Iberian Lynx & Migration - Spring in Southern Spain

Day 1:

Start in Malaga, meet you leaders, Dan and Rachael, and head north to the Sierra Morena. Four nights in Sierra Morena.

Days 2-4:

Sierra Morena. We will head out each day to search the area for Iberian Lynx, this species’ global stronghold. This stunning region is a wildlife paradise and excellent for Black (Cinereous) Vulture, Spanish Imperial, Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles as well as mammals such as Mouflon, Spanish Ibex, Wild Boar, Otter, Garden Dormice and bats which we may be able to find roosting in the day. The hills abound with birds including Rock Sparrow, Black Wheatear, Red-rumped Swallow, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Hoopoe, Little Owl, Iberian Green Woodpecker and much more. We will visit a variety of locations from where we will scan for Lynx but be ever entertained by other wildlife.

Day 5:

Drive to Donaña National Park stopping for a delicious tapas lunch along the way and spending the afternoon around the national park. Two nights within Donaña National Park.

Day 6:

Whole day exploring Donaña National Park, it’s waterways, forests and plains. For those that wish we will be able to take a pre-breakfast stroll to overlook the local lagoons teeming with Greater Flamingo’s, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbills, Collared Pratincoles, Black-winged Stilts, a plethora of migrant waders, Marsh Harriers and Black Kites and grazed by Red Deer and the stunning local horses.

Day 7:

Drive south towards to the Strait of Gibraltar stopping at a couple of key sites along the way to look for White-headed Duck and Crested Coot. Five nights near Tarifa.

Days 8-11:

 From our very comfortable base we will explore the region around the Strait of Gibraltar taking advantage of weather conditions to maximise our enjoyment of raptor migration and wildlife in general in the local area around Tarifa. We should encounter Booted, Short-toed and Bonelli’s Eagles, Griffon Vulture, Black and White Storks, Lesser Kestrel, Montagu’s and Marsh Harriers. We will undertake a boat trip into the Strait to look for Striped Dolphin, Long-finned Pilot Whale and maybe even Sperm Whale as well as Scopoli’s Shearwater and Audouin’s Gull. The huge plains of La Janda are great for larks including Calandra and Crested as well as Montagu’s and Marsh Harriers and Bee-eaters. Egyptian Mongoose can also be found along the canals whilst the saltpans on the coast are home to a superb variety of waders and also a colony of Northern Bald Ibis.

Day 12:

After breakfast we will return to Malaga where this tour concludes mid-morning.

The itinerary outlined is indicative and Wild Discovery reserves the right to alter the itinerary if conditions require.