A late autumn journey through the plains, mountains and wetlands of Andalucia, together with the Moorish splendour of Seville.

Our first base will be the hillside town of Montellano, from where we will visit the Sierra Sur, a range of low hills. Here we should get good views of Bonelli’s eagle, the colony of griffon vultures that nest here and, with luck, Spanish ibex on the slopes. A day will be spent in the Lantejuela plains, where amongst the olive groves and arable fields we will seek out some of Spain’s iconic steppe birds: great bustard, stone curlew and both species of sandgrouse are found in this area, along with wintering red kite and booted eagle.

From the plains we move west to Aznalcazar and spend the next three days exploring the wetlands, rice fields, woods and dehesa of the famous Coto Donana area, including a trip into the National Park itself. Large numbers of birds spend the winter here, including thousands of common crane and greylag geese, alongside purple swamphen, glossy ibis, red-crested pochard, black-winged kite, bluethroat and greater flamingos.

Our local guide is Sergio Gonzalez Asian, who works for the Fundacion Donana and can give us an insight into the conservation challenges facing the area and its wildlife.

After our natural history exploration, our attention will turn to the human historical highlights of Seville itself. The city was part of Moorish Al Andalus for 600 years before the ‘reconquista’ of Castillian Spain in the 13th century. We will explore the rich architectural and cultural legacy of these two periods in the company of a city guide, as well as having some free time to investigate the city at our own pace before returning to the UK.

Price: £1355, Single Room Supplement £150

Full Board

Leaders: Charlie Rugeroni and local guides