It is not an excess of patriotic zeal that makes me say that Spain is a great country for birdwatching. It offers an array of species almost unmatched by any other European country, generally nice weather, and very good infrastructure both in terms of roads and services.
Madrid has the advantage of being in the geographic center of Spain; therefore, you can drive to almost any part of the country within a reasonable time. As I mentioned before, only a handful of Spanish birds are absent from Madrid, those with distributions either at the southern or northern reaches of the country, and of course seabirds. The northern coasts and mountain ranges can be reached after a comfortable four to five-hour drive, while Doñana and the southern wetlands take a bit longer, but can be easily reached and seen on a weekend. And of course, there are many areas in between waiting to be explored.

Until a few years ago it was possible to just take off on a Friday afternoon and head for some remote location, knowing that you would find decent lodging and food on the road without needing to reserve. Nowadays, rural and ecotourism has become so widely popular among Spaniards that it’s difficult to find a place to sleep even in the remotest areas without reserving well in advance; thus it’s necessary to plan ahead if you’re traveling on weekends or vacation periods.
On the other hand, all this has made that rural accommodation throughout the country has improved a lot over the last few years.

I will be regularly adding reports on various Spanish areas. Feel free to contact me about any additional information, or visit Boletas Birdwatching Centre’s website (see banner above) for details on many excellent guided itineraries of the best birding areas in the country. Its owner, my friend Josele Saiz, is the best birding guide I know in Spain. He is used by the most important international birding tour companies, and I help him occasionally with tours around the Madrid region.

South of Madrid to Doñana:

As an example, on May 2003 I took a five-day trip to Southern Spain, to see a number of species that had eluded me on previous visits, or that I hadn't seen for a long time: Marbled and White-headed Duck, Rufous Bush Robin, Olivaceous and Savi's warblers, Bearded Tit.
I prepared an itinerary to find and enjoy all these birds and many more, without too many car hours, and at a rather leisurely pace. The final destination was Doñana National Park, stopping on the way at the Marshes of La Mancha, before crossing the provinces of Cordoba and Seville to Brazo del Este, the wetlands created by the Guadalquivir River delta just south of the city of Seville.

The Marshes of La Mancha are a group of very accessible, small to medium sized lagoons, surrounded by dry plains. They are the remains of the extensive wetlands that covered much of Castilla until the middle of the 20^th century, before they were drained for agricultural use. Depending on the year and the water level, White-headed Duck can be very abundant, with many other duck, tern and wader species. Bearded Tit, Reed and Savi's Warbler can all be seen among the reed that surround the lagoons, together with Bittern and Little Bittern.

The surrounding plains have Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Little Bustard and Stone Curlew, among other steppe species. There are several good accommodation options in the villages that lie close and in some cases name the lagoons: I can recommend the small but very nice hostel Salicor , in the village of Pedro Muñoz; its owner is a keen birder with very good knowledge of the area, and gave me very good tips when I stayed. The home-made, typical Manchego food is also excellent.

Following the main road to Andalucia (N-IV), you soon enter the province of Cordoba. I spent some time around the area of La Carlota, where Rufous Bush Robin reportedly breed. I couldn't find it here, but Lesser Kestrel, Roller, Bee-eater, Red-rumped Swallow, Melodious Warbler and many other more commoner birds could be seen at many stops along the way.

Driving south you arrive at the province of Sevilla. Near the village of Utrera there are extensive vineyards where Rufous Bush Robin is relatively easy to find, especially if there is prickly pear (Opuntia) nearby. It can also be found at the marsh of La Mejorada, next to the village of Los Palacios, together with Collared Pratincole, hundreds of Cattle Egret and good numbers of herons (including Squacco).  South of the city of Seville, the Guadalquivir River creates an extensive cultivated delta that forms a maze of channels and ditches right at the border of Doñana, known as Brazo del Este (Eastern Bank).


This is an excellent wetland, in my opinion even better than Doñana to see large numbers of species such as Marbled Duck, Purple and Squacco Heron, hundreds of Purple Swamphen, Collared Pratincole. often at very close quarters. The only downside is the many trucks and tractors driving constantly along the trails on working days. Temminck's Stint is regularly seen here in summer, and Short-toed and Lesser Short-toed larks can be found in the surrounding plains.

Doñana National Park is one of the most important wetlands in Europe, where half a million birds may concentrate at the peak periods, and a stronghold for such emblematic and endangered species as Marbled Duck, Knobbed Coot, Spanish Imperial Eagle and Iberian Lynx.

The core area of the park is of restricted access and can only be seen with an organized tour with professional guides, but much of the park's periphery is open to visitors and can be very productive. I saw Olivaceous and Savi's Warblers around the trails that lead to the observatory of La Rocina. The J.A. Valverde Visitor's Centre offers a wonderful spectacle in the breeding season, with hundreds of Glossy Ibis and Purple, Squacco, and Night Herons visible on their nests through the centre's windows, surrounded by endless marshes full of Reed Warbler, Little Bittern, Whiskered tern. In the open woodland and coastal pine forests around the park it's not difficult to see Egyptian Mongoose during the day, and Iberian Lynx, the most endangered feline in the World, can be still seen, with luck, even outside the protected areas.