Unlike the other Catalan birding sites, the Aigüamolls de L'Empordà doesn't really have an exclusive list of speciality breeding birds and yet it's still an extremely popular destination for bird watching vacations and birding day trips in North-east Spain throughout the year.

One reason is that the 4783 hectares of the park are like a mini Catalonia, offering a cross-section of typical habitats that attract a wonderful range of birds that are representative of the region - including many raptors and passerines as well as Roller, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Spoonbill, Nightingale, Collared Pratincole and Stone-curlew.

Another reason is that its coastal location and geographical position means it provides a stop-off for a remarkable number of Europe's migrant bird species, from the commoner raptors and passerines to the reliable rarities such as Red-footed Falcon, Marsh Sandpiper, Red-throated Pipit and Spotted Crake.

And it's even earning a reputation for regular vagrants such as Great Snipe. Read more...

Although there's much more to the Aigüamolls de L'Empordà, the reserve at Cortalet, as well as appealing to more hardened birders, is always a great place for family birding if you're on vacation in the area.

Throughout the year the many hides will provide views of Spoonbill, White Stork and Night Heron together with Flamingoes, ducks and waders. Warblers and finches make permanent homes along the trails and reedbeds and there's always raptors in the skies overhead.

The range of birding habitat in the park always makes for a pleasing family nature walk and facilities include picnic areas, a sea-watch tower and an information centre.

Beneath the face of the family nature reserve there lies an absolute paradise for serious birders and every effort should be made to include it on any birding vacation, especially during spring and autumn migration.

Reliable windows open and close for predictable falls of 'passage only' species including Garganey, Glossy Ibis, Common Crane, Bluethroat and Black Tern as well as those birds photographed alongside.

And beyond the boundaries of the well-trodden tourist tracks there are hideaways like Vilaut where you can spy on Osprey, compare sub-species of Yellow Wagtail or whisper a list of nearby summer-plumaged waders.

Frankly it's a myth that a bird watching vacation or birding trip in summer is somehow low in quality. It's habitat that's important when it comes to finding birds, just as much as time of year.

In fact, given the choice in the Aigüamolls (read more), settled summer breeders like the sought-after Collared Pratincole, Roller and Great Spotted Cuckoo all make enough noise to make a trip worthwhile. And there's no better place for catching the elusive Nightingale than around the park's picnic benches.

And a trip to a spot in the Cap de Creus for Orphean Warbler is sheduled as standard from April to September.

Flocks of Wigeon, Golden Plover and Woodlark carpet the region's fields to give any birding trip to the Aigüamolls a unique winter charm, with divers, Gannet and a mixed-bag of waders dropping in to add a little more character.

What's more, Great Bittern lope silently over reed beds, Kingfisher dart across water channels and dozens and dozens of Stone-curlew can be seen - with a second look - stare-gazing right back at you, yellow-eyed in the twilight. By way of a bonus, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker are also more easily seen hanging out in leafless trees, perhaps arguing with the local Tree Sparrows.

1. The salinity, and therefore plant and bird life, of the eight SALTMARSH lagoons varies according to the mix of fresh and salt water from the hinterland and ocean respectively.

2. Inland, and away from the salt, the plant and bird life of FRESHWATER MARSHES, such as Vilaüt, differs even more radically.

3. COASTAL SANDY AREAS occur all along the park's sea front but the best area is near the mouth of the River Muga.

4. Many CLOSES - meadows 'enclosed' by rows of trees - are sited on the beds of old lagoons and tend to flood in the wet season.

5. Areas of RIPARIAN WOODLAND can be found, for example, on the lower sections of the rivers, Muga, Mugueta and Fluvià.

6. CROPS such as sunflower and fruit offer good wintering habitat for insectivores and frugivores, although the old winter cereals were better for breeding bird species.