Birding Castilla-La Mancha

We will meet in Málaga in the morning and drive till our single base (3h 45min +  stops). We will enjoy a few stops on route for birding the beautiful surroundings of the Valle de Alcudia. This a wonderful place to get a taste of Spain's mediterranean Oak forests. We should be able to spot our first Cinereous (Eurasian Black) Vultures and Common Cranes alongside a variety of woodland birds.

We'll get to our hotel with time enough to unpack before dinner.

A day to enjoy bird watching locally along the Guadiana river. This is a wonderful day to look for water/reed birds, including Purple Swamphen, Marsh Harrier and several egrets. We'll scan the trees on the riverbanks to loof for the striking Penduline Tit. We'll also visit the nearby hills in a wonderful volcanic landscape, with chances on several larks and other passerines.

Another very productive bird hotspot north of Ciudad Real will hopefully bring us good views of Greater Flamingo, Shelduck, Water Pipit and Kingfisher, to name but a few species.

This is a day devoted to the birds of prey and mammals. We'll access the private areas of Cabañeros National Park to look for these, where we'll also have good chances on Reed Deer and Wild Boar. This is a prime location for Eurasian Black Vulture, where it has some of its largest concentrations in the Western Palearctic! We should also encounter Griffon Vulture and Iberian Magpie there. We'll allow some time at other habitats to increase our species list as this is a vast and interesting area.

South of Ciudad Real, the beautiful mountains of Sierra Morena home one of the most iconic birds of Spain, the Spanish Imperial Eagle. We'll look for these in the open Holm Oak dehesa forest, surrounded by singing Song and Mistle Thrushes.

As usual, we'll plan to cover an array of different habitats to increase our bird sightings. Therefore, we'll also have chances to encounter Red-billed Chough, Firecrest, Cirl Bunting and Spanish Sparrow. We'll target another endemic of the day, the Iberian Green Woodpecker.

Spain smallest National Park is Las Tablas de Daimiel. This interesting wetland complex is well equipped with walkways across the reeds, where we'll look for the very elusive Bearded Tit. We'll check some bird observatories for flying flocks of -wintering- White Stork and Common Crane.

Nearby wetlands should produce very interesting arrays of ducks, with chances on White-headed Duck, Ferruginous Duck and Red-crested Pochard. There's a specific place where we will be looking for Bluethroat. Other interesting species, such as Black-winged Stilts, Pied Avocet and Black-necked Grebe are seen frequently. A wonderful day for wetlands and waterfowl.

After a relaxed breakfast we will head south towards Málaga, where the tour ends. Of course if times allows it, we'll make some birding stops along the way.

NOTE: Please note a few other drop off points might be a possibility, such as Córdoba. Likewise, trippers could consider getting a train to Madrid. Madrid is connected to Ciudad Real by a comfortable 50 min drive on a fast-train (more info on www.renfe.com).