The Top 10 Reasons Why Southern Spain's Andalucia Region is a Birding Hot Spot
The Spanish Imperial Eagle, also called Iberian Imperial Eagle or Adalbert's Eagle, one of the world's rarest birds of prey can be found in Southern Spain. Image: ©Mikelane45
Destination: Wildlife Co-Founder, Roberta Kravette
There is something addictive about being enveloped in nature while experiencing the all-senses-on-high-alert treasure hunt of “birding.” Add the thrill of discovering new (feathered) neighbors or the joy of welcoming back an old avian friend, and one morning’s adventure can easily trigger a lifelong craving for more.
Still, certain places add a special dimension to the already beloved pastime. Southern Spain’s Andalucia region is one. Here are ten reasons why Southern Spain’s Andalucia region is a birding hot spot!
#1. Surprise Encounters. Spain is a Vital Stop on the East Atlantic Migration Flyway!
We humans are competitive animals, and listing - even if only for ourselves - is how birders keep score. The most laid-back can tell you the species they have seen and those they hope to see. However, searching from continent to continent can be time-consuming (and costly). Spain offers a lovely (and delicious) shortcut for many hard-to-find species.
The Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) spends the non-breeding months in East Africa but breeds in the Palearctic grounds (Europe and Asia), including Spain. Image: ©Birding the Strait
With Europe to its north, Africa to the south, the Mediterranean Sea and Asia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Spain's unique position, and geography make it a tapestry of avian migrants and a vital resting point on one of the world’s greatest migration flyways. In this exceptionally positioned country …the Autonomous Region of Andalucia is a standout.
Not The Most Birds - Just Some of the Most Difficult to Find
Andalucia is where the Atlantic and Mediterranean embrace, marshes frame its coastline, and fertile grasslands punctuate alpine mountains. These diverse biomes are home to avian endemics, near endemics, and regional birds, as well as a resting and fueling station for a plethora of African, Asian, and European species on the move.
Andalucia – and the Extremadura region to its northwest – don't boast the greatest number of species, just some of the most difficult to find without extensive continent hopping. As the Andalucia Bird Society attests, ”Nowhere else in Europe can birders enjoy such a variety of hard-to-come-by groups like Wheatear, Larks, Sandgrouse, Bustard, and more”
Over 440 avian species spend time in Andalucia – and in the ancient past, so did the Tartessians, Iberians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines, Berbers, Arabs, Jews, Roma and Castilians, each adding to the flavors of the region which brings us to the country’s second addictive characteristic: its famous culture and cuisine(s). The unique "flavors" of Andalucia add a delightful twist to birding in Southern Spain,
#2. Southern Spain’s Culture and Cuisine, a Perfect Birding Compliment
The Famous Local Cuisine.
Andalucia is well-known for its tapas or small plates. Maybe it’s because their regional seafood and local meats, plus vegetables and fruits make it almost impossible even for vegans and vegetarians to choose a single dish! Thankfully, sharing is part of the vibe, local wines (or sangria!) are a delightful accompaniment - and so is the music that seems to be part of the atmosphere. But Andalucía's table is just the beginning.
Andalucia’s Layered and Fascinating Culture
Spain’s culture is a passionate composition of art, music, dance, and architecture, replete with Moorish, Renaissance, and Baroque details. From the humblest to the grandest structures, you will find the fingerprints of Velazquez, Murillo, and Picasso in the region’s art and decorative elements. Birding here is a step back in time. And, of course, only a place whose passions run as deep as Andalucía's could give birth to the Flamenco!
But there are purely ‘birdy’ reasons to bird Andalucia, too!
The Purely Birdy Reasons for Loving Andalucia
#3. Southern Spain Has Rare Birds!
A rare Spanish Imperial Eagle in conflict with a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) The Golden (note the barred tail) is a larger more powerful bird, but don't count out the the Imperial. Image ©Jan Hajda
The Imperial Spanish Eagle
Aquila adalberti ( recovered from Endangered to Vulnerable but decreasing again)
The Imperial Spanish eagle is a stand out among Spain’s rare birds. How can you resist a bird called "Imperial"? This mighty near endemic (sometimes crossing over into Portugal or Morocco) has a miraculous recovery story - similar to our own Bald Eagle. In the 1960s, there were only 30 known breeding pairs. Thanks to dedicated conservation efforts, today the breeding population is between 530 and 540 pairs, according to Birdlife International Data Zone! Unfortunately, collisions with powerlines, wind turbines, poisoning, and shooting still threaten this regal eagle’s recovery.
Best Places to Find an Imperial Spanish Eagle is Andalucia’s Sierra Morena range and Sierra Norte de Sevilla mountains.
Black Wheatear
Blacks Wheatears were formerly classed as a thrush (genus Turdus) but is now considered a passerine in the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae) . Image: Thanks to Birding the Strait
Oenanthe leucura (Least Concern – but rare)
As the Andalucian Bird Society shares, people sometimes affectionately refer to these little birds as "White-ass" or simply, the "plain-Jane" of the wheatear family. But, since it is the ONLY resident wheatear in western Europe, with a range restricted to the Iberian peninsula and (very rarely) to northwest Africa or SW France - if you want to see this little guy, Andalucia's Serranía de Ronda is the place to be. Black wheatears are very different from other wheateaters; watch them in flight. Their short wings seem to whirr, a much different approach than the expected short flaps. And they mate for life. Ahh, the romance.
The Best Places in Andalucia to Find the Black Wheatear is the Llanos de Libar Valley also El Torcal, La Serranía de Ronda, Sierra de Grazalema, Sierra Nevada and Sierra Morena mountains.
#4. And Rarer Birds!
The Balearic Shearwater
One of the rarest birds in Europe, the Balearic Shearwater's numbers have fallen victim to fisheries by-catch at sea and predation from introduced mammals in their breeding colonies. Image ©Frank McClintock
Puffinus mauretanicus (Critically Endangered)
The Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater is one of Europe's rarest birds. Although its nonbreeding range is more extensive, this bird only breeds on the Balearic Islands off Spain's Mediterranean coast. After the breeding season, they tend to fly through the Strait of Gibraltar, heading north toward the Bay of Biscay, where some will molt. Others head as far north as Scandinavia, and a few go south toward Senegal. They are fish eaters, diving for small shoaling fish like sardines.
The Best Place to See Balearic Shearwater is at the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Northern Bald Ibis - Back from the Brink!
The Northern Bald Ibis or Waldrapp meaning "forest crow, as it is known in Europe is a strange but somehow beautiful bird brought back from the brink of extinction. Image: ©Martin Palánek
Geronticus eremita Critically Endangered
Historically widespread throughout Europe, it bred on cliffs and castle ramparts, but the northern Bald ibis was avidly hunted. In 1504, the Archbishop Leonhard of Salzburg protected them in Europe by official decree, still by the 1700s, they were extinct. Recently, captive breeding efforts in Austria’s Rosegg Zoo have given hope to this strangely beautiful bird; however, without ‘elders” to teach them, the young birds try to migrate but never reach their proper wintering grounds and die. Enter the human guides. This year marks the 17th journey undertaken by a small, lightweight, odd-looking aircraft, held aloft by a fan and a yellow parachute (!!) leading a flock of young Northern Bald Ibis’ to their wintering grounds. Their high-flying human “foster parents” encourage the birds by waving and calling to them during the 1,740 mi (2,800 km) journey from Austria to Andalucia, Spain! That’s dedication!
The Best Place to See Northern Bald Ibis La Barca de Vejer, Cadiz province, Andalucia is the main location for the introduction of the Northern Bald Ibis. is at the Strait of Gibraltar
#5. The Iberian Peninsula’s Endemic Birds
Habitat loss is problem for the Iberian Green Woodpecker, and so is localized illegal hunting, but very cold winters are also a threat. Researchers feel that preserving old trees used as nest sites will help. Image: ©Joan Egert
Iberian Green Woodpecker
Picus sharpei (Vulnerable per Birdlife International, LC but rapidly decreasing per IUNC )
With its bright red forehead and nape, (note: females have black malar stripe) this handsome green woodpecker prefers relatively dry, open, deciduous, or mixed woodland. Look for IBWs in the lowlands and mountains, in orchards, farmland, parks, gardens, and even on some grassy dunes. They forage mainly on the ground for their preferred ant diet, sometimes adding small invertebrates and a little fruit (for dessert?), and nest in old trees.
It was formerly considered a subspecies of the European green woodpecker, but unlike the European, the Iberian has a little black on its head and a softer, dusky-colored eyering rather than the European’s black ring.
The Best Place to See Iberian Green Woodpecker are the Sierra Norte de Sevilla Mountains
Iberian Magpie
The beautiful Iberian Magpie likes open woodland with grassy clearings good for searching for insects, grapes, olives, mulberries, asparagus, nuts and seeds. Image: ©Joan Egert
Cyanopica cooki (LC)
Once thought to be the same species as the Azure-winged magpie ( C. cyana) the handsome Iberian Magpie is very much its own bird – and unmistakable in its range. A social bird, believed to be monogamous, it likes to forage as a family group, joining with other family groups to create flocks that can reach an impressive 70 or more individuals searching for acorns and pine nuts and supplementing with caterpillars, millipedes, snails, and leeches, as well as soft fruits, berries, and olives.
The Best Place to See Iberian Magpie are the Sierra Norte de Sevilla Mountains and the forests of Doñana
#6. Southern Spain’s Little (Bird) Beauties
Blue-rock Thrush
The Blue-rock Thrush often perches on rooftops, monuments, church steeples, and the occasional castle - as well as, well - rocks. Image: ©Javier Alonso Huerta
Monticola solitarius (LC)
If you find yourself in Afghanistan or the Himalayas, or at the rocky coasts of Eritrea or Senegal, or on the coastal lowlands of Japan, look for the Blue-rock Thrush on barren rocks and scrubby hillsides - or try Southern Spain, a favorite of this azure-colored beauty. Their diet is meaty with invertebrates and insects like grasshoppers, locusts, beetles, and ants, and they enjoy some vertebrates like small lizards - but add fruit in the fall and winter.
Best Place in Adalucia to Find the Blue Rock Thrush is the Llanos de Libar Valley
The Iberian Chiffchaff
The Iberian is often confused with the very similar Common Chiffchaff (P. collybita ), but this little beauty is not a common bird. Image: ©StockPhotoAstur
Phylloscopus ibericus (LC)
This unassuming little leaf warbler breeds mainly in the deciduous woodlands of the Iberian peninsula's northwest and a few places in Andalucía, but its non-breeding home is thought to be tropical West Africa (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana), although not much is known about its movements yet. This long-range migrater’s wings are longer and more pointed than the Common Chiffchaff, and the Iberian Chiffchaff's plumage is a little brighter with more contrast, but take the advice of Cornell's Birds of the Word and identify it through its song.
Best Place to See the Iberian Chiffchaff: Look (and listen) for the Iberian Chiffchaff in Andalucía's Sierra Morena or Betic Cordillera mountain ranges and the Grazalema and Ronda mountains and at Fuenta de Pietra Lagoon in the winter months.
#7. Meet Spain’s Very Cool Far-Flung Raptors
Black-winged kits have eye placement and zygodactyl feet (two toes facing forward, two backward) like an owl but hoover, like the much smaller kestrels, over grassy fields. Image ©Javier Alonso Huerta
Black Winged Kite
Elanus caeruleus (LC, but the IUNC has no overall population estimate)
Look for this small, smartly "dressed" bird hovering over grasslands or savannah looking for small rodents (it likes house mice), small reptiles and birds, crickets, or sometimes a rabbit. The little black-winged kite is only 14 inches (35.5cm) in height, but when perched, its wings extend beyond the tail, spanning up to an impressive 39 inches (99cm) in flight! Their eyes face forward, like an owl's, but this bird is diurnal, a daytime hunter. Watch for its unusual square-shaped tail – most kites have forked tails. The Black-winged Kite is monogamous and silent except during its breeding season. There are four subspecies. The one found on the Iberian peninsula may be the African Elanus caeruleus caeruleus
Best Place to See Black-winged Kites. the Fuente de Piedra lagoon, Strait of Gibraltar, and the Sierra Norte de Saville mountain range,
Eurasian Griffin Vultures
Following a decline in the early 20th Century (poisoning etc) conservation efforts have brought number back to about 30,000 pairs, 25,000 on the Iberian Peninsula! Image: Thanks to ©Birding the Strait
Gyps fulvus (LC, decreasing)
Before the 1900s, the Eurasian Griffin Vulture could be found across Europe. Although 27 countries protect it now, its only European stronghold is the Iberian Peninsula, specifically the Andalucia region, with about 75% of the world's population. Griffen vultures still breed here and on the Balearic Islands as well as some in Sardinia, Sicily, Croatia's Kvarner Islands, and Cyprus, but its modern range extends east into Saudi Arabia, Northern India, and west into central Asia, where it has breeding colonies in the 'stans, western China and Tibet. The Griffin Vulture is one of the most accessible multi-continental rarities in Spain.
The Best Places in Andalucia to See Eurasian Griffin Vulture are the Grazalma and Ronda Mountains ( The Peñón de Zaframagón reserve and the Gargante Verde gorge) the Sierra Norte de Sevilla and the Llanos de Libar Valley
Cinereous Vulture
Vultures are not usually thought of as beautiful, but there is something quite handsome about these birds. Cinereous vulture (behind), Europe's largest (body length 3.11ft/2.2m, wing span 10ft/3.1cm) dwarfs Eurasion Griffin vulture (body legnth 3.5ft/109 cm, wIng span 8.3ft/243cm. Image: ©Javier Alonso Huerta
Aegypius monachus (Near Threatened - because of its return in Europe)
Facing extinction with only 203 Cinereous Vulture pairs left in 1973, today, because of active conservation and protection in Spain and Europe, the population has increased to between 2,900 and 3,000 pairs in Europe. Look for the distinctive bluish-grey hooked bill with the blue band on the base of the beak. The Cinereous Vulture was formerly likely to be found in East and South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, their historic strongholds – but today the...
The Best Place to see Cinereous Vultures is the Grazalma and Ronda Mountains or west of Andalucía in Extremadura's Monfragüe Park, where they have a large breeding colony.
Over 18% of raptor species are on the verge of extinction, over 54% are in decline. Thousands, including this Black Kite in Spain, accidentally die every year from poisons used to kill rats and predators. Image: ©Javier Alonso Huerta
Rewilding, Human Health, and A Note on Vultures:
Worldwide, raptors, especially vultures, are in steep decline and endangered due to poisoning, habitat loss, and illegal poaching. But these keystone species are a well-known factor in regional–and human–health.
The Iberian highlands are undergoing a rewilding campaign that includes Cinereous and other vultures, birds, and mammals, such as Iberian lynx, semi-wild horses, taurus or auroch (ancestor of domestic cattle), and other large herbivores. This goal is to return to historic biodiversity levels, creating a healthy habitat for Dupont's Lark, black-bellied sandgrouse, little and great bustards, and more. We hope that the return of these species encourages ecotourism that bolsters the area's economy – making the rewilded natural habitats sustainable and protected by the people.
#8. Southern Spain’s Unusual (and Endangered) Ducks
The White-headed is a stifftail duck and a reluctant flyer, ungainly on land it swims to cover and dives for its (mostly) vegetation diet. Image: ©Martin Pelánek
White-headed Duck
Oxyura leucocephala (Endangered)
Silent, extremely rare, and local, this unusual-looking duck rarely flies. It has small breeding enclaves in southern Russia, northwestern China, and central Asia (Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Syria), but its Spanish populations were almost extinct by the 1970s due to widespread hunting and habitat degradation,
This bird does not like to fly. When it perceives danger, it swims away, making it an easy target for hunters. Hunting bans, other protections, and conservation efforts have helped, but it is still considered endangered.
The White-headed duck, with its compact body, white head, distinctive blue bill, and long, stiff tail, is an uncommon-looking bird. But its large salt-extracting glands at the base of its bill, an adaptation to its brackish and salty water habitat, also make this an unusual duck.
The Best Places to Find a White-headed Duck: Laguna de Medina (a breeding site) and Doñana National Park, Almonte, Huelva (Andalucia) Spain.
Since 2018, 112 individual Marbled Duck in Spain have been fitted with transmitters in an effort to understand their decline. Predation by wildlife and feral domestic cats as well as hunting have been identified. Image: ©Lubos Chlubny
Marbled Duck (or Marbled Teal)
Marmaronetta angustirostris (IUNC Near Threatened - Critically Endangered in Spain)
Once the most abundant duck in Extremadura's Doñana marshes, the lovely Marbled duck is nearly extinct, with only about 30 breeding pairs left in the marshes. After their breeding season, some like to spend time in Andalusia's marshes.
Although it is called “Teal,” it is not related; rather, it is in its own genus and is considered a kind of bridge between divers and surface-feeding ducks. Excessive hunting and loss of temporary wetlands put this duck into steep decline; in Spain, reintroduction through captive breeding is helping to repopulate the once-abundant species. In the rest of its range, North Africa remains a stronghold for the Marbled duck, but in Armenia and Azerbaijan, the population is critically low.
The Best Place to Find Marbled Ducks is Brazo del Este National Park.
#9. And Great Gulls
A pair of Audouin's Gulls on the coast of Spain, note the red bill with black, subterminal ring. Despite recent population increases, it is still considered one of the most vulnerable sea birds. Image: ©Martin Pelánek
Audouin's Gulls
Larus audouinii (Vulnerable)
The delicate Andouin's gull is partially migratory. Adults that don't winter on northwest Africa's Atlantic coast in the western Sahara as far south as Senegal and Mauritania but, this beautiful duo were spotted on Spain's Mediterranean coast.
Unlike many gulls, the Andouin’s is not a scavenger. They stay away from trash bins, your picnic lunch, and human activity in general - instead, these gulls are almost exclusively fish eaters. When the sun sets, they leave their rocky shores and sandy beaches, following trawlers at night, hoping for a discarded by-catch meal. The birds nest far from humans on barrier islands, protected from noise and predators, but we can find them on Spain’s southern coast.
The Best Place to Find Audouin’s Gulls: The Strait of Gibraltar
#10. And Finally, the Fancy Waterbirds of Southern Spain
Fuente de Piedra, Spain's largest lagoon is home to its largest colony of Flamingos. White-headed and Marbled ducks, cranes, avocets, and more share it. Image Thanks to Birding the Strait, S.A.
Greater Flamingos
Phoenicopterus roseus (LC)
The Greater Flamingo is a graceful, iconic, unmistakable wading bird of shallow wetlands. Its famous pink color results from its diet—the more shrimp it consumes, the rosier its coloring. They are often in "wetland" gardens worldwide as (mostly) decorative imports, often with wings clipped. However, to see wild flamingoes, you need to visit specific areas on the African continent or in Asia (Iran, Iraq, the UAE, and Kuwait) and India. Or come to Southern Spain!
The Best Place to See Greater Flamingos: The Fuente de Pietra in Andalucia's Malaga region is the location of one of their largest breeding colonies.
These are just a few reasons to love birding in Southern Spain—but keep them to yourself. We like Southern Spain as it is—delicious, steeped in history and birds, and mostly uncrowded.