Читать книгу Coastal Walks in Andalucia. The best hiking trails close to Andalucía's Mediterranean and Atlantic Coastlines онлайн

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For further information about birding resources and organised birding tours and walks, see Appendix B (Useful contacts).

Wildflowers in spring

The southern coastline also offers rich rewards for botanists. Forty per cent of all species found in Iberia are present in Andalucía and many of these grow in the coastal region. The annual wildflower explosion in late spring is as good as any in southern Europe, especially in areas where the rural exodus has ensured that much of the land has never seen the use of pesticides. For a list of 300 of the more common species, with common and Latin names, visit www.cicerone.co.uk/803/resources.

Vertebrates are less easy to spot but are also present. Along with the grazing goats, sheep, cattle and Iberian pigs you may see squirrels, hares, rabbits, deer, wild boar, otters and mongoose. Ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispánica) are making a rapid comeback in many of the regions described here, especially so in the Sierra de Tejeda and on the southern flank of the Sierra de Ojén. And on the Gibraltar walk you’ll certainly have close encounters with Barbary apes as you follow the high ridgeline from O’Hara’s Battery.