Camping and bird spotting: 4 hotspots in Europe
7 June, 2018
Pack your binoculars and camera: we’re going birdwatching! The diversity of the European bird population is immense. And when is a better time to enjoy it than on holiday? We highlight seven top locations where you can discover special birds in Europe and where you can camp beautifully.
7x birdwatching in Europe
- Vogeleiland – Netherlands
- National Park Unteres Odertal – Germany
- Farne Island – England
- Coto Doñana – Spain
- Zwillbrocker Venn – Germany
- Regional Nature Park of the Brenne – France
- Ria Formosa – Portugal
1. Vogeleiland (Bird Island) – Netherlands
The name sounds like a tale from a fairy book, but nothing could be further from the truth. Vogeleiland is located in the Zwarte Meer in the province of Flevoland. With a mix of forest, reed, and grassland, this is the ideal home for more than sixty bird species. Here, as a bird lover, you feel like you’re in paradise. The bluethroat, nightingale, and lesser spotted woodpecker are some guests you can spot here. But the hawk and great reed warbler are also regularly sighted.
The entire island is an oasis of peace, and to keep it that way, you can only visit this special place on a special boat trip. Also, look at the ground when you are on solid land: the large sulfur polypore and the Judas ear are some of the special mushrooms you can encounter.
Would you like to camp nearby? Then Camping & Chalet Park Heetveld is a nice base for those who love a cozy campsite.
Find your ideal campsite in the Netherlands.
You can spot the bluethroat on Bird Island in Flevoland
2. National Park Unteres Odertal – Germany
A beautiful spot in northeastern Germany where it is not yet swarming with tourists: National Park Unteres Odertal, about 100 km from Berlin, close to the border with Poland. The birds know this too, and you can admire as many as 292 species here. Breeding, resting, and overwintering happen here all year round. From sea eagles to kingfishers and from black storks to pintail ducks; you will be short of eyes and ears. In spring and autumn, 100,000 waterfowl migrate through this breathtaking river landscape.
Also beautiful to see: the arrival of no less than 13,000 cranes seeking a roosting place in October during their journey south.
Small-scale camping near the park? Visit Triangel Camping Niederfinow.
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A beautiful and impressive sight: thousands of cranes arriving to find a roosting place
3. Farne Island – England
You can recognize the cheeky black-and-white head with the characteristic orange beak from afar. In northern England, on the Farne Islands, you will find 150,000 puffins that care for their many chicks in June and July. Their feeding tactic can be called spectacular. They fly at eighty kilometers per hour to the rocky hole where the chicks are sitting, and upon arrival, they brake hard with wings and legs. Why so fast? Gulls are lurking to steal the catch!
Take the boat from the small town of Seahouses and make a day trip to see all the flora and fauna on and around the islands. Here you will also find England’s largest breeding colony of gray seals.
Camping near the islands? Then Waren Camper and Caravan Park is a good option.
Find your ideal campsite in the United Kingdom.
You can spot puffins on the British Farne Islands
4. Coto Doñana – Spain
In Spain’s largest protected nature park, you will find countless African and European birds resting during migration, nesting, or brooding their eggs. What about blue herons, meadow birds, and the stork, the emblem of new births? In National Park Coto Doñana, you won’t just find birds. Here you also follow the tracks of deer, wild boar, and the Iberian lynx. Very special, because this beautiful animal is endangered.
Between Matalascañas and El Rocío, you can start various nature trails and tours from the visitor center. You can also go on a jeep safari with a guide. Prefer to admire the birds and animals from the water? From the small village of Sanlúcar, the boat takes you up the Guadalquivir River.
Near National Park Coto Doñana lies Seville, and in this region, you can camp very nicely, for example at Camping Villsom.
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In Coto Doñana, you have a chance to see the rare Iberian imperial eagle
5. Zwillbrocker Venn – Germany
Have you always wanted to spot flamingos in the wild, but don’t want to travel too far? Five kilometers from the Achterhoek town of Groenlo, just across the border in Germany, lies the Zwillbrocker Venn.
In this Natura 2000 area, you will find peat as well as marsh and forest. More than a hundred breeding bird species live there, including the black-headed gull. There are no less than 16,000 of them, making this the largest gull colony in Germany. Every year, dozens of flamingos also settle here. This makes the Zwillbrocker Venn the northernmost breeding ground of this beautiful pink bird. The flamingos can be seen in the area between March and July. The rest of the year, they stay in the waters of Zeeland and South Holland
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There are many nice campsites around the Zwillbrocker Venn. For example, Marveld Recreation in Groenlo and Camping De Twee Bruggen in Winterswijk.
Find your ideal campsite in the Achterhoek.
The northernmost breeding ground of the flamingo is in the Zwillbrocker Venn
6. Regional Nature Park of the Brenne – France
One of the best places in France for birdwatching is the Regional Nature Park of the Brenne in the heart of France. This park is known for its many thousands of lakes, originally constructed fish ponds. The landscape is very varied with meadows, forests, and marshes. Because the landscape is flat, you can walk and cycle excellently here.
There are several bird-watching huts in the park where you can spot the lakes and water birds well. There are as many as 267 different bird species in this area. For example, heron colonies, the kingfisher, black tern, spotted crake, ortolan bunting, little owl, and the osprey. Besides birds, there are also many other animals, such as the European pond turtle, lizard, tree frog, and many species of dragonflies and butterflies.
Camping in the vicinity of this beautiful nature park can be done, for example, at Camping Oasis du Berry or Camping La Petite Brenne.
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Nature park Brenne in France consists of thousands of lakes, an ideal place for birdwatchers
7. Ria Formosa – Portugal
In southern Portugal, in the sunny Algarve, lies the beautiful nature reserve Ria Formosa. The nature reserve lies between Faro and Tavira and is 60 kilometers long. The lagoon has many (peninsula) islands, beaches, sandbanks, dunes, and marshes. An ideal stopover for birds on migration.
Bird lovers will certainly enjoy themselves here! You will find rarer bird species, such as the purple swamphen, sea eagle, and bee-eater. But you can also spot the egret, spoonbill, and various species of ducks and waders here. The most striking are probably the flamingos standing in the shallow lagoons. The beautiful nature reserve has more to offer besides many birds! You regularly spot dolphins off the coast, and it is home to freshwater turtles and seahorses.
The Algarve is a beautiful destination for a pleasant camping holiday. Stay at Camping Olhão or Parque de Campismo Ria Formosa.
Also, check out other campsites in the Algarve.
In the Ria Formosa nature reserve, you will find many special bird species, including the spoonbill
What are your favorite birdwatching spots?
Where do you like to camp and birdwatch? Let us know.
1 Comment
We enjoy bird spotting on our travels so this post is particularly interesting. On the west coast of Greece at the moment and disappointed in the lack of bird life.