Summary of bird sightings in Doñana during 2019

The year 2019 is gone and it’s time to take a look back to all we saw along the year during our tours to Doñana.

It was a very dry year in Doñana, but that wasn’t a problem to see a long list of species (226).

We can highlight this year, observations of Western Reef Heron, Lesser Flamingo, Richard’s Pipit and increasing observations of Pallid Harrier.

Here is the complete list with some comments for the rare or more interesting species:

Greylag Goose

Common Shelduck

Garganey

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

Eurasian Wigeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Marbled Duck: Annual maximum of 65 individuals on the 20th of September in Brazo del Este. Concentration due to drought.

Red-crested Pochard

Common Pochard

Ferruginous Duck: Annual maximum of 5 individuals on the 4th of February in northern Doñana.

Tufted Duck: Annual maximum of 20 individuals on the 20th of February in northern Doñana. Scarce wintering bird.

Common Scoter

White-headed Duck: Annual maximum of 40 individuals on the 28th of March in southern Doñana.

Common Quail

Red-legged Partridge

Greater Flamingo

Lesser Flamingo: 2 individuals on the 25th of November in Northern Doñana. Very rare visitor to Doñana.

Lesser Flamingo, Doñana
Lesser Flamingo, 25 of November 2019, Northern Doñana

Lesser Flamingo, 25 November 2019, Northern Doñana

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Rock Dove

Stock Dove: 1 individual on the 24th of October in northern Doñana. Scarce wintering bird.

Common Wood Pigeon

Laughing Dove: 2 individuals on the 28th of June in Los Palacios. Recently it seems that they have started to breed there.

Laughting Dove, Doñana
Laughting Dove, 28 of June 2019, Los Palacios

Laughing Dove, 28 June 2019, Los Palacios

European Turtle Dove

Eurasian Collared Dove

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

Little Bustard: 7 individuals on the 24th of October in northern Doñana. Scarce wintering bird.

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Common Cuckoo

Red-necked Nightjar

Common Swift: 2 individuals on the 30th of December in northern Doñana. Winter record.

Pallid Swift

Little Swift

Water Rail

Spotted Crake

Common Moorhen

Eurasian Coot

Red-knobbed Coot: Annual maximum of 5 individuals on the 28th of February in northern Doñana.

red-knobbed coot donana national park
Red-Knobbed Coot, 28 of February, Northern Doñana

Red-Knobbed Coot, 28 February 2019, Northern Doñana

Western Swamphen

Common Crane

Eurasian Stone-curlew

Black-winged Stilt

Pied Avocet

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Grey Plover

European Golden Plover

Northern Lapwing

Kentish Plover

Common Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Whimbrel

Eurasian Curlew

Bar-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Red Knot

Ruff

Curlew Sandpiper

Temminck’s Stint: 1 individual on the 29th of March in northern Doñana and 2 on the 4th of September in Brazo del Este. Scarce migrant.

Sanderling

Dunlin

Little Stint

Jack Snipe: 1 individual on the 20th of March in Brazo del Este. Scarce winter visitor.

Common Snipe

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Spotted Redshank

Common Greenshank

Wood Sandpiper

Common Redshank

Collared Pratincole

Slender-billed Gull

Black-headed Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Audouin’s Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull: 1 individual on the 16th of February in Chipiona and 1 indiviual on the 1st of September in Matalascañas. Scarce winter visitor.

Little Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Caspian Tern

Black Tern

Whiskered Tern

Common Tern

Sandwich/Cabot’s Tern

Black Stork

White Stork

Northern Gannet

Great Cormorant

Eurasian Bittern: Records of 1 individual in different areas of northern Doñana on the 12th of March, 15th of March, 17th of May, 21th of May and 30th of June. Very rare resident in Doñana.

Great Bittern Donana National Park
Great Bittern, 21 of May 2019, Northern Doñana

Great Bittern, 21 May 2019, Northern Doñana

Little Bittern

Grey Heron

Purple Heron

Great Egret

Little Egret

Western Reef Heron: 1 individual on the 2nd of May in northern Doñana. It is a vagrant in Spain and its usual range is Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Southwest Asia.

Western Reef Heron, Doñana National Park
Western Reef Heron, 2 of May 2019, Northern Doñana

Western Reef Heron, 02 May 2019, Northern Doñana

Western Cattle Egret

Squacco Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron

Glossy Ibis

Eurasian Spoonbill

Western Osprey

Black-winged Kite

Egyptian Vulture: 1 indiviual on the 5th of May in northern Doñana. Scarce in Doñana.

European Honey Buzzard

Cinereous Vulture: 1 indiviual on the 20th of February in northern Doñana. Scarce visitor to Doñana.

Griffon Vulture

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Booted Eagle

Spanish Imperial Eagle

Bonelli’s Eagle: 1 juvenil on the 25th of October in Brazo del Este and another juvenil on the 28th of October in northern Doñana. Scarce visitor to Doñana.

Western Marsh Harrier

Hen Harrier

Pallid Harrier: 1 male on the 29th of March in northern Doñana, 1 male on the 18th of September migrating over Brazo del Este and another male on the 28th of December in northern Doñana. This last male has been seen repeatedly over the next few weeks. It is a rare visitor to Spain but with increasing numbers. More information about our records during 2018 here.

Pallid Harrier, 02 January 2020, Northern Doñana. Same individual seen on the 28 of December 2019.

Montagu’s Harrier

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Red Kite

Black Kite

Common Buzzard

Western Barn Owl

Little Owl

Tawny Owl

Short-eared Owl

Eurasian Hoopoe

Common Kingfisher

European Bee-eater

Eurasian Wryneck

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Iberian Green Woodpecker

Lesser Kestrel

Common Kestrel

Merlin

Eurasian Hobby

Peregrine/Barbary Falcon

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Iberian Grey Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Iberian Magpie

Eurasian Magpie

Western Jackdaw

Northern Raven

European Crested Tit

Eurasian Blue Tit

Great Tit

Eurasian Penduline Tit

Greater Short-toed Lark

Calandra Lark

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Woodlark

Eurasian Skylark

Crested Lark

Zitting Cisticola

Western Olivaceous Warbler

Melodious Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Eurasian Reed Warbler

Great Reed Warbler

Savi’s Warbler

Sand Martin

Eurasian Crag Martin

Barn Swallow

Red-rumped/West African Swallow

Common House Martin

Western Bonelli’s Warbler

Willow Warbler

Common Chiffchaff

Iberian Chiffchaff

Cetti’s Warbler

Long-tailed Tit

Eurasian Blackcap

Garden Warbler

Western Orphean Warbler

Subalpine Warbler

Sardinian Warbler

Common Whitethroat

Spectacled Warbler

Dartford Warbler

Eurasian Nuthatch: 1 indivual on the 17th of October in western Doñana. Rare visitor to Doñana.

Short-toed Treecreeper

Eurasian Wren

Common Starling

Spotless Starling

Song Thrush

Common Blackbird

Spotted/Mediterranean Flycatcher

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin: Annual maximum of 15 individuals on the 6th of July in southern Doñana.

European Robin

Common Nightingale

Bluethroat

European Pied Flycatcher

Common Redstart

Black Redstart

Whinchat

European Stonechat

Northern Wheatear

Black-eared Wheatear

Black-headed Weaver

Yellow-crowned Bishop

Common Waxbill

Red Avadavat

House Sparrow

Spanish Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Grey Wagtail

Western Yellow Wagtail

White Wagtail

Richard’s Pipit: 2 individuals on the 2nd of March in northern Doñana. Scarce visitor to Doñana.

Tawny Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Tree Pipit

Water Pipit

Common Chaffinch

Hawfinch

European Greenfinch

Common Linnet

European Goldfinch

European Serin

Eurasian Siskin

Corn Bunting

Cirl Bunting

Ortolan Bunting: 1 indivual on the 1st of May in northern Doñana. Scarce migrant in Doñana.

Ortolan Bunting, Doñana National Park // Paul Gnodde (Holland)
Ortolan Bunting, Doñana National Park // Paul Gnodde (Holland)

Ortolan Bunting, 01 May 2019, Northern Doñana. Photo Paul Gnodde.

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