Dramatic wildfires are sweeping across northeast Iberia this summer. A visit to Fuente Dé in Picos de Europa National Park still yielded alpine specialties, persisting beneath the heavy smog from a nearby blaze.

Tinença de Benifassà Natural Park provided red-backed shrikes, ortolan buntings, stock dove, common rock thrush, tawny pipits — all localized breeders in the region — and a handful of picturesque villages.

A highlight of a recent trip to Somiedo was Saliencia lakes. The incredible montane landscape offered great views of breeding water pipits, common rock thrushes, Egyptian vultures and Alpine choughs.

Southern Cádiz ensures top-class birding. Local specialties such as house swift and northern bald ibis were combined with migratory birds such as ortolan bunting in La Janda or puffins and poms in Tarifa.

Ceuta hosts different North African birds: African chaffinch and blue tit, common bulbul, Levaillant’s woodpecker, long-legged buzzard, house bunting, black-crowned tchagra, Maghreb owl and Barbary partridge.

The enigmatic Dupont’s lark is extremely range-restricted in our region. Some friends and I try tracking them down at their habitat, and end up having a fantastic migration day with 13 raptor species seen.

September brought the opportunity to look for long-awaited species: dotterel and northern bald ibis. Bee-eaters, wheatears, flycatchers, honey buzzards, and whinchats showed up everywhere.