Hi Kath,
I would suggest staying in the village of Torrejon el Rubio. It is a 30 min drive from the main NV(5) motorway from Madrid to Portugal -leave motorway at Jaraicejo (which is two & a half hours drive from Madrid airport).
Torrejon is right next to Monfrague NP so its easy to visit in the early mornings when the park is empty. In May expect the possibility of 5 sp of Eagle, 3 sp of Vulture, 3 sp of Kite, Black Stork, Eagle Owl , Scops Owl, & many many more. A pre-dawn visit to Portilla del Tietar in Monfrague almost guarantees Eagle Owls -often with Red-necked Nightjar as supporting cast.
Apart from Monfrague you are 50 mins drive from Almaraz -good for Purple Gallinules, Purple heron, Little bittern, Egrets, Great Reed & Savi's warbler, Marsh harrier,etc. 1 hours drive to the north takes you to the Jerte valley -potential of Honey Buzzard, Bluethroat, Water pipit, Rock thrush & other montane species as well as heaps of Golden Oriole. 15 mins drive to the south takes you through good Dehesa for Black shouldered Kite & a reliable breeding site for Spanish Imperial Eagle whilst a further 30 min drive leads over the Rio Almonte bridge (Alpine swift, Spanish Sparrow, Red-rumped Swallow) down to the plains north of Caceres where the Santa Marta de Magasca road is great for steppe species. In June 2002 I had both Bustard, both Sandgrouse, heaps of Montagu harriers, Calandra lark, Black eared Wheatear, Stone Curlew & immature Great spotted Cuckoo (the adults have often already departed by mid-May). It is a 90 minute drive from Torrejon to Merida, 50 mins to Trujillo & about 90+ mins to Guadelupe -which with Caceres(50 mins) are all worth visiting for the buildings, restaurants & roof top birds(some good wetland birds in Merida).
In Torrejon there are 2 reasonable hotel options:
The Hotel Carvajal is a small cheap, clean family run hotel in Torrejon. The food is good local cuisine -though you'll struggle if your vegetarian. They also have small apartments in an adjacent rural house which are complete with a small kitchen & are perfect for birders who keep unusual hours. These apartments are very reasonably priced. The owners only speak Spanish but are very friendly & obliging. I stayed there with my wife & 2 kids whilst my mother-in-law stayed in the hotel ( she came along as she speaks fluent Castillian). The owner is very understanding of birders -he took me to a Spanish Imperial Eagle nest (2 youngsters) on the understanding that I didnt publicise the site-though if you stay there you could always ask him!! : website:
www.monfrague.net/ingles/index.html The other dearer option is the Hospederia de Monfrague-bigger, more expensive but with more facilities -double rooms are about 94 euros per night with duplex rooms (small apartments) 120 euros. I've stayed there ( in the Duplex apartments) for a family holiday in August -the rooms are air-conditioned but Extremadura is hot in August. We had Crag martins & Red rumped Swallows from the balcony with frequent overhead Bee-eaters, Black, Egyptian & Griffon vultures, Booted Eagle & the odd Black Kite(most have left by august but are amazingly common in spring). Website:
www.alextur.net/hotel/monfrague/index.html
Sorry for making this posting so long but I would be happy to give further info if required. I had toyed with the idea of writing a trip report on Extremadura but am not sure there would be much of a demand for it. Its a great & fairly cheap place to visit & is a surprisingly good venue for a family holiday as long as your kids are fairly easy-going(mine were 5 & 9 years when we visited).
Cheers,
Steve