Spain's Coto Donana & Extremadura

Tour Code: ESP11

A 9-day birdwatching tour to Spain's southern wetlands and the bird-rich steppes of Extremadura.

9 days from
£2,095
Land only price from
£1,945
book now

Highlights

Summary

Summary

This birdwatching and natural history tour combines the contrasting habitats of south and central Spain – the sun-drenched steppes and plains of Extremadura, the rugged oak-forested hills of Monfragüe National Park, and one of Europe’s finest wetlands – the Coto Doñana National Park. We will explore these exciting and wild habitats during the course of this 2-centre holiday focusing particularly on the birdlife of the region, but also enjoying the abundant and colourful wayside flora, as well as any butterflies and mammals we encounter during our stay.

  • A peaceful base in a lovely country house in Extremadura!
  • Witness the 'foam bath' display of Great Bustards
  • Sandgrouse, Roller, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole & Iberian Magpie
  • Explore medieval Trujillo, birthplace of Francisco Pizarro (conqueror of Peru)
  • White-headed Duck & Purple Gallinule near Sanlucar de Barrameda
  • Spoonbill, Little Bittern & Spanish Imperial Eagle at Coto Doñana
  • Led by expert naturalist guide

 

Mention the idea of a Spanish holiday and the mind seems automatically to fill with images of vast hotel conurbations, over-crowded beaches, phoney flamenco dancers and fake bullfights, which have all long been served up to visitors as if they were representative of Spain’s authentic national life. Somehow, our impression of the country finds it hard to escape these holiday brochure clichés. Yet, ironically, most of this large country remains unknown to foreigners. Even the Spanish themselves live largely near its long coastline, leaving the mountains and high rolling plateaux of the interior undeveloped and sparsely populated.

Partly for these reasons, Spain has some of the last true wilderness in western Europe and is the continent’s most important country for birds. It has, for example, a third of its Red Kites and Montagu’s Harriers; half of all its Black, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures; three-quarters of the Booted and Bonelli’s Eagles and, not surprisingly, nearly all the world’s Spanish Imperial Eagles. For grassland birds it is outstanding, retaining more Great and Little Bustards than probably any other single country in Eurasia. Then there are a number of Mediterranean endemics — Red-necked Nightjar, Black Wheatear, Melodious Warbler, and Spotless Starling to name but a few — of which Spain holds major populations. And finally there are birds that have just a toehold in western Europe — Marbled Duck, White-headed Duck, Crested Coot and Purple Gallinule — that can only be seen in this exceptional country. This tour aims to find as wide a selection as possible of these many birds and to experience some of the diversity of Iberia’s magnificent scenery.

We begin our holiday with a flight to Seville and a drive through the cultivated lowlands of Andalucía, over the great Guadalquivir River and on to the Coto Doñana National Park, one of the finest wetlands in Europe. From our base in the small village of El Rocío we will explore the mosaic of marshes, Stone Pine woodland, open heathland and sand dunes in search of the park’s breeding and migrating birds. Flocks of Whiskered and Black Terns pick insects off the water’s surface, whilst Spoonbills, Little Egrets and the occasional Glossy Ibis feed in the shallows. Reedbeds hold good numbers of Little Bittern, Purple Heron and many of southern Spain’s specialities, amongst them Purple Gallinule, Marbled Teal, Crested Coot, the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle and Red-necked Nightjar. We will also visit the marshes, saltpans and freshwater lagoons to the north of Doñana. With a hot and sunny climate this part of Andalucía is a major fruit growing area and, while agriculture has intensified here since Spain’s inclusion in the European Union, it remains rich in wildlife. Here such Andalucian specialities as the rare Whiteheaded Duck and Purple Gallinule can be seen, while the beaches to the south are noted for Audouin's Gull.

Following the best of the spring weather and bird migration we head north for the second part of our tour, through rolling hills, olive groves and Cork Oak woodland to the central plateau of Extremadura, where we find extensive sheep-grazed grasslands and Cork Oak forests known locally as ‘dehesa’. For the next four nights we will be based near the beautiful medieval town of Trujillo, an ideal spot from which to explore the adjacent steppes and the magnificent Monfragüe National Park. Flocks of Lesser Kestrels and Pallid Swifts wheel around Trujillo’s beautifully preserved ancient churches, whilst White Storks peer down from their roof-top nests or clatter their bills to greet a returning mate. Our main goal, however, will be to witness one of the most exciting bird spectacles in Europe, the breeding display of the Great Bustard. During this, the males — the world’s heaviest flying birds — convert themselves, by a series of bizarre distortions, into huge white balls of feathers that revolve slowly in an almost military step. While they look stately and dignified, the nearby Little Bustards perform an awkward, head-throwing action accompanied by a comical buzzing sound. The two species are certainly the star attractions of this region, but it offers far more besides, including many other grassland specialities such as Quail, Stone Curlew and Black-bellied Sandgrouse. In the surrounding Cork Oak dehesa we will look for Hoopoes, Iberian Magpies, Great-spotted Cuckoos, Woodchat Shrikes and Short-toed Treecreepers. Overhead we will keep an eye out for 16 species of raptor which should include the localised Black-shouldered Kite, Black Vulture and Spanish Imperial Eagle.

The big skies and open landscapes of Extremadura, together with the exciting variety of special birds never ceases to impress even the most well travelled naturalist, helping to make this locality perhaps the highlight of our springtime visit to Spain.

 

 

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Fly Seville & transfer to El Rocío
Day 2/4
El Rocio/Coto Doñana
Day 5/8
Trujillo & the steppes
Day 9
Fly Madrid to London
cloud_downloadDownload Full Itinerary
What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation:

    Pleasant hotel in El Rocío; casa rural outside Trujillo, Extremadura. All rooms have private facilities.

  • Food:

    All food included in the price.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2026

Departures Availability Cost
Thu 9th Apr – Fri 17th Apr FULL £2,095
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,945
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Andy Smith
Andy Smith

Tour Leader: Andy Smith

Andy lives on the edge of Dartmoor in South Devon. He’s been a keen birder and naturalist for as long as he can remember and has enjoyed a varied career divided between conservation work in Britain and Ireland, school teaching and wildlife tour leading. He started leading for Naturetrek way back in 1997 and has now led over 150 tours to a wide range of destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Antarctica. When not currently leading tours Andy teaches geography and history to teenagers and in his spare time he explores the natural history of Dartmoor and the South Hams and serves on the records committee of Devon Birds. He also makes regular trips to the west of Ireland to visit his children and grandchildren. 

Fri 17th Apr – Sat 25th Apr FULL £2,095
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,945
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Simon Woolley
Simon Woolley

Tour Leader: Simon Woolley

Simon Woolley is a passionate birder and all-round naturalist. Having cut his birding teeth in childhood on the Dee Estuary, he has lived in Hampshire’s New Forest for many years now, and is the author of the definitive book on The Birds of Blashford Lakes. He has travelled extensively on six continents in search of wildlife. He has a particular interest in bird systematics and endemism, and is currently completing a book on the latter topic. He has worked for many years as a Geography teacher, so clients can be assured of lots of geological and climatological background exploration on the tours he leads…. As if any further endorsement of your choice of Naturetrek were needed, he met his wife, Julia, on a Naturetrek tour of Kenya in 1997!

Sun 26th Apr – Mon 4th May SPACES £2,095
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,945
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Sergio Martin
Sergio Martin

Tour Leader: Sergio Martin

Sergio Martín was born and grew up in Andalusia, just a few hundreds of meters away from the Odiel marshes and close to Doñana National Park. It was here where his love of nature developed from early childhood, which spurred him on to study Biology at Sevilla University. He has become an experienced naturalist, having been involved with conservation and nature tourism since 2002. 

Sergio has always been interested in birdlife and mammals and although based in Andalusia, his passion for the natural world has led to exploring East African National Parks in search of some of the world's most spectacular species.

He passionately aims to show clients the natural wonders of southwestern Iberia!

Mon 4th May – Tue 12th May 2 £2,095
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,945
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£185
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Nicola Scatassi
Nicola Scatassi.JPG

Tour Leader: Nicola Scatassi

Nicola was born in Genoa in 1973 and has always lived in north western Italy. His passion for nature and wildlife began when he was thirteen or fourteen, largely due to his uncle and aunt, both nature enthusiasts, who were the first to take him around to places like the Alps and the Camargue looking for birds. After a few years doing various jobs, including working as a nature guide, he started to work as a ranger and fauna surveyer in the River Po Regional Park in Piedmont in 2000 (finding over 50 species of dragonflies and damselfies in the park), and he is still doing the same job with passion and commitment. His interest is now not only limited to birds - he's very fond of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, dragonflies, orchids...and pretty much everything else! He's always loved travelling, and this passion has taken him to over 50 countries in 5 continents, looking for birds, wildlife, nature, culture and local culinary delights! He's been leading tours since 2008 and has led or co-led more than 20 tours since in various European countries as well as in Georgia, Armenia and Egypt. Nicola graduated in foreign languages, speaks very good English, good French and some Spanish.

Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

Enquire
Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!

Related Articles

Related articles

Spain's Coto Doñana & Extremadura by John Coulter
Spain's Coto Doñana & Extremadura by John Coulter

John Coulter travelled on our 'Spain's Coto Doñana & Extremadura' holiday and submitted this entry to our writing competition.

The Best of Spain’s Wildlife
The Best of Spain’s Wildlife

Dominating the Iberian Peninsula in the south-western corner of Europe, Spain is one of the most famous holiday destinations in the world. Proverbially sunny, it has attracted heat-seeking British tourists for a century or more! In this article we celebrate all that Spain offers as a wildlife destination.

stdClass Object ( [Trip Code] => ESP11 [data] => stdClass Object ( ) )