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Birdwatching in Matarraña

Bird watching is one of the eco-tourism practices booming right now. It consists of outing, alone or in groups, in order to observe birds in their natural environment. Matarraña is a fantastic place to enjoy birds songs or to get lost through the vegetation. Undoubtedly, is one of the most relevant places for professional and/or amateur ornithologists. It is also ideal for beginners and families to start into the exciting world of ornithology. The natural environment with its diversity provide an opportunity to learn and have fun in an incomparable scenario. The Matarraña River has a unique landscape, where we can find well preserved: bedding, water, cliffs, river forest and Mediterranean forest.

PortMassaluca campsite is located at the confluence of the Matarraña and Ebro rivers, just in front of a large water extension, under one of the most impressive cliffs in all Ebro river. Among its stone walls settled, we can find a breeding colony of griffon vulture, also a huge quantity of alpine swift. Peregrine falcon also nurture in the same place. From inside the restaurant and the terrace, it is possible to glimpse the entrances and exits in their nests. And if you are lucky you can catch a kingfisher chopping searching for a small fish.

In short, we offer a place which allows travelers to see different species in one day and along all year. Most birdwatching fans can get really impressive bird listings. Its diversity makes this ecosystem great for bird and nature lovers.

Visit can be recommended in any season, but the most active for bird watching, coincides with the breeding season and migration steps: from the beginning of autumn until spring. However, this natural enviroment is especially interesting for large birds of prey; winter is therefore a good time to observe courtship of griffon vultures and golden eagles, also to discover the songs of eurasian eagle-owls.

What birds can I watch in Matarraña?

Raptors are the main attraction of this area. Griffon vulture, egyptian vulture, golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, booted eagle, black kite, common buzzard, peregrine falcon and common kestrel, will be easely detected; but, undoubtedly, the star is the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata): a very sensitive specie, which used to fly over the area to address his favorite hunting places.

In the river we can find herons (grey, purple, little and great egret, bittern), cormorants in winter and ducks all year. Also the little grebe and other species, like gulls, appear and disappear depending on the season.

A huge variety of little passerines concentrate around the river forest : tits, finches, warblers, thrushes, blackbirds, orioles, buntings...We can also detect the eurasian sparrowhawk, woodpeckers like european green woodpecker, the great spotted woodpecker, the elusive lesser spotted woodpecker and the eurasian wryneck to name some of the most important.

In the pine forests and Mediterranean scrub we find the eurasian crested tit; western orphean warbler, subalpine warbler and Dartford Warbler; with some patience, in appropriate places, some discreet spectacled warbler. We can also watch shrikes: common and southern. In summer, the common cuckoo and the great spotted cuckoo will be felt rather than seen, but with a little practice, you will see them soon. black-eared wheatear, stonechat and larks, will be founded in wide spaces. In buildings, we can pay attention to starlings, rock sparrows and probably some little owl which is already looking at us.

If we look up to the cliffs, these rock walls carved by the river over time, more than the raptors that we habe already mentioned, we will detect: blue rock thrushroqueros, black eheatear, eurasian eagle-owl, eurasian crag martin, alpine swift, and in winter with a bit of luck, the wallcreeper.

Bird watching in Matarraña is not a difficult task. Fortunately, we have a wide variety of ecosystems that facilitates the task of observing the most common birds that both live here or that visit the Iberian Peninsula. For birdwatchers is a must know area.

Perhaps all explained above is enough for a bird lover but also if you also like to watch more animals, while you look for birds you can find mountain goats or otters.

Thanks to all the services availabe in campsite, you can brand your book with the first field observations or expand the one that you always carry with you in your backpack.

Ornithological services

From the campsite we can coordinate ornithology professional services like:

  • Guided observation service, up to 8 people, including telescope and explanations on the biology of the species observed.
  • Guided observation and localization for professionals, máximum 3 people.

* To request a quotation, send an email to book@camping-portmassaluca.es

Other birdwatching complementary services

We have boat rental and kayak rental services. Kayaks are very discreet and functional to access all places in Matarraña.