The Spain: Spring Birding Extravaganza itinerary is superb. We travelled the breadth of Spain through major habitat changes that allowed us to see a magnificent variety of birds. This was a particularly wet year for Spain and we walked through wildflower meadows and green fields, through rock-covered trails by rushing water and city streets filled with people (to see an owl). We had long distances to travel but frequently stopped for birdwatching, so the drives were more than manageable.
Our views of birds was often magic. We were taken to vantage points that allowed us to view raptors at eye level or even above eye level so looking at the markings was textbook. We also walked toward monuments in isolated countryside and found small birds, raptors and brilliant scenery in a windswept and lush environment.
We were incredibly lucky with our weather; while often chilly to cold, we only really encountered rain. On one truly memorable morning we walked through snow in the Pyrenees seeing some birds but since we were in the oldest forest in Europe, with a guide that knew the flora as well as the fauna, it was a magical experience.
The hotels were varied from simple to modern. I wouldn’t change any of them since the simplest had the best food and the most modern put us close to where we needed to be to get to the birds quickly the next morning. Breakfast and dinner were good to wonderful. Our lunches were a bit boring but we were so often away from any kind of town that picnics were required and usually in places where we got great birds as a result of the stop. Because dinner in Spain is late it allowed us to birdwatch until early evening to maximize our opportunities to see good birds. Because sunrise was later, we only had a couple of days with early starts. It worked well.