I and some friends are planning to visit Northern Spain (Somiedo National Park, Los Bardanos and Picos De Europa) sonmetime in late April,for a birdwatching trip we would also love to see Lynx, Bears and Wolves. We would be very grateful for any information on the birds at these sights and any nearby sights of interest. Please contact me by e-mail. Thanks in advance.

-- Antony Shaun Disley (a.disley@tesco.net), January 11, 2001

Answers

Bears are reputedly easier to spot in Somiedo than anywhere else in Spain but it still must be an extremely rare occurrence. Otherwise an excellent choice for a variety of wildlife. Belmonte and Cangas de Narcea are good bases for exploring this area.

In Picos you should definitely try for wallcreeper and Yellow-billed chough. Golden eagles are fairly easy to see and griffon vultures are in evidence everywhere. Herds of chamois are common throughout Picos. Try the relatively straighforward walk from the Lagos de Covadonga to Vega de Ario for a variety of birds.

You say you want to go Los Bardenos. Do you mean Las Bardenas? This is a semi desert area between Navarra and Zaragoza. Beatiful in a desolate sort of way. Good for steppe birds like bustards, stone curlews and sandgrouse.

Wolves, although not that uncommon in Northern Spain, are very rarely seen as they are nocturnal and very wary of humans. Your best chances are in the Sierra de la Culebra reserve, in Zamora. Wolf watching is a very inexact science although it is possible to find tracks and other markings if you know where to look. There is a local environmental group who organises occasional wolf-awareness excursions in this area. Their address is ciconia@eims.net

The Spanish lynx is only found in central, western and southern Spain. Even there it is an extremely rare animal on the very verge of extinction. There are very few people who have ever seen a Spanish lynx in the wild.

-- Soledad (solewall@terra.es), January 12, 2001.

These links might be of help...

http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/forest/4567/index1.html (Somiedo)

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/1097/index1.html (Picos)

Both are in Spanish but, even if you can't follow all the text, they have lots of maps and pictures which will probably be useful. This, for example, is a nice map of Somiedo...

http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/forest/4567/fotos/Somiedo.jpg

Enjoy your trip. Good luck.

Carlos

-- Carlos del Val (la_casita@post.com), January 18, 2001.