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Spain Spain Special Protection Area for birds

El Torcal de Antequera

151 bird species recorded; the most from March to May and in October.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec105at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Roland Geider ( Ogre ) · Public domain

This month here

83 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

European Robin
European RobinErithacus rubeculaWinter visitorCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black Redstart
Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochrurosResidentTisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Chaffinch
Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebsResidentGilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0
Common Chiffchaff
Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybitaWinter visitorAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
European Goldfinch
European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelisResidentPierre Dalous · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merulaResidentKahvilokki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Great tit
Great titParus majorResidentPeterRohrbeck · CC BY-SA 4.0
European Stonechat
European StonechatSaxicola rubicolaResidentAlun Williams333 · CC BY-SA 4.0
White Wagtail
White WagtailMotacilla albaWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Griffon Vulture
Griffon VultureGyps fulvusResidentMarkel Olano, goierritarra1 · CC BY-SA 2.0
European Serin
European SerinSerinus serinusResidentLuis García ( Zaqarbal ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
Sardinian Warbler
Sardinian WarblerCurruca melanocephalaResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Linnet
Common LinnetLinaria cannabinaResidentJoe Pell · CC BY 2.0
Rock Bunting
Rock BuntingEmberiza ciaResidentHobbyfotowiki · CC0
Eurasian Blue Tit
Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusResidentSławek Staszczuk · CC BY-SA 3.0
Meadow Pipit
Meadow PipitAnthus pratensisWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Blackcap
BlackcapSylvia atricapillaResidentphoto taken by Jakub Stančo , · CC BY-SA 3.0
House Sparrow
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Song Thrush
Song ThrushTurdus philomelosWinter visitorCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Spotless Starling
Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolorResidentJohn Gould · Public domain
Thekla's Lark
Thekla's LarkGalerida theklaeResidentAdrian198cm · Public domain
Blue Rock Thrush
Blue Rock ThrushMonticola solitariusResidentjose maria carretero palacios from jerez de los caballeros, españa · CC BY 2.0
European Greenfinch
European GreenfinchChloris chlorisResidentDidier Descouens · CC BY-SA 3.0
Corn Bunting
Corn BuntingEmberiza calandraResidentSteve Riall · CC BY 2.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

151 species, counted.

63out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 151Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 71Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 17,985Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 1,298 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 20Raptors
  • 5Owls
  • 3Waders
  • 2Gulls & seabirds
  • 3Ducks & geese
  • 5Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 2Storks & cranes
  • 1Flamingos
  • 88Songbirds
  • 22Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 151 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors20 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Griffon VultureGyps fulvus
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • Short-toed eagleCircaetus gallicus
  • Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
  • Bonelli's EagleAquila fasciata
  • Lesser kestrelFalco naumanni
  • European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
  • Booted eagleHieraaetus pennatus
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Egyptian vultureNeophron percnopterus
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Rüppell's VultureGyps rueppelliiCR
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • Eurasian Black VultureAegypius monachusNT
  • Red KiteMilvus milvus
  • Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
Owls5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Little OwlAthene noctua
  • Northern Eagle OwlBubo bubo
  • Eurasian Scops OwlOtus scops
  • Long-eared OwlAsio otus
  • Tawny OwlStrix aluco
Waders3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
Gulls & seabirds2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
Ducks & geese3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • Cairina moschataCairina moschata
Herons, ibises & grebes5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
Storks & cranes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White StorkCiconia ciconia
  • Common CraneGrus grus
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds88 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • Sardinian WarblerCurruca melanocephala
  • Rock BuntingEmberiza cia
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • Great titParus major
  • European SerinSerinus serinus
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • Blue Rock ThrushMonticola solitarius
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolor
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Thekla's LarkGalerida theklae
  • ChoughPyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
  • Eurasian Crag MartinPtyonoprogne rupestris
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
  • Cirl BuntingEmberiza cirlus
  • Rock SparrowPetronia petronia
  • Black WheatearOenanthe leucura
  • Crested larkGalerida cristata
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Melodious WarblerHippolais polyglotta
  • Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
  • Western Subalpine WarblerCurruca iberiae
  • Western Black-eared WheatearOenanthe hispanica
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • Woodchat ShrikeLanius senatorNT
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Western Orphean WarblerSylvia hortensis
  • Western Bonelli's WarblerPhylloscopus bonelli
  • Dartford WarblerSylvia undata
  • Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
  • Cetti's WarblerCettia cetti
  • Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
  • European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
  • Iberian Grey ShrikeLanius meridionalisVU
  • Ring OuzelTurdus torquatus
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Common Rock ThrushMonticola saxatilis
  • Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • Coal TitPeriparus ater
  • Iberian MagpieCyanopica cooki
  • Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
  • Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • RedwingTurdus iliacus
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • Spectacled WarblerSylvia conspicillata
  • Iberian ChiffchaffPhylloscopus ibericus
  • WhitethroatSylvia communis
  • Alpine AccentorPrunella collaris
  • Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
  • WoodlarkLullula arborea
  • European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Western JackdawColoeus monedula
  • HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
  • Garden WarblerSylvia borin
  • Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
  • Spanish sparrowPasser hispaniolensis
  • Greater Short-toed LarkCalandrella brachydactyla
  • Ortolan buntingEmberiza hortulana
  • Western Olivaceous WarblerIduna opaca
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • DunnockPrunella modularis
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
  • WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • Tawny PipitAnthus campestris
  • Calandra larkMelanocorypha calandra
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • Sardinian WarblerSylvia melanocephala
  • BramblingFringilla montifringilla
Other birds22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
  • European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
  • Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • Picus sharpeiPicus sharpei
  • WryneckJynx torquilla
  • Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus
  • CootFulica atra
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
  • Great spotted cuckooClamator glandarius
  • Red-necked NightjarCaprimulgus ruficollisNT

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species from March to May and in October.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan8313°/4°48 mm
  2. Feb7914°/4°50 mm
  3. Mar10217°/6°66 mm
  4. Apr10319°/8°48 mm
  5. May10524°/12°26 mm
  6. Jun8530°/16°3 mm
  7. Jul9033°/19°1 mm
  8. Aug8733°/20°3 mm
  9. Sep10228°/16°28 mm
  10. Oct10522°/12°59 mm
  11. Nov7716°/7°72 mm
  12. Dec8014°/5°65 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

El Torcal de Antequera.

Natural landscape

El Torcal de Antequera is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Spain, 1,298 m above the sea.

151 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 17,985 open records.

The most recorded are the European Goldfinch, the Eurasian Blackbird and the Black Redstart.

34 species come for the summer, 29 for the winter and 8 only pass through.

3 are threatened worldwide, including European Turtle Dove, Iberian Grey Shrike and Rüppell's Vulture.

The most species are recorded from March to May and in October.

El Torcal de Antequera - 005
Roland Geider ( Ogre ) · Public domain

Get there and watch

  • Antequerra Calle Santa María la Viejacampsite · 5.5 km · 2 within 10 km
  • El Torcalplace to stay · 3.8 km · 35 within 10 km
  • Villanueva de la Concepciónnearest town · 3.9 km in a straight line
  • Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 32 km in a straight lineCar hire at AGP airport (Málaga)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

El Torcal de Antequera seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 1observation towers within 6 kmTorre de Hacho
  • 6marked trails within 4 kmAndalucía (Provincia de Málaga), Ruta verde, Ruta amarilla and 3 more
  • 4viewpoints within 5 kmMirador Las Ventanillas, Panorama, Mirador Puerto de la Escaleruela and 1 more
  • 5car parks within 3 km
  • 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 2campsites within 10 kmAntequerra Calle Santa María la Vieja, Área de Antequera
  • 35places to stay within 10 kmEl Torcal, Albergue de Peregrinos, Hotel Infante Antequera and 32 more
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around El Torcal de Antequera.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas20 mountains within 25 km
Peña de los Enamorados878 m · 13 kmPeña Negra · 13 kmPico de la Capilla1,186 m · 15 kmPico del Chamizo1,641 m · 21 kmSierra del Jobo · 21 kmSierra de Aguas · 23 kmTajo de Gómer1,129 m · 24 kmCerro del Tajo Tello1,332 m · 24 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

Rocks El Torcal de Antequera karst Andalusia Spain
Jebulon · CC0
002 El Torcal de Antequera
Mpmolero · CC BY-SA 4.0
003 El Torcal de Antequera
Mpmolero · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other places nearby.

El Torcal de Antequera

Spain

  • 63Birdyas Score
  • 151Species
  • 71Migrants
  • 3Threatened

Fuente de Piedra Lagoon

Spain · 26 km

  • 81Birdyas Score
  • 245Species
  • 152Migrants
  • 6Threatened

See the guide

Reserva natural Lagunas de Campillos

Spain · 26 km

  • 78Birdyas Score
  • 218Species
  • 112Migrants
  • 5Threatened

See the guide

Lagunas de Archidona

Spain · 26 km

  • 63Birdyas Score
  • 135Species
  • 64Migrants
  • 4Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q1013353) · CC0
Birds17,985 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.