It is highly recommended for the visitor from North America to come to Madrid a couple of days beforehand to be able to rest and adapt to life in the European continent while visiting the interesting city of Madrid and taking the opportunity to do some good birding in the city’s parks.

Pablo will meet the group at six o’clock in the evening at the hotel to welcome the group and explain how this interesting trip will be, which really offers very good birding opportunities, but certainly requires a good experience as a birder and the willingness to face long days with good energy and enthusiasm along the way.

Depending on the weather and the information available the guide will choose the best itinerary, but as a reference we will start the day early leaving Madrid and head to the nearby urban park of Polvoranca. Because the birds are very accustomed to the birdwatchers it is easy to observe birds such as the Iberian Woodpecker or the Penduline Tit among others at the park.

We continue south towards Toledo, but on our way, we will stop in the vicinity of an old castle to look for the Black Wheatear and the Western Black-eared Wheatear. So, we will have lunch in Villacañas and then visit its interesting lagoon looking mainly for the Savi’s Warbler, Collared Pratincole, Common Shelduck, Northern Lapwing, and the Greater Flamingo.

We will stop at other nearby places and endorheic lagoons to head east to Campo de Criptana where our hotel is and a sensory spectacle awaits us, watching how the sun rays illuminate the great windmills on top of the hill of Castilla La Mancha, we definitely will feel like Don Quixote when he challenged the giants according to Cervantes.

In the morning, we will visit several of the nearby lagoons of Alcázar de San Juan mainly looking for the Marble Teal and the White-headed Duck from a comfortable bird observatory in these La Mancha lagoons, with difficult but possible observations of the shy and elusive Bearded Tit.

At noon we will visit the so-called bird island on the Tagus River in the vicinity of the historic city of Toledo. We will be amazed by the large colony of birds that interact with each other such as the Glossy Ibis, the Black-crowned Night Heron or even if we are lucky the elegant Nightingale.

We will take advantage of this strategic location to visit the impressive city of Toledo, declared World Heritage Site and former capital of Spain in ancient times where we will have lunch and have time to visit some souvenir stores as well as some historical buildings.

In the afternoon we will enter a private family estate in the Montes de Toledo area, where a local guide will welcome us to get to know its beautiful lands and its interesting natural history, where the main jewel is the famous Iberian Lynx. With patience we will wait to see some of the female Lynx that hopefully by that time will have young cubs.

We will be blessed if we see this endemic feline of the Iberian Peninsula that thanks to a strong conservation effort is recovering its populations close to 2,500 individuals.

In the evening, we may be fortunate to see some nocturnal birds such as the Red-necked Nightjar or the Scops Owl before going to bed to the nearby hotel.

Hopefully we can see the Lynx either in the first afternoon, in the morning or even during both days, that would be fantastic and we can also see the Spanish Imperial Eagle or the Stone Curlew among the trees of the Dehesa, this traditional forest distribution in Spain.

At midday we head west to Extremadura in the province of Cáceres to visit the Arrocampo wetland, where we will have lunch and look for some interesting waterbirds such as Little Bittern, Ferruginous Duck, Purple Heron, Kingfisher or even if we are lucky the Black-winged Kite.

After lunch and a refreshing coffee, we will enter what is the iconic place for birdwatchers in Spain, the Monfragüe National Park. We will start by stopping at the Portilla del Tietar where the spectacle of watching large birds of prey as the Griffon Vulture is more than guaranteed and with fluke, we will dare to observe the elegant Eagle Owl or the Egyptian Vulture.

Depending on the weather we will continue in the park or leave it for the next afternoon, so we will head to the nearby village of Torrejón el Rubio to enjoy an excellent traditional dinner before going to bed at the Hotel.

Very early in the morning we will go in search of the endangered and scarce steppe birds in the famous Llanos de Cáceres where we will spend the morning mainly looking for Great Bustards and Little Bustards. After a break in Santa Marta de Magasca we will follow the road to enjoy the striking Rollers and hopefully a Little Owls, birds increasingly scarce in the Iberian geography.

From the plains we will climb to the top of the Sierra de Fuentes to see the impressive views and be able to dazzle some birds of prey as Snake Eagle and forest birds such as the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, the Iberian Magpie or the Golden Oriole among others, before visiting the Carrasco cheese factory, where we will learn about the sustainable work of the shepherds and taste the traditional «migas extremeñas», crumbs, and coffee with the goat’s milk that visitors themselves will be able to milk.

In the afternoon we will again approach the Monfragüe Park to the Salto del Gitano, iconic place to observe the vultures closer impossible, excellent opportunities for photography before returning to the Hotel nearby.

Due to the importance of the steppe birds, we will repeat a good effort to observe some of the prairies birds that we are missing, giving special attention to scarce birds as Pin-tailed Sandgrouse and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Great Spotted Cuckoo and Hoopoe, Lesser Kestrel, among others in the steppe lands that still maintain traditional pastures thanks to the important sheep.

After lunch in the vicinity, we will drive north to the surroundings of the Lagunas de Villafáfila in the province of Zamora, where we will look for waterfowl such as Tufted Duck, or Gull-billed Tern and the migrant waders such as Curlew Sandpiper, Pied Avocet or Kentish Plover.

To sleep we will go to the village of Benavente, where to also have dinner.

In the morning, we will visit the surroundings of the lagoons of Villafáfila to enjoy what is the largest European population of Eurasian Bustards, with possible groupings close to forty specimens and with the possibility of being able to contemplate the remarkable wheel display typical of the time of nuptial courtship.

We will perhaps return to visit the lagoons themselves where we will also have good opportunities to enjoy good observations of bee-eaters or Montagu’s Harrier among others.

For lunch that day we will visit a spectacular restaurant located in an old winery and after this feast we will continue north to the border of Asturias in the Cantabrian Mountains, where we will visit the Natural Park of Somiedo and make the first stop at the Port, to look mainly for the Bluethroat, Snipe, Common Rock Thrush or the Whinchat.

From the top of the mountain, we will go down the road to Pola de Somiedo, the capital of the region where we will stay and, on the way, we can make our first wait to look for the Brown Bear. Cantabrian Bears are fortunately also recovering in their populations to a number close to 500 specimens in the mountain range itself, being Somiedo the best place to observe them in freedom, while feeding or interacting in the nearby hills.

At dawn, we will return to look for birds and brown bears in the surroundings of the Natural Park, near Caunedo or wherever the guide considers appropriate. At this time of the year there are lots of wild orchids in full bloom and offers good opportunities to observe female brown bears with cubs of the year or even to witness fights between bears typical of the rutting season of the Brown Bear.

Somiedo is also a good place to perhaps rest a little and feel more the pulse of the mountains as it is a good opportunity to enjoy the smell and the magnitude of the green mountains that we will have around us, full of life and history. The traditional shepherd constructions stand out, the Cabañas de Teito, typically used by shepherds historically. We sleep back in Pola de Somiedo.

We will begin the day early in the morning in La Farrapona to look for brown bears. Nearby we will walk to the beautiful glacial lakes of Saliencia to enjoy the scenery and possible birds such as the Common Rock Thrush, Water Pipit or the Northern Wheatear among others.

We will descend from the heights to Las Ubiñas in León to go down the Puerto de Ventana towards Proaza, in Asturias again to look for the enigmatic Wallcreeper bird among its abrupt limestone walls and in the nearby streams for the White-throated Dipper and the Grey Wagtail.

We continue down from the mountains following the flow of the Salmon rivers that goes into the Atlantic Ocean, to the protected area of Cabo Peñas, the largest cape that penetrates the wild Cantabrian Sea, to enjoy this magnificent scenery and possibly some seabirds such as the Shag or the Yellow-legged Gull.

This will obviously be the most northerly point we can reach on the tour before we start heading south, but first we will have to cross the imposing mountains of the Picos de Europa, where we will be heading at this point. We will stay at the historic site of Covadonga, famous for its cultural heritage and its relevance in the history of Spain, which we will be able to visit in the vicinity of the hotel before dinner. Hotel will be based at Covadonga site where we will also have dinner.

Early in the morning we will drive up the famous stage of the Vuelta a España in the heart of the Picos de Europa National Park, more than 110 years old. We will visit the lakes Enol and Ercina in the center of the central massif and with its imposing mountains in the background.

We will be able to watch some alpine birds such as the Yellow-billed Chough and the Water Pipit or forest birds such as the Yellowhammer, Pied Flycatcher, or even the Iberian Green and the Black Woodpecker and hopefully if the fog allows it, we will look at the viewpoint of La Reina to contemplate the spectacular Bearded Vulture on the horizon. This bird has recently and successfully returned to the Cantabrian Mountains as a breeder and is fascinating to watch.

Depending on how the day goes we will revisit the surroundings of Covadonga after lunch and continue the journey in the vicinity of the Cares River and Deba until we reach Potes, the capital of Liébana in the Cantabrian part of the Picos de Europa.

We will enjoy a good time getting to know the charismatic town of Potes to continue the journey up again towards the mountains, to the foothills of the Eastern Massif in Cosgaya, where we will stay at the spectacular Hotel del Oso, an experience to know and with an excellent cuisine.

In the morning, we will take the first cable car up 800 vertical meters to its upper station and its magnificent alpine balcony over the pure void. That is undoubtedly, among the steep limestone peaks, where we will return to look for the elusive Wallcreeper and other elusive alpine birds such as the Snowfinch and the Alpine Accentor itself. The ones that will surely give us a good surprise are the agile Cantabrian Chamois during their forays among the alpine rocks.

After lunch on the heights, we will go down in the cable car to enjoy some forest birds near the base of the cable such as the Firecrest or the Marsh Tit before continuing our long van trip to the south. During the ride we can make a technical stop in the historic village of Cervera de Pisuerga after descending from the impressive col of Piedrasluengas, where with a lot of luck we can observe a Red Fox or even a Wild Cat in the meadows near the road.

After another encouraging coffee we will continue during the longest transition day to the province of Segovia, where we will go to sleep in the village of Sebulcor after an impressive day.

Early in the morning we will challenge our luck looking for what is the most endangered bird in Europe, the Dupont’s Lark, typical of rocky lands with sparse and aromatic vegetation, which likes to walk among the plants limiting its possible observation and that certainly can be recognized by its enigmatic song and its confident behavior when it eventually shows itself.

Along with this winged jewel we may be accompanied by others such as Western Orphean Warbler, Black-eared Wheatear or the Thekla’s Lark; it is undoubtedly one of the few places in Spain where you can observe five alaudids in a single good day.

After coffee, we will visit other areas to look for interesting birds such as the Ortolan Bunting, the Western Subalpine Warbler or the Dartford Warbler or even closer to the Duratón River itself, we will stop for a pleasant walk to look for super attractive birds such as the Wryneck or the Iberian Chiffchaff, while we sense the Roe Deer among the bushes.

The proximity of Segovia to the capital of Spain is surprising due to the tranquility of its lands and how wild they appear. But this bucolic image will change quickly as we get closer on the road to the capital of Spain, where we will stay for the last night of the tour through the center and northwest of the country.

As the morning progresses visitors will go to the nearby Madrid airport to begin their return trips to their home countries after a fantastic journey, full of landscapes, culture, interesting gastronomy and of course many birds, flowers and attractive mammals.