Spain's is 'Europe's best birdwatching destination', say conservationists
Wednesday, August 28, 2013 @ 8:42 PM
SPAIN is an ornithologist's paradise – it's official, according to the charity SEO/Birdlife.
The country has the greatest variety of avian species in Europe, with a total recorded to date of 569, many of which are rare or unseen in the rest of the continent.
Some 30 per cent of Spain is classified as official nature reserve or national park land, including many regional or provincial versions of national parks known as parajes protegidos or parques naturales.
SEO/Birdlife says Spain is also the northernmost limit for natural habitats of birds from the southern hemisphere and parts of Africa and Asia north of the equator, and is the southernmost limit for birds from the Arctic circle and northern Europe, meaning a wide range of everything from tropical to polar species congregate in the country.
The Strait of Gibraltar and the wetlands throughout the east and south of Spain are also directly in the way of migratory routes for birds heading south in winter, and frequently serve as pit-stops for them as a source of food – mainly small fish and insects – and shelter.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com