Meet your Wild Doñana guide at Málaga Airport and transfer to the hotel. If flight times allow, we will explore the Guadalhorce wetlands from viewing areas on easy paths. We will scan lagoons for White-headed Duck, Greater Flamingo, and Black-winged Stilt, and check sandy margins for Kentish Plover. Yellow-legged Gull offers an introduction to European gulls, with Audouin's Gull a possible bonus. Scrub and reed edges may reveal Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola and European Goldfinch—an appealing first set of Old World birds for North American visitors.

Overnight: Málaga, Hotel Málaga Picasso or similar

Today we will travel west toward the white village of Casares, with birding at accessible village viewpoints and nearby rocky slopes. Griffon Vulture is a highlight, while Blue Rock-Thrush and Black Wheatear bring us closer to the birds of Mediterranean cliffs. Watch overhead for Pallid Swift, Eurasian Crag-Martin and, with luck, Alpine Swift, a bird that migrates to Africa and stays airborne for months at time. Booted Eagle, Short-toed Snake-Eagle, and other raptors are additional possibilities as rising air develops. Our guide will explain identification features and compare these unfamiliar European species with raptors the group knows at home. Continue to Tarifa and settle into our three-night base.

Overnight: Hotel Mesón de Sancho, Tarifa

Our guided group visit introduces Gibraltar's landscape and cultural history. If access arrangements are confirmed for the Upper Rock, we will look for Barbary Macaque, the free-ranging but managed population of Europe’s only (nonhuman) primate, and Barbary Partridge is an elusive possibility. Back on the Spanish side, time permitting, we will stop at a coastal viewpoint to scan for White Stork, Black Kite, Common Kestrel, and other raptors, as late July brings the beginning of the southbound movement of birds across the Strait.

Overnight: Hotel Mesón de Sancho Tarifa

Getting an early start, one of our particular targets today will be the endangered Northern Bald Ibis from the reintroduced Cádiz population. We also expect to see Black-winged Kite, Glossy Ibis, and the colorful European Bee-eater. Later in the day, we will join a regularly-scheduled two-hour Turmares excursion, looking for cetaceans such as Long-finned Pilot Whale, Common Bottlenose Dolphin, Short-beaked Common Dolphin and Striped Dolphin. In addition to seeing raptors or storks crossing the strait, we may encounter Cory's Shearwater and Balearic Shearwater. Boat operation and the order of activities depend on sea conditions.

Overnight: Hotel Mesón de Sancho, Tarifa

The morning is reserved for the total solar eclipse at a planned viewing location in Tarifa. We will arrive in time for setup and a safety briefing; eclipse glasses will be provided. After the eclipse, we will transfer to the port in Tarifa to take a ferry to Tangier. This day is centered around viewing the eclipse and the transfer to Morocco, with no specific birding stops. Seabirds or dolphins seen during the crossing will be a welcome bonus! Specific sailing time to be confirmed, allowing adequate time for local traffic, boarding, and border formalities.

Overnight: Kenzi Solazur, Tangier

A local guide introduces Tangier in the morning, connecting its medina and maritime history with the crossing between continents. After the tour, we will continue inland toward Chefchaouen through agricultural areas and the foothills of the Rif Mountains. Brief birding stops, where safe and practical, may produce some now-familiar birds like European Bee-eater, White Stork, Common Kestrel, as well as our first African Blue Tit or African Chaffinch. These North African counterparts make an engaging introduction to regional variation and endemism. In Chefchaouen, we will enjoy a relaxed walk through the blue-painted medina, taking time to appreciate the unique setting and culture.

Overnight: Hotel Parador, Chefchaouen

Today we will get an early start for a focused birding excursion in Bouhachem or Talassemtane, depending on local conditions and current sightings. We hope to find the North African endemic Levaillant's Woodpecker, though this species can be elusive in summer. Suitable open slopes may hold Moussier's Redstart, Cirl Bunting, and European Stonechat. We will balance patient searching with shaded breaks, returning to Chefchaouen for further time in the medina in the afternoon.

Overnight: Hotel Parador, Chefchaouen

Today we will travel southwest toward Rabat, with scenic stops along the way. We will likely make a stop at Merja Zerga to scan the lagoon edges for wetland birds such as Little Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Eurasian Spoonbill, and early returning shorebirds. Rabat will be our base for the next two nights.

Overnight: ONOMO Hotel Rabat Terminus

Today we will explore contrasting habitats of Sidi Boughaba and Maâmora. At the lake, we will search reed edges and open water for Marbled Duck, Red-knobbed Coot and Western Swamphen, with Ferruginous Duck another possibility. In cork oak woodland and adjoining countryside, we will look for Maghreb Magpie, Eurasian Hoopoe, and European Serin. Our birding today provides a rewarding comparison of European and North African bird communities.

Overnight: ONOMO Hotel Rabat Terminus

After breakfast, we will transfer from Rabat to Casablanca's Mohammed V International Airport for departing flights. If time allows, we may enjoy a few final roadside stops. We’ll depart with incredible memories of Mediterranean cliff birds, North African specialties, the wildlife of the Strait, and an extraordinary eclipse. Arrangements on this final day will be matched to the group flight schedule.