Thanks to its location, it is no surprise that Andalucía is a birdwatcher's paradise and attracts ornithologists throughout the year. During spring, for those in the know, is considered one of the best times of the year as this is the time when you can see many migratory species wintering on the Costa del Sol together with those arriving for the summer months.
 
Not surprisingly, the Straits of Gibraltar is a key point of passage for raptors, storks and other birds migrating between Europe.
 
Similar to their human counter-parts who own a property in Andalucía, northern migrations take place between mid-February and June, while those birds heading south will set off between late July and early November when there's a westerly wind. For those windy times of year, Gibraltar itself is generally good for birdwatchers, while Tarifa is usually the place to go during the calmer months.
 
Andalucía also has a long stretch of coastline that is surrounded by the Mediterranean and touches the Atlantic. This makes it ideal for fishing by the sea or from one of the many beaches, or if your inland by one of the many rivers. So as you can imagine there is a huge range of seafood dishes to be found on the Costa del Sol.
 
You can expect to see mountain goats, also know as the Spanish Ibex, the doe deer, the muflon, otters, genets, the ibex, the chamois and the mongoose if you travel inland and into the more remote parts of Andalucía. If your very lucky you might see an Iberian Lynx.
 
Also don’t be surprised to see a lot of pigs running around in some of the more remote areas during the autumn as farmers release them to gorge on the fallen acorns. Please note wild boars have been sighted in Andalucía so unless you can spot the differences between them, watch from a distance. The diversity of the southern landscape provides a range of conditions perfect for various species of trees and other flora.
 
In the more moist areas you will find ash and chestnut, in drier soils the Spanish fir is prevalent. But throughout you’ll also see evergreen and cork oak, the wild olive, the juniper, the polar, the willow, the maple, the elm and the alder.
 
If you have time try to visit the Doñana National Park, located between Huelva and Sevilla. The park, whose biodiversity is unique in Europe, contains a great variety of ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and African species.