Cheeky Birding in Madrid

Madrid cityscape featuring the Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral on a sunny day.

On our way back from Morocco we had a few days city break in Madrid mainly checking out the sites but we also had a few hours cheeky birding with John Muddeman on the last day whilst waiting for our flight home.

Our first stop was Laguna El Paso for various water based species. We saw 51 species here which was great including Black Kite and Red-crested Pochard (a life tick for me in the wild).

  • Stork in flight carrying nesting material, Madrid birding.
  • White stork wading in a shallow river near Madrid. Cheeky birding find.
  • Black kite perched on a branch in Madrid. Birding in Madrid blog content.
  • Black kite perched in a tree in Madrid. "Cheeky Birding in Madrid.
  • Red-crested pochard swimming in Madrid, a beautiful bird for cheeky birding.

Next up we headed out to some agricultural land and was pleased to see two species of Bustard – Little and Great. I have seen Great Bustards in Wiltshire but they were released birds and these were fully natural.

  • Great bustards in green grass near Madrid. Cheeky birding in Spain.
  • Great Bustard bird in a grassy field near Madrid, as seen during cheeky birding.

There were lots of vultures circling around in large kettles. Most were Griffin Vultures but we did also see several Black Vultures and one Egyptian Vulture.

  • Griffon vulture soars in the Madrid sky, showcasing cheeky birding opportunities.
  • Two griffon vultures soaring in the sky above Madrid, as seen during cheeky birding.
  • Griffon vulture soars in the Madrid sky, as seen during cheeky birding.

We were also delighted too see a juvenile Spanish Imperial Eagle eating a rabbit on a telegraph pole. This was a really impressive bird.

  • Eagle perched on a power pole in Madrid. Cheeky birding!
  • Eagle perched on a power line in Madrid.
  • Eagle perched on a utility pole in Madrid. "Cheeky Birding in Madrid" blog content.
  • Eagle landing on a utility pole with prey in its talons, Madrid birding.

A Woodlark was around on the wires too.

Skylark perched on a wire, singing. Birding in Madrid.

The last couple of birds I photographed were a Booted Eagle and some Serin.

  • Bird perched on a branch in Madrid, possibly related to "Cheeky Birding in Madrid.
  • Yellow canary perched on a branch in Madrid. Cheeky birding photo.
  • Yellow canary perched on a branch. "Cheeky Birding in Madrid" blog content.

Altogether we saw 75 species in Spain – see full eBird trip report here.

Black bird in flight, "Wild Scot" text. Scottish Wildlife Photos.

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Published by Michael Cook

Wildlife Photographer based in Scotland

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