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.

Ría de Santoña in New Year’s provides cracking winter specialties: brant geese, horned grebes, loons and waders. Mega red-breasted geese and redpolls are bonus additions to an awesome short trip.

A Cape gull from Southern Africa and a laughing gull from the Americas have shown up in Northern Spain. We enjoyed awesome birding while twitching these stunners on a roadtrip.

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.