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Migration across the Strait of Gibraltar (2 Viewers)

A

Acrocephalus

Well-known member
Morocco
Hi,

I am going to spend some days near the new port “Tanger Med Port” east of Tangier, Morocco. I wonder if there is any great movement of raptors in the moment (these days) across the strait. I am sure that raptor watchers are out there in Tarifa, Gibraltar…What can you say on the situation?

Regards
 
Hi again,

The visit was only half successful. With strong easterly winds on most days, birds prefer to cross the Strait from the easternmost part of Tangier peninsula i.e. from the Tanger Med Port eastwards at Jbel Moussa and Ceuta.

Nevertheless, there is some passage of raptors:
Griffon Vultures
Short-toed Eagles
Booted Eagles
Black Kites,
And presumably 1 Rüppell’s Vulture
And only 1 individual Black Stork

And of passerines and near passerines birds:
Golden Orioles
European Bee-eaters (seen and heard by hundreds)
Pallid Swifts (hundreds, but not all of them are migrating as some of them seen copulation in the air).
 
Despite bad whether and rain I noticed this stuff:

10-05-2010, from 15:00-18:00

- 8 Griffon Vultures
- 15 Honey Buzzard
- 1 Short-toed Eagle

11-05-2010, at 10:30

- 15 Griffon Vultures
- 1 Booted Eagle

It should be noted that about 50 Griffon Vultures were seen at a corpse of a cow in the area (East of Ksra Sghir) by another observer 1 or 2 days before my visit. A partial photo of this group is posted here (click to enlarge). So, my Griffon Vultures could be from these birds.
 
Hi all,
I am looking for any papers about summarize autumn migration of birds of prey (esspecially changes in numbers of Sparrowhawk) in the Strait of Gibraltar in last 50 years. Do You have any sources/links??
Best wishes.
Łukasz Krajewski, Poland
 
Try contacting Clive Finlayson of the Gibraltar Museum - I'm sure a quick internet search will turn up contact details (failing this try Facebook). The Spanish organisation 'Migres' has the facts, but, unlike them, Clive is an Anglophone! I'm pretty sure that detailed & systematic figures for the past 50 years don't exist, but the Gibraltar Natural History Society must have some data,
 
Hi,

You can also try to contact The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society (GONHS); they published recently the paper below and they probably have other data gathered during the last decades. You can contact the authors via the email found in their website: http://www.gonhs.org/

Bensusan K.J., Garcia E.F.J. & Cortes J.E. (2007) Trends in abundance of migrating raptors at Gibraltar in spring. ARDEA 95 (1): 83 - 90.

Good luck
 
I've just come back today from a trip for the autumn migration in Spain. As Mohammed says, some days were slow and we had birds coming back in from the Strait after setting out as haze descended, obscuring the Moroccan coast. Days with a moist westerly seemed worse for this than days with an Easterly wind.

Large numbers of honey buzzard were coming through on Saturday 10th, with flocks of up to 150 at a time. The following day saw birds doing U-turns and heading back north. There were still occasional honeys moving a couple of days ago when I was last at the Strait.

Large numbers of white stork appear to be on the move in recent days.
 
Last Thursday between 11.30 and 12.30 a Algeciras Bus Station i had over 400 Booted and 30+ Short Toed Eagles........very impressive and not a breath of the ''Levanter" !!! :t:

Laurie -
 
rollingthunder said:
Last Thursday between 11.30 and 12.30 a Algeciras Bus Station i had over 400 Booted and 30+ Short Toed Eagles........very impressive and not a breath of the ''Levanter" !!! :t:

Laurie -
Click to expand...

Impressive indeed. Were the birds high? I've only been there for spring migration, the birds are very low, often at clifftop height when the arrive. But I've never seen them in the numbers you've seen.

Twite.
 
Twite said:
Impressive indeed. Were the birds high? I've only been there for spring migration, the birds are very low, often at clifftop height when the arrive. But I've never seen them in the numbers you've seen.

Twite.
Click to expand...

I spent three weeks in Spain for the migration in September. Some birds were high, but some I was looking down on. See my trip report that I posted last night.
 
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