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Spain Spain Special Protection Area for birds

Playa de Santa Ana

120 bird species recorded; the most in August and in October.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec83at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Vanbasten 23 · CC BY-SA 3.0

This month here

25 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellisResidentJörg Hempel · CC BY-SA 2.0 de
European Robin
European RobinErithacus rubeculaResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Meadow Pipit
Meadow PipitAnthus pratensisWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Common Chiffchaff
Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybitaWinter visitorAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Brambling
BramblingFringilla montifringillaWinter visitormmlolek · CC BY 2.0
European Stonechat
European StonechatSaxicola rubicolaResidentAlun Williams333 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Carrion Crow
Carrion CrowCorvus coroneResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Buzzard
Common BuzzardButeo buteoResidentcaroline legg · CC BY 2.0
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merulaResidentKahvilokki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black Redstart
Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochrurosResidentTisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0
House Sparrow
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian MagpiePica picaResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Kestrel
Common KestrelFalco tinnunculusResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Common Wood Pigeon
Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbusResidentTristan Ferne from UK · CC BY 2.0
Eurasian Wren
Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytesResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Eurasian Chaffinch
Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebsResidentGilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0
Northern gannet
Northern gannetMorus bassanusResidentHobbyfotowiki · CC0
Cirl Bunting
Cirl BuntingEmberiza cirlusResidentPaco Gómez from Castellón, Spain · CC BY-SA 2.0
White Wagtail
White WagtailMotacilla albaResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
European Serin
European SerinSerinus serinusResidentLuis García ( Zaqarbal ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
Dunnock
DunnockPrunella modularisResidentSmalljim · CC BY 3.0
Great Cormorant
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian JayGarrulus glandariusResidentZeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

120 species, counted.

51out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 120Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 34Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 2ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 3,589Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 9Raptors
  • 3Owls
  • 12Waders
  • 15Gulls & seabirds
  • 2Ducks & geese
  • 4Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 64Songbirds
  • 11Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 120 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
  • Red KiteMilvus milvus
Owls3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Tawny OwlStrix aluco
  • Little OwlAthene noctua
  • Western Barn OwlTyto alba
Waders12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
  • DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
  • Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
  • Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
Gulls & seabirds15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
  • Northern gannetMorus bassanus
  • Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
  • Balearic shearwaterPuffinus mauretanicusCR
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Sooty shearwaterPuffinus griseus
  • Great skuaStercorarius skua
  • Manx ShearwaterPuffinus puffinus
  • European Herring GullLarus argentatus
  • Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
  • Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalus
  • Arctic SkuaStercorarius parasiticus
  • Great shearwaterPuffinus gravis
  • Common TernSterna hirundo
Ducks & geese2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Common ScoterMelanitta nigra
Herons, ibises & grebes4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • ShagPhalacrocorax aristotelis
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
Songbirds64 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • Carrion CrowCorvus corone
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • Cirl BuntingEmberiza cirlus
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • European SerinSerinus serinus
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • DunnockPrunella modularis
  • Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
  • Great titParus major
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
  • ChoughPyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Coal TitPeriparus ater
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Sardinian WarblerCurruca melanocephala
  • Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolor
  • Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
  • European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • Cetti's WarblerCettia cetti
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • Iberian ChiffchaffPhylloscopus ibericus
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • Melodious WarblerHippolais polyglotta
  • Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • RedwingTurdus iliacus
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • Dartford WarblerSylvia undata
  • Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
  • BramblingFringilla montifringilla
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • Garden WarblerSylvia borin
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • Eurasian Crag MartinPtyonoprogne rupestris
  • Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
  • WallcreeperTichodroma muraria
  • Rock BuntingEmberiza cia
  • Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
  • Woodchat ShrikeLanius senatorNT
  • WhitethroatSylvia communis
  • Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
  • BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
Other birds11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Picus sharpeiPicus sharpei
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
  • Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • Rock DoveColumba livia

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in August and in October.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan2511°/6°104 mm
  2. Feb3112°/5°82 mm
  3. Mar5114°/6°82 mm
  4. Apr6316°/8°75 mm
  5. May5818°/10°64 mm
  6. Jun4821°/13°53 mm
  7. Jul6023°/14°32 mm
  8. Aug7724°/15°42 mm
  9. Sep6622°/14°47 mm
  10. Oct8319°/11°93 mm
  11. Nov6214°/8°126 mm
  12. Dec4812°/6°108 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Playa de Santa Ana.

Playa de Santa Ana is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Spain.

120 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 3,589 open records.

The most recorded are the Lesser Black-backed Gull, the Yellow-legged Gull and the European Goldfinch.

17 species come for the summer, 14 for the winter and 3 only pass through.

2 are threatened worldwide, including Balearic shearwater and European Turtle Dove.

The most species are recorded in August and in October.

Playa de Las Arreas
Vanbasten 23 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Playa de Santa Ana seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 6marked trails within 4 kmCamino del Norte (Asturias), Cabu Bustu, San Antón de Concilleiro and 3 more
  • 13viewpoints within 5 kmPlaya Campiecho, Mirador monte del cabo, Cabu Bustu and 10 more
  • 7car parks within 3 km
  • 4restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 5campsites within 10 kmLa Regalina, Área de autocaravanas de Trevías, Los Cantiles and 2 more
  • 35places to stay within 10 kmLa Casa de las Camelias, Apartamentos rurales Ca Xuacu, Casa Carín and 32 more
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Playa de Santa Ana.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas4 mountains within 25 km
La Forada · 6.0 kmPalancas · 8.2 kmSierra de Tineo · 22 kmMonte Gamonedo · 24 km
Coastya4 beaches within 10 km
Playa Barchinas · 1.9 kmPlaya de Santa Ana · 2.2 kmPlaya de Portizuelo · 6.4 kmPlaya Luarca · 8.3 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

Playa de Santa Ana, Benalmádena, Málaga, España, 2023-05-18, DD 65
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Playa de las Arreas - panoramio
Wamba Wambez · CC BY-SA 3.0
Playa de Cueva
Vanbasten 23 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Other places nearby.

Playa de Santa Ana

Spain

  • 51Birdyas Score
  • 120Species
  • 34Migrants
  • 2Threatened

Isla La Deva y el Playón de Bayas

Spain · 33 km

  • 85Birdyas Score
  • 214Species
  • 105Migrants
  • 10Threatened

See the guide

Ría de Ribadeo

Spain · 48 km

  • 90Birdyas Score
  • 265Species
  • 133Migrants
  • 12Threatened

See the guide

Playa de Aguilera

Spain · 45 km

  • 88Birdyas Score
  • 298Species
  • 155Migrants
  • 15Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q18170770) · CC0
Birds3,589 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Coastya, Canyonyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.