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Spain Spain Special Protection Area for birds

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park

81 bird species recorded; the most in May and in September.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec47at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Ricoleta · CC BY-SA 4.0

This month here

22 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.

European Robin
European RobinErithacus rubeculaWinter visitorCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Chaffinch
Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebsWinter visitorGilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0
Great tit
Great titParus majorWinter visitorPeterRohrbeck · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Blue Tit
Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusWinter visitorSławek Staszczuk · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merulaWinter visitorKahvilokki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Nuthatch
Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaeaWinter visitorChme82 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Short-toed treecreeper
Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactylaWinter visitorCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
European Goldfinch
European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelisWinter visitorPierre Dalous · CC BY-SA 3.0
Northern Raven
Northern RavenCorvus coraxWinter visitorDidier Descouens · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaoctoWinter visitorDr. Raju Kasambe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Corn Bunting
Corn BuntingEmberiza calandraWinter visitorSteve Riall · CC BY 2.0
Rock Dove
Rock DoveColumba liviaWinter visitorwilliam_stephens · CC BY 4.0
Grey Wagtail
Grey WagtailMotacilla cinereaWinter visitorgailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Common Chiffchaff
Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybitaWinter visitorAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
European Serin
European SerinSerinus serinusResidentLuis García ( Zaqarbal ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
House Sparrow
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos majorResidentПлешков Алексей · CC BY-SA 3.0
Barn swallow
Barn swallowHirundo rusticaResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian JayGarrulus glandariusResidentZeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rock Sparrow
Rock SparrowPetronia petroniaResidentPetronia_petronia_-Ariege,_Midi-Pyrenee,_France-8.jpg : Sandra from France derivative work · CC BY 2.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

81 species, counted.

47out 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).

  • 81Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 36Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 619Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 381 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 8Raptors
  • 2Waders
  • 1Gulls & seabirds
  • 1Ducks & geese
  • 4Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 1Storks & cranes
  • 51Songbirds
  • 13Other 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 81 species.

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

Raptors8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Griffon VultureGyps fulvus
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Booted eagleHieraaetus pennatus
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Eurasian Black VultureAegypius monachusNT
  • European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
  • Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
  • Red KiteMilvus milvus
Waders2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
Gulls & seabirds1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
Ducks & geese1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
Herons, ibises & grebes4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Storks & cranes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White StorkCiconia ciconia
Songbirds51 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • Great titParus major
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • European SerinSerinus serinus
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Cirl BuntingEmberiza cirlus
  • Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
  • Sardinian WarblerCurruca melanocephala
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolor
  • Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
  • Iberian ChiffchaffPhylloscopus ibericus
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
  • European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
  • Western Subalpine WarblerCurruca iberiae
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Woodchat ShrikeLanius senatorNT
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Blue Rock ThrushMonticola solitarius
  • Rock SparrowPetronia petronia
  • European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
  • Iberian Grey ShrikeLanius meridionalisVU
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • Thekla's LarkGalerida theklae
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
  • Iberian MagpieCyanopica cooki
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Crested larkGalerida cristata
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • RedwingTurdus iliacus
  • Eurasian Crag MartinPtyonoprogne rupestris
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
Other birds13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
  • Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • Picus sharpeiPicus sharpei

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 May and in September.

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

  1. Jan2213°/3°47 mm
  2. Feb3014°/4°46 mm
  3. Mar3717°/6°56 mm
  4. Apr2520°/8°52 mm
  5. May4726°/11°30 mm
  6. Jun4232°/16°9 mm
  7. Jul036°/18°2 mm
  8. Aug2536°/18°4 mm
  9. Sep4730°/16°23 mm
  10. Oct1724°/12°70 mm
  11. Nov917°/6°71 mm
  12. Dec1514°/4°55 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park.

Protected area in Andalusia, Spain

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Spain, 381 m above the sea.

81 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 619 open records.

The most recorded are the European Robin, the Eurasian Chaffinch and the Great tit.

18 species come for the summer, 17 for the winter and 1 only pass through.

1 are threatened worldwide, including Iberian Grey Shrike.

The most species are recorded in May and in September.

Zufre Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche
Ricoleta · CC BY-SA 4.0

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.

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park 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

  • 3marked trails within 4 kmRuta 3 Verde, Ruta 7 Azul, Tierra de los Descubrimientos
  • 1visitor centres within 6 kmOficina de Turismo
  • 3viewpoints within 5 kmMirador de Castañuelo, Mirador del Castañar
  • 1car parks within 3 km
  • 2campsites within 10 kmEl Madroñal
  • 30places to stay within 10 kmCasa Anette, El Cercado de Arriba, Casa Rural La Escalera and 27 more
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 3 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 Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park.

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

Peakyas9 mountains within 25 km
Sierra de Hinojales · 3.2 kmSierra del Viento · 9.4 kmSierra Menjuana · 13 kmSierra de Jabata · 16 kmSierra del Cascajal · 24 kmSierra de Tudia · 24 kmSierra de Tentudía1,112 m · 24 kmCerro de Tentudia1,112 m · 24 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 km
Aracena Reservoir5.7 km² · 10 km
Cavernyas2 caves within 20 km
Gruta de las Maravillas · 7.8 kmCuevas de Fuentes de León · 11 km
Cascadyas2 waterfalls within 15 km
El Chorrero · 7.6 kmCachón de la Peña · 12 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.

Aracena Sierra
Diegatorr · CC BY-SA 4.0
20140928 ParqueNaturalSA
ArthurFerna · CC BY-SA 4.0
Aracenas 01
Baldomorejon · CC BY-SA 3.0 es

Other places nearby.

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park

Spain

  • 47Birdyas Score
  • 81Species
  • 36Migrants
  • 1Threatened

Marismas del Odiel

Spain · 89 km

  • 90Birdyas Score
  • 265Species
  • 130Migrants
  • 11Threatened

See the guide

Lagunas de Palos y Las Madres

Spain · 93 km

  • 85Birdyas Score
  • 233Species
  • 112Migrants
  • 9Threatened

See the guide

Doñana National Park

Spain · 105 km

  • 86Birdyas Score
  • 256Species
  • 125Migrants
  • 8Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q1754073) · CC0
Birds619 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, Lakeyas, Cavernyas, Cascadyas, Riveryas

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.