April in Spain calls for the steppe. Little and great bustards are busy with their spectacular displays, a must-see show which ensures views of larks, shrikes or orchids in awesome green-and-red landscapes.

The enigmatic Dupont’s lark is extremely range-restricted in our region. Some friends and I try to track down them 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.

The bearded reedling is an uncommon inhabitant of reedbeds in south Alicante wetlands. Skulky and skittish, we eventually enjoyed some views of a couple of this stunning species in El Hondo.

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.

Exceptional days in Santa Pola — four different Caspian gulls hit the regional record of the species. Kittiwake, razorbill, eider, dolphins and hundreds of shearwaters have also been noted in the area lately.

The mythical wallcreeper is Spain’s 2025 Bird of the Year. One has shown up for almost a month near a recreational area, giving us great views of this special bird close to home.

Arabuko Sokoke is the largest remnant of East African coastal forest. Walking its trails produced endemic Sokoke scops-owl, Amani sunbird and golden-rumped sengi and a close encounter with an elephant!

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.

A quick stopover in Kuwait provided WP specialties using public transport: white-tailed and spur-winged lapwings, isabelline and masked shrikes, white-throated kingfisher, clamorous reed warbler and more.

A morning visit to Lake Kerkini looking for lesser white-fronted geese and tundra swans resulted in three Greek rarities: a Siberian chiffchaff, three little bustards, and an Oriental turtle-dove.

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.

Two days birding l’Albufera finished with terrific sunsets. Highlights included a mega greater yellowlegs, wintering jack snipes, a common scoter, the local sacred ibis, and numerous waders and waterfowl.

Firecrests are working hard to defend their territories during my morning walk in El Romeral urban park in Alcoi today. A female hawfinch returns to this wintering hub for the species.