Extremadura, the wildest, least developed and poorest region of Spain, borders on Portugal. A hard climate, with extreme temperatures both in winter and summer, and a poor soil, has until very recently kept agricultural development at a low ebb and the farming population impoverished. It was from Extremadura that men like Hernando Cortés and Francisco Pizarro set out to make their fortune, or die in the attempt, in a far-off New World that must then have seemed as distant as the moon. When the Conquistadors finally returned to the towns and villages of their birth, covered in blood, glory and gold, they built sumptuous palaces and endowed churches and monasteries with riches, a legacy which is still visible today in the historic and attractive old buildings that are a feature of the region. This indeed is a part of Spain far from the Mediterranean coast with its concrete beach resorts, an area where the proud, traditional Spanish way of life continues with only limited outside influences. Nowadays the lonely plains and hills of Extremadura provide a last great refuge for some of Europe’s most spectacular birds. In recent years its wide open expanses have become famous for their remarkable populations of both Great and Little Bustards, species which have declined drastically over most of their range and which are now very hard to find elsewhere in Western Europe.

The arid plains are not just superb for bustards, but also provide a home for Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Stone-curlews and numerous larks. This is also undoubtedly the best place in Western Europe for raptors, and the density is truly impressive. The star attraction is of course the Spanish Eagle, formerly treated as a subspecies of the Imperial Eagle, but now usually considered as a full species in its own right. Globally threatened, the Spanish Eagle is, for all intents and purposes, endemic to Spain, where the population is slowly recovering from near-extinction in the 1960s and 1970s. All the other eagles found in Western Europe occur here as well and vultures are still quite common; in particular we can expect to see good numbers of the huge Eurasian Black Vulture. In addition, small numbers of Black-shouldered Kites have colonized the region. As well as bustards, sandgrouse and raptors, Extremadura holds a number of other specialities including Red-necked Nightjar, Thekla Lark, Black Wheatear and the delightful Iberian Azure-winged Magpie (a species now recognized as specifically distinct from its cousins in northeast Asia). As well as these specialities, Extremadura supports a great wealth of more widespread European species, including prehistoric-looking Black Storks and colourful Great Spotted Cuckoos, European Bee-eaters, European Rollers and Eurasian Golden Orioles.