Spain's Coto Donana & Extremadura

Tour Code: ESP11

A 9-day birdwatching tour to Spain's southern wetlands and the bird-rich steppes of Extremadura.

9 days from
£1,995 (Inc flights)
Land only price from
£1,845
book now

Highlights

Summary

Summary

This birdwatching and natural history tour combines the contrasting habitats of south and central Spain – the sun-drenched steppes and plains of Extremadura, the rugged oak-forested hills of Monfragüe National Park, and one of Europe’s finest wetlands – the Coto Doñana National Park. We will explore these exciting and wild habitats during the course of this 2-centre holiday focusing particularly on the birdlife of the region, but also enjoying the abundant and colourful wayside flora, as well as any butterflies and mammals we encounter during our stay.

  • A peaceful base in a lovely country house in Extremadura!
  • Witness the 'foam bath' display of Great Bustards
  • Sandgrouse, Roller, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole & Iberian Magpie
  • Explore medieval Trujillo, birthplace of Francisco Pizarro (conqueror of Peru)
  • White-headed Duck & Purple Gallinule near Sanlucar de Barrameda
  • Spoonbill, Little Bittern & Spanish Imperial Eagle at Coto Doñana
  • Led by expert naturalist guide

Grading

A traditional birding tour with limited amounts of easy walking.

 

Mention the idea of a Spanish holiday and the mind seems automatically to fill with images of vast hotel conurbations, over-crowded beaches, phoney flamenco dancers and fake bullfights, which have all long been served up to visitors as if they were representative of Spain’s authentic national life. Somehow, our impression of the country finds it hard to escape these holiday brochure clichés. Yet, ironically, most of this large country remains unknown to foreigners. Even the Spanish themselves live largely near its long coastline, leaving the mountains and high rolling plateaux of the interior undeveloped and sparsely populated.

Partly for these reasons, Spain has some of the last true wilderness in western Europe and is the continent’s most important country for birds. It has, for example, a third of its Red Kites and Montagu’s Harriers; half of all its Black, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures; three-quarters of the Booted and Bonelli’s Eagles and, not surprisingly, nearly all the world’s Spanish Imperial Eagles. For grassland birds it is outstanding, retaining more Great and Little Bustards than probably any other single country in Eurasia. Then there are a number of Mediterranean endemics — Red-necked Nightjar, Black Wheatear, Melodious Warbler, and Spotless Starling to name but a few — of which Spain holds major populations. And finally there are birds that have just a toehold in western Europe — Marbled Duck, White-headed Duck, Crested Coot and Purple Gallinule — that can only be seen in this exceptional country. This tour aims to find as wide a selection as possible of these many birds and to experience some of the diversity of Iberia’s magnificent scenery.

We begin our holiday with a flight to Seville and a drive through the cultivated lowlands of Andalucía, over the great Guadalquivir River and on to the Coto Doñana National Park, one of the finest wetlands in Europe. From our base in the small village of El Rocío we will explore the mosaic of marshes, Stone Pine woodland, open heathland and sand dunes in search of the park’s breeding and migrating birds. Flocks of Whiskered and Black Terns pick insects off the water’s surface, whilst Spoonbills, Little Egrets and the occasional Glossy Ibis feed in the shallows. Reedbeds hold good numbers of Little Bittern, Purple Heron and many of southern Spain’s specialities, amongst them Purple Gallinule, Marbled Teal, Crested Coot, the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle and Red-necked Nightjar. We will also visit the marshes, saltpans and freshwater lagoons along the eastern bank of the Guadalquivir River. With a hot and sunny climate this part of Andalucía is a major fruit growing area and, while agriculture has intensified here since Spain’s inclusion in the European Union, it remains rich in wildlife. Here such Andalucian specialities as the rare Whiteheaded Duck and Purple Gallinule can be seen and the Bonanza saltpans are aptly named and well worth a visit, being a haven for vast numbers of waders and a noted site for the localised Slender-billed Gull.

Following the best of the spring weather and bird migration we head north for the second part of our tour, through rolling hills, olive groves and Cork Oak woodland to the central plateau of Extremadura, where we find extensive sheep-grazed grasslands and Cork Oak forests known locally as ‘dehesa’. For the next four nights we will be based near the beautiful medieval town of Trujillo, an ideal spot from which to explore the adjacent steppes and the magnificent Monfragüe National Park. Flocks of Lesser Kestrels and Pallid Swifts wheel around Trujillo’s beautifully preserved ancient churches, whilst White Storks peer down from their roof-top nests or clatter their bills to greet a returning mate. Our main goal, however, will be to witness one of the most exciting bird spectacles in Europe, the breeding display of the Great Bustard. During this, the males — the world’s heaviest flying birds — convert themselves, by a series of bizarre distortions, into huge white balls of feathers that revolve slowly in an almost military step. While they look stately and dignified, the nearby Little Bustards perform an awkward, head-throwing action accompanied by a comical buzzing sound. The two species are certainly the star attractions of this region, but it offers far more besides, including many other grassland specialities such as Quail, Stone Curlew and Black-bellied Sandgrouse. In the surrounding Cork Oak dehesa we will look for Hoopoes, Iberian Magpies, Great-spotted Cuckoos, Woodchat Shrikes and Short-toed Treecreepers. Overhead we will keep an eye out for 16 species of raptor which should include the localised Black-shouldered Kite, Black Vulture and Spanish Imperial Eagle.

The big skies and open landscapes of Extremadura, together with the exciting variety of special birds never ceases to impress even the most well travelled naturalist, helping to make this locality perhaps the highlight of our springtime visit to Spain.

 

 

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Fly Seville & transfer to El Rocío
Day 2/4
El Rocio/Coto Doñana
Day 5/8
Trujillo & the steppes
Day 9
Fly Madrid to London
cloud_downloadDownload Full Itinerary
What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation:

    Pleasant hotel in El Rocío; casa rural outside Trujillo, Extremadura. All rooms have private facilities.

  • Food:

    All food included in the price.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost
Thu 10th Apr – Fri 18th Apr FULL £2,195
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,845
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Andy Smith
Andy Smith

Tour Leader: Andy Smith

Andy lives on the edge of Dartmoor in South Devon. He’s been a keen birder and naturalist for as long as he can remember and has enjoyed a varied career divided between conservation work in Britain and Ireland, school teaching and wildlife tour leading. He started leading for Naturetrek way back in 1997 and has now led over 150 tours to a wide range of destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Antarctica. When not currently leading tours Andy teaches geography and history to teenagers and in his spare time he explores the natural history of Dartmoor and the South Hams and serves on the records committee of Devon Birds. He also makes regular trips to the west of Ireland to visit his children and grandchildren. 

Tue 22nd Apr – Wed 30th Apr FULL £1,995
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,845
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Sat 26th Apr – Sun 4th May FULL £1,995
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,845
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Sun 4th May – Mon 12th May 6 £1,995
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,845
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Nicola Scatassi
Nicola Scatassi.JPG

Tour Leader: Nicola Scatassi

Nicola was born in Genoa in 1973 and has always lived in north western Italy. His passion for nature and wildlife began when he was thirteen or fourteen, largely due to his uncle and aunt, both nature enthusiasts, who were the first to take him around to places like the Alps and the Camargue looking for birds. After a few years doing various jobs, including working as a nature guide, he started to work as a ranger and fauna surveyer in the River Po Regional Park in Piedmont in 2000 (finding over 50 species of dragonflies and damselfies in the park), and he is still doing the same job with passion and commitment. His interest is now not only limited to birds - he's very fond of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, dragonflies, orchids...and pretty much everything else! He's always loved travelling, and this passion has taken him to over 50 countries in 5 continents, looking for birds, wildlife, nature, culture and local culinary delights! He's been leading tours since 2008 and has led or co-led more than 20 tours since in various European countries as well as in Georgia, Armenia and Egypt. Nicola graduated in foreign languages, speaks very good English, good French and some Spanish.

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Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists


The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.


Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours


We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.


The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.

Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:



Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection


Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.


 




Our specialist recommends...






"Try Coto Doñana & Extremadura for an excellent introduction to Europe's wetland and steppe birds. I would recommend our bargain holiday, 'Nepal – A Birdwatching Tour' for those interested in Siberian rarities and Ibisbill, while Costa Rica offers a chance to search for arguably the world's most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal."

Byron Palacios - Tour Leader




  


 


All Birdwatching Tours

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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

Enquire
Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!

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