Spain - Best of the Basque Country

The Basque Country is a semiautonomous region of northern Spain which boasts its own unique culture and language, age-old customs and festivals, a highly diverse landscape and an internationally renowned cuisine. Hemmed in by the rolling swells of the Bay of Biscay and flanked by Navarra, Rioja, Castile & Leon and Cantabria — as well as by a short border with France — this immensely proud region is not perhaps the first part of Spain that comes to mind when a wildlife holiday is considered. However, the Basque Country is home to an exciting variety of breeding birds, spring flowers and colourful butterflies, all of which we will enjoy during this tour on a series of gentle walks and diverse excursions. Add to this the region’s scenic beauty, cultural interest, wonderful wine and gastronomy and you have the ingredients for an enjoyable and varied week of wildlife and more. After only one reconnaissance visit, we were smitten!

The Basque Country’s diverse array of habitats include sheltered Pyrenean Oak forests in which we will search for Great, Middle and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, extensive wetlands home to Spoonbills, White Storks and Black-winged Stilts, and high rocky peaks and passes beloved of circling Griffon Vultures and other soaring raptors. Bee-eaters hawk for insects over mixed agricultural and riparian habitats, while by late May the region’s alpine meadows should be in full flower, with orchids such as Naked Man and Early Spider being just two of the botanical highlights we hope to find. During our week away we will explore three of the Basque region’s seven provinces — Bizkaia, Álava and Guipúzcoa — combining gentle birding and botanical walks along rugged coastlines, amongst craggy mountains and in verdant valleys, with sampling the area’s distinct heritage and culture. In addition, with more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else in the world (the Basques believe that good food is a reflection of good character), we are sure to be exceptionally well fed and watered!

We start with a flight to Bilbao, followed by a short drive north-east to the historic fishing village of Mundaka where we will be based for two nights on the picturesque waterfront. Mundaka is an ideal base for exploring the nearby UNESCO Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve where tracts of Cantabrian Holm Oak, freshwater marshes and sandbars provide important habitat for a variety of migratory and breeding birds including Spoonbill, Osprey, Black Kite, Hoopoe and Melodious Warbler. To the south of Urdaibai is the town of Guernica, made famous by Picasso’s eponymous masterpiece which depicts the bombing of the town during the Spanish Civil War. We will explore the town and see the huge painting during our time here.

Next, we drive south through wetlands to the drier valleys and plains of Álava and Alavese-Rioja on the Ebro River, an area renowned for its vineyards. We will be based for three nights in the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz whilst we explore the varied habitats of the region. Álava’s wetlands attract a wide variety of birds as well as mammals such as Roe Deer and Wild Boar. Forests here are home to woodpeckers, Wryneck, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Hawfinch and Serin. We will also visit one or two of the area’s bodegas to enjoy some wine-tasting, and take short walks in search of butterflies such as Swallowtail, flowers including Naked Man, Lady and Early Spider Orchids, and birds such as Bee-eater, Golden Oriole, Nightingale, Marsh Harrier and Iberian Chiffchaff. We will also spend a morning exploring the Salburua Marshes located near Vitoria-Gasteiz. Here we will look for a variety of breeding birds including Marsh Harrier, Purple Heron, Great Reed Warbler, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover and Woodchat Shrike. The marshes also provide ideal habitat for a wide variety of amphibians and dragonflies.

Moving on, we drive north-east to the limestone mountains of Goierri (the ‘Basque Highlands’) in the province of Guipúzcoa, a region swathed in lush coastal vegetation. We will be based in the town of Olaberria for our final three nights of the tour, a town known as ‘the balcony of Goierri’, due to its location 342 metres above sea level and its wonderful views of Mounts Txikondi (1,346 metres) and Aizkorri (1,528 metres). This area is particularly good for raptors such as Booted Eagle, Goshawk and Griffon Vulture.

From the roaring surf of the Atlantic and the sound of cow bells in the high alpine meadows, to peaceful vineyards and crumbling medieval villages, our 9-day exploration of Spain’s Basque Country should reveal a superb variety of flora and fauna set amongst beautiful and varied scenery, all washed down with some excellent wines, and a distinctive and delicious local cuisine. It will be hard to leave!