Kingdom of Spain

• Top Sites

  Most Spanish regions offer some wonderful birding locations whether it be the Albufera of Mallorca or Cota Donana in Andalucia. See the individual regional pages for the best places to go birding.

• SpainBirding

  | spainbir@suport.org

• Marcial Yuste Blasco

  | myb@provicom.com

• Number of bird species: 613

  (As at April 2020)

  National Bird: Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus

• Number of endemics: 7

  Bolle's Pigeon Columba bollii,
  Laurel Pigeon Columba junoniae,
  Canary Islands Chiffchaff Phylloscopus canariensis,
  Balearic Warbler Sylvia balearica,
  Fuerteventura Stonechat Saxicola dacotiae,
  Tenerife Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea,
  Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch Fringilla polatzeki,
  

  There is one 'breeding endemic', it breeds exclusively in Spain but ranges widely outside of breeding season: Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus

• Birds of Spain

  | By Eduardo de Juana & Juan M Varela Simó | Lynx Edicions | 2017 | Hardback | 257 pages, ~1000 colour illustrations, 300+ colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9788416728022 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Spain

  | By James Lowen & Carlos Bocos Gonzalez | Bloomsbury Publishing | 2019 | Paperback | 144 pages, 250 colour photos | ISBN: 9781472949271 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• The Birds of the Iberian Peninsula

  | by Eduardo de Juana & Ernest Garcia | Bloomsbury | 2015 | Hardback| 688 Pages | 32 plates with 64 colour photos | 216 b/w illustrations | b/w distribution map See Fatbirder Review ISBN: 9781408124802 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Where the Birds are in Northeast Spain

  | By Steve West | Steve West | 2004 | Paperback | 269 pages, Colour photos, colour illustrations, maps | ISBN: 9788460915997 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Where to Watch Birds in Northern & Eastern Spain

  | By Ernest FJ Garcia & Michael Rebane | Bloomsbury Publishing | 2017 | Edition 3 | Paperback | 384 pages, 30 b/w illustrations, 125 b/w maps | ISBN: 9781472936752 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Where to Watch Birds in Southern & Western Spain

  | By Ernest FJ Garcia & Andrew ‘Andy’ M Paterson| Christopher Helm | 2008 | Edition 3 | Paperback | 400 pages, b/w illustrations, maps | ISBN: 9780713683158 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Where to Watch Birds in Spain

  | By José Antonio Montero | Lynx Edicions | 2006 | Paperback | 341 pages, colour photos, maps | ISBN: 9788496553040 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Wild Spain: A Traveller's Guide

  | by Frederic V Grunfeld | Sheldrake Press | Jul 1999 | Edition: 3 | Paperback | 225 pages, Colour photos, maps | ISBN: 9781873329320 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Museo National de Cienias Naturales CSIC

  Bird List, Atlas etc

• Grupo de anillamiento Pit-roig

  Website
  Grupo ornitol

• Proyecto AVIS

  Website
  Sistema de registro y consulta de citas de aves en Pen

• Sociedad Espa

  Website
  Melquiades Biencinto 34, E-28053 Madrid. + 34 91 4340910 seo@seo.org

• Txepetxa

  Website
  Association for the Scientific Bird Ringing

Abbreviations Key

• National Parks

  WebsiteSatellite View
  A total of 1,226 square kms. of the 500,000 that make up Spain have been set aside as National Parks

• National Parks

  WebsiteSatellite View
  Brief pieces on many of the parks

• Wetlands

  WebsiteSatellite View
  Spain currently has 75 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 304,564 hectares.

• Birdwatch-Spain

  Mailing List
  An English language list about bird watching in Spain. Fledgling birders to rabid twitchers - all welcome. If your bird is in Spain this is your list.

• Rare Birds in Spain

  Rare Bird News
  Rare birds in Spain is the personal homepage of Ricard Gutiérrez. It provides updated information on the most recent bird sightings in Spain thanks to sightings from collaborators.

• Territorio Natural

  Mailing List
  Ornitología,Medio Ambiente y Naturaleza en general – Spanish Bird Forum…

• Aviantours

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

• Axarquia Birding Tours - Guided Bird Walks

  Website
  Guided Bird Walks in the Axarquia area of Málaga and immediate surrounds. Bob Wright, based in the stunningly beautiful mountains above Lake Vinuela, is able to provide accompanied Bird Walks/Tours in the area to the east of Malaga and to other great neighbouring sites for a wide variety of bird species.

• Barcelona Birding Point

  Tour Operator
  Barcelona Birding Point is your gateway to birding and nature in South Europe. This project was created in 2010 as a means of promoting birding tourism as well as the protection and enjoyment of birds and their environments…

• Birding Ecotours

  Tour Operator
  Spain has long been an extremely popular destination for birders, offering as it does a wide range of typical Mediterranean habitats, along with easy, safe, and excellent birding. Many sites are in beautifully scenic settings, featuring Romanesque architecture and ancient, fortified hilltop villages. Much of interior Spain is very rural and way off the tourist trail. This is the finest region to sample a large array of southern European species and is especially good for raptors, with 23 species possible.

• Birding Trekking & Nature

  Tour Operator
  Our team it’s formed by experts in outdoor and mountain activities, which feel a special attraction, love and knowledge of the natural environment…

• Birding in Spain

  Tour Operator
  In Birding in Spain you'll find all kinds of information about birds, both common and rare, and plenty of reasons for birding in northeast Spain. Also featured are Books by Steve West who has birded this region extensively since 1988. Consider, if you like, the possibility of contracting him as a guide or ground agent for a birding tour, or simply follow his advice and study the carefully selected itineraries to enjoy some of the best birding experiences that the region has to offer

• Boletas Birdwatching - Birding in North East Spain

  Tour Operator
  BOLETAS (Egyptian Vulture in the local language) was formed in 1994, a stroke of luck enables us to live our long-awaited dream; install ourselves in the peaceful rural village of Loporzano, in the midst of one of the best birding areas in the Iberian Peninsula dedicating ourselves exclusively to our interest in birds

• Iberian Wildlife Tours

  Tour Operator
  We are all British, freelance, natural history tour leaders who have been living in our respective regions of Spain for many years. Our experience of leading wildlife holidays in Spain and Portugal dates from 1989, both with established wildlife tour companies and a tailor-made basis for independent groups

• Natura Indomita

  Tour Operator
  Guided Birding & Natural History Tours in Central & Southern Spain. A great variety of habitats in a very short distance: Mediterranean Forest, the best Wetlands inland Spain, the unique Volcanic Lagoons found in Western Europe and the best Steppes in all the Iberian Peninsula. All of them teeming with an impressive and rich wildlife. Tours in the land of the Iberian Lynx, the Spanish Imperial Eagle, the White-Headed Duck and the Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse…

• Oriole Birding

  Tour Operator
  A UK-based company specialising in bird watching tours of Norfolk and Wales, and a wide range of other UK destinations, a comprehensive programme of tours worldwide. Neil Donaghy and Ashley Saunders have over nineteen years experience between them, running their own companies Celtic Bird Tours and Oriole Adventures, before merging the two to create this new venture which offers complete bird tour packages. Value for money, genuinely small groups and great birds.

• Rockjumper Birding Tours

  Tour Operator
  Spain has long been an extremely popular birding tours destination, offering a wide range of Mediterranean habitats along with safe, easy and excellent birdwatching.

• 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

• Walks in Spain

  Tour Operator

• Wingspan Bird Tours

  Tour Operator
  WINGSPAN BIRD TOURS offer a range of exciting bird-watching holidays and Bird Tours throughout Spain, Morocco, Lesvos and Portugal. Our Bird-watching breaks range from day trips in Andalucia to 10 days in Morocco. We cater for beginners and accomplished birders alike, we offer good value, good company and great birding

• 2014 [11 November] - Mike Neale

  PDF Report
  ...Other species seenincluded Black-bellied Sandgrouse, and large flocks of larks and finches. The area was very good forbirds of prey with more Griffon Vultures, many Marsh and Hen Harriers, Merlins and Kestrals.Attempts to find DuPont’s Lark were not successful....

• 2015 [05 May] - Chris Benesh & Godfried Schreur - La Mancha, Coto Donana & Extremadura

  Report
  ...From there we headed north toward Extremadura, with stops along the way for Cercotrichas galactotes (known by various common names, e.g., Rufous Bush Robin, Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin), and a productive visit to Alange, where we picked up Black Wheatear and Bonelli's Eagle among others. We spent the late afternoon exploring the hilltop city of Trujillo. The next day we were out on the pseudo-steppe west of town tracking down sandgrouse and bustards, along with some harriers.

• 2015 [05 May] - David Erterius

  PDF Report
  ...Continuing our drive, we enjoyed great scope views of our first European Bee-eaters, and two European Turtle Doves showed well on a ploughed field by the road. A family group of Southern Grey Shrikes, feeding their newly fledged young, were thoroughly enjoyed, and a little later we found ourselves searching an area for the localized Black-winged Kite.

• 2015 [06 June] - Stijn Raymaekers & Carlo Vanderydt - Mallorca – Spain – Corsica

  PDF Report
  Mostly an annotated list.

• 2015 [06 June] - ZARAGOZA STEPPE, SPANISH PYRENEES & PICOS DE EUROPA

  PDF Report
  ...So we walked slowly to the now famous rock-face where a pair of Wallcreepers havebred for the last umpteen years. Along the way we heard both Green and Black Woodpecker and we sawMistle Thrush, Coal Tit, Red-billed Chough, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures.

• 2016 [03 March] - Oriole Birding

  PDF Report
  A Fieldfare and a couple of Greenfinches were not what we expected to find at 1700m elevation, but thankfully the bird we had come here to see was also in residence – Snow Finch!

• 2016 [05 May] - Mark Beevers & Alberto Bueno

  PDF Report
  ...Our first scheduled stop was at Navahonda Hermitage where after quite a bit of searching weeventually found a Hawfinch, which was our target here. We also secured great looks at a Nightingale,a species which we were to hear singing frequently during the tour. Eurasian Nuthatches wereparticularly common here, giving great views, whilst further Mediterranean species included RedrumpedSwallow and European Serin....

• 2016 [10 October] - Mark Graham - Bay of Biscay

  Report
  ...the last of the Cory's Shearwater and several were seen in diminishing numbers. The last of the Sooty Shearwater were seen around lunchtime by which time a serious number of Gannets appeared - in their hundreds and mainly adults, further south most had been juveniles. It had been a great voyage for seeing Sooty Shearwater. It wasn't a bad day for Great Skuas, all close to the boat....

• 2016 [11 November] - Mike Neale - Pyrenees etc

  PDF Report
  Illustrated list

• 2017 [04 April] - NE Spain

  PDF Report
  ...A Sardinian Warbler drew our attention, as well as several Greenfinches, SpotlessStarlings and Serins. From there we drove higher up into the Serra de Rodes, basically the but one lastpart of the Pyrenees, before Cap Creus. This road is numbered GI-P-6041. There is a monastery (St. Perede Rodes) there, with two turnoffs, where we were exposed to the wind again. But it gave us MistleThrush and Rock Bunting, all observations were short, as if the birds were blown into the bushes. Wemay have missed Blue Rockthrush, because of such weather. The drive continued, via La Selva de Marand then south again towards a well-earned dinner on the boulevard. With a sunset belying thetumultuous weather today, we enjoyed some seafood in one of the few restaurants open this season....

• 2017 [11 November] - Pau Lucio

  Report
  Our first stop is in the boarding walks and hides where we get a good number of Ruffs, Black-tailed Godwits, Black-winged Stilts, Greater Flamingos and other shorebirds. We notice that one of the Godwits has colour and flag rings and Pau points out that it must be a bird from Netherlands. Hundreds of these birds overwinter in the Albufera.

• 2018 [02 February] - Valentin Moser

  PDF Report
  However, mammal life, as well as birds are entertaining: Iberian Green Woodpecker, Azure-winged Magpies, Red-legged Partridge, Southern Grey Shrike, Dartford Warbler, Red-billed Chough as well as raptors such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Golden Eagle and Black and Griffon vultures can be expected.

• 2018 [05 May] - Rob Williams

  PDF Report
  Spain is a fantastically diverse country, and we travelled from the dehesas of Extremadura through the plains of La Mancha to the Mediterranean coast, then north to the Ebro delta and inland through the steppes of the Ebro valley and finally to the Pyrenees.

• 2019 [04 April] - Emma Juxon - Northern Spain

  PDF Report
  Ask any European birder where to head for a week’s birding and they’ll tell you Spain. Our Northern Spain tour has so much to offer, many participants use this tour to continue their Iberian adventure, taking part in our Southern Spain tour first. With it’s stunning snow-capped peaks, sun-drenched steppes and wader- filled wetlands, it’s a go-to destination for anyone wanting to score some cracking birds and take in some of Spain’s most beautiful landscapes.

• 2019 [04 April] - Emma Juxon - Souththern Spain

  PDF Report
  For European birders, there is nowhere better to take a birding trip than the Iberian Peninsula. A region largely overlooked by North American birders in the past, it boasts some of THE best birding on the continent, it’s certainly not to be missed.

• 2019 [05 May] - Martin Heindl - North Eastern Spain

  PDF Report
  As a result of my research I decided for North Eastern Spain, particularly the provinces of Catalonia and Aragon. For this region I found good descriptions of itineraries covering many of my target species, with empasis on the steppe birds and raptors...

• 2019 [05 May] - Naturalist Journeys

  PDF Report
  A journey through Spain is an experience one will never forget. Over the course of this tour, we explored wildlife rich areas from the lofty peaks of the Gredos Mountains to the mudflats of Andalusia, from the cork oak forests of Extremadura to the saline pools of Castilla-La Mancha. We recorded 188 bird species in that time...

• 2019 [07 July] - Mike May - Belchite plains and Solsona pre-Pyrenees

  PDF Report
  So, if you don’t mind the modest discomfort of sitting in a wooden box in 35-40o C heat for hours without moving, the compensation can be enormous. This is a short account of how that unfolded.

• 2020 [10 October] - Julian Bell

  Report
  Continuing my work as a freelance surveyor I headed to the Mediterranean for a couple of weeks route survey in October 2020. The route went from the east coast of Spain across to Mallorca - an area I have worked in before.

• 2021 [05 May] - Birding Spains Wild West

  PDF Report
  Riverside, open woodland, stony pasture, scrub. First thing after breakfast we drove up the hill overlooking the village and reservoir and walked between scrub and farmland. We saw Crested, Thekla, Calandra larks and Woodlark, Bee-eater and Hoopoe, and heard the Golden oriole sing. We had good views of Cuckoo and Great spotted cuckoo, Woodchat shrike, Corn bunting, Rock sparrow, Red and Black kite and white Booted eagle, and also a Speckled brown butterfly Pararge aegeria.

• 2022 [04 April] - Birding Ecotours

  PDF Report
  Our trip around this beautiful country gave us many exciting species, including Marbled Duck, Laughing Dove, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Red-knobbed Coot, Audouin’s Gull, 23 species of raptors including Bearded Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Spanish Imperial Eagle, and Bonelli’s Eagle, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, European Roller, Iberian Magpie, White-backed Woodpecker, Dupont’s Lark (heard only), Western Orphean Warbler, Wallcreeper, Black Wheatear, and Citril Finch. A total of 239 bird species were recorded during the tour (five of these were “heard only”). Species lists are at the end of this report.

• 2022 [04 April] - Carlos Sanchez

  Annotated Species List
  Together with another excellent group, we recorded an excellent list of birds: Marbled Teal and White-headed Duck, Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse (in the scope, on the ground!), Great and Little Bustard, Spanish and Bonelli’s Eagle, Eurasian Penduline- and Crested Tit, Eurasian Wryneck and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and so many more...

• 2022 [09 September] - Manuel Morales

  PDF Report
  ...s. On the way to our hotel La Caracola in Andujar, we saw our first raptors of the tour: Booted Eagle, Common Buzzard and Black Kite. Also, and due to fall bird migration in Southern Spain, we drove through Cordoba, we could enjoy watching the first huge flocks of White Stork heading south, where there were at least 3,000 of them...

• 2023 [04 April] - Birding Ecotours

  PDF Report
  Our trip around this beautiful country gave us many exciting species, including Marbled Duck, White-headed Duck, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Red-knobbed Coot, Audouin’s Gull, 25 species of raptor including Bearded Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Spanish Imperial Eagle, and Bonelli’s Eagle, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, European Roller, Iberian Magpie, Dupont’s Lark (stunning views), Black Wheatear, and Citril Finch, to name only a few. A total of 229 bird species were recorded during the tour (four of these were “heard only”).

• 2023 [05 May] - Carlos Sanchez

  PDF Report
  We recorded 188 bird species in two weeks – species such as Great Bustard, Egyptian Vulture, Eurasian Hoopoe, European Roller, Crested Tit, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, and more. Our guests nominated nineteen bird species as their bird of the trip, with the endangered White-headed Duck receiving the most votes. Our guests also particularly enjoyed their time in the Gredos Mountains, a granite massif with pine forests, alpine meadows, and a charming birding lodge.

• Boletus Birdwatching Centre - Pyrenees

  Accommodation
  Birdwatching Centre in the Spanish Pyrenees, we inform birders where to go and we organize tours in the northeast of Spain

• Ardeola

  Website
  Ardeola is the scientific journal of the Spanish Society of Ornithology (Sociedad Espa

• Birding in Spain

  Website
  Birds and Birding Tours in northeast Spain: Plan your Birding trip to Catalonia, Aragon and Navarra..

• Birds in Spain

  Website
  Around 337 birds breed in Spain out of the total of 520 for Europe. More than 500 species are present at some time during the year. Officially (according to SEO) there are some 557 species listed for Spain (and rising). However, many of these are occasionals, vagrants or exotics. 250 odd are regular nesters

• Carduelis carduelis

  Website
  Pictures of birds taken around Spain

• Enciclopedia virtual de los vertebrados Espanoles - Museo National de Cienias Naturales CSIC

  Website
  Lista de las aves de Espa

• Group of banding bird in Spain

  Website
  Birds migration and banding birds in South Spain

• Iberia Nature

  Website
  A guide to the environment, geography, climate, wildlife, natural history and landscape of Spain. Includes A-Z Spanish-English nature dictionary, dozens of articles on everything from the history of malaria in Spain to the status of wolves, checklists of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc

• Isocero

  Website
  Birding and weather relationship

• Rare Birds in Spain

  Website
  It contains information on the activities of our Rarities Committee despite this it`s not its official web page. It also features monthly abstracts of the best bird sightings here

• Alejandro Sanj. Car - Pico y Plumas

  BLOG
  Lover of Nature and photography. And with many birds in the head. It must be said that this blog is only provisional until the official page is finished

• Alfonso Rodrigo - Extreme Birding Espa

  BLOG
  Vivencias de un pajarero que ejerce en toda Espa

• Alfonso Rodrigo - Extreme Birding Espana

  BLOG
  Last updated 2011

• Andy Paterson - Guiri-Pajarero-Suelto

  BLOG
  Spanish language birding blog

• Aroximacio a l'Ornitologia

  BLOG
  Last updated 2015

• Aves de Aqu

  BLOG
  Last updated 2010

• Aves de España

  BLOG
  Photoblog of birds in spain…

• Birding the Costa

  BLOG
  Last updated 2016

• Carmen Azahara - Only Birds

  BLOG
  Photo Blog from Carmen Azahara

• César Vidal Rodríguez - Aves do Val Minor

  BLOG
  Last updated 2012

• Inaki Oliveros - Hegaztiblog

  BLOG
  Birding photoblog

• Joan Goy - Fent l'aleta

  BLOG
  Welcome to this corner. My intention is to share and disseminate experiences that these winged beings cause to bird lovers. I love birds and nature and enjoy watching it, knowing it and sharing it…

• Lluc Semis Gasol - Tierra de Aves (Land of Birds)

  BLOG
  Last updated 2015

• Noroeste ibérico

  BLOG
  Last updated 2014

• Ricardo Rodriguez - Aves

  BLOG
  Blog de las aves vistas y fotografiados Ricardo Rodrigues

• Steve West - Birding In Spain

  BLOG
  Steve West, hailing from Hampshire, has been living in northeast Spain (Lleida, Catalunya) since 1988 and has birded the region intensilively and extensively since then. Apart from his own book, Where the Birds are in Northeast Spain, based largely on his own experiences of the region, he has also made significant contributions to other bird-related publications such as the Catalan Bird Report

• Victor Ortega - A través del Telescopio

  BLOG
  En este blog tambi

• Bird Photography Spain - Nathan Boxem

  Website
  Having recovered one of the hobbies of my youth, ornithology, I have now the pleasure to combine it with other hobby, photography. Little by little I will leave memories of my experiences in the field. For descriptions of the different species...

• Frank Droge

  Gallery

• Gallery - ASEDI

  Gallery
  Digiscoping Gallery of Spanish bird photography

• Gallery - Fotografia de Aves y Otros Seres Vivos

  Gallery
  Photographs of birds from around the world. Mainly from Spain, although there are now also some from Iceland and Sardinia.

• Photographer - Daniel Meraviglia

  Gallery
  Bird photographs