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.

Top Birds

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

Top Mammals

Red Fox, Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Iberian Hare, European Rabbit, Wild Boar, Iberian Lynx (very rare), Spanish Ibex,

Habitats Covered

coastal wetlands, cork-oak dehesas, deciduous woodlands, olive groves, mountain crags, grasslands

Expected Climate

temperate, mainly mild

Max Group Size

12 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local leader

Tour Pace & Walking

moderate

Accommodation

comfortable guest houses & hotels

Ease of Birding

moderate

Number of Species Expected

230 - 250

Other Attractions

Grand Canyon of Castilla y Leon, ancient historical buildings & sites, great scenery, excellent food & wine

Photographic Opportunities

good to very good

What our clients say about us

Dušan Brinkhuizen
AW, Spain 2022

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.

Robert Williams
CH & JH, Spain 2018

Guides Rob Williams & Alberto Bueno were professional, diligent and hardworking throughout the tour, maintaining their sense of humour and pleasant demeanour to the end; their respective birding competence was impeccable and, more importantly, they functioned as a team without issue or conflict, complimenting each other in a manner which quite enhanced the trip.

Robert Williams
AH, Spain 2018

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.

Robert Williams
SC, Spain 2022

Both guides were excellent and also good drivers. They make a very good team together. They complemented each other well. Their knowledge of birds and lynx are incredible. They share their passions easily. They both made ebird lists which was greatly appreciated. Rob Williams has also a great sense of humor which made the trip even more fun. Yeray Seminario is very attentive to our needs and very good at managing the logistics. He was always keen to share information about Spain, birds, animals and answered all the questions that we asked. The wine and food were excellent as were the accommodations. Overall we had a great trip.

Robert Williams
TW, Spain 2022

Both leaders were very good, especially Rob who combines great birding knowledge with a friendly and helpful attitude. He is one of the best leaders of any company that I have travelled with. The tour seemed to successfully balance the expectations of the keener birders like me with those who had a more relaxed style of birding. I thought the hotels were good, and well located for those of us who like to go out birding during down time. The food was very good, and occasionally excellent. Overall it was a very enjoyable tour and gave me a very positive first impression of Rockjumper.

Spain - Best of Birding 2024

04 May 2024 - 18 May 2024 (15 days)

EUR5,395 - No Spaces Available

client-img

Tour Leader: Yeray Seminario

client-img

Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz

Tour price (Per person): EUR5,395 * USD5,781 * GBP4,621 * AUD8,846

Single Supplement: EUR570 * USD611 * GBP488 * AUD935

Can be linked with:

Spain - Best of Birding (Small Group) 2025

06 May 2025 - 20 May 2025 (15 days)

EUR5,195 - Spaces Available

client-img

Tour Leader: Yeray Seminario

Tour price (Per person): EUR5,195 * USD5,567 * GBP4,450 * AUD8,518

Single Supplement: EUR600 * USD643 * GBP514 * AUD984

Can be linked with: Spain - Strait of Gibraltar Extension (Small Group) 2025

  • Your details

  • Hidden
  • Contact permission

    We would love to send you Newsletters (twice yearly).via Type a message, Promotions/Discounts (weekly), Blog Articles/Image of the Month (monthly) and other content that we think you would find interesting. If you are happy with this then please select your preferences below. If you would like to unsubscribe from previous subscriptions, or leave our mailing list entirely, then please do so by visiting the Preference Centre link at the bottom of these emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Route Map

Tour Route Map

English