Madrid Trip Overview
Santillana reservoir is a gorgeous place, surrounded by cattle fields and with the Guadarrama mountain range in the background. Here you can find lots of waterfowl, as well as some of the most iconic endemic birds of the Iberian Peninsula, such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Azure-winged Magpie, Iberian Grey Shrike, and Cinereous Vulture.
If you wish, after the birding tour, you can visit Manzanares Castle, the best-preserved medieval fortress in Madrid.
Additional Info
Duration: 4 hours
Starts: Madrid, Spain
Trip Category: Outdoor Activities >> Nature & Wildlife
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What to Expect When Visiting Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
Santillana reservoir is a gorgeous place, surrounded by cattle fields and with the Guadarrama mountain range in the background. Here you can find lots of waterfowl, as well as some of the most iconic endemic birds of the Iberian Peninsula, such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Azure-winged Magpie, Iberian Grey Shrike, and Cinereous Vulture.
If you wish, after the birding tour, you can visit Manzanares Castle, the best-preserved medieval fortress in Madrid.
Itinerary
From our meeting point, we will take a 20-minute ride on a private vehicle to Santillana reservoir. Santillana, located on the foot of the Guadarrama mountain range, is part of Manzanares River Regional Park, regulating the flow of this river. It is an area of high ecological value and a true paradise for waterfowl. From its shores, we can easily find most of the resident aquatic birds of the Iberian Peninsula, like Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Spoonbill, Common Shelduck, Ruddy Shelduck, Egyptian Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, and five different herons and egrets. The reservoir is also a stopover for shorebirds like plovers, sandpipers, and yellowlegs during their migrations from their breeding territories in northern Europe to their wintering grounds. On the cattle routes around the lake, we can find raptors like Booted Eagle, Red Kite, Black Kite, and the endemic Spanish Imperial Eagle, as well as Iberian Great Shirke, Hoopoe, Azure-winged Magpie and Iberian Green Woodpecker among many others.
