looking gray chick which only came up to their chest in height, working its way carefully between them under their watchful gaze. A fine male Western Yellow Wagtail of the Iberian race pitched into a nearby tree, carrying food for its young, though plenty more were also present and actively flying out from the islands (and presumably their nests) into the adjacent flowery pastures to collect food.

With the tide rising, we moved on towards the river, only to find that it was, very unusually, birdless, so continued for a comfort stop, refuel and quick shop in the nearby town, making good use of the opportunity.

The Breña de Barbate is a fascinating area of high sandy ground on fossilized dunes, covered in a rich assortment of low shrubs and a near continuous canopy of umbrella pines. This is good habitat, especially where there are open grassy areas, for a range of birds, as well as being an excellent area to have a picnic in quiet surroundings! The first of a few Spotted Flycatchers quickly fell under the collective gaze, with European Serins, Great Tit and Short-toed Treecreeper all readily heard as well, even if the picnic soon took precedence! Fresh bread, hummus, fruit, olives, cherry tomatoes, finely sliced cured meats and a bit of cheese and lettuce among other bits and bobs meant that there was something for everyone, while my perhaps rash claim that the site was good for Eurasian Hoopoe was fortunately confirmed at the last gasp, i.e., just as we were starting to pack the picnic bags back into the van!

The now famous Northern Bald Ibis colony near Vejer was our next stop, allowing us excellent views of nearly 50 of these rather prehistoric-looking and critically endangered creatures (including plenty of young), with a number of Western Jackdaws on the same rock face affording super views as well and a pair of mobile Western Olivaceous Warblers in the willows behind us a terrific addition.

The main surprise of the day was not far away however and though I had to wake one or two or the party up as we neared the end of our drive, to go for a short walk through flower-studded grass on the edge of a golf course, it was certainly worth it! This was also despite something of a tense wait as I tried hard for some time to even find our target, finally latching onto the rather dark brown figure of a huge female Eurasian Eagle-owl pinned into the shade of a small bush on the opposite side of a quarry, though it was only some 10 minutes later that we realized that a large fluffy pale chick was also snuggled up beside it, even deeper within the cover! Further observations here included a close Common Buzzard, plus Black Kite, a large flock of Western Jackdaws plus a pair of Common Kestrels, the male of which was carrying a recently captured large psammodromus lizard and even a fine pair of Short-toed Eagles cruising low over.

A final stop in a Tarifa car park failed to produce a key species for there, but a delightful European Turtle Dove flew in and gave excellent views, easily compensating!

We returned back to our hotel at 1830h, with checklist an hour later and dinner, again, at 2000h to round off a very rewarding day.

Day 4: We woke again to very pleasant conditions on 1st May, with an apparently territorial singing Common Chiffchaff on wires behind our hotel most unexpected given the location, but a great start to the morning!

Driving up past Cádiz and Jerez, we headed off to a long beach at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, where the algae-covered stones and low mud- and sand-banks provide excellent feeding and resting conditions at low tide for a range of gulls, terns and shorebirds. Indeed, not wanting to arrive too late, as the full tide completely covers the area, an excellent variety of species was present, with many also in good number and despite relatively large numbers of beach tourists wandering along and sometimes disturbing them. Close among the stones and mud a horde of ‘peeps’ ran around feeding, with Black-bellied and Common Ringed Plovers, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstones and a smattering of Kentish Plovers, many of these in full breeding garb, while further back towards the slowly approaching shoreline, numerous little, plus a few immature Sandwich and Caspian Terns rested, and single Lesser Black-backed, several Slender-billed and a couple of immature Audouin’s Gulls paddled the shallows waters as the negotiated the incoming tide. A few larger shorebirds included White-backed Eurasian Whimbrel, a few Bar-tailed Godwits still mostly in non-breeding plumage -including one individual walking right past us along the upper edge of the beach!-, some Common Greenshank and a couple of Common Redshank, while a lovely breeding-plumaged Red Knot did a disappearing act for a while, but was excellently refound by a participant, much to our delight. A bonus pair of Common Waxbills rounded off the visit as they sat and fed tranquilly in the marram grass on the dunes as we walked back to the vehicle.

Down at the Chipiona sea front we visited the now famous Little Swift colony, where probably a couple of dozen of those hyperactive birds were flitting around their nesting colony, giving point blank views as they passed, twittering occasionally in the process.

Picnic lunch, albeit a bit low on provisions (!), was still enjoyed at a table in a small park where Common Nightingales, Eurasian Greenfinches and Iberian Green Woodpeckers, in addition to a small religious service in the adjacent chapel, formed a very pleasant backdrop, before we headed up towards the extensive Salinas de Bonanza, on the edge of the Guadalquivir again. Most of the birds were actually a long way off at the back of the pools, and largely unidentifiable given the heat haze -even though it was comparatively pleasantly cool-, but thankfully excellent numbers of Curlew Sandpipers, many in smart breeding dress were wading the shallows, giving us excellent views and clearly outnumbering a few other peeps and Common Ringed Plovers present.

It was already mid-afternoon, and so we started the route towards our hotel with a stop beside the little Lagunas de Bonanza. Here, a few colorful White-headed Duck males swam and dived alongside their rather dowdier-colored females, while others delights included a chick and adult Purple Swamphen, several pairs of also colorful Red-crested and Common Pochards, a superb female Little Bittern which perched in view for some time after taking a short flight and another singing Western Olivaceous Warbler to add to the seen list, plus a few Graylag Geese of rather more doubtful origin!

Time was flying, but in order to try and ‘get ahead’, we also took a convoluted drive through the Trebujena vineyards, which despite affording us tremendous views over the lower Doñana salt-marsh area on the other side of the Guadalquivir river, failed to provide us with anything new and so after a good search, we drove straight round to our hotel on the N edge of the greater Doñana area.

We arrived quite late, but with time to drop bags off, wash our faces and come back out for the first of three tasty dinners here, before heading off for a good night’s sleep.

Day 5: The 2nd May saw one or two of us serenaded in our beds pre-dawn by the local singing Red-necked Nightjar and Tawny Owl, though others slept deeper!

After a quick shop in the local village, the day was spent with a tour of the Doñana northern marshes, though the long dusty tracks to access the best parts needed negotiating first, this year being surprisingly quiet with regard to birds as we worked our way through the rather sterile arable fields and altered salt-marsh, but the core areas at the end around the Jose Antonio Valverde visitors center were much more entertaining! After arriving in time for a comfort stop to exploit the fact that the center was actually open for multiple groups, since it’s undergoing reformation (!), we then headed back out as multiple other guided groups disappeared off in their vehicles and enjoyed it at length.

Corn Buntings sang from every fence, Zitting Cisticolas bounced along zitting, a pair of surprise Common Shelduck flew across some orchards and rice fields and innumerable Purple and Gray Herons, gurgling Little and Great egrets and Glossy Ibis formed pulsating colonies in the lines of tamarisks. A few Marbled Ducks finally put in an appearance, though showed very well in the end, Lesser Kestrels hovered beside their little colonies, and a few colorful Squacco Herons, some in full breeding plumage with bright blue bill bases and also rather orangey Western Cattle Egrets (sometimes inviting confusion with the Squacco Herons) had formed a somewhat separate colony, right beside the track, allowing terrific views.

Only one Mediterranean Short-toed Lark decided to play ball for long enough for most of us to see it on the ground, even though a couple more were head singing, with several Greater Short-toed Larks behaving better as they foraged on the track. Hundreds of Greater Flamingos and dancing Whiskered Terns were also out over the seasonal salt-marsh, while a fine Little Owl adorned the end of a small building, literally in the middle of nowhere!

Following lunch from the back of the minibus at a junction where a few Northern Lapwings were added to the growing list, we headed back as quickly as we could to the closest bar in the area, where, to our surprise, the first Ruddy Shelducks ever noted on this tour were enjoyed as they called and chased each other over a recently flooded rice paddy. After drinks and loos, we were off again, this time to a reservoir nearby, where despite relatively few waterbirds being present, a male Ferruginous Duck in flight was an excellent find, four more Marbled Ducks were noted a few Black-headed Weavers, another colonizing invasive species were seen well.

A couple more singing Western Olivaceous and Common Reed Warblers among the tamarisks and cattails, numerous circling Black Kites and an impressive ‘pajarera’ with nesting Gray Heron, White Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill and Western Cattle Egrets were all much enjoyed as well.

We returned earlier today with time to do two days checklisting before and over dinner, though a short excursion into the pine forest nearby after dark turned up trumps with a fine Western Hedgehog watched just feet away and a couple of singing Red-necked Nightjar, with excellent views of a sitting single male of the latter seen by myself, a couple participants shortly afterwards as it sang its tok-tok song on the sandy track, after we walked a little further.

Day 6: A late Red-necked Nightjar was still singing as we woke on 3rd May, even though it getting relatively close to sunrise. Taking advantage of the lovely still and relatively cool early morning conditions, we took a short drive for almost an hour along some of the local tracks through the olive orchards, scrub and open cork oak and umbrella pine forest near our hotel. Although no large cats were seen, we enjoyed excellent views of their main prey, our first European Rabbits, plus Woodchat Shrikes and a Woodlark, the latter complete with food in its beak, clearly for feeding nestlings nearby!

The remainder of the day was spent towards the west, commencing by dropping in to El Rocío, but only very briefly when we discovered a large bicycle race was about to start and there were hundreds of cars and lots of people about too!

The nearby Palacio del Acebrón, including the drive down through open scrub and complete with colorful European Bee-eaters, dapper Woodchat Shrikes and our first Iberian Gray Shrike, was thankfully much quieter, even though access is somewhat restricted at present. Singing Common Cuckoo, Melodious Warbler and Iberian Chiffchaff were among the mid-morning spring chorus, with a couple of flighty Spotted Flycatchers feeding in the pines where a lovely Crested Tit also finally put in a good show. An adult Hawfinch, closely followed by a squawking juvenile dashed past, but unfortunately didn’t stop, though when we went to look for them down beside a pool nearby, engulfed by the dense riverine woodland, we were pleasantly surprised by a brief Common Kingfisher dashing past, whilst in the adjacent willows, numerous Common Nightingales sang their hearts out and a nesting pair provided excellent views from a boardwalk.

Another short walk at the nearby La Rocina boardwalks failed to produce Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at a nest site, since as we discovered after a significant wait, and despite hearing one briefly nearby, they’d fledged two days earlier (!), but it did give us excellent views of singing Cetti’s Warbler and one participant enjoyed point blank views of a gorgeous Common Kingfisher which dashed in and perched just a few feet from her for a minute or so!

Lunch was taken in the picnic area of the main visitor’s center for the National Park, with a few Iberian Magpies livening up the proceedings of most note, and while we tried again to see what was present on the El Rocío lagoon as we started our return, although the bike race had finished, there were still lots of people and the quieter mid-afternoon conditions were not conducive to finding much. Indeed, it was clear here too that the more southerly and earlier-breeding shorebirds had moved through this year and the most notable birds in many ways where the large numbers of feral graylag geese now breeding here, in stark contrast to the huge decline in the number of wild migrant Graylag which winter in Doñana, plus the presence of several Egyptian Geese, an invasive exotic, which while wonderful to see in sub-Saharan Africa, is expanding in leaps and bounds across southern Europe and being so aggressive while nesting, displaces native species from smaller pools and lakes.

In order to try and save time for the following day, in addition to giving us our second shot at one of the now rarer birds of the region, we headed up into the extensive swathes of vineyards and olive orchards a little inland from the coast. Amazingly, just as I was pulling over to stop and park on the edge of a rather degraded road, I spotted one of our target species as it flew up from a sandy side track just feet from the bus. One participant watched it fly perhaps ten yards and then dive between thick cover where we both lost sight of it…

Once out and try as we might though, including walking up and down to look from various spots over the vines, olives and even a few fallow fields, there was absolutely no sign of the bird until we’d walked down and well beyond where we’d first seen it, when, and if by magic, the bird, a lovely Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, suddenly reappeared on the track in full view right in front of us, sheltering from the wind in the lee of the tall grass for a couple of minutes, while its mate sang from the top of a chain-link fence above it! They finally dashed off into the orchards, where despite singing a couple of short phrases, they once again disappeared, but we could now return with a grin on our faces!

The whole process had taken us around an hour, with a calling Common Quail, a couple of European Turtle Doves dashing past in flight and also Griffon Vulture, Booted Eagle and Black Kite enlivening the skies to keep us busy, once again showing how rich the area is for birds.

Day 7: The 4th May was basically a travel day, but with some significant stops for birding and we woke to find it cooler, which was definitely an advantage as we headed north inland and included our first birding on the western Spanish agristeppes!

A leisurely exit a little after 9 a.m., plus a comfort stop and quick picnic extras shop on the way at a huge service station, where the chill breeze took us by surprise, allowing us to reach our first destination just before noon (i.e., 12 o’clock and not the Spanish ‘midday’!).

A couple of hours here, all spent scanning from the same viewpoint, complete with a couple of picnic tables, meant that we could combine birding and lunch. Ideal! A French contact who was already on site kindly pointed out a fine immature Spanish Imperial Eagle perched in a half dead western holm oak over on the opposite slopes, but over the time that we were there, we added observations of at least 5 more individuals, including a couple of superb adults! The first of several Red-legged Partridges were also seen, with their ‘chuffing’ calls heard almost throughout, plus a few species related to the reservoir just below us, including a couple of regularly ‘touring’ Gull-billed Terns, a single brief Little Tern, a few gaudy Great Crested Grebes, two Gray and at least two Purple Herons and also a pair of Common Kingfishers, which dashed past below us on a few occasions, leaving an electric blue streak carved across our retinas as they went!

The raptors were also entertaining, as hoped, with plenty of time to enjoy our first Cinereous Vultures and learn how to distinguish them from the Common Griffons present, a single pale morph Booted Eagle, a couple of courting Short-toed Eagles and single Black Kite and Common Buzzard to add variety.

The slightly melancholic-sounding descending whistles of an Iberian Green Woodpecker or two were heard regularly among the holm oaks, though they refused to show, while a flock of around a dozen Red-billed Choughs tumbled down over an adjacent mountain-top and refused to reappear. At least the abundant local Thekla’s Larks put on a fine audiovisual display, while two Greater Short-toed Larks and a single Western Yellow Wagtail calling as they went past on active migration were good patch records!

It was all good things to those who wait though, and while we had planned to leave at 2 p.m. in order to reach our hotel at least before dinner (!), some persistent scolding Eurasian Magpie calls caught my attention and there among the rock piles on the opposite slope was a superb female Iberian Lynx, walking calmly off through the open scrub and much more calm than us, given that it was a little tricky to find it as it regularly disappeared behind obstacles as it meandered through the bushes! The scopes became crucial and to my delight we all had excellent views as she walked serenely up and into a cultivated field, her head and ears showing over the top of the crop, before soon disappearing over the top and into a little valley. MAGIC!

The day was far from over though, with a quick trip to a large dam affording us lovely views of impressively large Alpine Swifts, great views as we looked down towards a pair of nesting Western Marsh Harriers, several Eurasian Crag Martins whizzing around the car park and at least three Blue Rock Thrushes, of most note!

With special interest in the group to see the major historical sites and monuments, we of course diverted via Mérida. Here we took a walk up onto the magnificent Roman Bridge which crosses the Guadiana river and enters into the heart of the city, with a few Pallid and Alpine Swifts flying overhead, both of which breed in the cracks between the blocks, as well as enjoying the wealth of birdlife along the river such as the constant movement of small flocks of Glossy Ibis, Western Cattle and Little Egrets, plus Purple Herons, which breed in the large colonies on the islands a little downstream. In an adjacent park, a singing Garden Warbler showed that migrants were still on the move and a brief male Eurasian Penduline Tit brilliantly found by a participant was the best, but up to 10 different Common Hoopoes, both fledglings and adults, gave us a magnificent display in the much appreciated shade of the pines.

We still hadn’t finished though and at just after 6 p.m. started a route across the first area of true agristeppe we’d visited in search of its special birds. It was hard work given heat haze and a degree of heat, but a judicious stop near a series of bird boxes came up trumps in the form of a few European Rollers adorning the posts and wires, including one bird ‘croaking’ and rolling in display flight, followed by chasing-up on some ‘farting’ noises off in the fields, where a smart male Little Bustard finally appeared, both in the open as it came out of tall vegetation, but also out of the bad heat haze, which fortunately cleared at times as the intermittent breeze slackened. Even though the grass was long in some areas, we also just managed to get views of the heads of two adult Great Bustards working their way slowly through the flower-studded field, to round off a very rewarding day!

There was still over an hours drive to our next hotel, our base for the next three nights, but we arrived just as dinner started anyway and after a quick check-in and dropping our bags off in our rooms, we were soon back down for dinner!

Day 8: It was a quite chilly start to the 5th May, with a stiff Northern breeze accentuating the feeling of cold.

After a relatively relaxed start to the day, i.e., no pre-breakfast excursion, we headed off to enjoy the Monfragüe area for the day. A small compound not far away is an official carrion pit, where certain types and ages of livestock which perish locally are allowed to be dumped for the local vultures, and indeed, plenty of Cinereous and Griffon Vultures were present both on the ground and also resting up in the numerous western holm oaks in the surroundings, again allowing us an excellent opportunity to study them and learn how to distinguish them, this time when perched as well as those few in flight! A singing Woodlark overhead was also much appreciated.

Our next stop was where, over eons, a small stream has carved a deep gully through the local plains. A surprising diversity of birds were present, including at least three Western Subalpine Warblers beside a little bridge where European Red-rumped Swallows and Eurasian Crag Martins were nesting underneath, a Common Cuckoo sang from the slopes, a Little Ringed Plover fed on a little shingle bank at least two Western Orphean Warblers were singing from the scrub. A young male of the latter, with relatively dark iris still, came down to sing close by before moving back off, turning out to be the first of several heard during the day. A singing male Cirl Bunting was another great bird to see again, plus a fine range of finches including flighty Common Linnets, European Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Greenfinches, plus plenty of European Serins. A Golden Eagle was seen briefly going over, reappearing again just for a moment further up, but frustratingly, not for the group.

The views from Monfragüe Castle are always good, with plentiful passing vultures, swifts and martins keeping us busy, plus distant flying Egyptian Vulture and Black Storks, but the strong cold wind coming down from the north made viewing on that side of the ridge difficult and so we moved on to and via a series of sites in the National Park.

A drinks break in Villareal was much appreciated, with a wait in a low scrubby area further ahead not very productive, despite various singing warblers, including a fine male Dartford. Another stop, again to look for eagles, produced a small family party of Crested Tits in pines, plus numerous commoner raptors, but things remained slower than hoped, though an incubating Egyptian Vulture on a readily visible nest across the river was a lovely sight.

A tapas-style lunch was taken outside in the sunshine and in the lee of the still chill wind at a small restaurant on the outskirts of the park, where I decided to return and try again for a few key species…

A singing male Rock Bunting at the first site was a great start, while a second attempt for the local eagles at a ‘random’ roadside stop after spotting a group of circling vultures, resulted in the observation of a superb adult Bonelli’s Eagle circling high over before it drifted off and finally paused to hunt over a distant ridge. Another pair of adult Egyptian Vultures were also excellent to see there. Another specific search finally revealed a pair of Little Ringed Plovers beside a livestock drinking pool, despite them seemingly being well out of place here in the mountains! Things were improving and continued to do so when I spotted a stunning adult male Eurasian Golden Oriole passing over, following a female and an impromptu roadside stop shortly ahead gave us views of both of these, albeit at a little distance and also of a calling Hawfinch briefly in flight as it shot out of a nearby southern nettle tree!

We finally headed towards the impressive Salto del Gitano viewpoint, looking across to the impressive rock faces of Peñafalcón opposite, where a few pairs of Black Storks could be seen at their nests and non-incubating adults were flying around, a couple of pairs of Gray Herons were nesting in trees opposite, Griffon Vulture nests with large chicks were scattered across the cliffs and a Blue Rock Thrush or two gave great views. It was also where in conversation with another WINGS leader guiding his group, that we heard of a nesting pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers back in the middle of the park!

And the choice was obvious, with a slightly earlier finish out of the question and the chance to enjoy guaranteed views of this often-shy species requiring action! And so, after c. 20 minutes of driving and enjoying the landscapes again (!), so we stopped at a very public recreational area we’d passed twice before during the day and stepped out to find an apparently abandoned hole… Would the Doñana watch repeat itself, or not?! Fortunately, not too long later, a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, complete with beak jammed with food flew silently in, perched on the trunk for a few seconds before diving into the nest. Phew! We watched long enough to see not only the male, but also the female come in to feed the chicks a few times, sometimes with good breaks between visits, but affording us super views of this lovely little species, to round off a terrific day of observations!

Day 9: Without wishing to start so early on 6th May as to need a packed breakfast, since the site was too far from the hotel to return after an early start, we risked starting out just slightly earlier compared to the normal time and headed 50 km south to the agristeppe area close to Trujillo to look for steppic birds. It was still chilly in the Northern breeze, with just three other birders present as we arrived, though it wasn’t great to hear that the two Great Bustards that had been present had flown off and out of sight just 10 minutes earlier. Indeed, though we searched hard in the grasslands and despite finding a couple of Red-legged Partridges and some time later a fine circling adult Spanish Imperial Eagle, the long grass made it impossible to find any smaller birds on the ground, with Calandra Larks in display flights and Crested Larks and Corn Buntings on the fences, slim pickings. Suddenly however, the cawing calls of Pin-tailed Ssandgrouse could be heard, and after some frantic searching, a small group of these dove-like steppic birds were spotted flying above the horizon, but they continued on and dropped down and out of sight in the grass at distance… Fortunately, after another frustratingly long  wait, another was heard and this time, a gorgeous orange-breasted male was spotted flying straight towards us before passing directly over and then arched round to drop down at a livestock drinking pool in the middle of a huge field. Two more pairs then did the same but remained little time and flew off at distance without giving us further options for good views.

A comfort stop and freshly brewed coffee in Trujillo was called for, which we could fortunately combine at one of the large supermarkets there and where I bought picnic lunch, before heading off to a reservoir for a short look before continuing to some picnic tables almost beside the water. Our search for possible late shorebirds on passage revealed very little, though a few Little Ringed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers and a pair of Iberian race Western Yellow Wagtails collecting food for their young were good to see, and a small flock of Collared Pratincoles again evidence that it was a good year for the species. A few Graylag Geese again evidenced the ongoing invasion by feral birds of the species, while almost 40 Egyptian Geese emphasized just how many there now are in this part of the world! Lunch was indeed taken under some trees, providing very welcome shade, with a few birds on the adjacent water and in the nearby scrub providing pleasant background distractions!

The remainder of the long afternoon was taken up visiting a series of generally highly transformed sites, including the large expanses of rice fields of the upper reaches of the Guadiana river. While the latter were being actively worked at the very beginning of the growing season, only a few fields were flooded and it was difficult to even find birds, though we finally teased out a Common Ringed Plover, three Little Ringed Plovers, two breeding-plumaged Dunlin, a Common Sandpiper and four Collared Pratincoles, though it was a little flock of seven Red Avadavats in track-side brambles and reeds that stole the show for the first part.

The second area was a little more productive, with a total of seven Kentish Plovers, four Dunlin, 10 Collared Pratincoles and a single Little Ringed Plover keeping hopes up, but a large flock of Common Ringed Plovers were unfortunately spooked just after we’d stopped to enjoy them and we barely had time to even watch them dash past us and then off out of sight.

I still had one particular bird in mind to try and see, as it would be our last chance on the tour, but we detoured via Madrigalejo and stopped first at an old gravel pit to see what was there, turning up trumps with 3 Common Waxbills, a calling Water Rail and, best of all , a singing Savi’s Warbler which finally appeared briefly as it flew out of the vegetation towards us. A family of at least 4 Iberian Gray Shrikes in the trees along the road nearby were also great to see.

It was definitely now time, despite the hot conditions, to try for the final species, which was a little further south still and out in a very large, mainly fallow field. Amazingly though, almost no sooner had we arrived than I spotted a Black-bellied Sandgrouse drop in to the lowest and furthest part of the field, where it was sadly only just visible as an ocher-colored blob in the heat haze! And despite a 45-minute wait, including finding a pair of these birds hiding among young chickpea plants just half the distance from the first, and another pair flying off into the distance, the heat haze won and had to leave after only obtaining poor views of this curious species.

We returned just in time for dinner, though as it was also our last chance to look for Red-necked Nightjar for those who hadn’t seen it in Doñana, we left between dinner courses for a try! The site is fortunately only a few minutes drive from the hotel and arriving at 2145h, immediately saw a bird already on the wing, with one or possibly two more also appearing a little later, the first, a male, even display-flying just below and behind the presumed female which came in as well…

We headed back for the rest of our dinner for a remarkable end to the day!

Day 10: It’s just a little bit sad to see the declines in some once not uncommon birds in the right habitats, so in order to try and see one of these, particularly as I’d heard a singing bird in the background the evening before, just a few minutes after we checked out of the hotel on 7th May, we turned off and headed down to a small reservoir along a short track. It was beautiful in the still early morning conditions and to my delight, a Great Reed Warbler could indeed be heard “grinding and grunching” its powerful song from the vegetation on the other side, though given this distance and abundant willows and cattails, we couldn’t find it… Not to be outdone, we kept scanning with the scopes and finally, after what seemed like rather a long time, when a second and closer bird also chimed up, so we managed to find it high on the side of a big willow bush, the bright reddish inside to its mouth visible even across from the opposite bank! With Cetti’s Warblers, a Common Cuckoo, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Eurasian Hoopoe and Thekla’s Larks all singing as well at different times, it was a fine chorus to start the day!

A rather peculiar rather exposed heathy area was where we turned off to search for our next goals, though unusually, all was quiet when we first arrived, despite an immature Spanish Imperial Eagle cruising over at height, a couple of European Turtle Doves flashing past, plus a few other raptors including Griffon Vultures, Black Kite and a Booted Eagle. Two singing Calandra Larks were present, definitely the ‘odd one out’ in this habitat, unlike the numerous Thekla’s Larks in the scrub, but it was the sweet notes in a little jingle that caught my ear, enabling us to track down a fine male Spectacled Warbler, which first sat atop a small dead bush, before launching itself upwards a couple of times in a butterfly-like aerial display as it sang, finally allowing us  more chances of watching it in the scopes in the process. As if not to be outdone, the first of several Dartford Warblers followed suit, giving us great views as well, and the day’s plans were definitely falling into place!

Next up was the Saucedilla area (please, to be said with the right accent!!), where again, a couple of stake-outs paid up, with a fine adult Long-eared Owl peering back at us at short range from the safety of its dense oak crown, followed by a superb pair of Black-winged Kkites, even if they were rather flighty and we had to make do with slightly further than hoped-for views.

Water nearby held a very welcome surprise second Squacco Heron for the morning, plus an incredibly close calling Common Quail. Indeed, it came so close at one point in the grass on top of a bank opposite that its call hurt my eardrums! It just would not come out of the tall dense grass though, despite giving us an impressive display of vocal power and persistence!

After lunch in a civilized place beside the visitors center, we finally headed off and towards the mountains, which were to be our home for the next two nights. A short check of a huge reservoir turned up nothing new and so we started the climb up towards the scenic Puerto del Pico pass, complete with little castle just off to one side as we climbed and the first of a few Spanish Ibex on the roadsides as we neared the top. An obligatory stop at the top, albeit brief in the chilly wind, also enabled us to potter down to the new panoramic viewpoint which gave us impressive views back down the valley and over the extraordinary Roman Road winding steeply to, and through, the pass.

It was chilly again at the Gredos Parador, though a quick check around the outside produced our first Coal Tits and another lovely Common Firecrest.

After checking into the unique “The Birds’ Hotel”, we headed off again for a drive through the local pastures and pine forest, ostensibly to try and reach the local river and see few of the local breeding birds, which are quite different here from everywhere we’d been so far, given the greater altitude. Several Carrion Crows strutted across the fields where little groups of Common Linnets fed and a few Northern Wheatears sat on the fences alongside Black Redstarts. The male of one pair, recently found by our hotel hosts, was a remarkable rufus-bellied bird, very similar to an Eastern Black Redstart, but much more probably of hybrid Common x Black Redstart origin. A walk at the end, albeit quite late, came up trumps with a fantastic male iberiae race European Pied Flycatcher in a willow below us and, once a couple with their dog had left the riverside, our main target, a White-bellied Dipper appeared, this being a grayer-backed and duller breasted juvenile than the typical birds depicted in the field guides. A singing male Common Whitethroat, ‘big brother’ to the dainty Spectacled we’d seen earlier in the day was another good addition.

We returned in good time for a terrific dinner, including European Robin and European Pied Flycatchers outside the huge plate glass windows, while a tip-off from some German birders on the next table, who via their mobile phones were listening live to a European Scops Owl singing outside, allowed us just to get outdoors in time to hear it, even though it quickly headed off from the leafless tree where it had been singing. Tomorrow, we thought!

Day 11: As luck wouldn’t have it, virtually the only rain forecast for the trip was while we were here in the mountains. Indeed, it was a gloomy and cloudy start to 8th May with rain over breakfast, but this was our only realistic chance for one or two very special species and we were going to take it!

Driving slowly up to the Plataforma de Gredos brought us a series of well-earned rewards! First, a stop at a traditional site for Red-backed Shrike came up trumps, with not only a pristine male present on the wires, but a scaly-bellied female too, this being quite early for this traditionally late-returning species. A smart Common Whitethroat sang from a willow and offered much longer views than the bird the day before and the local male Iberian Western Yellow Wagtails were looking very smart as they hurried around their wet meadows looking for food for hungry chicks or incubating females. Another stop higher up in slightly more open habitat was called for when a “dee dee dee dum” Ortolan Bunting sang from somewhere quite close, with a fine pair of Red-legged Partridges found using the thermal visor and, as we watched them, a succession of small birds landed on the fences beside them, including Common Linnets, a couple of Dunnocks (and is this cryptic species going to be split?) and the first of several Rock Bbuntings seen as we ascended further!

It was just 2°C when we reached the Plataforma itself, a long car park for those interested in hiking up into the mountains, but as we were still below the cloud, despite the icy breeze, we continued to search, but with a few Eurasian Crag Martins, dapper Northern Wheatears and lots of Spanish Ibex, including some large males with impressive horns were all of real note that we could muster.

After about an hour, the cloud came down and so it provided a natural end to proceedings and we took the opportunity to get a warming drink in a bar back at the bottom of the valley, plus for me to check out a likely restaurant for lunch, given that a picnic was clearly not on the cards!!

The cloud often forms over the highest peaks of the Gredos range and affects this area, but not other passes, and so although it would mean a slightly later lunch I didn’t want to risk conditions deteriorating further and we headed up a different quiet winding road to another pass where we were still below the cloud line. Great! Although the strong freezing wind, now in our faces was worse, making it a real challenge! There was plenty of bird activity here, despite a rather restricted range of species, admittedly, but numerous Eurasian Skylarks were happy enough to brave it in the wind and, although a little distant, a pair of impressive Golden Eagles cruised slowly past almost on the level with us, before disappearing into a fairly persistent storm of light hail, which then reached us… Standing with our backs to it just below the only small ridge available to give us a little shelter was the only thing to do and being as we’d just seen our main target bird just before it hit, we braved it out. And thankfully, once it did pass, we managed to get a couple more views of a lovely azuricollis race Bluethroat, perched and singing for short periods on the local broom scrub and showing its wholly blue throat patch off perfectly! More Dunnocks and several Rock Buntings kept appearing as we returned, keeping us searching, but time was running on and in order to not get frozen through, we headed back down for a very warming lunch, with most opting for tasty home-made pizzas on this occasion!

The long, relaxing lunch break over, where we all warmed back up perfectly, we still had to brave the elements again however and headed back up to the Plataforma. Here it was just as cold as before, but with the German group informing me that my main target bird had earlier been feeding on the slopes opposite where we’d just parked, it seemed clearly worthwhile putting in the time and walking up and down the road a few times helped us keep warm. After briefly locating a singing male, it mysteriously disappeared though, then reappeared suddenly to fly much higher up and out of sight, and a little frustration started to appear. Persistence, sorry patience is a virtue though, they say, and after almost two hours of trying, with no view for the group, we decided it was time to head back. And this is where persistence did pay off, when I checked the same area of rocks where I’d seen it earlier and there it was again! Just as we got out it sang and started dropping rapidly towards us, scything across the road and finally low out of sight behind a huge granite boulder. And after a minute or two’s wait, out hopped a female! They had clearly come down from higher given the better conditions here, but were avoiding the busier part of the car park (despite hardly anyone there and the female gave us great views. Not only that, but we waited for her to appear from behind a boulder at one point, out crept a fine summer-plumaged Water Pipit, foraging in the grass for insects, and we got two for the price of one!

It was definitely now time to drop down to slightly warmer conditions and in the shelter of the pine forest we stopped to tease out a superb Common Goldcrest, which gave fine views and headed back to the Parador again, where despite no wind it was very chilly still and despite trying for our last target here, came out empty handed, but still happy after an excellent day including a few short walks in lovely terrain.

Though cold, we were hopeful for another showing of the scops, but unfortunately, a second much larger group of German birders had also arrived and lots of people were milling around outside, including right under the tree, waiting for it to appear. And no sooner had it started to call than three or four people started whistling back to imitate it, and the game was over! Not one of the four calling birds audible from the hotel came anywhere near us while the light was of us to even try and see a silhouette and sadly we had to admit defeat.

Day 12: It was still cloudy but dry as we woke on 9th May, but persistent rain came in over breakfast, so we stayed for another hour, with some watching from the blind incorporated into the back of the hotel, seeing a few of the common local birds despite the very wet conditions.

With a respite shortly before 10 a.m., we were able to load the luggage into the vans without getting wet, though even before we could pop down towards a series of wet meadows nearby, it was windy and raining again and so we passed and started our transfer.

A few birds were noted as we progressed, including the first of around 20 Red Kites during the day, plus the first of at least four Montagu’s Harriers on the journey, this being a completely melanistic bird off to one side, though it was a stunning, intensely colored and surprisingly low rainbow (plus double) that provoked me to stop for a few photos!

The Medieval city of Ávila, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was our next pause en route, allowing us to take in views of the extraordinary walls surrounding the old city, plus a short drinks and comfort break.

The variably wet and windy conditions continued as we headed east, but at least along the older road the scenery was better, with the marvelous Roman aqueduct of Segovia our next stop. A slight delay, due to me getting stuck in an underground car park given to ‘modernization’ of the payment process, meant that we left a little later than hoped, but at least the heavy rainstorm that had been looming had slipped past, leaving the group largely untouched! At least there are worse places where a guide could seemingly randomly abandon a group… :-D

Another cross-country road cutting through the verdant green plains of Northern Spain took us to the old town of Turégano, where the square, like Segovia, was packed with cars and visitors given it was market day. Here, after talking to a local restaurant, I came back out in heavy rain to park in the only slot possible, only to then have to wait for an intense downpour to stop, before we could head in for a very tasty lunch!

The Hoces del Duratón Natural Park with lovely hot sunshine in the bottom of the gorge under poplars was our next stop. White and Gray Wagtails along the small river, including the latter feeding recently fledged young, a song thrush sneaking onto its nest, a fly-catching Common Firecrest and brief Spotted Flycatcher in the riverine woodland were the most notable birds, though it was actually a little quieter than expected.

We continued up onto the limestone páramo, where sadly, the invading scrub perhaps meant it was much poorer than expected and only dapper Woodchat Shrikes were common. Indeed, it occurred to me that these predators may not help at all in predating the more open ground nesting species, such as larks, as these sites progress towards woodland. A large flock of Red-billed Choughs passing the track low in front required something of a chase though until we finally caught up with them, and finally gave excellent views as they wheeled up and around numerous times before finally disappearing low over the trees behind.

A last final look down into a spectacular poplar-lined gorge, with its vertical limestone cliffs was also relatively quiet, though a male Blue Rock Thrush was a good find, a few Griffon Vultures could be seen on their nesting ledges, and a few more Red-billed Choughs came past too.

Day 13: We started relatively early on 10th May in the Hoces del Duratón Natural Park, with a pre-breakfast trip to look for El Diablo! Arriving just after sunrise to beautiful cool, but bright conditions, we stepped out to watch over a patch of largely treeless páramo. And here, shortly afterwards, we were met by a good friend who had guided me to this spot and where we stood quietly, listened and watched and waited.

A fabulous black-throated male Western Black-eared Wheatear put in an early showing and reappeared regularly, as did a very flighty Rock Sparrow, though it finally stopped long enough on a rock for all to see well in the scopes. Larks galore sang and chased over the sparsely vegetated stony ground, including Thekla’s and Crested, Wood-, Eurasian Sky- and a few Greater Short-toed, with a regular backdrop of the frankly weird and ventriloquial Dupont’s Lark song, from at least 3 different birds! Two of these in particular counter-sang over and over again, but not once did either appear to make a song flight, which would have really helped to locate their song-posts, and given how powerful their song is, it was very hard to make out where they would be. That said, as it usually is! We patiently waited for about 90 minutes until suddenly, there on a small hummock of thyme, among hundreds of other small shrubs and exactly where we’d looked dozens of times before, sat a distant Dupont’s Lark, throwing back its head uttering that bizarre song. The ensuing scramble to get the scopes on it was expected, but although several of the group managed to get views, one participant even getting a fine profile view highlighting the long decurved bill, it suddenly dropped down and disappeared before everyone managed to see it clearly. And despite staying for another half hour, as the sun rose and the temperature started lifting too, the song activity rapidly dropped, and we eventually pulled ourselves away to start the drive back for a late breakfast.

A quick stop again along the way to look down over the gorge turned out to be an excellent move, with a lovely bluey-grey backed Stock Dove circled out from below us before turning and disappearing a few hundred meters off before perching on a wire. Of course, it left JUST as I lined-up the scope on it, but the flight views had been excellent!

Our late breakfast was followed by the start of our long drive up to Northern Spain for the final leg of the tour, but we commenced with a short detour to head down towards a nearby river. A dry scrubby and rocky valley en route allowed for excellent viewing under the overcast, mild and still conditions, however, so we stopped for a look. Plenty of quality birds were singing, including a Western Orphean Warbler which finally ended up in a little almond tree beside us, a typically inappropriately-named Melodious Warbler, a superb male Dartford Warbler below us, two singing Ortolan Buntings and, best of all, a smart male Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush at a site I haven’t seen it for years, peering out over the top of a small crag, its blueish head and orange chest just visible!

A Eurasian Nuthatch called briefly from the poplars down by the river, but the threat of the pouring rain that set in not long afterwards had fortunately sent us scurrying back to the van just in time and so we simply decided to start heading north, rather than waiting for it to stop.

A tasty lunch a little South of Burgos was a bit slow in coming, especially given the sheer numbers of people present and waiting queue for tables, but we didn’t need to hurry and continued on in good time, again via some interesting older roads rather than boring major ones, towards the Picos de Europa mountains. Heavy rain and gusty wind affected the drive for much of way but it was just clear enough at the Piedrasluengas Pass to get a brief view of some of the Picos massif ahead of us before the rain caught us up and we descended to reach our hotel and check in, fortunately in the dry and with time to settle in before dinner.

Day 14: The 11th May was the day for the high tops, with a still slightly uncertain weather forecast, but certainly better than the following day’s forecast of much more rain. We were the first to board the cable car, having booked tickets online the day before, rising swiftly up the 750m vertical ascent. There was a light chill breeze blowing in a couple of spots at the top, but it was certainly not as cold as feared and sometimes it was absolutely dead still under near-continuous cloud cover. Little snow was left, but there were lots of Southern Chamois feeding on the extensive green grassy areas between the limestone outcrops, somewhat the reverse of usual. Very few birds were to be seen or heard however, with just a couple of Northern Wheatears, half a dozen Black Redstarts, two Common Linnets bouncing past and a single European Goldfinch, rather a surprise up here, also heard as it passed by as we walked along the first stretch of the broad rocky trail. Red-billed Choughs appeared first, followed by their rather bolder Alpine cousins, a few of which then came down to make a close approach as they searched for free food hand-outs!

Patient waiting at a spot in the lee of the wind funneling through a small coll, plus judicious use of the thermal imager finally gave us good views of a lovely orange-flanked Alpine Accentor, quietly creeping through the grass below us, though a smart summer-plumaged Water Pipit had also given even closer views shortly beforehand.

A walk out along another good stone trail across a huge limestone scree slope under immense towering rock buttresses allowed us to enjoy the sheer beauty of the peaks here, even though only a few Alpine Accentors and the occasional Black Redstart could be heard calling or singing from somewhere in the vastness of the surroundings. Indeed, finally we, and a few other birders gave up the search and headed back, especially as lunch beckoned and there didn’t seem to be much movement at all, making it seem worthwhile staying longer.

A warming drinks break was taken at the upper station before we took the cable car and dropped quickly back down into the Fuente Dé cirque and valley, which was fortunately in the rain shadow of the mountains to the south. We even basked in the sunshine as we ate a hastily cobbled picnic lunch at tables outside a couple of closed bars in Espinama, a little down the valley, complete with a fly-over Eurasian Goshawk which had also come out to enjoy the sun (and dry off, presumably!).

Once finished, we popped back up to Fuente Dé to take a short walk in the lovely beech-dominated forest there, though despite a Eurasian Treecreeper singing once just after we entered, it was not heard again and after a short walk around, rain started and so we returned to the van as quickly as possible and just in time as a heavy shower beat down, prompting us to quit the area and look for better weather further down the valley, though we opted for a better option still, to take a break at the hotel, and if cleared later, go out again.

And so it was that with just a few drops falling, we risked it and headed out and up onto the slopes of the valley behind the hotel. Winding up through beautiful mixed deciduous woodland, we ended up at an area of ancient sweet chestnuts, one or two of which tragically destroyed in a fire last year, but the rest of which are protected as “thousand-year old” trees and had escaped the ravages of the flames.

A breeze was blowing at times and rain threatened, but we decided to persist and a good thing it was too! A couple of short calls indicated that a Yellowhammer or two were present, and after starting to climb up a short rise, not only did we come across a pair, which sat in bushes to give us great views, but a couple of Tree Pipits were also present and at least three Common Redstarts were in the surrounding as well! A Eurasian Wryneck suddenly called from a small nearby tree, but simply refused to appear, as did another on the other side of the road once we’d returned to the minibus later on. There were plenty of other birds to enjoy too, with a flock of playful Red-billed Choughs going past, an adult Egyptian and numerous Griffon Vultures cruising around, single Black Kite, Booted Eagle and Common Buzzard over the adjacent ridge, a good-sized flock of Alpine Swifts across from us feeding just out of the swirling clouds billowing out of the gorge further down the valley, a few European Robins under the chestnuts and also a Cirl Bunting in the scrub, among others to enjoy.

With rain finally starting and time running on, we headed back down towards the hotel, with a smart Eurasian Jay crossing low in front as we went, rounding off an excellent day.

Day 15: Most of us headed out early on 12th May in cool, overcast and still conditions, excellent for birding, of course! A male Common Redstart was putting on a show in the cherry trees laden with fruit across the little meadow beside the hotel before I even emerged through the front door, saving time on enjoying that one again! Cirl Buntings were very much in evidence, with a fine singing male looked at first in the scopes, though three chased low and hard across the field just behind us at one point, one male staying behind to defend his patch while another male appeared to aggressively chase a female back onto his territory. I’m almost glad I don’t speak cirlbuntingesque!

An Iberian Green Woodpecker called repeatedly from a stand of Douglas fir planted on a hillside nearby, but could we find it?! At least a bit further along a Common Grasshopper Warbler that I’d found while out for a pre-breakfast jaunt the day before was still on territory and singing, as hoped. It took a little while to find it in the scrub and then also get scopes on it, but after reeling about as loudly as it could, head and shoulders out of the vegetation and giving us lovely views, it suddenly and unexpectedly diving back into cover as I was about to photograph it. Hey ho, I have fun digiscoped evidence of the first time that we’ve ever recorded this bird on the tour!

The pressure was now on to try and see a few of those birds that would still fill gaps in the checklist, having not come across them before on the trip this year, even if seeing all is a tall order, of course! So, instead of again trying for one or two of them near to the hotel, I decided on heading off to a very pretty village on the hillside off one of the main valleys, where we’ve had regular success in the past. And this turned out to be the perfect move! First of all, a stunning male Eurasian Bullfinch feeding on a roadside verge jumped up to reveal its presence, but then drop down again to feed in the grasses and flowers shortly ahead of the vehicle, finally coming out for all to watch at pleasure, albeit from inside the vehicle. The next stroke of luck was while searching for woodpeckers in and around the village, despite it being extremely quiet to start with and for some time, making me wonder what was going on given no calls whatsoever, a fantastic male Iberian Green Woodpecker finally started calling repeatedly from back behind us and we watched it at length as it sat in the dead snag of an old oak a little up the hillside in full view. Great! Taking the second trail out from the village for a couple of hundred yards landed us another tick in the form of a stripey and spotty Eurasian Wryneck, which was probably breeding in trees right above us and sat watching us carefully from a little way off to one side. And while still watching this, a short drum sound of a Middle Spotted Woodpecker rose up from somewhere below, but after 10 to 15 minutes, finally flew up and landed in the bare top of a dead pine to survey the surroundings and let us watch it in the scope at length. Magic and three out of three!

Dropping back down from the village meant traversing a series of open pastures and meadows with old scattered trees where, finally, a mistle thrush flew erratically off downhill. Getting out to try and see it we finally relocated it on a small dead treetop off to one side and another of the “where have they got to this year?” birds fell to our gaze.

A drinks and comfort stop was called for in the little roadside village of La Vega, where hazy sun tried to break through, enough though the forecast was for rain to start again in earnest a little later in the day.

We took lunch at a picnic table up near the El Habario, though conditions had been threatening to deteriorate and indeed did so just as we finished, so we headed back down to the hotel for another break there. Once again though, it was still good enough to try again later on and so we headed back up, pausing en route this time to take a walk through the deciduous mixed forest along the (very quiet road. Song thrush and Common Chaffinches were singing loudly, while as after we rounded a corner onto a rather windier stretch, so a Eurasian Nuthatch could be heard calling briefly, which then dashed across the road and appeared to join a passing family flock of Long-tailed Ttits. It simply refused to appear for the group though and when about ten minutes suddenly reappeared in flight for just a second as it dashed back over the round and dead down into the forest, we knew it was not going to show and we headed back, hearing both calling Great Spotted and drumming Middle Spotted Woodpeckers as we went.

The higher we went the worse the weather progressively got, but we still stayed just outside and below the occasional clouds swirling across the mountainside above and the wait was certainly entertaining! A pair of smart adult Egyptian Vultures, a brief wheeling European Honey-buzzard, a close Eurasian Sparrowhawk dashing past, a couple of Black Kites and at least five Common Buzzards, in addition to numerous Ggriffon Vultures, kept us on our toes! A few Red-billed Choughs appeared, playing acrobatically in the wind, then were joined by a few more, and then more, until almost 70 of these lovely corvids were present. A Cirl Bunting sang from a hidden perch nearby, while a participant spotted a gorgeous male Red-backed Shrike on a fence just a short way below us, a male Common Redstart showed briefly, and Black Redstart and Common Stonechat once again appeared in the pastures.

OK, so our quarry did not appear, but it certainly wasn’t for want of searching, nor for a lack of birds, but with conditions starting to deteriorate and touch of cold creeping in, it was clearly time to call it a day and head back for a shower before heading back out to a nearby restaurant for our final dinner of the tour.

Day 16: The last day of the tour, 13th May, again dawned overcast, but a bit brighter and certainly calmer, though it seemed doubtful that the Piedrasluengas Pass would be cloud free by the time we’d wound our way up through the oak and beech forests on the first leg of our journey back to Madrid. That said, there was a small delay on leaving and with at least two different Iberian Green Woodpeckers and a couple of Mistle Thrushes crossing the road as we climbed, I took it relatively slowly in case anything else wanted to make a last-minute appearance!

It was chilly at the top, but just as we arrived, a few gaps started to appear in the cloud and after just five minutes or so, they lifted for good, leaving us with terrific views down over the forests below and over the adjacent pastures. A Coal Tit, Common Whitethroat and Yellowhammer could all be heard singing intermittently, though it was a short burst of song from a Marsh Ttit sat in a small bush just below our viewpoint that was most surprising and providing us with our very last new species of the tour! A pair of Yellowhammers sitting out on the closely cropped grass near the vehicle were a fine farewell from these mountains and despite looking hard as we descended through the meadows and woods to the south, no wild cats could unfortunately be seen, even though we tried hard!

A quick stop to appreciate the doorway and facade of one of the best examples of Romanesque church architecture in the area was appreciated, more so than a little detour we made after a male harrier, looking very like an immature Hen Harrier had crossed the road a little in front of us and disappeared between the serried ranks of a large solar farm, never to reappear, unfortunately!

We took the journey back at ease, going cross-country as far as we could before rejoining the motorway and with a couple of comfort stops, including one for lunch, reached Madrid mid-afternoon where I dropped parts of the group off at their respective hotels and the tour ended.

-John Muddeman

Back to Narratives

2025 Narrative

Despite shenanigans with flights from both Canada (given the “great Iberian blackout”) and the USA (via Newark and its chaos!) for three participants, we finally all did manage to convene in Malaga on the evening of the 3rd as planned and went out on foot for an introductory tapas-style meal at a local restaurant. Spotless Starlings and Monk Parakeets were both noted amongst a few birds in the process! 

We headed west the next morning down the coast and birded under a pall of cloud in the park at the base of the towering Rock of Gibraltar. But almost no rain fell (unlike overnight) and a few migrants included Garden Warblers, Common Whitethroat, and European Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, plus a few wheezy European Greenfinches and Pallid Swifts as a pleasant introduction to the birds of the region. The clifftop views nearby overlooking the Strait to Jbel Musa on the Moroccan side revealed that the cloud was going to be slow to clear, but having passed under two inbound Black Storks just before arriving and with an extremely close European Honey Buzzard and then a dashing Eurasian Sparrowhawk just afterwards, the potential was clear to see! The next couple of hours, including over our picnic lunch, were enjoyed scouring the skies to search for raptors encounters as they fought their way north across from Africa, with dark and light morph Booted Eagles, European Honey-Buzzards, Black Kites and Eurasian Sparrowhawks, plus two Black Storks and finally a couple of Egyptian Vultures to round off the spectacle. It was a great introduction, with the added bonus of a series of small flocks of Balearic Shearwaters carving their way out westwards towards the Atlantic, with a far more laid-back Cory’s Shearwater cruising behind, while on the rocks below a few adult European Shags were sporting their breeding plumage head tufts! A complete change of environment to round off the day saw us diving into the dense humid Cork Oak forest for a drink and relax, with European Robin and European Chaffinches gracing the scene, plus a colourful Great Tit and a massive-billed Hawfinch in the top of a nearby tree to round off the introduction to southern European birding! 

The 5th May was largely spent on the west side of The Strait, starting in a Tarifa car park, where the ONLY resident Common Bulbul in Europe resides, and showed for us along with some of the local Lesser Kestrels, while a special trip up a tiny winding road to a huge rock face came up trumps with Europe’s only resident Rüppell’s Vulture -a completely new species for the tour on its 15th anniversary-, once it flew in and landed on the cliffs amongst the numerous gigantic Eurasian Griffons, many tending their already quite large young. The growing Northern Bald Ibis colony at Barca de Vejer was highly entertaining at their nesting cliffs, with noisy Cetti’s and Western Olivaceous Warblers watched behind in the bushes a terrific bonus! Lunch on the edge of the Stone Pine forest was enlivened with our first Short-toed Treecreeper, a couple of Eurasian Hoopoes and a few very friendly European Chaffinches coming to snatch (or was it beg?) scraps. With a cooling onshore breeze helping reduce the heat haze a little, a decent mix of shorebirds in the coastal saltpans on our return included elegant and noisy Collared Pratincoles, some gorgeous diminutive Kentish Plover chicks with their dapper parents and hundreds and hundreds of hungry Dunlin, Curlew Sandpipers and Common Ringed Plovers feeding-up on the tidal mud in preparation for heading imminently to the Arctic to breed. 

Onwards again on the 6th May towards Doñana, where first, in almost dead still conditions on the edge of the Algeciras Bay, we enjoyed a female Common Eider which has seemingly has taken up residence (it being an extremely unusual bird here so far south), a solitary Eurasian Whimbrel was our first and the earliest-moving Eurasian Griffons of the day started to drift over. Waving lines of Glossy Ibis were passing overhead in their hundreds during our morning drinks and comfort stop near Jerez de la Frontera, while the nearby very full lagunas gave us fantastic views of the endangered White-headed Ducks and colourful Red-crested Pochards, plus a couple of Western Purple Swamphens, a fly-by Little Bittern, a tremendous colony of Eurasian Spoonbills adorning a huge tamarisk and shimmering pink Greater Flamingos were scattered throughout the adjacent salinas, stretching from one side to the other for as far as we the eye could see. 

Lunch on the beach allowed us to enjoy the comings and goings of breeding plumaged Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstones amongst the shoreline rocks, passing Sandwich and Little Terns and a smattering of other shorebirds such as Black-bellied Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Whimbrels. A melee of Little Swifts were waiting for us at Chipiona sea front before commencing the long loop around Doñana, including past Seville to our base for the next couple of days at the curiously time warped lagoon-side town of El Rocío on the very edge of the Doñana National Park. That said we arrived a fair bit later than planned as we ‘tripped over’ a fabulous assortment of waders and shorebirds in some seasonally flooded marshes en route, including dozens of orange-vested Curlew Sandpipers, two rufous-backed Little Stints, feisty Northern Lapwings driving just about everything away from their nests and even a pair of tiny Spectacled Warblers, rattling at us from amongst the flowing thistles. 

With so much water around this year it was perhaps no surprise that the very full El Rocío lagoon was relatively speaking extremely quiet the following morning, though a couple of Common Reed Warblers at least put in an appearance despite noisy building works going on just behind! A jaunt out into the olive orchards and vineyards nearby saw us quickly latch onto the first of two singing male Rufous-tailed Scrub-robins, with a Black-winged Kite perched on a wire, two fly-by European Bee-eaters and four fly-by European Turtle Doves making it a memorable stop! 

The vast Marismas del Odiel estuary was remarkably quiet it seemed to me, but with two Caspian Terns and over 50 Eurasian Oystercatchers in one flock just on our first little walk, plus an Osprey carrying a large fish off for lunch, a fine flock of Curlew Sandpipers and at least 50 Little Terns fishing at close range, perhaps it wasn’t so bad! Noisy parties of Iberian Magpies followed each other through the pines and a few swooped down to feed on picnic scraps, with two Woodlarks creeping along a track being a welcome surprise here. The dark legs and tricolored bill of a few Audouin’s Gulls loafing in a seaside harbour on the way back to El Rocío were also easily visible compared to those we’d seen before!

Dropping in to the National Park’s main visitor centre, El Acebuche, yielded a large gang of typically flighty but at least rather more approachable Iberian Magpies scouring the picnic area, our first proper European Red-rumped Swallows cruising low amongst the bushes and trees, a couple of juvenile Long-tailed Tits persistently clamoring for food from two adults and a rather discrete pair of Crested Tits to top it off. Another large family of Long-tailed Tits fed boldly nearby in the trees where a few Eurasian Tree Sparrows furtively moved around, both to the tune of an unseen reeling Savi’s Warbler. A quick drive through the woodland and heaths nearby to round off the day gave us lovely views of dapper Woodchat and Iberian Grey Shrikes along with a brief Dartford Warbler and a few distant Thekla’s Larks.

Heading out towards the main Doñana marshes on 8th meant taking on a few provisions from a store en route, though a ‘short cut’ ended up taking rather longer than planned given the still poor condition of the local tracks, but we noted the first Common Buzzard of the trip from the moving vehicle! A large reservoir on the edge of the extensive rice fields is a magnet for good birds, even if, once again, there weren’t that many present compared to normal. Plenty of colorful Red-crested and a few smart Common Pochard bobbed about, with a pair of Marbled Ducks flying past and then a pair of Garganey following suit! With a few White-headed Ducks and a single (albeit brief) Ferruginous Duck also noted, the waiting around, with the clouds of hundreds or even thousands of Red-veined Darter dragonflies and a decent number of butterflies, including a fine Common Swallowtail, surrounding us was well worth it! Indeed, several singing Western Olivaceous Warblers, calling Black-headed Weavers and even a stunning breeding-plumaged male Yellow-crowned Bishop all added variety to the show.

Heading deep down towards the National Park revealed plenty of Little Egrets and our first ochre-clad Squacco Heron of the trip, plus a fine Mediterranean Short-toed Lark which flew low over the track and dropped down to sing from the ground in a caked mud field below. Scores of Purple and Squacco Herons, Great, Western Cattle and Little Egrets and Glossy Ibis formed a melee over the flooded marshes here, which were liberally studded with more Greater Flamingos and crowned by dipping Gull-billed Terns and a few Black-headed Gulls. A fine colony of Lesser Kestrels and an adult Western Barn Owl peering out of its nest box jammed under a huge and active White Stork’s nest just added to the scene!

A huge mixed colony of waders was visible from our lunch spot, plus a single Purple Swamphen brutally yanking up reedmace fronds from deep underground before pinning them down and devouring the most tender parts. Four families of Eared Grebes, complete with their respective chicks of different sizes were noted from the track as we progressed, with a healthy flock of dapper Slender-billed Gulls finally putting in an appearance and even a Whiskered Tern bounced past just in front. Exposed mud ahead was the favored terrain for six Red Knot among Black-bellied Plovers, Common Redshanks and a single Common Greenshank, while a huge wheeling flock of Common Ringed Plovers in the distance once again showed just how abundant they are! The long drive back was greatly enlivened by a hordes of Striped Hawkmoth (Sphynx) caterpillars desperately rushing around the track looking for food and a superb Great Reed Warbler, which this time held its nerve, blasting out its harsh ditty from a nearby dead tamarisk.

North again on the 9th with a comfort stop preceding our picnic lunch at a wonderful viewpoint which overlooked a bend in a reservoir and with picnic tables to boot! The regular passage of raptors overhead included our first two Spanish Imperial Eagles, both juveniles from last year, in addition to whistling displaying Short-toed Snake-eagles as an Iberian Green Woodpecker ‘laughed’, unseen, in the background.  Continuing, the dam at Alange and the rock face behind immediately produced swooping Alpine Swifts and Eurasian Crag Martins, plus Eurasian Griffons soaring overhead, while a furtive female Black Wheatear quickly disappeared, unlike her jet back (and white!) partner, who eventually dropped most of the way down the outcrop towards us after having appeared way up on top, where Blue Rock Thrushes and Rock Buntings also sang. A Bonelli’s Eagle perched on a distant pylon was too far to count, unlike the Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Black Kite, Common Kingfisher adorning a spillway and even brief Little Bittern in flight in the overflow channel below us! Time had raced on, but five European Rollers graced the pseudosteppes thanks to some nest boxes put up for them, rounding off the birding day before the final leg to reach our hotel in Monfragüe, our base for the next two days.

A much more leisurely exit the following morning to Monfragüe National Park first took us up to the famous castle viewpoint, with the low cloud still clinging to the slopes and ridge after overnight rain slowly pulling away east as we approached. Here, Cinereous Vultures and Eurasian Griffons cruised by us at eye level and we were lucky enough to find no less than five rakish White-rumped Swifts scything overhead among the hirundines. A couple of very pregnant hind Red Deer skittered across a grassy clearing on a hillside. More close vulture encounters were had at Peñafalcón as well as three pairs of cliff-nesting Black Storks, plus the local pair of Peregrine and our now nearly daily Common Raven. Rock Buntings, Blue Rock Thrushes and Black Redstarts flicked around the rocky pinnacles as a Eurasian Wren, its cocked tail waving from side to side, blasted out its love song from an oak snag.

A comfort stop was soon followed by the stop to scan some distant trees where a large white Bonelli’s Eagle chick adorned a huge nest, with a pair of obliging Thekla’s Larks from the minibus, though singing Melodious and Dartford Warblers nearby, once we were out, refused to show well. There was still time before lunch for scrutiny of a huge rock face in front, with a soaring Egyptian Vulture and a strange trio of noisy displaying Black Storks stealing the show. Lunch overlooking the Tiétar river was somewhat hurried as a powerful storm cell blew in from the southwest, whipping up the wind and threatening to dump rain on us all, but fortunately slipped just past to the north and the sun came out again as the wind eased and we finished off our fruit desserts in peace… The far northern end of the park lay under broken cloud, with most opting to walk the final stretch to a fine viewpoint where numerous Eurasian Griffons attended their nests in front, complete with chicks of varying ages and states of plumage. A very dapper pair of Red-legged Partridges sped over the river to feed low on the opposite slopes, allowing us excellent scope views, while we were very grateful for a small well-positioned blind as another storm cloud bore down on us and this time dumped heavy driving rain on the surroundings for several minutes.  This was just what was needed though, as a huge female Eurasian Eagle-Owl and its owlet came out into the emerging sun to dry off and a fine adult Bonelli’s Eagle circled overhead!!

Small songbirds and windy conditions are not a great mix, but finding a sheltered bluff on our return we decanted to immediately find that a garbled song emanating from the Western holm Oaks belonged to a colorful male Western Subalpine Warbler, complete with white ‘mustache’, as he moved nervously from tree to bush and back again. The finale involved returning to the remarkable Peñafalcón viewpoint for a short visit to simply enjoy more of the melee of Eurasian Griffon and Cinereous Vultures, the Black Storks, Black Redstarts... 

The 11th was our one early start as we wanted to be out on the steppes near Trujillo just after dawn.  It was surprisingly cold for the time of year, dipping to around 4°C on the journey, especially when we descended into the little valleys of the Almonte and Tozo rivers, where thick mist had filled them to the brim, snaking their respective ways across the peneplain. A couple of hours followed with nothing but the sound of dozens of singing Corn Buntings, Calandra and Crested Larks, with a pair of blipping Common Quail and the occasional ‘prooping’ calls of European Bee-eater thrown into the mix.  Clearly, heavy rain the day before had left the swathes of deep grass and flowers still soaked, so five huge male Great Bustards stood still on the horizon, waiting for it to dry. We had to work hard to find our quarry, including shooing a number of cattle off our track, but in the only rough ploughed field in the entire area, the rounded shapes of sandgrouse could be seen shuffling about. A single Black-bellied in flight headed past close in the glorious early morning light, its bubbling calls resounding across the plain, though it was only when an immature male Montagu’s Harrier took to the wing and passed over the field that the terrific numbers of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse and a few Black-bellied could seen as they wheeled around several times before dropping back out of sight again. Three Eurasian Thick-knees in the same plough clearly considered themselves too large for the harrier and didn’t flinch!  To round off, a fine pair of adult Spanish Imperial Eagles set about sparring with a pair of Common Ravens, with the huge female shortly afterwards watched as she devoured a freshly caught Iberian Hare.

After coffee we took a good long stop in a steep-sided valley, where a local Common Kingfisher or perhaps two dashed past below us a few times, finally being seen by all, a roost of Common Ravens dispersed into the crystal clear skies where Eurasian Griffons and Cinereous Vultures criss-crossed in an attempt to confuse our efforts to watch passing Booted and Short-toed Snake- Eagles, a total of 7 European Honey Buzzards that were circling up on migration and highest and most difficult of all, an acrobatic Eurasian Hobby insect-catching at enormous height. A Red Fox cub which had been watching us at the start slunk silently back into its den, clearly overwhelmed by our continued presence!

The vast plains refused to yield one of their main denizens, but a decent walk out in the cooling breeze was a treat, with a decent stand of Long-lipped Tongue Orchids, a striking day-flying Royal Burnet moth and a sunbathing Hummingbird Hawkmoth noted in addition to our first Spanish Brown Argus butterflies, while a couple of Spanish Psammodromus lizards out basking on the tracks were a treat for a couple of us.

Dinner was finished with a flurry and as early as possible, culminating with a delicious cherry rice pudding, enabling us to nip down the road shortly after sunset. We were still chatting with quite a bit of light when a loudly “tok-tokking” Red-necked Nightjar male, sat on the ground just 25 m away, brought us back to the job in hand! And it must have sat there for c. 20 minutes, occasionally sallying up to hawk moths and other insects before finally drifting off to feed over the woods, bidding its farewell from high in tree with more song as we left...

Northwards again the next day towards the Gredos mountains but not until after a little back-tracking to a seemingly random spot in the middle of the vast swathes of grass in the agristeppes… Frustratingly, a herd of cows and calves had occupied THE spot, but after a few minutes wait, a dry ‘call’ was heard emanating from the grass and the game was on! However, it was quite a while before a superb male Little Bustard popped out from cover and stood head-on, it’s gleaming white front contrasting with the fine black neck lines and brown back. Given that it slipped quickly back into cover, only showing sporadically thereafter and requiring plenty of time to get everyone onto it, added just more importance to this, once common, but now rare, sighting! Arrocampo Reservoir was a little quieter than normal, despite a cooling breeze, but a superb male Little Bittern bursting out from cover to fly 30 yards and crash back meant we all finally had great views of this sometimes tricky species, while the colorful Purple Herons put on a show, Savi’s Warblers reeled and Purple Swamphens grunted, growled and squealed from cover. A stunning white-eyed Ferruginous Duck on a small pool nearby was more than recompense for having to take a slightly later lunch! 

Just before arriving at our characterful hotel (the Hostal Almanzor) in Navarredonda de Gredos, a quick stop in a nearby car park brought us rapidly to terms with the change in bird fauna here in the pine forests, especially with a point blank male Firecrest showing well for a couple of minutes low down. Here’s a bird to vie with almost any other for beauty! A lovely male Coal Tit singing among tree catkins was our first, though lots more were calling around. With just enough time for a short drive out into the nearby valley, new birds vied for attention on the fences and in the pastures, with colorful Iberian Yellow Wagtails, stripey-headed Rock Sparrows, red-fronted Eurasian Linnets and dapper Northern Wheatears all quickly enjoyed. The first silky-bellied Western Bonelli’s Warbler slipped silently through a broom bush just in front for a few of us, while a smart male Gray Wagtail adorned the rocks beside a cascading waterfall.

We awoke on 13th to thick, cold mist, but as no-one had gone out especially early, nothing was missed!! It started to clear as we left after breakfast, with the intricate pattern of strands of riverine poplars, stone-walled fields and small blocks of pine plantations forming a constantly changing mosaic at every turn we took among the rolling broom-dominated hillsides.  The sun broke out and we stepped out into very pleasant conditions to contemplate our first Red-backed Shrike male, freshly arrived back from Africa and complete with highwayman’s mask, followed almost immediately by a loudly fluting golden-yellow and black male Eurasian Golden Oriole, unable to hide in a tall oak where the leaf buds had hardly started to burst. There was song all around from Melodious Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Cuckoo, Great Tit, European Serin and others and in just 20 minutes or so we’d recorded over 30 species… The birdlife changed even further as we headed up higher towards Puerto de Peña Negra and we found the first of numerous Eurasian Skylarks, Rock Buntings and Dunnocks, though the very chilly conditions (and even cloud blowing past through for a while) meant we had to work a little for a singing Bluethroat, plus our first melancholic sounding Ortolan Bunting.

Lunch was taken near the hotel, over which a cloud of Eurasian Griffons could be seen kettling, with a huge female Peregrine cruising past also a pleasant surprise.  Despite threats of rain, with the weather still holding out, we climbed up the winding road to the Plataforma de Gredos for some more alpine birding. An impressive group of male Iberian Ibex fed unconcernedly just off the road, while our first close Ortolan Bunting did the same just off a mountain path after a short walk.  It was generally quiet though, perhaps given the chill breeze descending down the valley, but after persisting, a cooperative White-throated Dipper boldly held its high ground atop a rock in the middle of the gushing river and a pretty Water Pipit, still molting into breeding plumage, kept us entertained as it fed secretively along the edge of the rushing waters almost right below us.

A timely afternoon drink was taken in the Parador, with the forecast rain finally appearing for a while, but as soon as it stopped we took a short walk in the woods, pulling out a distant female Cirl Bunting, but best of all, a gorgeous pair of Citril Finches feeding quietly on the ground below as a colorful Great Spotted Woodpecker hacked at a Scot’s Pine for supper. Another patch of mature pines not far from the hotel provided our last stop for the day, where a gorgeous hyperactive Goldcrest showed brilliantly in a small pine before heading high up into the crowns of its parents to shout at its neighbours. 

A pre-breakfast sortie for the more energetic saw us winding our way back up towards the still snow-clad peaks of the Gredos, with a near full moon setting behind them requiring a photo stop. And the random roadside spot elected wasn’t too bad with a gorgeous male Red-backed Shrike atop a thorn bush in front thrown in for free!  Yesterday’s large herd of Spanish Ibex were now cavorting all over the road in the morning sun, which was especially welcome given an unseasonal minimum of 3°C, with a couple of pastel-shade Ortolan Buntings adorning roadside rocks. Our main quarry ahead required something of a wait in rather chilly conditions here, being as we were still in the shade of the adjacent mountain, though it finally sang from way up on some rocks where the blue-grey head and orange underparts of a male Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush almost glowing in the sun could be readily appreciated in the ’scope. 

Our onward journey took us to a convenient viewpoint to enjoy the impressive walled city of Ávila, a World heritage Site and then, once we’d been left open-mouthed at the (extremely slow!) passing of the individual blades of a monster wind turbine being transported along the motorway and followed by another tasty tapas lunch at a roadside bar, we headed into the depths of Segovia to enjoy the iconic and genuinely stunning Roman aqueduct… 

The journey was timed to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening on the San Frutos track traversing the rocky páramo habitat, though a couple of Eurasian Wrynecks yelling at one another along riverine woodland beforehand held us up, especially as they finally refused to show!  Even when we reached the track, the near dead still conditions and threat of heavy rain the following day meant that we changed our plans anyway and with just one target bird now remaining at this traditional site, we switched location and two colleagues came in their 4x4s to take us out onto the rocky expanses of the páramo to try for “El diablo”, a local name for the remarkable and often highly elusive Dupont’s Lark…  It was getting chillier, with menacing black cloud and intense rain forming a huge arc around us, but after the first of several glorious male Western Black-eared Wheatears as we crept up and down a track, the first snatches of the remarkable ventriloquial song could be heard and after considerable searching, the first of two birds was seen and as the light began to dim, so up to four could finally be heard around us, one of them giving terrific views as it sang from a trackside rock. Magic! The first drops of rain fell as we reached the hotel, dropped off our bags and headed straight back down for dinner.

It was still raining on 15th as we woke and continued through breakfast, only stopping just before we loaded the van. Perfect! Peering down into the depths of a nearby gorge produced a stunning male Eurasian Golden Oriole glowing like a beacon on the top of a brilliantly green-leafed poplar, while a much dowdier dove flying across was a subtly plumaged Stock Dove. Conveniently, this landed on a cliff ledge below us for us to enjoy in the scope, with a Rock Sparrow coming in to eye it up at close range briefly, too! Three passing Red-billed Choughs then decided to drop down and perch on the roadside wall in front for great views until they carried on about their business! 

Back on the páramo, the terribly monotonous song of a Tawny Pipit could be heard as it flew up and away from us, but this was outclassed by a flighty cock-tailed Dartford Warbler and also a dapper male Western Orphean Warbler posed atop a nearby juniper bush, his white eye peering intently at us. A few drops of rain were again falling, but undeterred we returned to those pesky Eurasian Wrynecks, and after a few minutes of trying to track the birds down, one finally flew across into view and perched high in a poplar where we could enjoy its cryptic plumage in the scope. 

Our final push up the country to reach the Picos de Europa then commenced and after successfully navigating two torrential downpours on the motorway (unlike some others who had suffered multi-vehicle accidents we passed as we progressed), and stopping for lunch on the way, at least an Iberian Green Woodpecker which rose up from the verge and bounded off over a nearby field added another new bird to the tally.  We looked for White-throated Dippers again, but they eluded us, though a small colony of Bank Swallows which nest in the open joints of an ancient bridge were remarkable to see and clumps of the parasitic Purple Toothwort emerging from the poplar roots along the riverbank a fine sight. Finally, two De Prunner’s Ringlets and a couple of fine orchids at a small opening in the Pyrenean oak forest were both greatly enjoyed. We were greeted at our hotel in Tama by the tunes of singing males of both Common and Black Redstarts. 

The weather was finally changing very much for the better, and though we awoke to find a thick pall of cloud overhead and along the valley, by 9 a.m. as we left breakfast, so it was brightening.  Indeed, by the time we’d driven up to a very attractive little village on a valleyside, open patches meant sunny spells and a fine day lay ahead. A short walk almost immediately brought us a new bird in the form of a lovely Yellowhammer stuttering out its “Little bit of bread and no cheese!”, while up to three sky-dancing Woodlarks sang overhead and a colorful pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers moved back and forth from some large poplars, as a whole host of birds sang around us. A pair of Cirl Buntings also appeared, though the male on seeing us, simply fled, though not so a delightful pair of Eurasian Blue Tits which were nesting in a dead tree almost beside us!

The village visit involved avoiding one rather tetchy dog, but two others were very gentle and required not being slobbered to death by them!  More singing, quiver-tailed Common Redstarts were present along with several Spotted Flycatchers undertaking aerial acrobatics as they sallied after insects and also one very persistently singing Eurasian Wryneck, which finally came out to perch in the dead branches of a small apple tree for all to enjoy in the sun. A flash of color and movement led to Myrna spotting a woodpecker on an ash trunk close by, but no sooner had we turned to see it than it bounded silently off and past us, its pink undertail coverts giving its identity away - Middle Spotted Woodpecker! This was the main goal for the morning, so upon its return, we carefully tracked it down, discovering to our delight that it was feeding young in a cavity on the trunk, its mate also coming in occasionally to feed the chicks too. Fantastic! 

A celebratory comfort stop (!) was taken at another typical village down in the valley before we proceeded on to the San Glorio Pass and a nearby viewpoint, including watching the most remarkable huge ‘fly’ on the highest tip of a large beech tree. It turns out to be a rather rarely seen giant sawfly, possibly even the first record for the Picos! Unusually, it was actually so still and sunny at the pass that no birds were around it virtually at all, so despite the chill air we simply basked in the sun for a few minutes and lapped up the magnificent views of the still snow-capped peaks both to the east and north of us, including where we were to head the following day.

Another tasty picnic lunch was taken at a roadside picnic site lower down in the warm sun, with its lovely views over the valley, its steep slopes clad in the verdant greens of the still growing beech, oak and pine forest leaves and needles, plus the foraging antics of a few local Common Buzzards keeping us pleasantly entertained and even one or two butterflies beginning to appear. Our watches too may have marked 1430h, but the large sundial showed that we were indeed two hours ‘out’ (thanks to “daylight savings time” plus an extra hour Franco added to Spanish time some 70-odd years ago) and it was effectively actually 1230h. After a very leisurely lunch we headed back towards the civilisation of the valley below, with a short break taken for a couple of the group to wash clothes in a nearby laundrette and three of us headed out again into the depths of the forests cloaking the mountainsides just a few clicks from the hotel. A wonderfully singing Song Thrush lived up to its common and scientific names, despite flatly refusing to show in the depths of the Pyrenean Oaks just above the road, but thankfully we were all more than happy to spot the unmistakable sleek silhouette of an adult Bearded Vulture soaring way overhead with two clunky-looking Eurasian Griffons. YES! Further amazement ensued when just a few minutes later, a low vulture cruising across overhead being mobbed by a Common Buzzard was a young Cinereous, a still very uncommon bird here in the Picos! The warming sun had enticed out a few skippers, blue and fritillary butterflies along the roadside verges, especially to Robert’s delight and though they were still only a shadow of the normal numbers present at this time of year, were extremely welcome! Our walk concluded, we continued on to the end of the road to a simple viewpoint overlooking the top end of the Desfiladero de la Hermida, where to our amazement and delight a very darkly stained apparently adult Bearded Vulture cruised towards and then down and past parallel to us before disappearing into the gorge…!!! A short stop in a woodlot of ancient Sweet Chestnuts had to be made on our return just to contemplate their twisted and gnarled trunks, but we barely even tried birding, having more than completed our ‘quota’ for the day!

We again woke on 17th May to find our part of the valley under cloud, but it was even brighter than yesterday, signaling that it was going to be a fine weather day. A slightly earlier breakfast and exit was followed by the 30 minute or so drive up the main valley to the Fuente Dé cable car station, the ever-higher peaks unfolding before our eyes at every turn, especially impressive in the beautiful early morning sunlight, including with their tracings of snow on the highest areas of karst.

A fine Song Thrush was belting out his love song from the top of a nearby pine adjacent to the car park, finally giving us a visible individual, while the 15-minute wait in the queue to take our cable car up was also enlivened with a close range Goldcrest and a furtive Eurasian Nuthatch in the pines beside us. Naturally, the just 4-minute ascension, gaining 750 m in the process, has to be experienced to be believed, but was particularly special on this occasion as a stunning White-winged Snowfinch in display flight swung round and past the cabin at eye level just before we reached the upper station! 

And our whole visit for the next few hours was memorable for the epic views across the glaciated landscape, the towering rock faces (including one that looks like a giant Mandrill) and hardy alpine flora hugging the ground and cracks in the limestone. It was slightly warmer up here than down in the valley bottom, while small numbers of calling and singing White-winged Snowfinches and Alpine Accentors accompanied us sporadically throughout, some heard from hundreds of metres away given the near dead still conditions, the glittering snowflake-like flight of the displaying snowfinches providing a beautiful spectacle. Numerous Black Redstarts in the rockier areas were mostly grey birds here, while the few (male) Northern Wheatears were the again striking pale mountain birds typical of Spain, as we’d seen the Gredos. Few raptors were moving, but a magnificent soaring juvenile Bearded Vulture appeared above the highest nearby peaks and we watched in awe as it majestically and effortlessly cruised away, finally being lost from view behind the next mountain peak. The fourth of our five targets here, the local Yellow-billed Choughs only really appeared once we’d finished our walk, back at the upper cable car station, but then gave point blank views as they even fed out my hand on crumbs of dried nuts (unsalted of course!). 

A comfort break and relaxing restorative drink after the walk were made in the upper station, but this was broken when I heard a Wallcreeper calling twice while outside… Once we all assembled outside, despite waiting patiently, it could not be heard again and we finally decided to take the equally impressive journey back down, scanning the cliffs in hope from the cabin, despite this moving all too fast! 

Picnic at tables in the warm sun with stunning vistas up and into the Fuente Dé cirque was correspondingly late, but a superb finale. Indeed, the whole process was greatly extended when I decided to scan a small area of shaded cliffs within the main arch of the cirque, only to immediately spot a Wallcreeper wing-flicking on a cliff face, though it almost immediately dropped and out of view… Arghhh! A rush to set the scope up for everyone was the start of a long wait which ensued. Thankfully, the conditions meant that the air was remarkably free of heat haze, so when it briefly appeared again, perhaps an hour later, we had a chance...  But it simply disappeared in seconds again, this time sadly for good, leaving us with that tantalising knowledge that they ARE out there this year (despite not a single recent record before our visit), even if only at very inaccessible sites (it was almost exactly 1 km away horizontally when mapped, plus the 500 or more metres above us…!). 

We returned with plenty of time to pack before our final meal in the Posada de El Corcal, plus final bird list where we just exceeded the 230 species mark, a truly excellent number given the relatively cold and late spring. 

A 7 a.m. breakfast meant that we were away in good time to commence the long, but fascinating road back to Madrid on the 18th in glorious weather again. Even that last journey was eventful with stunning views from the top of the Piedrasluengas Pass back across the whole of the cloud free eastern massif of the Picos de Europa and fields dusted with Wild Daffodils as we started back down, while we also passed several fine examples of the famous Romanesque architecture en route plus the stretch through the Ribera del Duero wine area were just further reminders of just how varied Spain is, for both wildlife and culture.  Two of the crew were dropped off directly back at Madrid airport, perfectly on time for their long flight back to the USA, with the remainder at their respective airport hotels, after a wonderfully successful trip taking in as much of this diverse country as possible in just two weeks. 

The tremendous variety of locations, habitats, experiences and birds was strongly reflected in the “bird/moment of the trip” round-up, but perhaps naturally with a trip this length, it’s the more recent experiences which remain fresher in the mind… Indeed, it was only Middle Spotted Woodpecker that got two votes, even if it was a runner-up for others. Down in the Strait, the singing Common Nightingale captured one vote along with the fine Rüppell’s Vulture nearby, with another for the smart Iberian Magpie flocks at various sites in Andalucía and Extremadura, while another abiding memory was the huge numbers of Corn Buntings in the south, even if the collective sightings of European Bee-eaters made a rather more colorful impression! The impressive Spanish imperial Eagles in Extremadura were next. The exquisite Firecrest and elegant Red Kites in the Gredos each snared votes, where the Spanish Ibex were another participant’s top moment. The páramo habitats scored with dapper Western Black-eared Wheatears and the enigmatic Dupont’s Lark experience, with the lovely Iberian Hare rightly edging into the list as well, even if outshone by the male Eurasian Golden Orioles in the Gredos and Duratón Gorge. And last, but certainly not least, were the awesome Bearded Vultures and flashy White-winged Snowfinches of the Picos.

-          John Muddeman

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