This is an advertisement feature in association with Asturias
Credit: Noé Baranda – Turismo Asturias
Picture the scene. You are high up in beautiful, mountainous country in the north-west of Spain. Suddenly, a gigantic bird with a with a golden body, long, wedge-shaped tail and nearly 3m wingspan drifts by, taking your breath away. It's a Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture, the bone-breaking King of the Mountains and the most exciting raptor in Europe!
Credit: Fundación para la Conservación del Quebrantahuesos – Turismo Asturias
You are in the mountains of southern Asturias, the region at the heart of ‘Green Spain’. These mountains rise to 2,500m, while further north Asturias has 400km of beautiful coastline, often thought the best preserved in Spain, with 200 superb beaches.
The high country is not just home to the Lammergeier, this is the place to seek out the elusive, magical Wallcreeper, while the forests hold the likes of Middle Spotted Woodpecker (below) and Capercaillie.
Credit: Luis Frechilla – Turismo Asturias
And the area is renowned as the one of the last refuges of the Brown Bear (below) in Western Europe. Indeed, most of the vertebrate species of the Iberian Peninsula reside in Asturias – including a great abundance of birds. Some 365 bird species have been recorded in the region.
Credit: Fundación Oso de Asturias – Turismo Asturias
And, naturally, these are not just high country birds, but spread out over great diversity of habitats, which vary from the high mountains to the renowned wetland sites.
These include the Eo and Villaviciosa Esturaries, which have been declared RAMSAR Wetlands of International Importance. And there are 13 Special Protection Areas for Birds. Westland sites cover 223,102 land hectares (and 16,574 marine hectares), all along a land that boasts seven UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.
Credit: Noé Baranda – Turismo Asturias
A birdwatcher’s and wildlife-watcher’s paradise awaits you in just two hours, thanks to direct flights from London to Asturias airport (OVD).
For more information, click here