Birding in South Catalonia Tour, Spain

Birdwatching in Southern Catalonia

This Birding Catalonia tour is a comprehensive week-long bird watching itinerary of the South Catalan region which aims to showcase the very best that this fantastic terrain has to offer. We will be visiting the most prolific bird watching sites in the area and concentrating on 3 completely different habitats in order to maximize the variety of birds that will be encountered.

Wetlands - we will be birding in some amazing wetland locations, starting of course at the famous Ebro Delta which we will be exploring by car and boat, looking for rare birds like Collared Pratincole, Little Bittern and Savi's Warbler. As the week progresses we will visit some other fantastic wetland birding zones, including Sebes Nature reserve at Flix and also other excellent reservoirs at Ivars & Utxesa (Great chance to see the rare Bearded Reedling).

Mountains - The second key habitat that this birding tour incorporates will be mountainous areas in the Els Ports natural park. We will make a visit to the superb vulture observatory at Mas de Bunyol (Griffon & Egyptian Vultures), look for some of the tiny residents of the pine forest (Crested Tit, Firecrest, Bonelli's Warbler etc.) and also drive through some rugged mountainous zones which are suitable for the likes of Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear and many more.

Steppe lands / Plains - The third terrain we will explore during the week will be the drylands close to the city of Lleida, which offer a completely different mix of species in expansive open agricultural zones. Here we can find some of the most sought after species of Spanish birding, with highlights such as Little Bustard, European Roller, Lesser Kestrel, Southern Grey Shrike, Great-spotted Cuckoo, Montagu's Harrier and both Pin-tailed & Black-bellied Sandgrouse.

This tour is fully inclusive of return airport transfers to Barcelona International Airport and features five nights accommodation at our private villa close to the Ebro Delta, with the other two nights of the tour based in comfortable Hotels in the Lleida area.

Birding Catalonia Tour - 5 highlights

Fantastic Flamingos of the Ebro Delta, see hundreds of Greater Flamingos feeding in the saline lagoons
Boat tour of the Ebro Delta, observe spectacular species like Little Bittern & Purple Heron close up!
Watch hundreds of Griffon Vultures descend to feed in the mountain leg of the tour at Mas de Bunyol
The colourful European Roller is a highlight of birding the plains around Lleida
Dramatic vistas throughout the tour, ranging from the flat lowlands of the delta to the rugged limestone mountains of Els Ports.

If you have a little more time to spend on your holiday, maybe you would like to experience a day trip such as the Ebro River Birding Boat Trip.

Day 1

Day 1 - Arrival day - Airport collection from Reus / Barcelona / Valencia airports

We will collect you from the airport and transfer you to your accommodation, our private villa close to L'Ampolla. Remainder of the day at leisure.

Day 2

Day 2 - Guided birding tour of the southern section of the Ebro Delta

Ebro Delta southern section guided bird watching tour, full day with break for lunch.

Day 3

Day 3 - Ebro river boat tour, guided birding day trip

Ebro river boat tour, full day guided bird watching itinerary with break for lunch.

Day 4

Day 4 - Els Ports mountain tour with Sebes Nature Reserve in Flix

Morning we travel to the Vulture observatory at Mas de Bunyol and also take in other favourite mountain sites in Els Ports. After lunch we travel to Flix and visit the Sebes wetland nature reserve. Evening we travel to Balaguer and check into our accommodation.

Day 5

Day 5 - Lleida plains guided birding with Estany D'Ivars

Plains north / east of Lleida along with Estany D'Ivars with a break for lunch. In the evening we check into accommodation around Lleida.

Day 6

Day 6 - Plains south of Lleida with Utxesa Reservoir guided birding

Plains south of Lleida and Utxesa reservoir with a lunch break. Evening we return south to L'Ampolla.

Day 7

Day 7 - Ebro Delta northern section guided bird watching

Ebro Delta northern section, full day tour with lunch break.

Day 8

Day 8 - Departure day - We return you to Reus / Barcelona / Valencia airport

We will return you to the airport for your return journey home.

Notable bird species we will be targeting on this tour:

Red Crested Pochard, Little Bittern, Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Osprey, Kestrel, Black-winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black Tern, Audouin’s Gull, Turtle Dove, Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Penduline Tit, Sand Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Zitting Cristicola, Nightingale, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Serin, Reed Bunting, Shelduck, Gadwall, Garganey, Shoveler, Little Grebe, Great-crested grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Bittern, Greater Flamingo, White Stork, Spoonbill, Short-toed Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Bonelli’s Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Kestrel, Merlin, Hobby, Peregrine, Red-footed Falcon, Water Rail, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Sanderling, Temminck’s Stint, Dunlin, Little Stint, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Snipe, Jack Snipe, Collared Pratincole, Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Sandwich tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Cuckoo, Little Owl, Scops Owl, Nightjar, Roller, Woodchat Shrike, Crested Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Wood Warbler, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Dartford Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Savi’s Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Moustached Warbler, Mistle Thrush, Bluethroat, Black Redstart, Redstart, Whinchat, Stonechat, Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Grey Wagtail, Red-throated Pipit, Water Pipit, Linnet, Purple Swamp-hen, Glossy Ibis, Red-legged Partridge, Griffon Vulture, Black Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Black Vulture Goshawk, Golden Eagle, Alpine Swift, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wryneck, Raven, Chough, Jay, Crested Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Bearded Reedling, Thekla’s Lark, Woodlark, Skylark, Crag Martin, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Western Subalpine Warbler, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Short-toed Treecreeper, Wren, Rock Thrush, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Alpine Accentor, Rock Sparrow, Cirl Bunting, Rock Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Corn Bunting, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Little Bustard, Iberian Grey Shrike, Black-shouldered Kite, Montagu’s Harrier, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Stone Curlew

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Why book with Ebro Delta Birding?

The Ebro delta in North East Spain is one of Europe’s premier wetland bird watching destinations. A wide variety of watery habitats can be found within > 320 square kilometres of the natural park, with diverse environments ranging from salt marshes and sand dunes to river bank and woodland. This range of habitats attracts a bewildering selection of birdlife with a species list exceeding 300 varieties!

What are the options for lunches & evening meals?

At lunch time we will either stop at a local restaurant and grab some lunch, or alternatively we can arrange to take a packed lunch. Evening meals can be taken in L'Ampolla ( a short & inexpensive 5 minute taxi ride away), or you can self cater at the Villa which has full cooking facilities including a barbecue. We can arrange a super market visit if you prefer the self catering option.

Number of Travelers	Cost Per Traveler (€)	Total Cost (€)
1	1500	1500
2	800	1600
3	700	2100
4	700	2800
5	700	3500
6	700	4200
7	700	4900
8	700	5600

Birding in South Catalonia Tour, Spain - 8 Days