Spain has long been an extremely popular birding tours destination, offering a wide range of Mediterranean habitats along with safe, easy and excellent birdwatching. 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 Spain birding tour 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 Ebro River Delta wetlands and marshes on the Mediterranean 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 on our Spain birding tour include Spanish Imperial Eagle (up to 23 raptor species are possible!), Great and Little Bustard, Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Spectacled Warbler, Alpine Accentor, both species of noisy Chough, White-throated Dipper and the fabulous Wallcreeper. On our Spain birding tour, 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.

The Spanish wilderness continues to refuge magnificent predators such as Iberian Lynx, Iberian Wolf and Eurasian Brown Bear, all of which have virtually disappeared in the rest of Europe. Our Southern Spain mammal adventure will visit two of the strongholds for Iberian Lynx and some of the richest marshlands in southern Europe. Beginning in the Sierras south of Madrid, we make our way to Parque Nacional de Doñana on the coast, where we stand a good chance of observing the highly sought-after Iberian Lynx amongst other wildlife and birds. This Spain birding tour, perfectly timed for the northern spring, offers fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities in the scenic Spanish countryside and is a European experience not to be missed! Our Northern Spain extension visits two of the more remote and lesser-explored areas of the region, where we concentrate on encounters with the elusive Iberian Wolf and Eurasian Brown Bear, both nearing extinction.

We also offer a brief extension to Spain’s Strait of Gibraltar to follow on from our 2016 Morocco – Atlas to Sahara I tour, timed for the incredible Spring Migration whereby thousands upon thousands of raptors and a huge array of other Eurasian species make the daily crossing from the African Continent back to their summer breeding grounds in Europe and Asia. Aside from this incredible spectacle, other Spain birding tour highlights include visiting a newly established breeding colony of the Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis, an exhilarating sea cruise in search of several species of whales and dolphins, and targeting the Iberian endemic Spanish Imperial Eagle and the globally threatened White-headed Duck.