A trip that has been almost a year in the planning finally came to fruition yesterday, when eight friends were reunited at the Straits of Gibraltar, for a timely Autumn migration spectacular. For two couples, Chris, Sue and Carl and Julie, a driving trip East from Portugal's Algarve brought them to the Dulce Nombre Hotel outside Tarifa. The remaining four - myself, Angela together with Pam and Brian, had made a quick two and a half hour flight down to Gibraltar from Manchester in the early hours. Thanks to the captains' flight plan, we were treated to spectacular views of 'The Rock' and the Bay of Gibraltar as we made a sharp turn towards the small airport. After collecting our hire car, we headed in the direction of Tarifa stopping for supplies at one of two supermarkets. It was in the air here, four of us had our first taste of what migration at 'The Straits' was about to look like. Around five hundred White Storks were circling purposefully and directly over the car park. We were able to watch them for around five minutes. After these few minutes and without warning, they headed off in a broad swathe and began their crossing to North Africa. All eight of us met at the hotel where we spent our first evening chatting and enjoying our dinner, some of us thankful to be warm and under blue skies once more! Just prior to dinner we had seen a Short-toed Eagle come off the hill behind the hotel, carrying a snake which it appeared to be devouring in flight. Around the hotel, Red-rumped Swallows were gliding lazily and our first flock of twelve Bee-eaters flew towards Tarifa. Day One - Mirador Watchpoint, El Cabrito and Tarifa. With due regard to the wind direction (a westerly), we drove to the Mirador Watchpoint on the east side of Tarifa. An easily accessible watchpoint on the side of the main road and complete with cafe too. Visited by many tourists also, this viewpoint gives spectacular views across the sea to Morocco. Here we found passing Griffon Vultures which we later heard were most likely part of a nearby resident colony. An easterly wind which was strengthening all the time failed to produce a significant movement of birds from here. We saw our first two Honey Buzzards make their way across, occasional Short-toed and Booted Eagles also appeared. A small dark falcon and at least one juvenile Egyptian Vulture were seen by some members of our group. Around lunch-time we moved on to El Cabrito where we had a similar experience, with mostly Griffon Vultures and Short-toed Eagles showing up. For the remainder of the afternoon, we drove down off the hills and enjoyed a walk around Tarifa town. With regard to birds, Yellow-legged Gulls accounted for everything seen around the harbour, though we were treated to another White Stork sighting, with around fifty birds passing over, as we relaxed with some well deserved drinks in a cafe. Los Lances beach at Tarifa. Day Two - Facinas Watchpoint. The small town of Facinas can be seen in the distance, behind the watchpoint (above) and lying to the north-west of Tarifa. Access to this watchpoint is on foot (unless you have a robust 4X4) and sadly, one of our team suffered a nasty fall on the loose stony ground. This meant our visit here was briefer than planned although, again the birds were not showing in significant numbers. The time spent here was interesting as one of the first arrivals turned out to be this beautiful adult Egyptian Vulture. Bee-eaters could be heard high above us, two flocks of fifty and twenty birds passed overhead. At least two Short-toed Eagles remained in the near area, being almost constantly in view. Five or six Griffon Vultures patrolled nearby hills, odd Booted Eagles showed up as did this Black Kite. On our return down to the cars, a juvenile Woodchat Shrike showed nicely for us, one of very few small birds seen apart from passing swifts. Day Three - The Barbate Estuary Wetlands. The morning commenced in the most unusual and exciting fashion at the hotel. As we were always seen to be carrying our 'bins', cameras and the like around the grounds, this particular morning, Carl was approached by one of the hotel staff. It was a minute or two before Carl returned, whisking me off in the direction of the hotel's hen coups. Crouched in the corner of the hen coup was a massive juvenile Goshawk!! In the opposite corner was another of the hotel staff with what looked like a length of rubber hose. Carl and I reckoned the Goshawk was about to meet its end and, without hesitation Carl's shirt was off and over the Goshawk's head. Carl has experience in handling small raptors and quickly marched the young Goshawk out of the hen coup and onto an area of open field where we could examine it more carefully. We suspected it may be slightly concussed but no other signs of injury. The immediate problem was that it had taken a fancy to Carl's shirt and was not letting go of it at all! Julie took hold of one foot and received a sharp talon in a finger from the other foot. We put the bird on the ground to give it some space where it later let go of the shirt. The 'nice' hotel man contacted a local rescue organisation who came and picked up the Goshawk, after we had set off for Barbate. Through the land of what seemed like a thousand wind turbines, some nice coastal scenery and we arrived in the small town of Barbate. To the east of the town, the river Barbate flows down to the sea. A mix of tidal wetland, fish farms and farm fields provide a fantastic habitat for many species of waders, herons, flamingos, seabirds and wildfowl. Even from a brief first visit, it is fair to say that most wader species would be seen when the tide is receding or out. At high tide, many birds become hidden in the vegetation. Little Terns, mostly juveniles were fishing on the first lagoon from the road. Among the waders seen were Redshank, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet and Ruff. A Ruff with extensive white plumage was quite different to most. Flamingos here number into the hundreds and were feeding throughout the wetland. We were searching here for the Northern Bald Ibis. This Ibis is critically endangered and recent introduction programmes in Andalucia have met with some success. With only minimal information on their whereabouts, we toured the immediate area, enjoying the countryside and keeping an eye out for 'dark birds!' Stopping briefly for a drink, we had a chance encounter with a new butterfly species for us, the Two-tailed Pasha. One of the most impressive European butterflies I have seen, equalling the Monarch and Spanish Festoon. I think I'm correct in saying we saw both male and female butterflies here. Returning to a different part of the Barbate marshes, an approaching harrier appeared in the form of a dark morph male Montagu's. In one fairly close fly-by it was soon gone, but gave us sufficient time to take in the overall dark head, upper and under wings. The Barbate Wetlands are an excellent area which require much more time than we were able to spend in one day. On our return to the hotel, Carl and I spent some time birding from a roof terrace where a surprise Lesser Kestrel stayed around for a few minutes. Very few passerines were around the hotel and in fact, in the wider area too. A handful of Spotted Flycatchers and one Pied Flycatcher were the only signs of an impending migration. This particular afternoon, Bee-eaters came over in small flocks of twenty or so birds and totalled around 160 in the space of an hour. A Sparrowhawk passed over and a Short-toed Eagle settled on a tree up the hillside. Day 4 - The Mirador and Cazallas Watchpoints. The day was spent raptor watching from the two above watchpoints. We had not been long at the Mirador when Carl called out a Lanner falcon, passing over the road and heading East. Without doubt the best bird of the day though I only managed a photo when it was in poor light. Whether this juvenile falcon was of Southern European race or North African, never became clear. At times the wind could be quite gusty and this was not ideal passage conditions for large numbers of birds. Nonetheless, the raptors we did see were impressive enough, including this adult Egyptian Vulture, one of eleven to make their way across the Straits. Our day totals amounted to:- 54 Griffon Vultures, 11 Egyptian Vultures, 1 Black Vulture, 6 Short-toed Eagle, 22 Booted Eagle, 20 Honey Buzzard, 6 Black Kite, 1 Lanner, 1 Peregrine, 2 Kestrel, 3 White Stork, 4 Common Swift and one unidentified Buzzard species. Day 5 - La Janda. Once another huge wetland, La Janda was extensively drained and is now very much an agricultural area. Some of the canals and old waterways are now used for irrigation. During the night, we heard thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain. There would be little chance of soaring birds after the rain, so La Janda seemed a good way to spend the day. We were still met with short, light showers and as the thunder rumbled away over distant hills, we took a slow drive through this vast plain. Crested Larks and Common Sandpipers were on the road, a flock of around 50 Bee-eaters were drying out in some trees. Of the raptors we found, Marsh Harriers were predominant with 14 seen along the length of the road, sometimes three or four on the ground in one field. 9 Spoonbills passed over in one place and we began to find juvenile Purple Herons along the canal banks. Common Pheasants were seen here, unlike the Algarve where they are scarcely seen at all. We had a remarkable sighting of 5 Black-winged Kites together in one field, a little too far for my camera but worth watching for a good while. Again, small birds were few and far between. Some Corn Buntings, both a Reed and Sedge Warbler together with occasional Yellow Wagtails. On leaving, we noticed a Short-toed Eagle drying out on a pylon. Whilst on this road which takes you through a good part of La Janda, we met a few birders. In particular, a nice lady who helped us out with our Bald Ibis quest, as we were still no nearer finding this rarity. We set off towards a golf course in the area where they were breeding and sure enough, there were three Northern Bald Ibis strutting about on the greens!! Oh wow! There he was, a 'lifer' for most of us and interesting to make comparisons with the more familiar Glossy Ibis. It was mid afternoon by now and there was still time for a return visit to the Barbate marshes. After a lunch at a roadside restaurant between the sea and the marsh, we set off for more birding. The tide was at its highest on the marsh and Yellow Wagtails flitted between islands of vegetation. The Ruff seen previously was still present on the marsh. Black-winged Stilts called noisily in the air. A final look at the farmers' fields by the road at KM3 (kilometre marker) revealed no less than 33 Northern Bald Ibis, in what could be loosely described as a horse paddock. They were indeed in the area we had first come to, but we hadn't looked in the right field where they obviously grubbed about for food! A brilliant way to end a long day in the field. Day 6 - Bolonia and Cuevo del Moro. Outside Bolonia remains a Roman archaeological site named Baelo Claudia. A temple, forum and fish-salting factory can be seen among other ruins. This site has recorded Black-eared Wheatear, Short-toed Lark and Tawny Pipit among others. However, we were to continue our run of very few passerine species and after a welcome coffee at an 'interesting' beach restaurant, we added only an Audouin's Gull in the bay, to our trip list. The weather on this day was beautiful - clear and sunny as we made our way up into the hills and to our next site at Cuevo del Moro, the Moorish Cave. An entire afternoon was spent in this peaceful location with the opportunity to see several raptor species. Griffon Vultures have a small colony here and we watched them coming and going from their craggy homes. Also on the rock face were at least 5 Blue Rock Thrush. On the very summit, we could just make out 2 Black-eared Wheatears hopping from rock to rock. Ravens flew by and 30+ Bee-eaters passed over towards the coast. Other raptors seen here included 1 juvenile Egyptian Vulture, male Montagu's Harrier, 5 Black Kites, 1 Honey Buzzard, 1 Osprey and a Short-toed Eagle. 3 Crag Martins were seen to enter the cave on the rock face. Day 7 - CIMA and Cazalla Watchpoints. A view across the Straits of Gibraltar, early mist lingering on the Moroccan side. Our day began at the CIMA's watchpoint where Whimbrel were seen in the field below us. Two Cory's Shearwaters were picked out at sea and 30 Bee-eaters flew across the Straits. With heavy rain in the north of Spain, raptors were still not on the move and our count here comprised - 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Short-toed Eagle, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Egyptian Vulture, 1 Black Kite, 1 Honey Buzzard, 4 Booted Eagle and our first 2 Black Storks. The Observatory at Cazalla. Counts in the afternoon were not much better with - 3 Short-toed Eagle, 6 Booted Eagle, 3 Griffon Vulture, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Osprey, 3 Common Buzzard (type) and 2 Black Kite. Day 8 - Final Day at The Mirador and Cazalla. It was on our final day that we witnessed the migration of the Honey Buzzards from both watchpoints. Having been at the 'Straits' for a week, it is reasonable to say that large movements of birds will follow periods of unfavourable weather. This may be locally in the form of high or gusty winds, or adverse weather to the north where birds will accumulate in numbers. On arriving at the Mirador, Honey Buzzards were already streaming over in loose groups. Most birds were flying very high with odd birds making a lower passage. Some birds rested for a while as with this Short-toed Eagle on a pylon. A flock of 15 Black Storks made a spectacular appearance over the hills. The local Griffons observed everything that was going on. A pause in the Honey Buzzard movement saw us moving across to Cazalla. A good indication as to activity depends on whether the wind turbines are running or stopped. It is encouraging to see that at least during this migration time, the turbines can be turned off when birds are approaching. Here we found different species moving through and a cracking adult Egyptian Vulture came straight for the watchpoint. In comparison to the previous visits, our day total was - 750+ Honey Buzzards, 40 Booted Eagle, 20 Black Kite, 18 Short-toed Eagle, 10 Griffon Vultures, 9 Egyptian Vultures, 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 3 Buzzard, 2 White Stork and 16 Black Stork.
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