Travel, experience, conserve with
Wildlife Worldwide
Phone:
01962 302 086
Jump to main menu

For more than a decade we’ve been running birding holidays to the heart of one of our favourite areas in Europe, Spain’s secret wilderness of Extremadura. This wild and beautiful country holds some of Europe's most endangered bird species in their last strongholds, so come and join us for a week in this Spanish heaven!

The rolling plains of the ‘Spanish Steppes’ are home to Europe’s strongest remaining population of its largest bird, the great bustard, whilst the oak woodlands hold a swathe of scarcities such as azure-winged magpie and black-shouldered kite. Throughout the area, with its picturesque villages and huge savannah-like landscape, white stork nests can be found everywhere you look, whilst Monfrague National Park is the best year-round raptor-watching site in Europe.

This is a unique and incredibly distinctive region, with lovely scenery, small empty lanes, and being absolutely brimming with birds makes Extremadura a spectacular birdwatching location. 

Typical Itinerary

  1. Day 1: Fly to Madrid

    From Madrid it is about a three hour drive to our hotel. We’ll stop on the way for a short birdwatching break.

    Accommodation: Casa Rural Las Canteras, near Trujillo, 7-nights

  2. Days 2-7 : Explore the wetlands and national parks of Extremadura

    The wild and beautiful country of Extremadura holds some of Europe's most endangered bird species in their last strongholds. The rolling plains of the 'Spanish Steppes', well-represented here, are home to Europe's strongest remaining population of its largest bird, the great bustard, together with good numbers of little bustard, and both pin-tailed and black-bellied sandgrouse. A spectacular assemblage of raptors includes black vulture, Spanish imperial eagle and black-shouldered kite.

    High on the list is a visit to Monfrague National Park, possibly the best year-round raptor-watching site in Europe. Situated to the north of Trujillo, the park is the Spanish stronghold for black vulture, which breeds here together with both griffon and summering Egyptian vultures. Eagles are also well represented, with the star birds being around ten pairs of Spanish imperial eagle, which is considered by many to be one of the world's most endangered raptors. Golden and Bonelli's eagles are also resident and are joined in spring by booted and short-toed eagles. Several of these species breed on and around the dramatic pinnacle of Peñafalcón, which also holds chough, crag martin and Alpine swift, the occasional black wheatear, and the breeding eagle owls nearby can sometimes be found at their daytime roosts. In spring, it is also one of the easiest places in Europe to watch shy black storks at a breeding site, while significant numbers pass through in the autumn and a few now winter. Our autumn trip should give us plenty of raptors to watch and we also hope for one of Europe's rarest birds, the late-nesting white-rumped swift.

    The nearby rolling countryside holds good stands of the open oak woodland, or 'dehesa', which is a distinctive feature of Extremadura. Here we can find good numbers of Iberian azure-winged magpie in its stronghold and keep our eyes open for the very scarce black-shouldered kite. In spring, incoming migrants include colourful bee-eater, woodchat shrike, black-eared wheatear, great spotted cuckoo and often roller.

    Various wetland sites in the area hold purple heron, little bittern and other waterbirds, including purple gallinule, which can be surprisingly easy to see, while the bulrushes and reedbeds hold breeding Savi’s warbler in spring, plus red avadavat and common waxbill, the latter two intriguing introductions to Iberia that are slowly spreading. If rice fields are being harvested in late summer and autumn, surprising numbers of waders can also appear. Alongside the locally breeding black-winged stilts and collared pratincoles, with a variety of sandpipers, plovers and other commoner migrants possible, though the numbers and species present vary on an almost daily basis.

  3. Day 8: Fly back to the UK

    We leave after breakfast and drive back to Madrid for our return flight to the UK.

Key info

  • Duration and price including flights from/to UK: 8 days from £1,895 pp
  • Duration and price excluding international flights: 8 days from £1,695 pp
  • Single supplement: From £275
  • Trip type:
    Group Tour
  • Group size: 7
  • Group Departures:
    Make a booking request.
    1. Book
  • Included in the price/package:
    • 7 nights accommodation
    • All meals
    • All transfers
    • Admissions
    • Services of the leaders
  • Activities available:
    • Nature drive
    • Walking

Expert leader

John Muddeman

Photo of John Muddeman

A naturalist at heart, John has been interested in wildlife, especially birds, for as long as he can remember, and he now has over 40 years of birdwatching experience.

A freelance wildlife tour guide, author, translator and honorary member of the Extremaduran Association of Birdwatching and Wildlife Guides, his all-round natural history knowledge, affable personality and extremely sharp field skills have brought him a well-deserved loyal following. He has been a guide for well over 20 years as well and has had immense pleasure in leading more than 250 tours around the world.

View all tours led by John

Tour Reports

Find out more about the day-to-day sightings and wildlife activities on our group tours from our expert naturalist leaders.

Featured location:

Monfragüe National Park

Monfragüe, Extremadura’s only national park, lies at the heart of the province of Cáceres, close to the confluence of the rivers Tajo and Tiétar, which carve out deep gorges as they run through a series of low mountain ranges. The resulting rocky cliffs offer an ideal location for birds to breed. Find Out More about {acc:title}

  • Where: Cáceres
  • Ideal for viewing: peregrine falcon, Spanish imperial eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, river otter, Eurasian black vulture
  • Excellent for: Vehicle safaris, Birdwatching