All this botanical diversity leads to the presence of a very wide array of birds including mountain and forest species like Red-legged Partridge, Bonelli’s Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Wood Pigeon, Eagle Owl, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wryneck, Grey Wagtail, Robin, Nightingale, Black Wheatear, Stonechat, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Blue Rock Thrush, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Bonelli’s Warbler, Wren, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Crested Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Azure-winged Magpie, Jay, Raven, Spotless Starling, Golden Oriole, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Serin, Hawfinch, Common Crossbill, Cirl Bunting and Rock Bunting.
In May, this marvelous valley acts as a natural soundvox for the display songs of hundreds of birds.
Itinerary
The Hoz (deep valley) de Marin hosts one of the best preserved river forests in Malaga province, at the heart of its Northeast District. The forest grows alongside Marin stream (a tributary to the Guadalhorce river not far downstream the gorge) and it is composed of Black and White Poplars, Narrow-leaved Ash, Field Elm, Common Hawthorn, Dog Rose and Elmleave Blackberry.
The steep hillsides along the valley are covered with some typical Mediterranean bushes in the mint (phlomis, rosemary, thyme), rock rose, greenweed and broom families and topped with small rock outcrops. The central and final stretches of the gorge home a fantastic natural Aleppo Pine forest though part of it is recovering from a terrible fire in September 2016.
Birds that can be seen
- African stonechat
- Azure-winged magpie
- Black wheatear
- Blue rock thrush
- Bonelli's eagle
- Cetti's warbler
- Cirl bunting
- Coal tit
- Common blackbird
- Common chaffinch
- Common crossbill
- Common linnet
- Common nightingale
- Common raven
- Common wood pigeon
- Dartford warbler
- Eurasian blackcap
- Eurasian blue tit
- Eurasian eagle-owl
- Eurasian golden oriole
- Eurasian hoopoe
- Eurasian jay
- Eurasian nuthatch
- Eurasian sparrowhawk
- Eurasian wryneck
- European bee-eater
- European crested tit
- European goldfinch
- European green woodpecker
- European greenfinch
- European robin
- European serin
- Great spotted woodpecker
- Great tit
- Grey wagtail
- Hawfinch
- Long-tailed tit
- Mistle thrush
- Red-legged partridge
- Rock bunting
- Sardinian warbler
- Short-toed treecreeper
- Spotless starling
- Wren