Spain: Extremadura and Coto Doñana

This tour will not run in 2012
with Santiago Villa and James Lidster as leaders.

Cost:£1590 plus about £200 for flights (2011)
Single room supplement: £270

Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown

Maximum group size: 7 with 1 leader; 14 with 2 leaders.

Bird List

Booking Form

'It was a brilliant tour of a beautiful country which has some of the best birding in Europe.  Birds of prey were incredible.  Thanks to both leaders.' J. Gould 2007.

'This was a well planned and well run tour.  The leaders were excellent, being both very knowledgeable about birds and pleasant to be with.  A most enjoyable trip.'

R. Banks 2006.  

A fantastic holiday!  Both James & Santi led the tour superbly with a sense of humour and a great knowledge of the birds and birding sites.'

D. Owen 2006.

There is no other Mediterranean country that offers such a wealth of birdwatching as Spain.  This short tour is designed to take in some of the very best birdwatching this country can provide, and at a relaxed pace, allowing time to really appreciate both the countryside and its birds. 

We'll begin in Extremadura, home to the highest concentration of raptors in Europe, before exploring the fragile wilderness of the famous Coto Doñana to look for its equally famous birds.  From old cork oak woodland, where Black-shouldered Kites hover overhead, to vast open plains where Great Bustards still gather and mighty Spanish Imperial Eagles drift past, this little gem of a tour is packed with great birds.

There will be time for shady picnics, delicious local meals, all washed down with good Spanish wine, and plenty of opportunities to sample the unique Spanish way of life.

Day 1:  Our tour begins with a flight to Madrid from where we’ll make our way west towards Extremadura. As soon as we leave the airport we’ll start to encounter some typical roadside birds including White Storks, Cattle Egrets, Spotless Starlings and Thekla Larks.  After reaching our hotel, and if time allows, we’ll see what birds we can find close by. In particular there is an area of farmland that may hold Great Bustards, Black-shouldered Kite, and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, while the songs of Nightingales and Corn Buntings should be filling the afternoon air. Night near Trujillo.

Days 2-3:  We’ll split our time between Monfrague and the steppe-like plains around Trujillo. Top of any birding trip to Extremadura are visits to Monfrague National Park, home to such sought-after species as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black Vulture, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Black Stork and Black Wheatear, while the wealth of many other typical species make this a great place to just wander around birdwatching. As the morning warms up we can watch as lazy groups of Eurasian Griffon Vultures take to the wing, or maybe see a Peregrine stooping at the local pigeons. Raptors are a speciality here with Golden, Booted, Bonelli’s and Short-toed Snake Eagles all possible, as well as Egyptian Vulture and both Red and Black Kites.

The low cistus scrub and wooded lake sides are home to Serins, Western Orphean, Sardinian, Subalpine and Cetti’s Warblers, while Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart and both Rock and Cirl Buntings sing from more prominent perches. Rocky outcrops are also favoured by Alpine Swifts, Crag Martins and Red-rumped Swallows, all of which we should see at some stage.

On our day driving through the rolling steppe farmland we’ll seek out both Great and Little Bustards, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, and Roller, while Common Quail, Calandra Larks and Corn Buntings will surround us with song. The grasslands here support large numbers of Montagu’s Harriers and both Southern Grey and Woodchat Shrikes are likely.

Scattered oak woodland is home to Great Spotted and Common Cuckoos, Azure-winged (Iberian) Magpies, Eurasian Hoopoes, Woodlarks and maybe an elusive Eurasian Wryneck or Hawfinch, while open areas hold Little Owl, Stone Curlews, Red-legged Partridge, Tawny Pipit and Rock Sparrows. Nights near Trujillo.

Day 4:  After breakfast we’ll stop briefly in Trujillo to make sure we have had good views of Lesser Kestrel and Pallid Swift, not to mention noisy, bill clattering White Storks. From there we’ll continue our journey southwards towards the famous Coto Doñana.  Our hotel in the Doñana National Park lies alongside the wonderful El Rocio lagoon where Greater Flamingos, Glossy Ibis and Eurasian Spoonbill can all be seen, while Collared Pratincoles, Black-winged Stilts, Whiskered Terns, Purple Swamphens and Great Reed Warblers are also likely. Night in El Rocio.

Day 5: We’ll leave early and journey to the centre of the national park, where the songs of Savi’s and Great Reed Warblers compete with the noisy but much less musical heron and egret colony! Here we can see Glossy Ibis, Purple, Black-crowned Night and Squacco Herons at close quarters, as well as Greater Flamingos, Red-crested Pochard, Black-necked Grebe, Cattle Egrets and maybe a Little Bittern.

In some years there may be a Great Egret, Red-knobbed Coot, White-headed Duck or Slender-billed Gull in this area with Marbled Duck also possible, although these have become scarce in recent years. Western Olivaceous Warbler is another possibility here, although Melodious Warbler is more likely.  The drier areas we pass may hold Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Stone-curlews, European Bee-eaters, Eurasian Turtle Doves, Spanish Sparrows and both Lesser and Greater Short-toed Larks.

Raptors will once again feature (there aren’t many days when they do not!) and the open vista provides the perfect opportunity to scan for Booted and Short-toed Snake Eagles, Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers, Red and Black Kites and, if we are really lucky, another Spanish Imperial Eagle or Black-shouldered Kite. Night in El Rocio.

Day 6:  We’ll check a few of the areas close to El Rocio where mixed woodland should have Golden Oriole, Iberian Chiffchaff, Western Bonelli’s and Melodious Warblers, Firecrest, Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper and possibly the endemic race of Green Woodpecker, which is a potential split as Sharpe’s Green Woodpecker.  Moving on to an area of small lagoons more herons, ducks and maybe even Penduline Tits will grab our attention before a change of habitat to the salt pans near Huelva. On migration these small pools may be visited by Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Kentish Plover, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint while nearby is the breeding site of the first Spanish mainland Osprey pair in recent times. A coastal breakwater here is a good site for Audouin’s Gull and migrants in previous years have included Rock Thrush, and Ortolan Bunting.

Day 7: After a last look at the lagoon or the nearby woodlands we will transfer to Seville airport in time for our return flight to the UK.

E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.

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Last updated April 2010.

A Woodchat Shrike keeps watch from a prominent perch - a common site in much of Spain.

The jangling song of Serin can be heard everywhere

while Black Redstarts are frequently found around buildings.

A White Stork on its rooftop nest.


A Squacco Heron posing for the camera at El Rocio.


The dry plains of central Spain are home to Short-toed Larks.

Whereas we travel to the cork oak woodlands of Monfrague to see Azure-winged Magpie.

Photos taken by David Fisher and James Lidster.