Birdwatching

Ten of the best natural parks to observe birds and wildlife in Spain

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Ten of the best natural parks to observe birds and wildlife in Spain

Spain has to rate as one of the best countries in in Europe for bird and wildlife watching. A destination with over 15 million hectares of protected areas and natural parks plus Spain is a strategic location on the avian migratory routes between Europe to Africa. So Ten of the best natural parks to observe … Read more

Bearded Vulture – Gypaetus barbatus – Quebrantahuesos

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Bearded Vulture - Gypaetus barbatus - Quebrantahuesos
  • English: Bearded Vulture
  • Spanish: Quebrantahuesos
  • Alternative names / spellings: Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, Lammergeir.
  • Catalan: Trencalòs

The Bearded Vulture – Gypaetus barbatus – Quebrantahuesos is one of the largest raptors in Spain and also the rarest. It has a wingspan of 2.8 m and length of around 1.10 m. The dark, narrow wings taper to a point while the tail is long and wedge shaped. The body, legs and head are a dirty white although they deliberately stain this to a dark orange colour using iron oxides contained in calcareous rock where available. They have dark feathers around the eyes and it is the long bristles draped beside the bill which leads to the English common name of Bearded Vulture.

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Parque natural del Delta del Ebro

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The Parque natural del Delta del Ebro holds a great importance internationally as more than 300 species of birds
  • Region: Catalunya.
  • Province: Tarragona.
  • Declared a Natural Park: 1983.
  • Park surface area: Land: 8.445 hectares (including 2,578 hectares of nature reserves) – Marine: 564 hectares.
  • Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance 1993.
  • ZEPA (Special Area for Bird Protection).

Points of interest

The Parque natural del Delta del Ebro holds a great importance internationally as more than 300 species of birds (of the 700 that exist in Europe) have been observed at the Delta. This includes resident, pre and post-nuptial migration as well as wintering flocks. It is the second largest wetland in the western Mediterranean. (The first being the Camargue in France.)

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Santoña Victoria y Joyel Natural Park

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The Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Natural Park is an estuary in Cantabria, protected as a natural park. It is one of the wetlands of most ecological value in the north of Spain
  • Region: Cantabria.
  • Province: Cantabria.
  • Declared a Natural Park:
  • Park surface area: 6,500 hectares.
  • Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
  • ZEPA (Special Area for Bird Protection).

Points of interest

The Santoña Victoria y Joyel Natural Park is an estuary in Cantabria, protected as a natural park. It is one of the wetlands of most ecological value in the north of Spain. It is used as a winter refuge and migratory passage by many species of birds.

The marshes are formed by the Asón River and the park occupies over 6,500 hectares distributed among the municipalities of Argoños, Bárcena de Cicero, Colindres, Escalante, Laredo, Limpias, Noja, Santoña and Voto.

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