06 May 2025 - 20 May 2025 (15 days)
EUR5,195 - No Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Yeray Seminario
Tour price (Per person): EUR5,195 * USD5,404 * GBP4,312 * AUD8,671
Single Supplement: EUR640 * USD666 * GBP531 * AUD1,068
05 May 2026 - 19 May 2026 (15 days)
EUR5,495 - 3 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Yeray Seminario
Tour price (Per person): EUR5,495 * USD5,716 * GBP4,561 * AUD9,172
Single Supplement: EUR660 * USD687 * GBP548 * AUD1,102
Spain has long been a very popular birdwatching destination, offering a wide range of Mediterranean habitats along with safe, easy and excellent birding. Many sites are in beautifully scenic settings, featuring Romanesque architecture and ancient, fortified hilltop villages; whilst much of interior Spain that we visit is very rural and way off the tourist trail. Our comprehensive itinerary is specially designed for a great diversity of birds and concentrates on three major and distinct habitats: the semi-arid steppes and cork-oak dehesas (a type of wooded pastureland) of the central and northern interior, the scenic Sierras and high, alpine Pyrenees to the north in Catalonia, and the wetlands and marshes of Doñana National Park on the Atlantic coast. During spring, the area’s many resident and breeding birds are joined by migrants en route from Africa to their northern nesting areas, and some of the fabulous species we hope to see include Spanish Imperial Eagle (up to 23 raptor species are possible!), Great and Little Bustards, Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Spectacled Warbler, Alpine Accentor, both species of noisy chough, White-throated Dipper and the fabulous Wallcreeper. Our journey begins in the southern city of Seville, travels through the steppes and heartland of Spain with stops in the Sierra de Gredos before reaching the mighty Pyrenees, and then continues east to the historic city of Barcelona. We travel in spacious and comfortable vehicles, the food is delicious and plentiful; while our accommodations are mostly family-run establishments in pleasant and beautifully renovated ancient stone farmhouses, nestled in quiet and charming villages.
Great & Little Bustards, Wallcreeper, Red-necked & Common Nightjars, Iberian Magpie, Western Swamphen, Ferruginous Duck (rare), Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Red & Black Kites, Short-toed Snake, Booted, Golden, Bonelli's & Spanish Imperial Eagles, Cinereous, Egyptian, Bearded & Griffon Vultures, European Honey Buzzard, Eurasian Crag Martin, Dupont’s, Calandra, Thekla’s, Crested & Greater Short-toed Larks, Pin-tailed & Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Iberian Grey Shrike, Eurasian Stone-curlew, Spanish Sparrow, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-rumped Swallow, Yellow-legged Gull, Ortolan Bunting, Iberian Green, Black, Middle Spotted & White-backed (rare) Woodpeckers, Citril Finch, White-throated Dipper, European Crested Tit, European Pied Flycatcher, Bluethroat, Water Pipit, Red-legged Partridge, Woodchat Shrike, Red-billed & Alpine Chough, Iberian Chiffchaff, Alpine Accentor, White-winged Snowfinch, Western Capercaillie (rare), Rock Ptarmigan (rare), Boreal (Tengmalm’s) Owl (rare), Black Wheatear, Eurasian Bittern, Bearded Reedling, Eurasian Penduline Tit, Little Bittern, Water Rail, Melodious, Dartford, Sardinian, Western Bonelli’s, Spectacled, Subalpine & Western Orphean Warblers, Scopoli’s & Balearic Shearwaters
Red Fox, Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Iberian Hare, European Rabbit, Wild Boar, Iberian Lynx (very rare), Spanish Ibex,
coastal wetlands, cork-oak dehesas, deciduous woodlands, olive groves, mountain crags, grasslands
temperate, mainly mild
12 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local leader
moderate
comfortable guest houses & hotels
moderate
230 - 250
Grand Canyon of Castilla y Leon, ancient historical buildings & sites, great scenery, excellent food & wine
good to very good
Wonderful tour. The guides – Dusan and Yeray – were both fantastic; their bird expertise, patience and senses of humour very much appreciated. The local guides were top notch as well. The accommodation and food were excellent. The scenery, spring wildflowers, stone villages, etc. all made the trip extraordinary.
Our guides were wonderful. Yeray was excellent on the extension, and we continued to ride in his van for the main tour. His knowledge of Spain, and the birds was amazing. He took so much care of his group and really was concerned about every detail. Dusan is such an enthusiastic bird guide, so excited about birds and getting everyone on the birds. His knowledge of the birds in Spain was fantastic.
Rob Williams was a fantastic guide -- "Everything's under control!" He is absolutely superb at bird identification. Rob has a great sense of humor, and a wonderful relationship with the innkeepers and vendors along our way. Yeray Seminario, our guide on the Gibraltar Extension, is a treasure! He is soft-spoken, easy-going, approachable, and incredibly knowledgeable about birds. I was delighted to learn that he is an eBird moderator for Spain. He directed us to several great restaurants in the Tarifa area. Alberto Bueno is a sweetheart! He is so classically Spanish and so passionate about the birds. Except for myself (!), I think he was the most enthusiastic about EVERY bird we saw. He is a delightful guide -- compassionate, generous and fun. He and Rob made an unbeatable team and got along seamlessly. We saw well over 250 species of birds, enjoyed fantastic scenery, food and wine! It was a very good trip, and my thanks go to Rob, Yeray and Alberto for all their hard work.
Overall, it was an excellent tour. The itinerary was very well thought out giving a really good coverage of the main sites with great accommodation. I can see a lot of detailed planning went into it, including making use of very good local guides. Both Dusan and Yeray were both very good at identifying the birds, making sure people got on them and great company. The minibus chatter was both lively and entertaining at times! They were conscious of who needed to see certain species or when better views where needed. It was a rewarding and fun tour! Dusan was great at doing the checklist: he spelt out the names of the sites we had been to and went through the list at a sensible pace.
Everything was very good. We certainly tried for everything. Great that we had the time to look at reptiles, frogs, etc. I certainly got almost all my major targets.
Spain - Best of Birding 2024 - May 2024
Europe: Budget Highlights of Spain 2023 - May 2023
Spain - Best of Birding 2023 - May 2023
Spain - Best of Birding: Strait of Gibraltar Extension 2023 - May 2023
Spain - Birds, Wine & Iberian Lynx 2022 - November 2022
Spain - Best of Birding 2022 - May 2022
Spain - Best of Birding: Strait of Gibraltar Extension 2022 - April 2022
Spain - Best of Birding 2019 - April 2019
Spain - Best of Birding 2018 - May 2018
Spain - Best of Birding I 2017 - April 2017
Spain - Best of Birding I 2016 - April 2016
Spain - Best of Birding 2015 - April 2015
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