Tuesday 3rd April 2018 (b)

BUBO in ANDALUCIA - part 3

Although it was still pleasantly sunny when we left Punta Carnero in the early afternoon, by the time we had climbed into the hills above Tarifa the rain started to become more persistent. We were not sure where would be a good place to go birding in this inclement weather but we carried on west, beyond Tarifa, to hopefully drive through the rain front and drier weather beyond.

We ended up driving for 50 km and headed to a place where we knew there would definitely birds - the famous BALD IBIS colony at Vejer de la Frontera. We found the spot very easily and luckily the rain had stopped. We parked up in a car park at the side of the road and straight away saw these crazy birds perched on their nest sites looking like outcasts from the Muppet Show.

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Firstly, a bit of background info on these birds. Northern Bald Ibis is one of the rarest birds in the world and in the wild, it is now more or less restricted to Morocco where only about 250 birds exist. It is in serious danger of becoming extinct. Historically, it appears to have had a much wider distribution in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, even breeding in the Alps and one would assume southern Spain (although this hasn't been proved). Due to the precarious nature of the population and the decent numbers of the bird in captivity, it was decided by Spanish naturalists that it would be a good idea to try and (re)introduce a population to southern Spain to widen its distribution. About 30 birds were released in 2003, and by 2008 a pair nested in the wild. In 2011 a few pairs started off the colony shown below and now there are 20+ pairs. Although the cliff-face is very ideal for this species as they like to nest in these tiny caves, the location is far from ideal being right next to quite a busy road! Whilst we were there lorries and cars raced past all the time, but at least you could view the colony really well from the other side of the road. Unfortunately, these birds are not currently "tickable" as, being quite a large, long-lived species, it may be quite a few years before they are 'self-sustaining'. Nevertheless, we enjoyed watching these fabulous birds and we counted at least 14 individuals.   

Bald Ibis colony - Vejer

Bald Ibis colony - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Bald Ibis - Vejer

Other birds in this area included a Nightingale singing from the scrub below our watchpoint, plus a few birds flying over the ridge across the river - 4 Griffons, 1 Short-toed Eagle, a Hobby and a Buzzard (which became our 14th species of raptor for the day). Also, after over 24 hours in Spain, we finally saw our first White Stork.

A slightly less bald birder watching some slightly more Bald Ibises.

A slightly less bald birder watching some slightly more Bald Ibises.

We headed south towards the Barbate Estuary where, disappointingly, it had gotten really dull and was starting to rain again. We found a few spots to stop the car and watch from the window over the saltmarsh and beaches. At the mouth of the river a small flock of terns were resting on the sandbank - 5 Sandwich, 8 Little and a Common Tern. In the channels and on the wet sand, we managed to pick out the odd wader. As well as a few Oystercatchers and Stilts, we also picked out a Greenshank, a Curlew and a few Kentish Plovers scurrying along.

Eventually we got fed up of sitting in the car and we got out for a little walk despite the light rain (no camera, and so no pictures, I'm afraid). Immediately we came across a small channel where we had singles of Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Common Sandpiper, and then flushed a small warbler from a tiny suaeda-like shrub on the mud. We kept flushing it between clumps but it was incredibly elusive and we were considering it might be a Spectacled. However, it finally revealed itself to be a migrant Subalpine Warbler - our second one of the day. We walked to the beach but there was no seabirds of note loafing there, but we did have great views of Crested Larks and Kentish Plovers in the dunes. We also found a Hoopoe perched up on a hand rail and we saw a flock of 8 Bee-eaters fly past. There seemed to be some migration happening, the rain bringing a few migrants down. Just as we were about to return, Ian spotted a distant Squacco Heron flying past in the gap between buildings. It then started raining again!

We carried on down the coast but the weather wasn't drying up at all. We had another flock of 5 Bee-eaters fly past the car near Zahara and then we turned back inland. Thankfully, as we reached the main road again the rain stopped and we decided to check out La Janda as we were nearby, and as it was late afternoon/evening we didn't really have time to visit anywhere else. La Janda was our planned destination first thing the next morning for a longer session, so this was going to be just a quick look. La Janda is an area of low, flat fields which used to be an extensive inland lagoon before it was drained, but it still gets very wet and attracts many birds. We stayed longer than we planned because the rain had clearly stalled many migrant birds on their journey so we had lots to see here.

La Janda

La Janda

The fence alongside the entrance track was an excellent perch and many passerines could be seen dotted along it. Corn Buntings were ubiquitous and there were lots of Stonechats also. We had a male Redstart flick from the wire and a couple of Woodchat Shrikes showed well (out of 5 we saw at La Janda). Looking ahead down the track a Red-legged Partridge ran across and a couple of Little Ringed Plovers ran around a large puddle.

Stonechat - La Janda

Stonechat - La Janda

Woodchat Shrike - La Janda

Woodchat Shrike - La Janda

We then started to notice small groups of Bee-eaters coming through, all low and heading NW up the wide valley, migrating north, taking advantage of the break in the weather. Some of them were coming very close and zipping over our heads but were a nightmare to try and photograph. You could hear them coming, the calls getting closer and closer, then all of a sudden they were on top of you and were already past! They were pretty incredible and we estimated at least 200 birds flew by during the evening.

Bee-eaters - La Janda

Bee-eaters - La Janda

Bee-eater - La Janda

Bee-eater - La Janda

We parked up on the raised bank above the main canal where we set up our 'scopes so we could scan the whole area. From here you could see what a terrific site this was with birds all around - albeit somewhat distant mostly. There were many more finches here with Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Linnets buzzing around plus at least one Serin. Yellow Wagtails fed in the muddy fields and Fan-tailed Warblers and a couple of Willow Warblers hunted for insects in the canal-side bushes. Many Cattle Egrets were dotted around and a group of about 100 White Storks appeared in the sky, circled a while before gliding off over our heads. 

One of the main attractions of this area is the concentration of wintering raptors that visit here to hunt. Although it was not really winter any more we thought there might be some still around, especially with the poor weather here recently. In the distance we picked out 2 Griffon Vultures and 3 Short-toed Eagles circling, and at least three Marsh Harriers quartered the fields. The best bird was a ringtail Montagu's Harrier hunting and, almost like tiny falcons, a few Collared Pratincoles in the distance flying about. This was a great place to finish the days birding and we looked forward to returning in the morning to explore the area further. 

The canal at La Janda

The canal at La Janda

White Storks - La Janda

White Storks - La Janda

White Storks - La Janda

White Storks - La Janda

White Storks - La Janda

White Storks - La Janda

Daisy sp. - La Janda

Daisy sp. - La Janda

Large waterside plant sp. - La Janda

Large waterside plant sp. - La Janda

Corn Bunting - La Janda

Corn Bunting - La Janda

La Janda

La Janda

In the evening, a few Pallid Swifts (we presumed) screamed around the apartment building and we headed into town to dine at a vegetarian restaurant - nice food but on the slow side for service, I thought Ian was about to eat a serviette he was that hungry. On the way back, I nipped behind a small hut for a pee, only to startle a Gecko which ran into a hot air vent. It had been a difficult afternoon's birding really, trying to avoid the heavy downpours, but we ended up with a decent list of species.


If you are interested in the birds of the area and would like to join a guided tour, why not check out local experts Niki and Simon at their website here:  https://ingloriousbustards.com/ 

Tuesday 3rd April 2018 (a)

BUBO in ANDALUCIA - part 2

After our day of travelling yesterday we planned to stay pretty close to Tarifa today, hopefully seeing a few local specialities and perhaps catching a little bit of raptor migration. The weather forecast wasn't fabulous and predicted this day to be the poorest of our trip, with wet fronts due to pass through at various times of the day. We were not going to plan too much then and play it somewhat by ear. Our first stop was on the east side of Tarifa town in the same car park that we saw the Tawny Owl in last night. This was not exactly a glamour location but it was a specific site for a specific rare species.

Tarifa car park

Tarifa car park

It was quite dull, early morning light as we parked up the car. We scoured the tall trees on the south side of the car park for our quarry and I thought I saw a good candidate zip in from behind a building to the right but it went behind the trees. A short time later Ian picked out quite a distinctive song and the bird soon showed itself at the top of one of the bare trees - a COMMON BULBUL. Now this species is definitely not the best-looking bird you'll ever see - just grey and brown with a blackish head and tail - but it is very rare. A common bird in Africa, in recent years a few birds have hopped across the Straits of Gibraltar and taken up residence in Europe's southernmost town. There have been a handful present here for a short while and seem to have bred, but at the moment only a single bird seems to be being seen. So the photo below may show the only individual Bulbul in the whole of Europe - so that's a pretty rare bird!

Common Bulbul -Tarifa

Common Bulbul -Tarifa

I managed a very brief recording of the Bulbul song (above), but a Spanish birder came over to talk to us so I was unable to get more. I was actually very pleased to get any photo at all of the bird as it was high in the tree against the sky. It didn't stay very long and pretty soon it jumped its perch and flew strongly over our heads and over the apartment building to the north. Very pleased with this speedy tick for us both, not having to wait around at all like we thought we'd have to do, we went for a walk to the Castle to go and see the Lesser Kestrel colony.  

At the southernmost point of mainland Europe with Morrocco, Africa behind.

At the southernmost point of mainland Europe with Morrocco, Africa behind.

We strolled round the edge of town and over the hill towards the sea where we looked across the Strait to Africa. There didn't seem a great deal over the water, just a Gannet flapping past and a few Sandwich Terns blogging about. On the rocky shore below, a single Turnstone rested. We commented that, wherever you go in the world, there always seems to be a Turnstone trotting along the shoreline!

We continued past the ferry port getting itself ready to take travellers to Tangiers, and along the road to the old castle. Tarifa castle is famous for holding a colony of Lesser Kestrels and straight away we started seeing birds swooping round the rooftops and turrets. Unlike Common Kestrels, the Lessers nest colonially and these birds were using the holes in the walls of the castle right above our heads! Despite the dull conditions, we were treated to superb views of approximately 15 birds either hovering above, or peering out of their holes or perched on the walls. It was odd seeing these birds in such an urban setting but they were truly magnificent. My only previous experience of Lesser Kestrel was of fly-past migrants in Israel, so these close views were a treat.

Lesser Kestrel, male - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, male - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, female - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, female - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel nesting colony - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel nesting colony - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, male - Castillo de Tarifa, peering out of its nesting hole

Lesser Kestrel, male - Castillo de Tarifa, peering out of its nesting hole

Lesser Kestrel, female - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, female - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, male - Castillo de Tarifa

Lesser Kestrel, male - Castillo de Tarifa

As we were more or less in the middle of the town, there wasn't really lots of other birds to see - apart from the ubiquitous Spotless Starlings and Yellow-legged Gulls - so we were surprised to see a warbler flit into the low shrubs below the castle walls. After a short while of searching it revealed itself to be a Subalpine Warbler clearly just arrived over the sea from Africa and looking for food by the port-side. During our short time in Tarifa this morning we had aleady seen maybe 30 or so Black Kites heading northwards over the town, and we hoped that this indicated some raptor passage would happen today. So we headed back to the car park so we could drive off and find a good viewpoint. Ian heard the Common Bulbul calling again from a dense clump of trees in the next street. Despite being under the tree it was in, we couldn't find it and only caught sight of a Blackcap.

Spotless Starlings - Castillo de Tarifa

Spotless Starlings - Castillo de Tarifa

Following advice from Simon and Niki the previous evening, since the wind was from the west, any raptor passage would be pushed eastwards towards Gibraltar and we would have to head in that direction to catch it. It did not look too promising weather-wise though, as it was still very cloudy and we drove through patches of light rain clinging to the hills - although this wasn't stopping a small group of Griffon Vultures circling over the hills above the town. However, as we made our way through the suburb of Getares on the western shore of the Bay of Gibraltar, the sun came out and we had blue skies above us, just perfect for birds of prey. 

We wound our way round the coast road, past the lighthouse on the headland called Punta Carnero, and pulled in at the side of the road after the highest point. We walked back up the road, through a gap in the wire fence and onto a cleared area where there were a couple of Spanish photographers with giant lenses in situ - we were pleased to have found the right spot. And we knew we were definitely in the right spot when a corking Booted Eagle flew right past us at eye level! Game on.

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero - one of the first birds we saw on arrival at the headland.

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero - one of the first birds we saw on arrival at the headland.

The watchpoint at Punta Carnero, with the Rock of Gibraltar across the bay.

The watchpoint at Punta Carnero, with the Rock of Gibraltar across the bay.

Punta Carnero - looking south over the straits to Africa

Punta Carnero - looking south over the straits to Africa

The raptor watch started off quite slowly which indicated that we hadn't missed a lot, but soon picked up pace and we regularly got birds either in singles or in small flocks passing us every few minutes. The main excitement of this place though wasn't the huge numbers but the amazingly close views we were getting of some of these quality raptors. Fair enough, not every bird was close, but many of them were right in front of us, or just below us, or circling above our heads. This was the perfect spot, since the geography of the area seemed to mean most of the birds passed this one headland. There were birds coming low, straight in-off towards us which hit the cliffs then circled for height in front of us. Many of the ones which had been blown further east, turned towards us to make land rather than extend their sea crossing by moving through the Bay of Gibraltar. And the birds which arrived further west of us, appeared to drift on the wind along the coast towards us as they tried to gain height, often popping up in the valley just to our west. So we were getting birds from three different directions - it was very exciting!

Black Kite crossing the strait with the Moroccan hills behind - Punta Carnero

Black Kite crossing the strait with the Moroccan hills behind - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle passing low past the lighthouse after flying in from the Bay of Gibraltar - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle passing low past the lighthouse after flying in from the Bay of Gibraltar - Punta Carnero

A thermal of 3 Booted Eagles and 4 Black Kites above the headland - Punta Carnero

A thermal of 3 Booted Eagles and 4 Black Kites above the headland - Punta Carnero

It would be difficult to give a chronological run-down of the birds we saw, so I'll go through species by species. We decided not to try to go for accurate counts as we thought it may distract us from the birds themselves, so the numbers mentioned below are rough estimates. We had about a two and a half hour watch before we decided to leave as the passage had noticeably slowed down.

The most common raptor, and probably my favourite of the morning, was Booted Eagle. We reckon we saw somewhere between 150 and 200 birds pass through. The majority of these were definitely pale-phase birds with dark ones being clearly outnumbered, but there was much variation amongst the pale ones - some being almost pure white, others being pale creamy-brown. The 'headlights' at the base of the wings were very visible on such close birds. Any photographers who want good Booted Eagle shots, I recommend Punta Carnero!

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Booted Eagle - Punta Carnero

Another numerous species was Short-toed Eagle. Bigger than the Booted Eagles, these generally came in singles and so it was difficult to keep tabs on how many we had - perhaps as many as 100, but probably a bit less than that. They behaved in a similar way to the Booteds, suddenly appearing above us then drifting on up the valley. Most were well-spotted below but quite a few were very white. Not really like any other species and easy to identify.

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

Short-toed Eagle - Punta Carnero

The second most numerous species was Black Kite. We had about 150 of these altogether but didn't pay them as much attention. Much more active migrants as one would expect, we often had these flapping low over the waves. One bird we had was very striking as we initially thought it was a Red Kite being very pale, especially round the head, and it was a little more rufous than the other birds. Structurally though it was pretty fine for Black Kite. Unfortunately we weren't quick enough with the camera but it was interesting.

Black Kite - Punta Carnero

Black Kite - Punta Carnero

Black Kite - Punta Carnero

Black Kite - Punta Carnero

Other birds of prey that we had coming in included a single Osprey, maybe 10 or so Griffon Vultures, and a single and then a group of 3 superb Egyptian Vultures. All terrific birds. We had all three harrier species, with single Marsh and a female Montagu's Harrier zipping past us, and a female Hen Harrier flying low over the shoreline below. At least 10 Sparrowhawks arrived from Africa - something you tend to forget that they'd do - and a distant Hobby circled over the hillside. We had totted up 13 species of raptor before lunchtime!

Osprey - Punta Carnero

Osprey - Punta Carnero

Griffon Vulture - Punta Carnero

Griffon Vulture - Punta Carnero

Egyptian Vulture - Punta Carnero

Egyptian Vulture - Punta Carnero

Sparrowhawk - Punta Carnero

Sparrowhawk - Punta Carnero

As we didn't really move from the spot we didn't see a great deal of land birds on the headland. (I did move down the road at one point to try and get better photos but soon regretted it, as the excitement of really close views of Booted Eagle were somewhat mitigated by the sight of a Spanish man dumping his load in the bushes below my viewpoint! Pedro El Plop!). A few Ravens flew past us and a Nightingale sang vociferously from the valley. A Grey Heron flapped past and, very distantly, towards Gibraltar, two then three more Black Storks arrived in Europe. Out to sea we saw a few Gannets and Sandwich Terns, as well as a pod of dolphins which Ian thought were probably Striped Dolphins. The sun hadn't stopped shining and the raptors hadn't stopped passing - what a memorable morning!

Raven - Punta Carnero

Raven - Punta Carnero


If you are interested in the birds of the area and would like to join a guided tour, why not check out local experts Niki and Simon at their website here:  https://ingloriousbustards.com/