BIRDS AND NATURE IN WESTERN IBERIA

Arrive at Madrid’s airport and transfer to the city center, where you’ll check in to your hotel. Depending on your flight schedule and arrival time, you may have the opportunity to explore some of Madrid’s most beautiful parks. If you arrive early, take a leisurely walk through the expansive Retiro Park, known for its serene lake and stunning Crystal Palace. You could also visit the picturesque Casa de Campo, the largest green space in Madrid, offering excellent opportunities for boating and birdwatching. Another option is to explore the scenic Parque del Oeste, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the city from the Temple of Debod. Savor a meal at a local tapas bar or enjoy the lively atmosphere of the city’s cafes before preparing for the journey on the following day.

After your transport picks you up from you Madrid accommodation, arrive in Salvatierra de Tormes in the afternoon. After settling in, enjoy some relaxation in this picturesque setting. Join a brief welcome presentation where you’ll meet your guides and fellow travelers. If the weather permits, you might take a walk around the area to get acquainted with the landscape. The day concludes with a shared dinner, setting the stage for the adventures to come.

In the morning we will explore the area north of the hotel, on the shores of the reservoir, with open fields and a mix of holm oak, wild flowers and maquis.  Here we can see Crested and Thekla larks, Rock sparrow, Iberian magpie, Iberian grey shrike, Black kite, Booted eagle and Black vulture.

It is also a good place to see butterflies such as Knapweed fritillary, Clouded yellow and Small copper, amongst flowers such as Armeria transmontana, Linum bienne and Tolpis barbata.

After coffee we will visit the Congosto Bridge over the Tormes River with its medieval tower.  Here we will look for Blue rockthrush, Dipper, Cirl and Rock bunting.  There’s also a good chance of seeing various raptors, including kestrel, Golden Eagle and Griffon vulture.

We’ll have a walk to see the local flora, like the endemic Astragalus incanus and Ornithogalum concinnum, various butterflies and with luck we’ll see lizards such as Algerian wall lizard Psammodromus algirus, Ocelated lizard Timon lepidus, or Ghekko Tarentola mauritanica.

After lunch, we’ll visit the mountains of the Sierra de Béjar, looking for Ortolan bunting, Tawny pipit, Rufous-tailed rockthrush, and flora such as Adenocarpus complicatus, and regional endemics Linaria elegans and Leucanthemopsis pulvurulenta.

We’ll go west, to the medieval village of Monleon, with its castle tower dominating the confluence of two rivers surrounded by oak woodlands of Quercus pyrenaica, an area rich in wildflowers like Cynoglossum creticum and Digitalis thapsi, butterflies such as Lesser spotted and Niobe fritillaries, and Spanish festoon.  Here we can observe Iberian magpie, Crag martin, Black and Griffon vulture, and in spring and early summer Nightingale, Cuckoo and Turtle dove.

After coffee we’ll go to the Atlantic forest of Honfria to look for endemic flora Three birds flying toadflax Linaria triornithophora, Peony Paeonia broteri and an endemic Columbine Aquilegia subsp. dichroa, also butterflies such as Glanville fritillary and Long-tailed blue.

After a picnic lunch, weather permitting, we’ll go up the mountain, to explore for flowers and butterflies.

Last night in Salvatierra

We’ll leave the hotel behind and head southwest, stopping to visit a granite meadow to look for early orchids such as serapias lingua and orchis morio champagneuxii, as well as other interesting flora such as Linum bienne, Scilla verna and Silene scabriflora.  We’ll go to the Sangusin valley where we may see Black stork, Turtle dove, Bee-eater, Booted and Short-toed snake eagles.  With luck we’ll see Ocelated lizard and European and Spanish pond turtles, as well as butterflies and interesting plants like Asphodelus albus and Euphorbia oxyphylla.   We’ll have our picnic here, and afterwards we’ll make our way to our next destination, Hotel Porta Coeli with views out to the Peña de Francia, stopping on the way to see some interesting flora which grow in the slatey banks: like astragalus lusitanicus and anarrhinum bellidifollium. 

First night at Hotel Porta Coeli.

In the morning we’ll have a short walk near the hotel between chestnut and Mediterranean scrub to hear and see the birds of the area. After coffee we’ll visit the Batuecas valley where we’ll see Mediterranean woodland flora such as the Strawberry tree Arbutus unedo, Laurustine Viburnum tinus and Narrow-leaved mock-privet Phillyrea angustifolia, and look for the endemic Guadarrama wall lizard Podarcis guadarramae and the Two-tailed pasha butterfly, Charaxes jasius.

 After a picnic lunch, we’ll continue to the shores of the River Alagon, where we’ll look out for Grey wagtail, Dipper, Great egret, Spanish sparrow, Western bonelli’s warbler, Nightingale, Iberian magpie, Black stork, Griffon and Black vulture.

We’ll go back to the hotel to rest and after dinner we’ll go out to observe the Sierra de Francia night sky with a Starlight guide.

We’ll go to a lagoon within the Campo Charro open oak woodland or ‘dehesa’, to see waders and aquatic birds, such as Snipe, Black-winged stilt, Spoonbill, Great egret and Marsh harrier, as well as smaller resident and migratory birds.

After coffee we’ll go up to the Peña de Francia where we’ll look out for Spanish Ibex the Martinez-Rica’s rock lizard Iberolacerta martinezricai or Carbonell wall lizard Podarcis carbonelli. Here we may see Blue rockthrush, Crag martin, Pallid and Alpine Swift, Griffon and Black vulture.

We will also learn about the geology of the Peña de Francia and the Sierra de Francia. 

Picnic lunch at nearby site.

On our way back we’ll stop off at the medieval village of San Martín del Castañar, a short distance from the hotel, where we can buy local gastronomic and craft products. 

Last night at Porta Coeli.

After a relaxed breakfast, we make the three hour journey back to Madrid. Please let us know if you need help arranging the commute to any other city, whether you are on your way back home or heading to your next adventure.