The Route of 100 Birds (Malaga, Southern Spain) (1 Viewer)

Birding at El Chorro and Guadalteba Farmlands (2019.02.11)

Here are some pictures of a productive trip to two of the most interesting spots of The Route of 100 Birds.

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2019.02.21)

Despite the irruption of birds on passage is still very limited, the longer days of February allowed us a good record of 99 species in our itinerary around The Route of 100 Birds.

Click here for the complete list of birds observed: https://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/865-birding-big-day-around-the-route-of-100-birds-2019-02-21

We began the day at Montes de Malaga before dawn and it did not take long until de Tawny Owl welcomed us with his sweet fluty hooting. The sounds following it show there is a family on the way…

Birds were very lazy today and it was after the break of dawn that a Wood Pigeon broke the silence before the Blackbirds and Robins started the big morning chorus. There was a Raven at Montes which is not very common there and we could finally see some Siskins that arrived very late this year.

We moved on to the Fuente de Piedra Lake. There are still some Curlews around the lake; it has been nice to have them all the winter here. The number of Flamingos is increasing and they have returned to the surroundings of the visitors centre for the delight of birders and photographers.

The Cranes have not thought about flying back to the north yet. That is also the case of a nice male Hen Harrier and some Spotted Redshanks in the ponds around the Campillos farmlands, and the Great White Egrets in the Valley of the Guadalhorce.

The Bonelli’s Eagles and Peregrine Falcons are now closer to their nesting cliffs.

We finished the day at the Mouth of the Guadalhorce. I always expect to find the Short-eared Owls on my way out of the reserve though this time one of them was already quartering the area. I rounded out the list with Common Scoter, Gannet, Yellow-legged Gull, Sanderling, Black-tailed Godwit and Mediterranean Gull.

Birding the west side of The Route of 100 Birds (2019.02.27)

We have had a wonderful day visiting the Guadalhorce Mouth and Valley and El Chorro.

Click here for the complete list of birds observed: https://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/868-birding-the-west-side-of-the-route-of-100-birds-2019-02-27

The day began in Alora, where the Lesser Kestrels are coming back to the colony, continued at El Chorro, where time stops in front of the vultures, and finished at the Mouth of the Guadalhorce after a short visit to Rio Grande.

March 2019 Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2019.03.23)

The strong breeze that was blowing in Malaga could not stop us get a list of 109 different species.

Click here for more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: https://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/884-march-2019-birding-big-day-around-the-route-of-100-birds

None of the “before dawn” singers have started their concerts at Montes de Malaga yet, though we could observe most of the ordinary forest birds including very active Hawfinches that seem to be nesting in the area.

El Torcal also confirmed the breeding of the Bonelli’s Eagles in the nearby cliffs though most of the most interesting observations took place at the Fuente de Piedra Lake, with a Slender-billed Gull still around, the first Reed Warbler of the season and some Spotted Crakes visible from the wooden bridge.

The Guadalteba farmlands also contributed with Lesser Kestrels hovering over the arable land, a male Little Bustard in typical territorial mode, calling and showing his black scarf, the first Montagu’s Harrier, still two Curlews and the famous Little Crake around the Laguna Dulce.

The Mouth of the Guadalhorce provided eleven new species for the list. We could see the three of our small plovers (Ringed, Little Ringed and Kentish) together just in front of the Laguna Grande hide, some Garganeys, which are not very common here, Mediterranean and Audouin’s Gulls.

Watching the Golden Eagle in The Route of 100 Birds (2019.04.03)

We first found it perched on his cliff and then took off and soared over us before flying away into the mountains…

Report of a week around The Routeof 100 Birds (2019.04.08-12)

Some pictures of a wonderful week at Montes de Malaga, Mouth of the Guadalhorce, El Chorro, Fuente de Piedra Lake, El Torcal and Laguna Dulce.

Click here for many more pictures: https://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/892-report-of-a-week-around-the-route-of-100-birds-2019-04-08-12

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds 2019.05.22

The long passage of waders that is taking place this year has made it easier to reach 114 different species in our big day!

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: https://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/904-birding-big-day-around-the-route-of-100-birds-2019-05-22

The temperature was only 11 ºC when I arrived at Montes de Malaga. The Woodlarks were singing like crazy, and I could also hear Red-necked and European Nightjars and Scops Owl before dawn. The highlight at Montes was the presence of at least one Azure-winged Magpie there, well away from their headquarters around Archidona.

We spotted most of the regular gems at El Torcal, with very decent views of a Western Orphean Warbler singing from a hawthorn. There was a Whitethroat, which is not a very common breeding bird in this area, singing and marking his territory on the way down to Antequera. If it is a bird still on passage or it is going to breed here is something we should pay attention to in the coming weeks.

Given that the little pools at the entrance and around the wooden bridge at the Fuente de Piedra Lake Visitors Centre are already dry, I did not spent much time there, ticked the White Stork and Greater Flamingos on the list and went on towards the farmlands, where I saw all our possible larks (Crested, Calandra and Short-toad, plus the Thekla we observed at El Torcal), the Montagu’s Harrier and White-headed Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Glossy Ibis, Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes at Laguna Dulce.

WE stopped at El Chorro for some birds I had missed before, like Alpine Swift, Black Wheatear and Chough.

Our views of Bee-eaters and Little-ringed Plovers were fantastic at the Valley of the Guadalhorce, a good place to find the White Wagtails during the breeding season as well.

The visit to the Mouth of the Guadalhorce rounded off a fantastic day. There were still plenty of waders on passage at Rio Viejo, like Dunlin, Sanderling, Redshank, Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits, Ringed and Grey Plovers along with the resident Kentish Plovers, Black-winged Stilts and Avocets. There were many young Audouin’s Gulls and still a lot of Slender-billed ones which might be showing some willing to breed in the area this year. There was a regular flow of Balearic Shearwaters flying east-west direction and we could spot maybe the last Gannet in the Bay of Malaga.