occasional
Well-known member
There is an american golden plover being seen close to the most southerly point of the salinas at Barbate.
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Birdwatching in Straits of Gibraltar & La Janda (10 Viewers)
- Thread starter Birdman7
- Start date
John Cantelo
Well-known member
When I first visited Andalucia in the 1970s the whale-watching industry didn't exist but when I returned in the early 2000s it had become a significant touristic attraction in Tarifa. I went on a couple of trips hoping to see a few seabirds as well as whales. As hoped, I managed to obtain some excellent views of Cory's Shearwater and somewhat fewer (and more distant) views of Balearic Shearwater (plus Great Skua & Audouin's Gull). However, piggybacking on jaunts to see cetaceans is no substitute for a focussed birding pelagic.
Happily, the ornithological tourism industry in Cadiz province is now so well-developed and popular that pelagics are now part of the regular birding calendar. As I recall, the first few birding pelagics were organised out of Tarifa but Chipiona quickly became the more popular option. However, my first taste of pelagic birding here was out of Cadiz on 17th September this year. This jaunt was organised by Manuel Morales (Birding Tarifa www.birdingtarifa.com/en).
As well as myself & Kent birder Barry Wright, the skipper and Manuel, there were two local Spanish birders, an Australian, two Dutch birders (one of whom had exceptional eyesight which helped greatly later on) and an ex-pat British birder, Ricky Owen, on the boat. Our first ornithological delight was a Roseate Tern on the harbour wall - a Spanish tick for me and my first Roseate Tern for decades.
As the boat headed out into the Golfo de Cádiz, we soon started to see Balearic Shearwaters (our final total was c40 birds) and European Storm-petrels (our total was also c40 birds). Despite the calm conditions, the latter were difficult to see as they skittered quickly past just above the water and, for once, I found myself regretting that I had changed from x8 binoculars to x10 as every lurch of the boat was magnified. After a handful of stormies (a Spanish tick), another petrel hove into view which was clearly something different. There was some speculation that it was a Leach's as it lacked European Storm-petrel's pale bar on the underwing. I found this ID unconvincing but fortunately, Barry had the presence of mind to get several photos of the bird which confirmed that it was a Wilson's Storm-petrel. The clinching feature was that its toes clearly extended beyond the tail. Another Spanish tick and my first for thirty-odd years. Another Spanish tick and again my first for many years was a far more co-operative Grey Phalarope Cory's Shearwater, Arctic Skua and Bottle-nosed Dolphins also had walk-on parts in the drama.
Fortunately, pelagic birding trips out of Cadiz & Chipiona are now firmly on the autumnal birding agenda so if you're planning a jaunt to the area in August/September check with local bird guides to see if they're running trips whilst you're in the area. (For a more detailed account & photos see my blog)
Happily, the ornithological tourism industry in Cadiz province is now so well-developed and popular that pelagics are now part of the regular birding calendar. As I recall, the first few birding pelagics were organised out of Tarifa but Chipiona quickly became the more popular option. However, my first taste of pelagic birding here was out of Cadiz on 17th September this year. This jaunt was organised by Manuel Morales (Birding Tarifa www.birdingtarifa.com/en).
As well as myself & Kent birder Barry Wright, the skipper and Manuel, there were two local Spanish birders, an Australian, two Dutch birders (one of whom had exceptional eyesight which helped greatly later on) and an ex-pat British birder, Ricky Owen, on the boat. Our first ornithological delight was a Roseate Tern on the harbour wall - a Spanish tick for me and my first Roseate Tern for decades.
As the boat headed out into the Golfo de Cádiz, we soon started to see Balearic Shearwaters (our final total was c40 birds) and European Storm-petrels (our total was also c40 birds). Despite the calm conditions, the latter were difficult to see as they skittered quickly past just above the water and, for once, I found myself regretting that I had changed from x8 binoculars to x10 as every lurch of the boat was magnified. After a handful of stormies (a Spanish tick), another petrel hove into view which was clearly something different. There was some speculation that it was a Leach's as it lacked European Storm-petrel's pale bar on the underwing. I found this ID unconvincing but fortunately, Barry had the presence of mind to get several photos of the bird which confirmed that it was a Wilson's Storm-petrel. The clinching feature was that its toes clearly extended beyond the tail. Another Spanish tick and my first for thirty-odd years. Another Spanish tick and again my first for many years was a far more co-operative Grey Phalarope Cory's Shearwater, Arctic Skua and Bottle-nosed Dolphins also had walk-on parts in the drama.
Fortunately, pelagic birding trips out of Cadiz & Chipiona are now firmly on the autumnal birding agenda so if you're planning a jaunt to the area in August/September check with local bird guides to see if they're running trips whilst you're in the area. (For a more detailed account & photos see my blog)
Boarding the boat with Ricky Owen (with organiser Manuel Morales in the background) |
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John Cantelo
Well-known member
Montes Propios
The city of Jerez de la Frontera sits on a low hill surrounded by rolling farmlands covered with cereals, sunflowers and, of course, vineyards. Understandably, this rich farmland forms the core of the municipality but, as the map shows, there’s a 20 km long administrative tombolo (at one point little more than 100m wide) that links the principal part of the municipality to an ‘island’ wooded hills and modest mountains (with peaks of c400-c500m), the Montes Propios. There must be some reason for this odd arrangement but it’s hard to see what this could be since the connecting filament of land doesn’t follow a road, stream or link to a village. My only thought is that it may be to protect the headwaters of the Embalse del Guadalcacin which presumably supplies the city with water. However, this explanation can hardly apply to the entirely detached “fingernail” of municipal land (c5km x 1 km) near Algar which seems to contain but a single small farm so perhaps other factors are at work.
Whatever the logic of this arrangement, it seems that the municipal authorities have decided to embrace this area, part of the Parque Natural Los Alcornocales, as a valuable ‘green lung’ for the city’s population. With rocky crags, dense cork-oak woodland and cistus clad hillsides the area is certainly very different to and much wilder than the rest of the municipality’s rural areas. Presumably, it’s for this reason that the area has an Education centre (Centro de interpretación Montes Propios) here.
Similarly, it probably explains the relatively dense network of footpaths (including several, circular routes) in the area. (More details of these footpaths may be found at Senda Cadiz Senderismo). Note that the starting point of some of these senderos does not seem clearly marked.
It was only when I read about the Casa de Torres trail in the “Birdwatching Calendar of the Province of Cadiz” (see an earlier blog) that I realised that the road down to the Centro de Interpretation was open to the public rather than private as I’d always assumed. My confusion stemmed from the road being flanked by a wall topped by two lanterns which made it resemble the route up to a private finca.
So, when I visited the area this September, I made sure that I visited the site. I didn’t have time to explore the various senderos but I saw enough to appreciate that this site offered an excellent opportunity to explore a part of the Alcornocales on foot. I've found Iberian Green Woodpecker, Bonelli's Eagle & Iberian Chiffchaff in the wider area but I'm sure that there's more to find here. This isn't a major birding site but should be a good place to start if you want to explore what the woodlands of the Alcornocales have to offer.
The city of Jerez de la Frontera sits on a low hill surrounded by rolling farmlands covered with cereals, sunflowers and, of course, vineyards. Understandably, this rich farmland forms the core of the municipality but, as the map shows, there’s a 20 km long administrative tombolo (at one point little more than 100m wide) that links the principal part of the municipality to an ‘island’ wooded hills and modest mountains (with peaks of c400-c500m), the Montes Propios. There must be some reason for this odd arrangement but it’s hard to see what this could be since the connecting filament of land doesn’t follow a road, stream or link to a village. My only thought is that it may be to protect the headwaters of the Embalse del Guadalcacin which presumably supplies the city with water. However, this explanation can hardly apply to the entirely detached “fingernail” of municipal land (c5km x 1 km) near Algar which seems to contain but a single small farm so perhaps other factors are at work.
Whatever the logic of this arrangement, it seems that the municipal authorities have decided to embrace this area, part of the Parque Natural Los Alcornocales, as a valuable ‘green lung’ for the city’s population. With rocky crags, dense cork-oak woodland and cistus clad hillsides the area is certainly very different to and much wilder than the rest of the municipality’s rural areas. Presumably, it’s for this reason that the area has an Education centre (Centro de interpretación Montes Propios) here.
Similarly, it probably explains the relatively dense network of footpaths (including several, circular routes) in the area. (More details of these footpaths may be found at Senda Cadiz Senderismo). Note that the starting point of some of these senderos does not seem clearly marked.
It was only when I read about the Casa de Torres trail in the “Birdwatching Calendar of the Province of Cadiz” (see an earlier blog) that I realised that the road down to the Centro de Interpretation was open to the public rather than private as I’d always assumed. My confusion stemmed from the road being flanked by a wall topped by two lanterns which made it resemble the route up to a private finca.
So, when I visited the area this September, I made sure that I visited the site. I didn’t have time to explore the various senderos but I saw enough to appreciate that this site offered an excellent opportunity to explore a part of the Alcornocales on foot. I've found Iberian Green Woodpecker, Bonelli's Eagle & Iberian Chiffchaff in the wider area but I'm sure that there's more to find here. This isn't a major birding site but should be a good place to start if you want to explore what the woodlands of the Alcornocales have to offer.
John Cantelo
Well-known member
Desembocadura de Rio San Pedro
Sandwiched between the approach to the impressive Puente De La Constitución De 1812 into Cadiz and Puerto Real, the Barriada Rio San Pedro is a slightly shabby suburb saved by a pleasant esplanade overlooking the Desembocadura (= rivermouth) de Rio San Pedro and the Los Toruños Natural Park beyond. The Playa de Levante (the west-facing beach of the Los Toruños peninsula can be rather disturbed so gulls and terns often roost on the sandy beach opposite as it is protected and isolated by saltmarshes.
My first visit here this September did not disappoint as I managed to see my first lifer in Spain for a decade or more - Elegant Tern. The second visit wasn't too shabby either as I had Lesser Crested Tern. With such a track record it's no surprise to discover that this site (along with Montijo beach, nr Chipiona) has a growing reputation as THE site to see rare terns in Cadiz in autumn. Playa de los Lances (Tarifa) once almost had a monopoly of 'orange-billed' terns in the area but I suspect that in large measure this reflected where the birders were as much as where the terns were.
This site seems to be best for roosting terns and gulls about an hour or so before high tide when birds are pushed up along the river as the vast expanse of the mud & sand on the seaward side of the Los Toruños peninsula disappears. A 'scope is invaluable here since the birds are generally c100-150m away on the far side of the Rio San Pedro (although I got lucky with the Elegant Tern as it lingered for a while on the nearside of the river). If you get your timing right expect to see hundreds of gulls (inc. Mediterranean, Slender-billed & Audouin's) and a good mix of terns (Caspian, Sandwich, Common & Black). Orange-billed terns are generally to be found amongst Sandwich Terns and, unless they're sleeping or hidden by other birds, shouldn't be too hard to pick out with a 'scope. However, distinguishing Lesser Crested and Elegant (see Orange-billed terns photo ID guide - BirdGuides) is another matter so I was happy to be with birders who'd seen the species before! The site also has a good range of waders although these too tend to be distant and other sites in the area are better. Small passerines shouldn't be ignored as the pines along the esplanade can hold a good numbers of flycatchers, redstarts, etc in the autumn. eBird account lists 106 species for this site (see https://ebird.org/hotspot/L11907457 ).
The site is reached by heading towards Cadiz Norte via the Puente De La Constitución De 1812 but turning off to follow signs into Barriada Rio San Pedro. The river is behind the blocks of flats to your left.
Sandwiched between the approach to the impressive Puente De La Constitución De 1812 into Cadiz and Puerto Real, the Barriada Rio San Pedro is a slightly shabby suburb saved by a pleasant esplanade overlooking the Desembocadura (= rivermouth) de Rio San Pedro and the Los Toruños Natural Park beyond. The Playa de Levante (the west-facing beach of the Los Toruños peninsula can be rather disturbed so gulls and terns often roost on the sandy beach opposite as it is protected and isolated by saltmarshes.
My first visit here this September did not disappoint as I managed to see my first lifer in Spain for a decade or more - Elegant Tern. The second visit wasn't too shabby either as I had Lesser Crested Tern. With such a track record it's no surprise to discover that this site (along with Montijo beach, nr Chipiona) has a growing reputation as THE site to see rare terns in Cadiz in autumn. Playa de los Lances (Tarifa) once almost had a monopoly of 'orange-billed' terns in the area but I suspect that in large measure this reflected where the birders were as much as where the terns were.
This site seems to be best for roosting terns and gulls about an hour or so before high tide when birds are pushed up along the river as the vast expanse of the mud & sand on the seaward side of the Los Toruños peninsula disappears. A 'scope is invaluable here since the birds are generally c100-150m away on the far side of the Rio San Pedro (although I got lucky with the Elegant Tern as it lingered for a while on the nearside of the river). If you get your timing right expect to see hundreds of gulls (inc. Mediterranean, Slender-billed & Audouin's) and a good mix of terns (Caspian, Sandwich, Common & Black). Orange-billed terns are generally to be found amongst Sandwich Terns and, unless they're sleeping or hidden by other birds, shouldn't be too hard to pick out with a 'scope. However, distinguishing Lesser Crested and Elegant (see Orange-billed terns photo ID guide - BirdGuides) is another matter so I was happy to be with birders who'd seen the species before! The site also has a good range of waders although these too tend to be distant and other sites in the area are better. Small passerines shouldn't be ignored as the pines along the esplanade can hold a good numbers of flycatchers, redstarts, etc in the autumn. eBird account lists 106 species for this site (see https://ebird.org/hotspot/L11907457 ).
The site is reached by heading towards Cadiz Norte via the Puente De La Constitución De 1812 but turning off to follow signs into Barriada Rio San Pedro. The river is behind the blocks of flats to your left.
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Mike Montier
Well-known member
Many thanks John for this very valuable information.
It’s a great help for any of us intending to visit any of these places.
Keep up the good work, it’s much appreciated.
Mike
It’s a great help for any of us intending to visit any of these places.
Keep up the good work, it’s much appreciated.
Mike
John Cantelo
Well-known member
Thanks, Mike. More to come but if you're impatient to read more I've posted extended versions of this text with more photos on my blog (see below)
John Cantelo
Well-known member
A change of pace for this post as I'm looking at some ornitho-history and a suburban site of relatively little interest in the scheme of things but still a useful site for those on a short or weekend trip to Jerez de la Frontera who want to squeeze in a little birding.
Laguna de Torrox (or Laguna de Torro) was once a celebrated wetland just south of Jerez de la Frontera well known to pioneer British hunter/naturalists Able Chapman and Walter J Buck (see http://www.entornoajerez.com/2012/09/la-laguna-de-torrox-cronica-de-una_28.html). Chapman and Buck who introduced a generation of Victorians and Edwardians to the fauna of Andalucia through their two best-selling books Wild Spain (1893) and Unexplored Spain (1910). These books later inspired Guy Mountfort et al to visit Andalucia in the 1950s and their expeditions and Mountfort's book "Portrait of a Wilderness: The story of the Coto Doñana Expeditions" (1958) were instrumental in the creation of the Coto Donana reserve.
In '"Unexplored Spain" Chapman and Buck wrote about what must surely be Laguna de Torrox as follows: "Even Jerez with its 60,000 inhabitants boasts no suburban zone. Within half an hour's walk one may witness scenes in wild bird-life for the like of which home-staying naturalists sigh in vain. We are at our "home- marsh," a mile or two away : it is mid-February. Within fifteen yards a dozen stilts stalk in the shallows; hard by is a group of godwits, some probing the ooze, the rest preening in eccentric outstretched poses. Beyond, the drier shore is adorned by snow- white egrets [Ardea hubulcus), some perched on our cattle, relieving their tick-tormented hides. Thus, within less than fifty yards, we have in view three of the rarest and most exquisite of British birds. And the list can be prolonged. A marsh-harrier in menacing flight, his broad wings brushing the bulrushes, sweeps across the bog, startling a mallard and snipes ; there are storks and whimbrels in sight (the latter possibly slender-billed curlew), and a pack of lesser bustard crouch within 500 yards in the palmettos. From a marsh-drain springs a green sandpiper; and as we take our homeward way, serenaded by bull-frogs and mole-crickets, there resounds over- head the clarion-note of cranes cleaving their way due north. (see- archive.org/details/unexploredspain00chaprich/page/n9/mode/2up).
Mention of palmettos reminds me that it was reputed to be one of the last areas the Andalucian Hemipode could be found near Jerez. When Roger Tory Peterson joined Mountfort et al on one of his expeditions to paint and familiarise himself with European birds for his forthcoming field guide this was a species he was keen to see. He succeeded in doing so but only because a barber in Jerez had one in a cage, perhaps it was caught here.
Inevitably, the growth of Jerez's population since then to just over 213,000 has impinged on this small wilderness to such an extent that it is now little more than an ornamental pond in an an urban park at the edge of the city. In fact, it's questionable whether it should really bear the name of its antecedent being almost entirely the artificial creation of developers. Although larger than its namesake, embanked and constrained it must bear little resemblance to the site Chapman and Buck knew. The old lagoon survived into the 1960s but was neglected and abused. Even its replacement has suffered neglect (see http://www.entornoajerez.com/2012/09/la-laguna-de-torrox-cronica-de-una_28.html).
So, this is probably not a site a keen visiting birder will detour to on a birding jaunt to the area, but for those staying in Jerez with a family or without any means of transport, it does allow the opportunity to see some birds that might otherwise be missed. Besides, as any seasoned birder knows good birds can turn up in unexpected places and with drought conditions any sheet of water will draw birds and two small islands on the laguna offer a safe roosting place for herons, cormorants and ducks.
It's c2.5 km from the city centre so should take c30 mins to walk there. Happily, however, the No13 bus runs to the laguna and both the No 8 & 9 stop in Ave. Puerta del Sol from where it's a five-minute walk (along Calle Austria & Ave. de Italia). Even on my very brief visit I had Little Egret, Night Heron, Spoonbill, Black-tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper, Red-rumped Swallow, Cetti's Warbler, Common Redstart, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers. A check on e-Bird shows that 110 species have been recorded here including Purple Swamphen, Little Bittern, Bluethroat and even Red-knobbed Coot (see - https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12777970) The north-western arm of the laguna seemed to offer most promise with reeds and exposed mud offering cover and a source of food for passing birds.
Jon Turner
Well-known member
Sorry to see this thread largely abandoned!
Had 10 days in Jimena de la Frontera a couple of weeks back. It was still hot - 29 degrees most days and 32 on a few. But that's nothing compared to the 44 degrees in the summer. Some small rain a few days before I arrived did little to relieve the drought. It was very scorched and dry everywhere I went, and birds were hard to come by. I can usually record over 100 species in a 10 day break, but this time struggled to 85. Tried the Algorrobo observatory one day but there was a howling easterly wind making the crossing very difficult and resulting in most birds turning round and heading off North again. We saw perhaps 10 each of Booted and Short-toed Eagles, 20 or 30 Griffons and perhaps 6 Egyptian Vultures. A couple of male Sparrowhawks were back and forth. The good thing I learnt and I apologise if this is already common knowledge, is that there is a team of monitors in amongst the wind turbines armed with binoculars and mobile phones charged with phoning the powers that be to turn off groups of turbines if there are lots of birds approaching. Indeed later on that very thing happened - the turbines closest to us were down to a crawl. Later we did La Janda - scorched and no wet fields to attract birds -so no Spoonbill, Great Egret, or Glossy Ibis, no waders, only a few Marsh Harriers and Kestrels. Luckily as we left a fine Montagu's Harrier appeared.
I returned to Algorrobo a few days later and it was the same very strong Easterly with fewer birds but at least I saw a lone Black Stork.
Had 10 days in Jimena de la Frontera a couple of weeks back. It was still hot - 29 degrees most days and 32 on a few. But that's nothing compared to the 44 degrees in the summer. Some small rain a few days before I arrived did little to relieve the drought. It was very scorched and dry everywhere I went, and birds were hard to come by. I can usually record over 100 species in a 10 day break, but this time struggled to 85. Tried the Algorrobo observatory one day but there was a howling easterly wind making the crossing very difficult and resulting in most birds turning round and heading off North again. We saw perhaps 10 each of Booted and Short-toed Eagles, 20 or 30 Griffons and perhaps 6 Egyptian Vultures. A couple of male Sparrowhawks were back and forth. The good thing I learnt and I apologise if this is already common knowledge, is that there is a team of monitors in amongst the wind turbines armed with binoculars and mobile phones charged with phoning the powers that be to turn off groups of turbines if there are lots of birds approaching. Indeed later on that very thing happened - the turbines closest to us were down to a crawl. Later we did La Janda - scorched and no wet fields to attract birds -so no Spoonbill, Great Egret, or Glossy Ibis, no waders, only a few Marsh Harriers and Kestrels. Luckily as we left a fine Montagu's Harrier appeared.
I returned to Algorrobo a few days later and it was the same very strong Easterly with fewer birds but at least I saw a lone Black Stork.
jogresh
Bimble and patch
Glad to hear they have the shutdown-on-demand teams. I've done a few of these contracts and there's no question it saves a lot of migratory soaring birds. 🙂
Quite fancy a birding trip to Spain, it's been a while. I hope they get a wet winter to compensate for the drought. 🤞🐦
Quite fancy a birding trip to Spain, it's been a while. I hope they get a wet winter to compensate for the drought. 🤞🐦
John Cantelo
Well-known member
As I felt the title of this thread a little restrictive, I started an alternative with a broader remit - Birding Cadiz (& nearby). This may explain the neglect.
occasional
Well-known member
There is currently a blue-winged teal in Algeciras port. It frequents the coast between the Corte Ingles and the northern entry bridge to the port.
