Spain in spring
Extremadura, Sierra de Gredos and Andalucia. All the birds of south Spain + Iberian Lynx



10 - 19 May 2024



Spain in springtime is a region and time with a lot of good bird watching on offer. From the steppes of Extremadura with Bustards, Rollers and Sandgrouse, through sierras with Cinereous Vultures and Spanish Imperial Eagles, down to the wetlands of Doñana and the south of Andalucia with it’s local specialities. We aim to see most of the good birds here on this ten day safari starting in Madrid, finishing in Malaga. A particularly good tour if you have no previous experience of birding this part of Europe.

Madrid - Sierra de Guadarrama - Sierra de Gredos
We land in Madrid and head up to Sierra de Guadarrama to focus on seeing Citril Finch in a mountain pass. There are also good Raptors around this area and we might see our first Cinereous Vultures and Spanish Imperial Eagles. We´ll stay the night near Sierra de Gredos and do morning birding here the following morning with more chances on Citril Finch, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush and Ortolan Bunting.

A visit to the mountainous Monfragüe National Park will give us close encounters with Griffon-, Cinereous- and Egyptian Vultures and maybe breeding Black Stork. Here we offer an optional morning session in a raptor hide with chance on Cinereous-, Griffon- and Egyptian Vultures, Black- and Red Kites, Ravens, Golden- and Imperial Eagle, etc. White Stork is a common breeding bird here and the large nests often hosts a little colony of Spanish Sparrows as well. Blue Rock Thrush is common among the rocks and Alpine Swifts fly above. Here we also look for Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Rock Sparrow and White-rumped Swift. Out on the steppes of Extremadura we look for Great Bustards, Little Bustards, Eurasian Thick-knee, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark, Short-toed Lark, European Roller. The semi-open habitat known as Dehesa, holds breeding Great-spotted Cuckoo, Black-shouldred Kite and Hoopoe.

Doñana National park in Andalucia is situated straight south of Extremadura. We will stay in the picturesque little Wild west-town El Rocio with the wetlands of Rio Guadalquivir - Las Marismas - just around the corner. Here Iberian Magpie - formerly considered a subspecies of Azure-winged Magpie - is one of the target species. In the lagoons and wetlands we will see Eurasian Little Bittern, Purple Heron, Scuacco Heron, Night Heron, Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Collared Paratincole, Whiskered tern, Gull-billed Tern, Black-winged Stilt, Purple Swamphen, but also smaller birds like Moustached Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Western Olivaceous Warbler, Golden Oriole, European Bee-eater, etc. In the adjacent steppe-like areas we look for Lesser Short-toed Lark, Pintailed Soundgrouse, Dartford Warbler and more. Birds of Prey are steadily soaring above and Spanish Imperial Eagle is breeding here with several pairs and among all Black Kites, we shall single out Booted Eagles and Short-toed Snake Eagles and maybe even some Bonelli´s Eagle. Some of the evenings we head out to to listen and look for displaying Red-necked Nightjar and Scops Owl. European Barn Owl also breeds here. We also do our best to spot notoriously hard to see Iberian Lynx who have a stronghold in the Doñana area.

What we haven´t managed to see in Doñana we will get more chances on as we move on to the east side of the Rio Guadalquivir. Here we will search more lagoons and wetlands for Marbled Teal, Ferruginous Duck, White-headed Duck, Crested Coot, Eurasian Little Bittern, Slender-billed Gull, as well as the colourful immigrants Yellow-crowned Bishop and Black-headed Weaver. We also pay a visit to Europe’s only colony of Little Swift and give a try for the skulking Rufous Bush-chat.

Finally we wind down in the beautiful Serrania de Ronda and Grazalema with great scenery and birds like Bonelli´s Eagle, Black Wheatear, Iberian Grey Shrike, Bonelli´s Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Crag Martin, Rock Sparrow, Red-billed Chough, Golden Oriole, Iberian Chiffchaff, Iberian Green Woodpecker, etc. We stay in a cosy and comfortable rural hotel close to nature.

During this trip we will also see a lot of the more common species like Cattle- and Snowy Egrets, Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Stonechat, Crested Lark, Woodchat Shrike, Cirl Bunting, Serin, Little Owl, Nightingale, Melodious Warbler, Turtle Dove, etc.
It’s a tour rich of species and especially recommendable if you haven’t experienced bird watching in the western Mediterranean before.





The journey is a collaboration between BirdSafarisweden and Karlmark Travel. (Karlmark Travels holds the travel warranty insurance that covers this trip)


When: 10 - 19 May 2024

Price: 32.355 SEK per person in doubleroom (excl. flight ticket)
Single room supplement: 4.000 SEK

Optional photo-hide session: 100 Euro per person

Number of participants: 4 - 8 persons


What's included:
Full board in double room at rural hotels, restaurant and natural surroundings, all rooms have en-suite facilities. English-speaking tour leader, local guide all the time, all transports, all possible entrances to nature reserves and parks except the whale safari -see below.


Not included:
Flight ticket to Madrid, back from Malaga. We are happy to book the ticket for you to get the best price and so we all land at the same time. Transfer to the airport, insurance, Participants are required to have a travel-insurance covering accidents and illnesses. Alcohol, souvenirs and other personal expenses, gratuities to tour leader, local guide / driver (we usually collect money for tips at the end of the trip if we are satisfied). Lunch or coffee or other drinks on cafés or restaurants on the transfer days.


Other: This is a "mixed group" trip where Swedish- and English-speaking travelers are welcome.


Application fee: Once you have registered you will receive an invoice of 3,500 SEK. The payment of that bill guarantees you a place on the trip.