The three main environmental units that can be found in the district of the County of Huelva are: the forest masses, wetlands and agricultural areas.

Species of interest

• The aquatic birds are the clearest representatives in the humid areas, from the most common anatidae : mallard ( Ells platyrhynchos ), shoveler , teal; even the more scarcest ones as the marbled duck, the white-headed duck or the white-eyed pochard . Also gregarious waterfowl as the little ringed plover ( Charadrius dubius ) and Kentish plover ( C. alexandrinus ), the dotterel and grey plovers ( Pluvialis squatarola ), or green ( Tringa ochropus ) and wood sandpiper. Other bigger waterfowl species like bar-tailed and black-tailed godwit ( Limosa limosa ) or the whimbrel , they are not difficult to observe removing the flooded land.

• The waders are numerous in these places, some of them with a population state more vulnerable, as the spoonbill, the black stork, the purple heron, the common flamenco or the glossy ibis, they can be observed with relative easy, since the size of the same ones and the characteristics of the land are ideal for it. Wading more common as the white stork or the grey heron ( Ardea cinerea ) are birds present recurrently in this habitat.

• For the great contingent of birds that contribute to the aquatic avifauna, the coot ( Fulica atra ), highlights in these habitats, also because the falling conservation state the crested coot ( Fulica cristata ), although this last is present in small numbers in the district.

• Among the prey birds there are also specialists of humid areas, being breeding place for the marsh harrier ( Circus aeruginosus ) and winter site for the osprey. It is an scattering area of for great variety of predators that even not having as distinctive habitat these areas, is not difficult to find soaring across the sky black kites, booted eagle, buzzards and the more emblematic of the Spanish predators, the Spanish imperial eagle.

• But not only the birds dependent of an aquatic habitat are those that inhabit these areas, reeds and prairies of cattail, this are the places where is common to see reed ( Acrocephalus scirpaceus ) and great reed warble ( A. arundinaceus ), sedge ( A. schoenobaenus ) and moustache ( A. melanopogon ), olivaceous ( Hippolais pallida ) and melodious warble ( H. polyglotta ), they use this area for their complete life cycle.

• In these habitat the touch of colour is given by the kingfisher (Alcedo atthis ) that can be sighted perching in reeds watching for preys, or cutting the air like a small blue stain on the sheet of water.

The district of the County of Huelva, can be described like an area of vital importance for the inter-annual migration between Africa and Europe, for the different contingents of birds. The characteristics that makes it of so much importance, are not the same ones that can have the Strait of Gibraltar, but not hence makes them less important. This area is place of rest for multitude of birds before fly toward the neighbour continent.

Time of the year

• The beginning of the spring and during the winter are the most favourable periods for the observation of birds in the wetlands, this are the periods in which the biggest concentrations of many different species of birds takes place.

Observation sites

• Without a doubt the bigger one of all the ornithological resources that possess the district are in the wetlands. This dynamic environment not only presents many resources for the birdwatcher in the variety and quantity of species, but also presents a great landscape for the observation of birds for its extensive plains without hardly visual limits.

• Any of the coastal lagoons of the district of the County of Huelva, are good for the observation of birds, although those of more extension, are located in the west limit of the district, this ones are the most favourable.

© Photograph: Cinema Sur

Species of interest

• Without any doubt, the jewels of these ecosystems are the big predators, for its threat grade and success of sighting. This is the case of breeding birds in the district like the Spanish imperial eagle or of digressing as the black vulture ( Aegypius monachus ) that occupy the highest place because its size and be threatened at world level.

• Behind, and not hence less interesting, birds like the read or black kites, the booted eagle and the short-toed eagle, these three last very attractive during the migratory path for the big groups that form. Other predators of smaller size, more specialist in the hunt in forest lands are the sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus ) and the goshawk ( A. gentilis ).

• The small birds also are of interest to this resource. The behaviour of the nuthatch challenging the verticality of the trees, or the short-toed treecreeper continuous going in spiral up and down the trees, they make that even the most experimented observers stop to enjoy such a peculiar escalade. The trills and colors of the paridae like the blue or the great tit merchant, give to the environment a outstanding sound band, other contributions to the background sounds are given by long-tailed tits ( Aegithalus caudatus ), the chaffinch ( Fringilla coelebs ) or the yellowhammer ( Emberiza citrinella ). However not all the songs that we can perceive in these space will be so pleasant, the corvidae presence like the azure-winged magpie ( Cyanopica cyana ) or the magpie ( Pica pica ) will break this harmony, as well as they will put in evidence our presence.

• Multitude of tiny birds use the shrub canopy, resisting to be observed and identified, we can highlight way the Sardinian ( Sylvia melanocephala ), spectable ( S. conspicillata ), whitethroat warbler and blackcap ( S. atricapilla ), or the chiffchaff ( Phylloscopus collybita ) or Boneli's warble ( P. bonelli ).

Time of the year
• Any time of the year is good to delight with the residents of the forest skies, although during the spring it is much easier of locating them so much for the increment of the activity like for the intensity of the songs of many of them.

Observation Sites
The observation of the birds enumerated previously will be possible in most of the sites in the forest that can be found in the district, being more numerous the passerines in the better conserved forestas , in forests where your shrub stratum is very developed.

Avifauna of agricultural areas

Species of interest

• The cryptic plumage of many small birds, as the crested lark ( Galerida cristata ), the skylark ( Alauda arvensis ), the Calandra lark ( Melanocorypha calandra ), allows them to be dissolve with this environment and this way to happen inadvertent for predators at the same time of making more interesting its localization and identification for the observer. Birds of bigger span like the little bustard or the stone curlew, they also use this strategy to escape from their predators. In the other end of the discretion, birds of much more colourful, embellish these lands, hence is not difficult to observe big groups of bee-eaters ( Merops apiaster ) executing impossible flights or to see to the electric roller ( Coracias garrulus ) perching on that electricity or telephone lines, as well as huge groups of spotless starlings ( Sturnus unicolor ).

• Of the birds species than can be seen in this space we include the Egyptian vulture, the golden eagle and the Bonelli's eagle that even being considered rocky cliff birds, is not difficult to see them in these lands. It is present almost always juvenile in dispersion, digressing or, in the case of the Egyptian vulture, in migratory path.

Time of the year

• The observation of birds in these environments acquires bigger relevance during the months of spring and summer, since most of them are raises in these places. Nevertheless, there is species like the hen harrier, the short-eared owl or the European lapwing that will only be able to be observed during the winter.

Observation Sites

• The cultivations and pastures fields are chosen by countless species as a suitable habitats to develop their life cycle, among these very attractive birds for the observer. This big plains with gently hills cultivated of cereal or sunflower, are hunting places and scattering for the Montagu's and hen harrier and the vulgar kestrels and lesser kestrel.

Avifauna of the coast

Species of interest

• The geomorphologic characteristic of the coast in this district, beaches of sand without rocky cliffs, are not the appropriate ones for the establishment of marine birds that a priori would be the most assiduous visitors in this area. The forest masses extend in many points right behind the sand dunes in the beaches, for what many of the species associated to this masses can be observed here.

• Strictly marine birds, can be observed in the coast, almost always in days related with strong storms offshore that force to look for refuge in the transition area between the land and the sea. We can observe laughing ( Larus ridibundus ) and Audouin‘s gulls ( L. audouinii ), Mediterranean ( Puffinus mauretanicus ) and Cory's shearwater ( P. diomedea ), gannet ( Sula bassana ) or razorbill ( Alca torda ). The species to stand out in the district are the perigrine ( Falco peregrinus ) that still not a marine bird, you choose cliffs of sand or old towers of surveillance to install their nests, for what are not strange to observe some couples flying over the dunes.

• Other birds that we can identify in the coast line are waterfowl like the dunlin ( Calidris alpin a ) or the whimbrel , scanning the fine sands of the beach in search of small molluscs. The indefatigable laughing and yellow-legged gulls ( Larus cachinnans ) will also be seen daily throughout the coast.

Time of the year

• The time to enjoy the observation of the birds in the coast will depend on the meteorological conditions and on the time of the year. However, the possibility to combine the visit with to the coast line and to the contiguous woods to observe another type of birds, this makes that any time of the year is good to observe birds from the coast.

Observation Sites

Due to the morphology characteristic of the coast, the observation of birds doe not suppose a physical effort. Although in principle the whole coast is good to see birds, the areas with less traffic those that more opportunity will give us for it, mainly the area inside the National Park of Doñana and the coast tract between Mazagón and Matalascaña , always excluding the summery time where the affluence of I publish ago impossible the presence of birds.