Jon Turner
Well-known member
Oops! Can you name and shame the Company so we can all avoid it? I use Malagacar.com
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Birdwatching in Straits of Gibraltar & La Janda (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Birdman7
- Start date
Oops! Can you name and shame the Company so we can all avoid it? I use Malagacar.com
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
You're not with them Jon.
I'd rather not name them for the time being. In the meantime I'd advise anyone hiring to check the small print under '5. vehicle service'.
Edit. See post below.
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Clearly I missed out on an impressive passage yesterday when 1100+ Honey Buzzards were counted at Algarrobo.
Cazella was interesting today if not so busy, although there were plenty of birders there. The wind is due to shift in the next two days so maybe more action to come.
Cazella was interesting today if not so busy, although there were plenty of birders there. The wind is due to shift in the next two days so maybe more action to come.
Thanks for the warning BW. Just checked mine (Centauro) and it confirms that all hires are unlimited mileage.
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
The young lady at the Recordgo desk was very helpful in pointing out the starting mileage on the exchange car and wrote 2000 km in red pen on the revised contact.
I'll be keeping an eye on that now and in future it'll be a case of 'Record? Don't Go' on any hire, especially if it's for any period longer than a week. The change over has cost me a half a day and a quarter of a tank of diesel in travelling to Malaga and back, plus a load of aggro I could have done without.
Never had any problem with Centauro.
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Simon Elliott
Well-known member
Hi,
Don't know if anyone can help with this but I'm planning a (mainly birding) trip to Spain for a week in January, either to the El Hondo area in Costa Blanca or more likely to the area in this thread. I'd like to watch and hopefully photograph mainly the raptors and other birds that overwinter in the area.
My wife is coming with me, and I don't want her to be bored, so can you recommend a place/area to stay that is close enough to the birds but also has restaurants etc? I will be hiring a car, and would like to be near(ish) to La Janda which looks to have the best birds in winter.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Simon
Don't know if anyone can help with this but I'm planning a (mainly birding) trip to Spain for a week in January, either to the El Hondo area in Costa Blanca or more likely to the area in this thread. I'd like to watch and hopefully photograph mainly the raptors and other birds that overwinter in the area.
My wife is coming with me, and I don't want her to be bored, so can you recommend a place/area to stay that is close enough to the birds but also has restaurants etc? I will be hiring a car, and would like to be near(ish) to La Janda which looks to have the best birds in winter.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Simon
Birdman7
Bird photographer
Ruppell's Vulture
Had 2 magnificent and close Ruppell's Vultures close to Cazalla last Saturday. Lo & behold, my camera & lenses were still in my camera bag, bummer! The numbers of Egyptian Vultures was quite impressive with over 30 individuals in 10 mins. Raptor passage is always a magnificent spectacle.
Had 2 magnificent and close Ruppell's Vultures close to Cazalla last Saturday. Lo & behold, my camera & lenses were still in my camera bag, bummer! The numbers of Egyptian Vultures was quite impressive with over 30 individuals in 10 mins. Raptor passage is always a magnificent spectacle.
Stewart J.
Well-known member
Just back from 2 hours at Cazalla very quiet with only light passage.
occasional
Well-known member
My wife is coming with me, and I don't want her to be bored, so can you recommend a place/area to stay that is close enough to the birds but also has restaurants etc?
Tarifa is pleasant and interesting with plenty of accomodation.
Tarifa is pleasant and interesting with plenty of accomodation.
rollingthunder
Well-known member
Mate - there's a lot of accommodation in Tarifa, to suit all budgets. I arrived ystda, paying about 30 quid a nite. Tarifa is nice and relaxing imo, there's all the surfies and kiters:C but hey i was young once
Birdwise it's very, very, very quiet!
I was out on Los Lances this morning and altho it was very pleasant from 0730 onwards passage comprised of small parties of Swallows - i flushed a Wryneck which was a very pleasant surprise.....
I left the cafe where we had breakfast @ 1030 and had'nt seen a single bird overhead. 3 and a 1/2 hours later i had mustered a list of 4 Booted Eagles and single Short-Toed as far as large BOP's are concerned.
I met a lovely couple from that Scotland place who are here on their, wait for it, 33rd consecutive year!!!:eek!::eek!::eek!: and they informed me that this was the quietest 7-day period they had ever known and today was the quietest day...................................lucky me:t:
Here for 2 more nights then off on the piss to Seville but will return towards the latter part of the holiday for 3/4 nights - let's hope things get better.
Laurie:t:
Birdwise it's very, very, very quiet!
I was out on Los Lances this morning and altho it was very pleasant from 0730 onwards passage comprised of small parties of Swallows - i flushed a Wryneck which was a very pleasant surprise.....
I left the cafe where we had breakfast @ 1030 and had'nt seen a single bird overhead. 3 and a 1/2 hours later i had mustered a list of 4 Booted Eagles and single Short-Toed as far as large BOP's are concerned.
I met a lovely couple from that Scotland place who are here on their, wait for it, 33rd consecutive year!!!:eek!::eek!::eek!: and they informed me that this was the quietest 7-day period they had ever known and today was the quietest day...................................lucky me:t:
Here for 2 more nights then off on the piss to Seville but will return towards the latter part of the holiday for 3/4 nights - let's hope things get better.
Laurie:t:
Yet yesterday (9th) there were 2000+ Honey Buzzards over Algorrobo and today whilst I was there for a couple of hours 100+ over Cazella as well as Black Storks (7), Egyptian Vulture (14) and the other usual BoPs.
It is extremely quiet on the passerine front and the cause, according to many, is the incredibly dry and hot summer forcing the migrants to depart early. I have to say that we have been struggling to find any larks as well as any other passage birds besides chats, and even they are few and far between.
That's what we get for chasing the sun (and birds) I guess.
It is extremely quiet on the passerine front and the cause, according to many, is the incredibly dry and hot summer forcing the migrants to depart early. I have to say that we have been struggling to find any larks as well as any other passage birds besides chats, and even they are few and far between.
That's what we get for chasing the sun (and birds) I guess.
rollingthunder
Well-known member
That's interesting, Alf, Algaborro is 'over the hill' so to speak and thus out of sight from Tarifa..........I can assure you there was nothing like that today in the Tarifa area. The skies were clear, Blue and uncluttered by large birds, Oh i wish it was otherwise........
Laurie:t:
Laurie:t:
Stewart J.
Well-known member
You must have been at Cazalla when I was this morning Alf from 10.30 till 12.45.
Stewart
eddy the eagle
Well-known member
I am told that the recent bad weather over the north of Spain and the Pyrenees in particular is the reason why we see no birds for a few days and then 1000´s through the next Also with the light winds we have at the moment a lot of birds get so high they are out of sight with the naked eye and sometimes with bins....EddyPS I have not been out and about lately due to a crocked knee and the need for physio but hope to be back soon.
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That's interesting, Alf, Algaborro is 'over the hill' so to speak and thus out of sight from Tarifa..........I can assure you there was nothing like that today in the Tarifa area. The skies were clear, Blue and uncluttered by large birds, Oh i wish it was otherwise........
Laurie:t:
Actually BW I was at Cazella, so there were. :eat: (Poor grammatical structure on my part I'm afraid.)
All of the raptors were very high indeed though and difficult to spot with the naked eye. If the Migres guy hadn't been calling them out then I think most of us would have missed them.
Good luck for the rest of your trip - maybe the flood of birds will commence soon.
Indeed Stewart, from 10.15 until 12.15 in fact. It got really quiet by then and when I saw the Migres chap start to eat his lunch I decided that it was time to leave.
Later on we had low down views of Booted Eagles, Buzzards and ST Eagles over our accommodation.
I'm giving Sanlucar the once-over today in the hope that waders will make up for the missing passerines. Barbate turned up very little the other day other than about 15 Stone Curlew. I was hoping for Curlew Sands through by now.
It's still a lot better than my local patch though, and I'm certainly not complaining.
:t:
Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
Check out the salt pans on the right of the t junction at Bonanza salinas really closely. We had two red-necked phalaropes on the second pool yesterday. They took a bit of finding, but it was worth it. A new one on my Spanish list.
The large lagoon at the pumping station at the end of the right hand track was very good. Three, possibly five caspian terns, an osprey taking a mullet, slender-billed gulls, two great white egrets, four or five black storks and a red kite.
Laguna Tarela had about 20 marbled ducks on the far bank.
Simon Elliott
Well-known member
Thanks Laurie and Occasional for the replies
rollingthunder
Well-known member
The RNPhal's sound good but i am on foot so it's a few Klicks from Tarifa for me.....
Much better today 400+ Booties, 150+ Black Kites, a few Reds, 75+ Short Toeds, 10+ Griffons, 6+ Gyppos and what looked like a very raggedy./moulting SpanishImp.
Passerines apart from Swallows and Bee Eaters in short supply. Another bash tmrw and then off for Tapas and Sherberts in Seville but back for the latter half of the holiday for 4 nights!
Laurie:t:
Much better today 400+ Booties, 150+ Black Kites, a few Reds, 75+ Short Toeds, 10+ Griffons, 6+ Gyppos and what looked like a very raggedy./moulting SpanishImp.
Passerines apart from Swallows and Bee Eaters in short supply. Another bash tmrw and then off for Tapas and Sherberts in Seville but back for the latter half of the holiday for 4 nights!
Laurie:t:
Good sightings BW. We were there yesterday but missed the RNP's I actually couldn't believe how quiet it was compared with previous years as there have been literally thousands of gulls, terns, waders crowing the berms. I'll give it another try next week when the tides are more favourable and when movement is hopefully more evident.
One WH Duck (male) on Tarela too. 10 Caspians feeding as well as plenty of SB Gulls and 300+ Greater Flamingo.
Still hardly any passerines though with wagtails being particularly noticeable by their absence.
