Wildlife of Spain's
Highest Mountains
The Sierra Nevada mountain range is the highest in mainland
Spain, with peaks rising to over 3,400 metres.
Flowers and
wildlife
There are over 2,100 different plant species withing the
national park, many of which are uniqe to these mountains.
Early summer sees many alpine flowers springing up amongst
the apparent 'desert' of the highest slopes. At all times
of the year, the Spanish Ibex can be seen scaling
precipitous slopes; Golden Eagles soar above and a Ring
Ouzel or two seen perching on rock outcrops. The summit of
Mulhacen is often home to swarms of butterflys and at lower
levels, lizzards bask in the sun.
Below are some of the more common species. The Spanish
magazine Waste has a mass of useful information and
photographs about the wildlife in and around the Sierra
Nevada; for interesting English commentary on wildlife in
the whole of Spain, take a look at Iberian Nature.
Animals and Birds of the
high mountains
One of the most well known animals to be found in the
mountains is the Cabra Montes. Usually seen in groups and
amazingly agile. We have also seen wild boar and regularly
have foxes (vulpres vulpres) and other smaller creatures
such as the Snow vole (chionomys nivalis)on our land.
The Alpine Acentor (Prunella colaris) spends all year in
the mountains (although it does go to lower levels in
winter. Of the same family as a Dunnock, but more chunky,
at around 18cm long, and rarely found in the UK. Other
birds found at a high level include the Black Redstart
(phoenicurus ochruros) and Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe
hispanica)
Hawkes, and Eagles include the Golden Eagle and Goshawk can
be seen soaring on the thermals, whilst other birds seen at
lower levels include the Hoopoe and Bee Eater, Crossbill
and Turtle Dove
The following is an account of a birding trip to the area:
Stayed in Lanjaron, in a very nice hotel It made a good
base to explore the Southern Sierra Nevada. Bird-wise I
guess we saw what you might expect. The highlight for me
was a flock of getting on for a 1000 Bee-eaters and 300
mixed Swifts (mostly Alpines and Pallids) surrounding a
bemused looking Booted eagle. The sound of Alpine Swifts
whistling overhead was delightful too! The now defunct road
that passes just under the summit of Mulhacen allowed us to
gain most of the height without too much lung bursting
climbing. We got high enough for Rock Thrushes and the
highest pine trees were bursting with birdlife, with flocks
of Firecrests, Bonellis Warbler, Short-toed TreecreeperI
berian Chiffchaffs etc. We also approached the Sierra
Nevada from the Granada side and managed to see Alpine
Accentor without too much trouble, though as ever we heard
more than we saw. Other highlights of the area included
Ortolan, the highest Cetti's Warbler I am likely to come
across, Blue Rock Thrushes on the Moorish fort at Lanjaron
as well as just about every other piece of rock, and my
first Spanish Linnets as well as the obligatory Serins,
Sardininan Warblers and Red-rumped Swallows.
If you would like to know more about the Nature of the
Sierra Nevada, take a look around the Iberia Nature web site and forum