I started a challenge trying to see a different bird every single bird this 2026. January brought nice sights in northern Spain, mountains and wetlands of Alicante and ultimately frozen forests in Finland.

A fieldwork-birdwatching day in El Hondo Natural Park provided awesome encounters with local winter goodies. Pallid harrier and several greater spotted eagles obliged, but a self-found red-breasted flycatcher stood out.

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.

An unprecedented influx of juvenile red-footed falcons shifted their southbound migration through Western Europe. While autumn records are being broken, I managed to connect with one of these raptors in El Hondo.

The transition between summer visitors and wintering birds brings numerous species that are only seen during fall passage in Alicante. Chats, warblers, raptors, waders and seabirds all oblige during autumn.

A Saturday with my brother in Tabarca resulted in some fun snorkeling but few birds. However, migration is in full swing, and a flock of dotterels has returned to El Hondo again.

Summer season is the prime time for waders in south Alicante, with marsh sandpipers, godwits and curlew sandpipers in El Hondo and black tern, pratincoles and regular rarities as elegant terns in El Pinet.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two common eiders showed up in south Alicante after the deadliest storm of the century casted over Valencia. Looking at the sea seems promising this incoming winter, with jaeger, gannets, and shearwaters seen too.