Picos de Europa National Park

🇪🇸 Spain

🦅 Griffon Vultures Soar Over Picos
Iberia, Spain 381 spp. recorded

Picos de Europa National Park is a rugged limestone mountain range in northern Iberia, rising steeply near the Atlantic coast. Deep gorges, ancient beech woods, and high meadows define this temperate forest sanctuary, separating it from standard alpine reserves through its dramatic maritime proximity and sheer sea-facing cliffs.

43.186° N   4.960° W

Wildlife

SIGHTING PROBABILITY Share of citizen-science records from the park that report this species
<5%
Rare
5–20%
With luck
20–40%
Possible
40–70%
Likely
>70%
Very likely
ACTIVITY PATTERN
☀️ Diurnal 🌙 Nocturnal 🌅 Crepuscular ☀️🌙 Day & Night

Animal Events

🐦

Alpine Chough Flocking

JanFebNov

Alpine Choughs gather in large, noisy flocks on sunny winter days, often near high-altitude villages, to forage on snow-free patches and roost in cliff crevices.

🐦

Griffon Vulture Nesting Cliff Displays

FebMarAprMayJun

Griffon Vultures perform aerial courtship displays and nest-building on sheer limestone cliffs, with soaring pairs visible against the peaks during spring migration.

🐸

Fire Salamander Breeding

MarMaySepOct

Fire Salamanders emerge after rain to breed in clear mountain streams, their black-and-yellow patterns standing out on damp forest floors.

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Species Total
50–60
50–60
60–70
60–70
60–70
60–70
60–70
50–60
60–70
50–60
50–60
50–60
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
70–80
90–100
80–90
70–80
60–70
60–70
60–70
70–80
60–70
70–80
70–80
70–80
70–80
80–90
60–70
50–60
80–90
70–80
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
80–90
70–80
60–70
50–60
70–80
80–90
90–100
70–80
70–80
70–80
60–70
60–70
50–60
60–70
60–70
70–80
70–80
80–90
60–70
70–80
60–70
60–70
60–70
60–70
70–80
70–80
70–80
70–80
40–50
40–50
60–70
70–80
50–60
60–70
70–80
60–70
70–80
50–60
40–50
30–40
50–60
50–60
70–80
60–70
50–60
70–80
50–60
60–70
60–70
60–70
60–70
60–70
50–60
60–70
50–60
60–70
50–60
50–60
60–70
50–60
50–60
60–70
60–70
60–70
50–60
40–50
70–80
50–60
50–60
60–70
60–70
50–60
50–60
50–60
50–60
30–40
60–70
70–80
80–90
60–70
50–60
50–60
50–60
30–40
50–60
50–60
50–60
60–70
30–40
30–40
30–40
50–60
70–80
60–70
60–70
40–50
30–40
20–30
20–30
20–30
50–60
60–70
60–70
40–50
60–70
40–50
50–60
40–50
50–60
30–40
70–80
50–60
20–30
10–20
10–20
70–80
60–70
40–50
40–50
50–60
30–40
40–50
10–20
20–30
20–30
10–20
50–60
30–40
60–70
40–50
40–50
30–40
60–70
60–70
40–50
20–30
60–70
50–60
60–70
40–50
30–40
50–60
40–50
40–50
50–60
60–70
60–70
60–70
Animal Events
🐦 Alpine Chough Flocking
🐦 Griffon Vulture Nesting Cliff Displays
🐸 Fire Salamander Breeding

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Good
🦅 Griffon Vultures Soar Over Picos

Where Wildlife Score

How good is this park for seeing wildlife?
🦜

Biodiversity

Good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg
3.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds
249
🐒 Mammals
86
🦎 Reptiles
28
🐸 Amphibians
18
381 Total Species
850 Global average across 296 parks
15 Threatened 7 Endemic
🔭

Sighting

Good

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg
3.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
62% Global avg
65%
📊
Coverage (113 species at ≥5% of 381 in the inventory)
24% Global avg
30%
🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (10 bird, 1 reptile, 1 mammal)
46% Global avg
39%
🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
134 Global avg
73
🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
15 Global avg
8
High-prob species (>40%)
27 Global avg
27

Quick answers

What animals can you see in Picos de Europa National Park?

The most likely sightings are Griffon Vulture (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), Common Wall Lizard (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), Pyrenean Chamois (seen by 70–80% of wildlife watchers), Eurasian Blackbird (seen by 70–80% of wildlife watchers), European Robin (seen by 60–70% of wildlife watchers) — among 381 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.

When is the best time to visit Picos de Europa National Park for wildlife?

June has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.

Can you see Griffon Vulture in Picos de Europa National Park?

Yes — about 85% of wildlife watchers report a Griffon Vulture sighting in Picos de Europa National Park, based on 722 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Can you see Pyrenean Chamois in Picos de Europa National Park?

Yes — about 72% of wildlife watchers report a Pyrenean Chamois sighting in Picos de Europa National Park, based on 123 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Can you see Common Wall Lizard in Picos de Europa National Park?

Yes — about 83% of wildlife watchers report a Common Wall Lizard sighting in Picos de Europa National Park, based on 200 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

⚖️

Picos de Europa or ?

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