There are plenty of birds to be seen in and around Nerja, and without having to go very far at all.
Rio Chillar
The rio Chillar does not always have flowing water, in fact it has had hardly any for the past year, but it still attracts the birds. At the mouth of the river, by El Playazo beach, particularly if there is any flowing water, you are liable to see: Swallow, Martins, Goldfinch, Serin, Siskin, Pipits, Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Black Redstart, Sparrow, Cattle Egret, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail and various warblers.
Follow the walkway and from the first small road bridge to the main Puente Viejo (Old Bridge) you can also, depending upon the time of year, add: Greenfinch, Great Tit, Robin, Woodchat Shrike, Blackcap, Greenfinch, Spanish Sparrow, Sardinian Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Spotless Starling, Blackbird, Linnet, Kestrel, Booted Eagle, Stonechat.
Continuing past Puente Viejo, you may well come across European Bee-eaters in the spring, often perched on the overhead wires waiting for their lunch to appear. Swallows and Martins also regularly fly up and down the river, dipping into the water. This stretch is more likely to have a bit of water than at the mouth of the river.
Plenty of dragonflies and damselflies along this stretch, too. This is all on the edge of the urban area, maybe a 15 or 20 minute walk from the centre of town.
El Playazo beach
Gulls, of course, but close to the beach and in the farmland just behind the restaurants you may also see Cattle Egrets, Hoopoe and Kentish Plover.
Frigiliana Road
Opposite the Lidl supermarket is an area of land where it is not uncommon to see Woodpeckers and Bee-eaters. Look down as well as up as the Green Woodpecker feeds on the ground.
Nerja Birds
This is an up-to-date list of birds I have (so far) spotted in Nerja itself or just outside. You don’t have to go very far to see a variety of birds, but you may well have to be patient and search through the trees or undergrowth to find them.
Allen’s Gallinule
Blackbird
Bullfinch
Blackcap
Black Redstart
Blue Tit
Bonelli’s Warbler
Booted Eagle
Cattle Egret
Chiffchaff
Cockatiel
Collared Dove
Common Sandpiper
Cormorant
Crag Martin
Egret
European Bee-eater
European Serin
Flamingo
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Green Sandpiper
Grey Wagtail
Herring Gull
Hoopoe
House Martin
House Sparrow
Iberian Chiffchaff
Iberian Green Woodpecker
Kestrel
Little Ringed Plover
Linnet
Meadow Pipit
Mediterranean Gull
Monk Parakeet
Pied Flycatcher
Pied Wagtail
Pigeon
Red-rumped Swallow
Ringed Plover
Robin
Sardinian Warbler
Serin
Siskin
Song Thrush
Spanish Sparrow
Spotless Starling
Spotted Flycatcher
Stonechat
Street Pigeon
Swallow
Swift
Tree Pipit
Tree Sparrow
Turtle Dove
Willow Warbler
Woodchat Shrike
Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow Wagtail
For ‘pop in the pocket’ but good quality bins at a reasonable price, I’ve found these Steiner Safari binoculars to be pretty good. Great for travelling light.