Go Slow ... in Southern Spain

During this ‘Go Slow’ tour, based at a highly-rated hotel in the heart of historic Malaga, we hope to both showcase the varied birdlife of the Costa del Sol and to immerse ourselves in some of the elegant historical, cultural and gastronomic highlights of the city.

Beginning with direct regional flights from around the UK to Malaga, each day on tour will involve a full morning’s birdwatching to a range of habitats within an easy drive of our hotel. After a full morning out and a picnic lunch, a period of rest and relaxation will follow before a cultural visit and an evening dinner either in our hotel or in a selection of Malaga’s excellent restaurants, each hand-picked for tastiness and authenticity.

Our birdwatching excursions will take us to karst plateau, mountains, lakes, gorges and marshes in search of El Torcal, a stunning karst plateau in the very heart of Malaga province on which several sought-after Mediterranean species breed. These include summer visitors such as Black-eared Wheatear, Orphean, Subalpine and Melodious Warblers, as well as resident mountain birds such as Griffon Vulture, Blue Rock Thrush and Rock Bunting.

An hour from the city, the lake of Fuente de Piedra holds the second largest Greater Flamingo breeding colony in the Mediterranean. Gull-billed Terns and Red-crested Pochards breed here while surrounding farmland supports Crested and Calandra Larks and Montagu’s Harriers, while just north of Malaga, the nature reserve of Montes de Malaga offers a mosaic of different habitats, fine views and birds such as Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Firecrest and Short-toed Treecreeper.

 ‘El Chorro’ is the name given by locals to the Desfiladero de Los Gaitanes (Gorge of the Vultures) Nature Reserve. It is the spectacular gorge in which three rivers converge to form the lower Guadalhorce. The stunning cliffs of the gorge, of great interest to geologists, are home to Griffon Vultures, Red-billed Choughs, Peregrine, Rock Bunting, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Dartford Warbler and Crag Martin.  By way of contract, the protected saltmarsh and reedbeds of the Guadalhorce estuary today comprises what remains of what was once a vast marsh that extended over the whole delta of the river. We’ll look for the sought-after White-headed Duck and Kentish Plover here, as well as Black-winged Stilt, Little Bittern, Audouin’s and Slender-billed Gulls.

 The proximity of these productive birding sites to our base will leave us with time to enjoy the historic city of Malaga and its many places of interest, including the Roman Theatre, the Picasso Museum, La Concepcion Botanical Gardens, the magnificent cathedral and the bay which we will explore by means of a boat trip.  This is a tour for those who like to combine birding on holiday with other interests, and it should certainly appeal to the ‘foodies’ among you. We hope you will join us!