My local birding reached a new level in 2025. I connected with 276 species in Comunitat Valenciana including unexpected rarities, highlights of different seasons and countless hours shared in the field with friends.
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.
Laguna de los Peces is a glacial lagoon surronded by prime montane scrub near Sanabria. Ortolan buntings, red-backed shrikes, bluethroats, Galán’s rock lizards and Seoane’s vipers live in a magical yellow and pink infinity.
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.
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.
Spring has arrived to Alicante and prenuptial migration is all around us. Besides a surprising Rüppell’s vulture in Alcoi, the lowlands provide nuptial displays of ducks and different migratory warblers and swallows.
Fieldwork brings me to picturesque Sierra de Cazorla, where I encounter my first-ever bearded vulture after conservation efforts brought the species back to southern Spain.
I recently started collaborating in teaching at university during field courses. We visited Murcia region and monitored Barbary sheep, Greek tortoise and griffon vultures with students on the way.
What started as a joke ended up as a quest. Through living between Finland and Spain and travelling across Africa and Asia, I managed to find 1,000 bird species in 2024.
Hiking paid off lately with montane winter specialties. Aitana provided goldcrest, ring ouzel, fieldfare, and redwing. Penyagolosa with friends resulted in white-winged snowfinch, citril finch, and alpine accentor.
A trip to Kazbegi five years ago marked my first experience watching birds abroad. Highlights include wallcreeper, Caucasian snowcock, and flocks of migrating kites, buzzards, sparrowhawks, chiffchaffs, and wheatears
A long drought is especially evident by June. Rufous-tailed rock thrush, tawny pipit, pin-tailed sandgrouse, stone martens, and Lataste’s vipers are some specialties found with friends and family.
Impressive geological formations and a wonderful starry night. Visiting El Torcal de Antequera in summer pays off: western Orphean, Bonelli’s, and Iberian warblers, western black-eared wheatears…
