Extremadura Birding and Gredos Mountains Tour, Spain - 6 Days

Arrival at Madrid Airport or at another, previously arranged, meeting place. On the first day we will explore the endorheic wetlands south of Madrid, known as "La Mancha Húmeda". Here we will encounter good numbers of White-headed Ducks along with Red-crested Pochard, Purple Heron, Little Bittern, Greater Flamingo and, if we're lucky, Marbled Teals.

The reedbeds here are great for a variety of birds and we can usually find Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Eurasian & Great Reed Warblers along with Bearded Tits. A small number of Moustached Warblers nest in the area, which we might be fortunate to spot.

While enjoying the flocks of Spanish Sparrows, we will also have time to note a good number of migratory birds. In previous years this pond has produced Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Garganey, Water Pipit and Black-necked Grebe in the same week that we are running this tour. Spotted Crake, Sedge Warbler and Pallid Harrier have also occurred during our visits here, but they are a little more scarce.

After a morning enjoying the area we will have a light lunch at a nearby restaurant before the transfer to our accommodation (about 90 minutes). In the afternoon we will bird around our accommodation where we can easily have our first views of Black-winged Kite, Cinereous Vulture or even Spanish Imperial Eagle. Woodlark, Red-rumped Swallow, Common Cuckoo, European Serin, Sardinian Warbler, Spanish Magpie, Golden Oriole, Woodchat Shrike and Short-toed Snake Eagle all nest around the resort.

Today we will explore the lovely Tietar Valley. Here, a landscape of ancient Holm Oaks frames great views of Cinereous and Griffon Vultures, Black Storks, Iberian Flycatcher, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Golden Oriole, Spanish Magpie, Western Orphean Warbler, Kentish Plover and Ruddy Shelduck.

In the afternoon we will explore the Arrocampo wetlands until sunset. Here it is possible to enjoy good sightings of Savi's Warbler, Little Bittern, Black-winged Kite, Ferruginous Duck, Gull-billed Tern, Penduline Tit and, possibly, Greater Bittern and Spotted Crake along with a good list of migratory birds.

On Day 3 we will explore the well-known grasslands around Trujillo. Here, we expect to enjoy great views of displaying Great Bustards along with flocks of Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse. The area also hosts good numbers of Montagu's Harriers and Great Spotted Cuckoos.

The raptor action in Trujillo is always great and Cinereous and Griffon Vultures are always crossing the skies. Along with them will be Short-toed, Booted and Snake Eagles and Black Kites - a symphony of birds of prey!

In the afternoon we will explore the scrublands around the town that can provide us with Subalpine, Western Orphean and Melodious Warblers. A small patch of low vegetation hosts the last Black Wheatears in Western Spain. Rock Sparrow, Blue Rock Thrush and Little Owl are other birds that can appear in the area.

The Gredos Mountains are the tallest in Central Iberia. A impressive range that climbs to over 2.000m above sea level. We will spend most of the day here, exploring different corners of the mountains and valleys.

Even if we are concentrating on passerines, it is always important to check the skies as this is a great place to enjoy Golden Eagles. In the scrublands, above the tree line, we will look for the "blue-spotted" Bluethroats, a nesting form of this shy ground flycatcher. Dartford Warbler, Ortolan and Rock Buntings, Water Pipit and Citril Finch can also appear in these lush bushlands.

Wherever a rocky outcrop appears, we will scan for Common Rock Thrush, a rather elusive wonder of the rocky mountains around the Mediterranean.

On our way up and down the mountains we will enjoy a few stops for views of common forest birds such as Eurasian Robin or Eurasian Jay, Hawfinch and Firecrest.

This National Park became famous decades ago as one of the easiest places to see what was then the very scarce Spanish Imperial Eagles and Black Storks. Nowadays these species have recovered a lot in numbers and are present is several other areas, but this National Park continues to be a great place to spend the day watching them.

The park has two famous vulture colonies (one of the few in Extremadura because there are not many appropriate places for them to nest) where tens of pairs of Griffons nest along with some pairs of Black Storks and one or two pairs of Egyptian Vultures.

We will spend the morning visiting the surrounding grasslands for Great Bustards, Little Bustards, Sandgrouse and other plains species. At midday we will visit an interesting wetland south of Gredos where we normally have plenty of activity. A recent visit yielded 53 Collared Pratincoles, Thekla Lark, Eurasian Black Tern, Kingfisher, Common Waxbill, Temminck's and Little Stints and European Otter!

In the afternoon, we will explore Monfragüe itself to enjoy the vultures, Rock Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Alpine Swift and, if we are extremely lucky, Bonelli's Eagle, which only has two territories left in this area of Spain.

On the last day of the tour we normally drop off our guests in Madrid in the mid afternoon. This gives us a long morning to enjoy some more Extremadura birding as there is so much of it to do!

Depending on what species we have already seen, we can choose to enjoy more bustards & sandgrouse or spend the morning in Gredos for better views of Spanish Ibexes and Common Rock Thrushes.

Normally we plan on an early visit to Arrocampo wetland as the Savi's Warblers, Ferruginous Ducks and Spotted Crakes are well worth a second visit!