Extremadura

• Jerez de los Caballeros (Dehesa Woodlands)

  Satellite View
  Southern Extremadura, where villages climb up the hills, and impressive castles nestle on the peaks. Birdwatchers sitting here can explore the horizon with their binoculars, all you can see around are Dehesas. The Dehesa woodland is an open Oak tree forest where traditional human activities are still going on. It is so extensive that you would think that our old continent has no forestry problems at all! Miles and miles of Dehesas supporting extremely rich bird communities: Black Storks have their largest populations, a high density of forest raptors, Hawks and Kites all abound. Abandoned & collapsed houses are shelter for European Rollers, Hoopoes, Thrushes and Wheatears. And if you close your eyes and just listen, you will discover the flying calls of European Bee-eaters and the non-stop song of Red-necked Nightjars.

• La Serena Steppes

  Some of the most breathtaking landscapes in Extremadura are the huge grassy plains and wide open steppes. These lands, apparently dead during the hot Iberian summer, sustain the most important breeding populations of Little and Great Bustards in Europe, the unforgettable silhouette of Montagu`s Harriers, Lesser Kestrels and hundreds of Collared Pranticoles, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse.

• Monfragüe Natural Park

  InformationSatellite View
  What Doñana is to Andalusia, Monfragüe is to Extremadura...

• Vegas Altas of the Guadiana River

  The third most extensive rice fields in Spain can be found here. A highly cultivated area, mixed with extenses open Oak woodlands or Dehesas, and huge reservoirs including Orellana

• Villuercas Ranges

  Not far from Monfrag

• Jorge Garzón

  Andalucía - Extremadura - Portugal - Marruecos | nature@investnatura.org

• A Birdwatching Guide to Extremadura

  | By John Muddeman | Arlequin Press | 2000 | Paperback | 120 pages, 14 colour plates, line illustrations, maps | ISBN: 9781900159319 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• A Vulture Landscape, 12 months in Extremadura

  | By Ian Parsons | Whittles Publishing | 2020 | Paperback | 133 Pages | 60 Colour Photographs | Colour Illustrations | ISBN: 9781849954570 | £17.99p | ISBN: 9781849954570 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• A Years Birding in Extremadura

  | (What to See and When to See It) | By Ian Parsons | Ian Parsons | 2015 | Paperback | 1130 pages, b/w photos, b/w maps | ISBN: 9781514391037 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Crossbill Guide: Extremadura, Spain

  | By Dirk Hilbers | KNNV Uitgeverij | 2013 | Edition 2 | Paperback | 224 pages, colour photos, colour illustrations | ISBN: 9789491648021 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Finding Birds in Extremadura

  | By Dave Gosney | Easybirder | 2013 | DVD | Region 2 | Runtime 86 Minutes | ISBN: 9781907316432 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Finding Birds in Extremadura

  | By Dave Gosney | Easybirder | 2013 | Paperback | 31 Pages | Black & White Maps | ISBN: 9781907316425 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Where to Watch Birds in Southern & Western Spain

  | (Andalucía, Extremadura & Gibraltar) | by Ernest FJ Garcia & Andrew M Paterson | Christopher Helm | 2019 | Edition 4 | Paperback | 416 pages, b/w illustrations, b/w maps | ISBN: 9781472951847 Buy this book from NHBS.com

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  Birding in Extremadura

  Android

  
  
  From the Directorate General of Tourism, in a new commitment to improve the offer of Club Birding in Extremadura, we have developed this app to facilitate your visit to our region

• Extremadura Birdwatching Fair (FIO)

  Website
  The Extremadura Birdwatching Fair (FIO) will celebrate their 14th anniversary in 2019. Don’t miss this meeting point for professionals and nature enthusiasts in Monfragüe National Park from February 22th to 24th. The past twelve years of this event have put Extremadura on the European map of birdwatching and it has become the largest fair of its kind in southern Europe.

• ADENEX -Association for the Defence of the Nature and the Resources of Extremadura

  Website
  Amongst ADENEX`s best known campaigns, we should mention: campaign in defence of Extremaduran holm-oak woods; campaign against Valdecaballeros`s nuclear plant; establishment of a vulture`s feeding places network; campaign against Great Bustard hunting; campaign in defence of birds of prey; campaign for the rescue of the Montagu`s Harrier young; campaign in defence of White and Black Storks; campaign for the conservation of the Crane`s wintering habitats in Extremadura; campaign in defence of the Jerte Valley; campaign for the adaptation and re-arrangement of high-tension lines in Extremadura; campaign in defence of the International Tajo river; campaign for the rescue of Roman Forum of M

• Birding in Extremadura

  Website
  Birding in Extremadura is a birding tourism portal...

Abbreviations Key

• La Naturaleza de Extremadura

  Facebook PageSatellite View
  Extremadura has an especially rich and diverse natural heritage

• NP Cornalvo Natural Park

  InformationSatellite View
  Interesting at any time of year, but spring is the best time to watch the birds associated with forests and dehesa. The reservoir has a greater diversity of species in winter and at the end of summer…

• NP Monfrague

  InformationSatellite View
  El Parque Natural de Monfragüe, referencia obligada del bosque y matorral mediterráneo, se encuentra en la provincia de Cáceres, en el centro del triángulo formado por Navalmoral de la Mata, Plasencia y Trujillo…

• NP Parque Natural de Monfragüe

  InformationSatellite View
  Monfragüe is roughly in the centre of the province of Cáceres, at the confluence of the rivers Tajo and Tiétar. It is at present the only National Park in Extremadura, with 18,118 ha under this protection…

• Audouin Birding Tours

  Tour Operator

• Aviantours

  Tour Operator
  Aviantours promises to teach the art of bird photography & digiscoping as well as offering birdwatching tours in Spain, Morocco & Gibraltar

• Boletus - Josele J. Saiz

  Tour Operator
  Better known for his wonderful birder's guesthouse in the Pyrenees [Boletas]; Josele guides throughout Spain and Morocco

• Extremadura Birding

  Tour Operator
  Visit with people who really know the area

• Gone Birding

  Tour Operator
  This six day tour will be based close to Trujillo, centrally located to the plains, and close to Monfrague National Park. Accommodation will be in a converted farm, with bed, breakfast and evening meal supplied

• Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays

  Tour Operator
  If you are looking for a quality natural history holiday, this is a great place to start. The Honeyguide programme offers a mix of the very best of wildlife in fascinating parts of Europe..

• Iberian Wildlife Tours

  Tour Operator
  The combination of such diverse geography and habitats in the Extremadura region make it one of the best in Europe for wildlife, especially birds

• Julian Sykes Wildlife Holidays

  Facebook Page
  Extremadura is world famous amongst naturalists and birdwatchers with its incredible diversity, sheer numbers of raptor and steppe species, needs nointroduction

• Spain Birds

  Tour Operator
  SPAINBIRDS is a small company which efforts are appointed to organize ornithology tours over all spanish geography. Its expert leader, Santiago Villa, has a deep knowledge about iberian birds. Natural Parks as Do

• 2014 [02 February] - Steve Round

  Report
  …We then moved on to the lagoons at La Albuera. Two hides overlook the main lagoon which is home to waterfowl. Amongst the more common birds here such as Pochard and Gadwall, of interest were Egyptian Goose, Red-crested Pochard and Black-necked Grebe. A pair of White Storks had taken up residence on top of a tower hide nearby, with more in the trees beyond. A Singing, Southern Grey Shrike was seen in a nearby tree and both Hen and Marsh Harrier were spotted here….

• 2014 [03 March] - Chris Durdin

  PDF Report
  The Finca’s garden was alive with birds before breakfast, even though group members mostly weren’t out for long, given that dawn comes late here. Cuckoos and hoopoes called, azure-winged magpies moved through and hawfinches perched on tree tops. A one-minute diversion before breakfast was all it took to look at last year’s red-rumped swallows’ nest…

• 2015 [01 January] - Simon Colenutt

  Report
  ...The first stop produced a field rammed with Spotless Starling, Corn Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Sky Lark and Crested Lark and as we drove it became apparent that these fields supported a large number of birds.

• 2015 [02 February] - Chris Durdin

  PDF Report
  ...as first light was breaking. We enjoyed a superb ‘Extremadura moment’: a female lesser spotted woodpecker was drumming on a dead branch when a hawfinch landed close by, then a hoopoe landed, crest raised at first, in the same tree.

• 2015 [05 May] - Neil Gartshore - Coto Donana & Extremadura

  PDF Report

• 2016 [01 January] - Oriole Birding

  PDF Report
  Once past Monroy, with its nesting White Storks and clutch of wintering House Martins, we turned towards Torrejon el Rubio and stopped by the roadside below a stand of Stone Pines. Here more bill-clapping White Storks were seen, and a short session scanning the skies produced a fine subadult Golden Eagle.

• 2016 [04 April] - Oriole Birding

  PDF Report
  A great haul of birds already and we hadn’t even reached our main birding stop! This would be at the small reserve centre near Saucedilla, and soon we were enjoying some great wetland birds here. Zitting Cisticola, Corn Bunting and Common Stonechat were common around the small reed-fringed pools and Purple Herons gave some super views – several adult birds were flying around and a couple were seen well perched up in the reeds. Purple Swamp-Hens showed very well, with at least half a dozen seen, including a pair feeding on reed shoots in a small pool by the side of the path.

• 2016 [04 April] - Pau Lucio

  PDF Report
  This year I have been invited by the Valencian Government to the Extremadura birdfair (FIO 2016) to promote wildlife tourism in my region “Valencia and Alicante”. Once the fair finished on Sunday 13th, I drove to Madrid to pick up Beatrice, Tom, Matthew and Susan from Barajas’ airport.

• 2016 [05 May] - Neil Gartshore - Coto Donana & Extremadura

  PDF Report

• 2016 [09 September] - Chris Durdin

  PDF Report
  here were several dragonfly species, including broad scarlet and epaulet skimmer, but most exciting was a superb juvenile golden eagle which glided at quite low altitude upstream. We completed the day at the small Cabezuelas Lake, near Aldea del Obispo, where we managed to get excellent views of a violet dropwing dragonfly, a superb specimen.

• 2017 [03 March] – Chris Durdin

  PDF Report
  Within minutes a boldly marked Spanish imperial eagle flew out from behind the cliffs, disappeared, re-appeared briefly and then again for an extended stay in the sky across the water then towards us. Altogether magnificent views of one eagle species, which remarkably was matched by equally good views of a short-toed eagle hanging in the air then coming to land.

• 2017 [04 April] - Pat & Judy Hayes

  Report
  Having spent far too much time over the winter attempting to put a trip to several different African countries together we eventually gave up and decided to bumble around southern Spain in early spring...

• 2018 [03 March] - Andy Hannaford

  PDF Report
  First stop was the hide off the road to Santa Marta (39.4771, -6.19334). The bitter wind made observations difficult as it was driving straight into the hide. However got a brief glimpse of two Black-Bellied Sandgrouse before they disappearing leaving just Crested Lark, Corn Bunting and Calandra Lark to help pass the time.

• 2018 [03 March] - SamBosenquet

  PDF Report
  There was no sign of Black Wheatear at the gorge, but 4 Chough and some wild-looking Rock Dove were there, and there were plenty more Choughs at the sierra

• 2018 [05 May] - Michael Zieger

  PDF Report
  ...And then we were witnesses how a Common Kestrel grabbed a Spotless Starling...

• 2019 [04 April] - Pay & Judy Hayes

  PDF Report
  Having spent more time in airports and in the air than we care to remember last year, this year we opted for a short haul flight so we decided to return to southern central Spain.

• 2019 [04 April] - Stefan Schlick - Extremadura and Sierra de Gredos

  PDF Report
  My first trip to Extremadura proved to be a full success and was a lot of fun on top of it. I cashed in on the season and got almost all target birds of the area. Most are easy to find, if you take your time. Of course the weather has to cooperate.

• 2023 [04 April] - Kathie Claydon

  PDF Report
  ...The steppes in particular excelled with 12 Great Bustards showing on the first visit to the Cáceras-Trujillo plains and 7 when we returned a few days later. To the north of Ávila we had a truly exceptional day: a fantastic total of 27 Great Bustards (18 in one area, 9 in another) which left us stunned. There was a supporting cast of Little Bustards, Montgue’s and Hen Harriers, both species of Sandgrouse, Rollers, Lesser Kestrels and lark song filling the air. Sightings of Spanish Imperials Eagles, nesting Black Storks and Eagle Owl in Monfragüe were impressive and dehesas were full of Azure-winged Magpies and Hoopoes. Vultures were above us most of the time and we could usually find two or three Cinereous Vultures amongst the many Griffons. Varied habitats in the Gredos mountains gave us sightings of Golden Eagle, Choughs, Western Bonelli’s Warblers, Ortolan Bunting, breeding Bluethroats and much more. We would certainly have missed a lot of this without Steve’s expertise! Although butterflies were not out in numbers, the long-term drought conditions no doubt affecting them in various ways, we had a very nice total of 42 species...

• Casa Rural El Recuerdo

  Accommodation
  Run by birders, for birders…

• Casa Rural Las Canteras - Trujillo

  Accommodation
  Casa Rural La Canteras is an old manor house, dating back to the late 19th Century. It is located 12 km by road from Trujillo, within a Special Protection Area for Birds, a paradise for birdwatchers. Its privileged situation makes it an ideal place to explore Extremadura

• El Elanio Rural House

  Accommodation
  Rural House El Elanio is an accommodation place located in the hearth of Extremadura, so you can visit from here all the places more important of the region. Our house is located to 20 minutes from Trujillo, 35 minutes from Guadalupe, 40 minutes from Merida and 45 minutes from Caceres.

• El Tenado

  Accommodation
  Casa Rural con encanto en Extremadura Para disfrutar de la naturaleza y los placeres rurales

• Finca Al Manzil

  Accommodation
  Finca Al-manzil is 22 hectare finca on the S.W. slope of the Sierra de Montanchez. One approaches the finca along a winding lane, part of the ancient system of communication that link even the most remote parts of the sierra

• Finca Las Abubilla - Self catering chalets

  Accommodation
  Renting a holiday-home via the Internet is not that difficult, but finding a comfortable and cosy one is much more difficult. We offer four one-bedroom and one two-bedroom holiday-homes. Your stay on our “Finca Las Abubillas” will be a very pleasant one, for sure!

• Vaquería CantaElGallo

  Accommodation
  The Vaqueria CantaElGallo offers a natural retreat. Spend a few days here enjoying the many outdoor activities or simple relaxing and you will discover the pleasure of being surrounded by the peace and tranquility of nature

• Vina las Torres

  Accommodation
  You could not wish for a better base for exploring Extremadura - Vina las Torres is a comfortable, family run, rural hotel situated in the heart of the Lagares Mountains, in the province of Caceres, Extremadura, just 10 km. outside Trujillo - what an unexpected and delightful surprise. It is a stately home, which has been carefully restored to provide a warm and comfortable environment

• Birds of Extramadura

  Website
  The combination of such diverse geography and habitats in the Extremadura region make it one of the best in Europe for wildlife, especially birds

• Extremadura Birds

  Information
  Extremadura is very popular with bird lovers all over Europe, for it has a very divers population of interesting species of birds. All the year round one can enjoy particular species of birds that are difficult to be found anywhere else in Europe

• Extremadura Birds

  Website
  Extremadura is very popular with bird lovers all over Europe, for it has a very divers population of interesting species of birds. All the year round one can enjoy particular species of birds that are difficult to be found anywhere else in Europe

• Artist - Lluis Sogorb

  Gallery
  Artistic BLOG