🇪🇸 Friday, September 10th ☀️ 31C ~ With Dave heading off to Holland during the rest of my stay It was time for a day out a little further afield and my annual trip to Tarifa for the bird migration. Although of course, I missed out in 2020 due to Covid!
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| Left ~ The view on arrival at the Mirador Right ~ The view at the Observatory 30 minutes later |
Instead of using the AP-7 I decided on a toll-free route from Mijas down to Tarifa due to the huge wildfire just north of Estepona (more on that in part 3) and arrived at the Mirador del EstrechoI for coffee at around 9:30am. As you can see from the above images the views were somewhat curtailed by the low cloud and mist, not unlike an Aberdeenshire morning on occasions! But like home, the mist and cloud soon diminished and by the time I arrived at the observatory a short time later, the conditions were perfect.
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| Short-toed Eagle passing overhead the observatory |
The first movement of note was a large group of
Black Kites drifting low over Tarifa and just gaining enough height for the relatively short hop over to Morocco and the African continent. There was a slow but constant passage of
Short-toed Snake Eagle and I managed double figures during my two-hour stay.
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| Griffon Vulture ~ One of several today heading for the Straits. |
Vultures are always an awesome sight at any time and it was good to see both
Egyptian Vulture and
Griffon Vulture, along with the odd juvenile passing through. I've also recorded
Rüppell's Vulture on other occasions but sadly not today.
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| Egyptian Vulture |
Booted Eagle's and
Honey Buzzards made up the numbers and I'm always surprised to see how many
Sparrowhawks make the journey across. As spectacular as always there were a few species absentees from my normal haul, including
Bonelli's Eagle,
Black Stork and
Harriers.
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| Always check the wires at La Janda for Black-winged Kites. |
From Cazalla I always make the 30-minute drive further north along the coast to La Janda. Details can be found
HERE (John Cantelo) but I have to say that in my opinion, the site has become less attractive more recently. Species such as
Great Bustard can no longer be found here and there is little or no open water left where
Glossy Ibis and
Spoonbills can feed, let alone waders. Where there were once many rice paddies lots are now just ploughed fields.
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| White Storks |
Still, it's a good area that can be viewed from the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle with plenty of areas to stop and observe some good species, although in places the track can be rough but easily manoeuvred. One species that I'm always on the lookout for at La Janda is the
Black-winged Kite and I was lucky enough to encounter two of these ghostly looking raptors, always check the wires! On the other hand,
White Storks can be found anywhere around La Janda and in huge numbers, congregating before the weather is just right for the crossing, they don't like flying over water and many stay for the duration.
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| Woodchat Shrike which I originally tweeted as Red-backed Shrike! |
It's worth checking the large Sparrow colonies for
Spanish Sparrow, two today and other passerines included
Stonechat,
Spotted Flycatcher and Corn Bunting. I was convinced I'd photographed a juvenile
Red-backed Shrike (pretty rare for southern Spain) but the Birds of Spain forum soon were on it, with everyone in agreement this is a
Woodchat Shrike, I yield to local knowledge, my experience of juvenile shrikes is somewhat limited! Also of note today around La Janda
Common Swift,
Barn Swallow,
House Martin,
Sand Martin Crested Lark,
Turtle Dove,
Montagu's Harrier,
Marsh Harrier,
Glossy Ibis,
Bee-eater,
Lesser Kestrel,
Common Kestrel, Cattle Egret &
Little Egret, with
Green Sandpiper along the ditches.
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| Northern Banded Groundling |
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| Is this a rare Zeller's Skipper ~ Found only in the Campo de Gibraltar in Europe |
Away from the birding, La Janda is a good place to find
Northern Banded Groundling a recent coloniser from Africa but I'll end the post on a mystery butterfly! This looks like an
Essex Skipper or is it perhaps a
Zeller's Skipper which can be found here but I've yet to research it and sadly I have no wing shots.
More Images of the Day...
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| Cattle Egret |
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| Juvenile Turtle Dove |
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| Black-winged Kite |
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| Juvenile Egyptian Vulture |
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| Northern Banded Groundling |
