Dave Gosney writes:
‘‘I’ve made 3 visits to Extremadura in the last 4 years and each time it has lived up to its billing as one of the top birding areas in Europe. Many of its birds are so big, so abundant and so spectacular that it would be hard to miss them but others such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Roller, Little Bittern, Great Spotted Cuckoo and both sandgrouse could prove tricky to find unless you know the best spots to look for them. This book is full of detail on where those best spots are so you won’t miss out on your next trip”.
Compared to other publications covering the same area, this one:
* Covers exact details of where to find birds so you can easily find your way to the best bits of wetland, plain or woodland
* Is more up-to-date, based on recent trips
* Has maps which are exactly to scale - if the map suggests it’s 500 metres, that’s how far it will be
* Includes GPS co-ordinates to help you find the right turnings, parking spaces or viewing points
* Highlights the best areas only and summarises the key attraction in the first paragraph so you can easily decide whether to read on
* Has a map on the inside cover which serves as an index so you can easily find any site in the book
* Is light and portable
* Is complemented by a DVD showing you exactly what it’s like to go birding in many of these sites.
Featured Sites:
Trujillo - find out the best place to view the Lesser Kestrels and to watch storks, Pallid Swifts, Crag Martins etc.
Belen - a popular place for viewing bustards and sandgrouse.
Trujillo plains - includes specific sites for looking for Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, great and Little Bustard, Bonelli’s Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier and Bee-eaters.
Caceres plains - where to look for bustards, sandgrouse, Roller, Alpine Swift, Black-shouldered Kite, Purple Swamphen, Rock Bunting and Rock Sparrow.
Monfrague - includes great spots for seeing Spanish Imperial Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Azure-winged Magpie, Eagle Owl, Black Stork and all 3 vultures.
Las Villuercas - fantastic for eagles, with sites for Black Wheatear too.
Saucedilla (Arrocampo) - a terrific wetland for Little Bittern, Purple Swamphen, Savi’s Warbler and several herons plus Black-shouldered Kite in winter and Great Spotted Cuckoo in summer.
Valdesalor - a great place for getting close to bustards.
Sierra de San Pedro - higher densities of Spanish Imperial Eagle and Black Vulture than Monfrague with sites for Bonelli’s Eagle, Black Wheatear, Lesser Kestrel and Eagle Owl.
La Serena - greater numbers of bustards and sandgrouse than any other site in Europe. Black Wheatear and Cranes too.
Vegas Altas (including Madrigalejo and Moheda Alta) - in winter, thousands of cranes, dozens of harriers, vast flocks of wildfowl, easy Great Bustards, Stone Curlews and Black-shouldered Kites plus passage wader flocks and the easiest place in Europe to see Red Avadavat.
Campo Lugar and Sierra Brava - thousands of wildfowl on the reservoir in winter, pratincoles and Gull-billed Terns in summer and bustards and sandgrouse on the plains all year.
Around Plasencia - sites for 4 species of woodpecker, Hawfinch, Bonelli’s Warbler and Rufous Bush Chat.
Sierra de Gredos - just outside Extremadura but worth an excursion to look for Citril Finch, Rock Thrush, Alpine Accentor, Water Pipit and no-spotted Bluethroat.
Sierra de Bejar - similar birds to the Sierra de Gredos but with less walking.
