He Wallcreepers are one of the most enigmatic and rare birds found in Europe.. This is a small insectivorous bird of unmistakable appearance, with a tendency to dwell in rocks and a capricious flight, which settles on the highest and most inaccessible calcareous peaks of the continent.
Completely dependent on its sparse upland habitat (it lives only on cliffs between 2,200 and 3,000 meters above sea level), it is a rare bird and very difficult to observe, although in winter it broadens its horizons and stops among the ruins of some mountain ranges in the south of the peninsula or take a walk through the limestone canyons of the plateau.
Wallcreeper: Bird of the year 2025
This year’s voting to choose the headliner of SEO/BirdLife’s 2025 Bird of the Year campaign has concluded with the wallcreeper as the winning species. To date, 36 species have obtained this distinction with the aim of raising awareness about the decline of their populations or because their habitats pose a relevant threat to their conservation. After an open and participatory voting process in which 6,883 votes were received, The wall-crawler was chosen as Bird of the Year 2025 with 2,537 votes (36.81%)..
The Blue-breasted Nightingale came in second place, with 2,334 votes (33.86%),followed by the alpine sparrow with 2,022 votes (29.33%) .
He wall crawler (Tichodroma muraria), It is one of the most striking birds of the Spanish avifauna, but also one of the most elusive. Its colour, predominantly slate, allows it to go unnoticed until it takes flight, revealing its broad, rounded wings in a striking vermilion colour. It is an unmistakable bird, with an undulating and frenetic flight like that of an enormous butterfly. As its local name, rock creeper and scientific name indicate, this bird is closely associated with rock faces in mountain areas.
It is an insectivorous bird eats all kinds of small invertebrates it catches on rock wallsor in holes, crevices and ridges with some vegetation. Occasionally it also feeds on the bark of a tree or among rocky shrubs.
How many wall crawlers are there in Spain?
The rockcreeper, which is distributed in the mountain regions of Eurasia, has its westernmost range in Spain. Since its habitat is quite inaccessible and the species is relatively difficult to detect, There are many uncertainties about its conservation status. Therefore, no precise information is available about the population size of this species or its trend.
In Spain the population is highly fragmented, with the main breeding areas in two isolated subpopulations, in the Cantabrian Mountains and in the Pyrenees, and the breeding period begins in mid-May or early June. As mentioned in the III Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Spain, this species is specialized to live in a very specific habitatand the estimated density in its habitat is very low, so the Iberian population must necessarily be small in number.
In 2012, at least 65 rockcreeper areas were estimated in the Catalan Pyrenees; and in 2015 They confirmed between 595 and 704 areas in the Aragonese Pyrenees. For the Cantabrian Mountains, information is incomplete, but between 50 and 100 areas can be estimated. In conclusion, it can be estimated that the number of territories for the whole of Spain would be between just over 600 and 900 and that the breeding population would be between 1,200 and 1,800 individuals.
Despite its small population and fragmentation in two different cores, and due to the lack of precise information, the species was evaluated in the latest 2021 edition of the Red Bird Book of Spain how almost threatened. Although, if the estimates of their populations are confirmed, it would be necessary to go further consider this species “endangered” according to IUCN criteria . Climate change and the alteration of its habitat pose a clear threat to this species.
Threatened by climate change
The consequences of The rising temperatures on the planet are clearly visiblein high mountain habitats, and the bird species associated with these environments are highly sensitive to variations in the strict conditions in which they live. That is why they are one of the best indicators of the consequences of climate change.
The wallcreeper, like other high mountain birds, has a high degree of specialization and its life cycle is adapted to very specific conditions of temperature, snowfall or precipitation, the variation of which causes changes in both the quality and quantity of available suitable habitat. Therefore, if we look at the degree of isolation and fragmentation of their populations, it is more than likely that both the range and population size of the this species is reduced in the context of climate change predictionsAs temperatures rise, suitable habitat for the wallcreeper will become increasingly scarce.
However, we should not forget other pressures that negatively impact rock crawler populations, especially those related leisure activities that take place on their territory, such as canyoning, climbing or via ferrata construction which has become so fashionable in recent years. To this we must add the process of artificial development of our mountains with the development of projects related to the expansion of ski resorts and associated infrastructure.
Necessary conservation measures
For all these reasons, things will be different in 2025 science, conservation, education and outreach workto raise awareness of the rockcreeper and its conservation status, thus contributing to solving the problems facing both this species and the group of high mountain birds it represents.
One of the actions that will be developedN , We will work with mountaineering federations and associations of guides and mountaineering and climbing schools to raise awareness of the discomfort to mountaineers and other species with which they share their habitat and to promote the adoption of regulations on these sporting practices, with the aim of creating their enjoyment is compatible with the conservation of mountain birds.
It is also planned to announce the results of the first national census of high mountain birds, the fieldwork of which ended in 2024, with information on the population sizes of species that develop their life cycle above 1,500 meters height. These results will improve the available knowledge on the population size and distribution of one of the most unknown groups of birds, providing basic information to know their conservation status and facilitating the establishment of appropriate management measures for the conservation of these species.
Similarly, a citizen science campaign will be conducted to improve knowledge about the behavior and distribution of these and other species of high mountain birds. Finally, as usual in the Bird of the Year campaign, a communication and awareness program will be developedspecifically that allows to appreciate the wallcreeper and other species associated with mountain areas, with the aim of improving the level of knowledge of citizens and raising awareness of the pressures and threats that these species suffer.