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

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.01.19)

Not a bad record of 93 species in still a very short day!

You can click here for more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-01-19

As I did in December, I started the day at the Mouth of the Guadalhorce. I got there at 7:15 and it was still all dark. The Barn Owl was so glad when I crossed the bridge into the reserve that it came to say hello and almost lands on the board. It was one of the moments of the day! Some of the most interesting species here were Black-tailed Godwit, Balearic Shearwater, Great Skua, Water Pipit, Osprey, Bluethroat and Booted Eagle.

After that, I moved on to Montes de Malaga and direct to Fuente de Piedra. The ponds around the Visitors Centre have some water again and I hope we can enjoy a nice passage in March if it rains some more from now on. The second moment of the day was watching the couple of Black-winged Kites near the lake. There are lots of Cranes scattered all around the farmlands. There was a flock of Flamingos feeding at Laguna Dulce, which has also accumulated some water.

My next stop was at the cliffs of El Chorro, where I could enjoy watching the couple of Bonelli’s Eagle sitting together on a rock... It was my third moment of the day! I could also see many couples of Griffon Vultures in their synchronized flights as well as Dartford Warbler, Black Wheatear and Blue Rock Thrush.

I run out of light at the Valley of the Guadalhorce, where I took my last picture to a Green Sandpiper for a record of 93 species.

Regarding the pictures today, I am so sorry they are really “record” ones: the light was very poor with the clouds in the morning and some of my encounters with the birds were a bit distant. I did the best of me! I hope you’ll enjoy them.

Bird watching at the Mouth and Valley of the Guadalhorce (2018.02.09)

It is still cold but birds like Wood Sandpiper, Barn Swallow and House Martin have already showed up here...

Click here for some more pictures and the complete list of 71 species observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-02-09

We have also watched some of the emblematic birds of the river at this time of year like Osprey, Booted Eagle, White-headed Duck, Greater Flamingo, Kentish Plover, Hoopoe, Bluethroat, Black-winged Stilt, Great Egret, Zitting Cisticola...

Birding Big day around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.02.22)

Despite it was still a pretty cold day out at the countryside, we got a good record of 102 species.

Click here for more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...costa-del-sol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain

For those fellow guides that are determined to imitate this fantastic trip I have been doing and offering to my clients for the last two years, after my dear friend Derek Etherton thought of a way to excite a bit of healthy competition between members of the Andalucia Bird Society in every Andalusian province by promoting one day birding outings to try and spot more than 100 different species, I will say the itinerary we followed today was Mouth of the Guadalhorce, Montes de Malaga, Fuente de Piedra Lake, farmlands and El Chorro reservoirs, where I called it a day, as I run out of light on the way back to Malaga city.

Despite the Barn Owl is on my list again today, the first bird of the day this time was the Blackbird as they have already started with their early morning city songs here in the south. The walk around the mouth of the river proved a strong passage of Barn Swallows and House Martins mixed with the local Crag Martins. Our wintering Booted Eagles and Starlings are still around and most of the Cormorants show a fantastic breeding plumage that will soon sport in their northern breeding quarters. The number of Kentish Plovers seems to be higher at the beach and we could also find other interesting birds like Audouin’s and Mediterranean Gulls as well as the common White-headed Ducks and Zitting Cisticolas.

We missed some of the ordinary forest birds at Montes de Malaga but still spotted such interesting birds like Cirl Bunting, Common Crossbill and Short-toed Treecreeper, Siskins are still present and we saw all our tits: Great, Coal, Blue, Crested and Long-tailed.

The population of Greater Flamingos has not increased significantly yet but Black-tailed Godwits are on the move now, it seems as if White Storks will try to nest again in the old chimney and we found the first Yellow Wagtail of the season. There are still many Cranes in the farmlands, the first Lesser Kestrel have already arrived and some water in the Campillos pools hosts nice flocks of Red-crested Pochards.

The Great Crested Grebes are turning into their summer dresses in the reservoirs of El Chorro, and the cliffs around gave us Griffon Vultures, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Doves, Choughs and the wonderful deep hooting of the Eagle Owl.

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.03.20)

Despite spring showed up in a cloudy, cold, windy and, at times, rainy day, we got a good record of 112 birds!

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-03-20

The Blackbirds were already singing when the Barn Owl flew across the trail on the way towards the Laguna Grande (Mouth of the Guadalhorce Nature Reserve) before dawn.

There were several Glossy Ibis joining the roost of the Cattle and Little Egrets, and two Spoonbills failed to alight in such busy perches. There are still some Cormorants, Gannets, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Chiffchaffs and Meadow Pipits in the site while the passage of Barn and Red-rumped Swallows and House and Sand Martins is very active, with Pallid Swifts arriving too.

The flocks of Kentish Plovers at the beach are bigger now and we could spot Mediterranean and Audouin’s Gulls. We have had a couple of Spotted Crakes here in the last days and I could find one of them, first time during a Big Day!

The situation has changed at Montes de Malaga in that it was here where we ticked the Booted Eagle and not at the river. Short-toed Eagle and Common Buzzard were also present on the way down from Los Montes.

It was very cold at El Torcal, with only 2ºC. That could be the reason there are still some Ring Ouzels over there and no one of the little warblers we are eagerly waiting for. Nevertheless, the great observations of Rock Buntings and Thekla Larks compensated.

The Laguna de Fuente de Piedra is looking good and it still rained more while at the Laguneto hide. Fantastic views of the Wryneck again. Its mimetic plumage makes it so difficult for the camera to focus on it and get better pictures! The first Reed Warblers have already arrived and we could enjoy a couple of British race Yellow Wagtails. There were Red-crested Pochards, White-headed Ducks, Whiskered Terns and Marsh Harriers at the Laguneto, and the White Storks seem to be trying to nest at the village again. Despite the number of Greater Flamingos is increasing day by day, it was not difficult to spot three Lesser ones among them.

The farmlands look much better with Lesser Kestrels and the elegant Montagu’s Harriers.

The Great Crested Grebes at El Chorro reservoirs made 100 on the list.

After a short visit to the lower valley of the Guadalhorce, I decided to finish the trip by trying to spot my favourite birds, but they did not show up and the day ended with the melancholy calls of the Little Owl at dusk.

Bird watching around the Antequera farmlands (2018.03.21)

Fantastic journey across the farmlands in search for the Little Bustard...

Click here for some more pictures: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-03-21

We were very lucky to enjoy the Little Bustards as well as Crested Lark, Spotless Starling, Serin, Corn Bunting, Zitting Cisticola, Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Lesser Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Pallid Swift, Hoopoe, Greater Flamingo, Montagu’s Harrier, Golden Eagle and Rock Sparrow.

Bird watching at the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra and farmlands (2018.04.04)

The lake is looking great and receiving more and more Flamingos every day!

Click here for some more pictures and the complete list of 61 species observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-04-04

Apart from the Flamingos, there has been an irruption of Gull-billed Terns and the Montagu’s Harriers have started their display flights over the wheat fields. Some other interesting species observed were Glossy Ibis, Little Bustard, Lesser Flamingo, Mediterranean Gull, White-headed Duck and the first Bee-eaters of the season.

Bird watching at El Torcal (2018.04.28)

Most of the summer guests of El Torcal have already arrived for our enjoyment!

Click here for some more pictures of a fantastic trip: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-04-28

Birding at the Fuente de Piedra Lake (2018.05.09)

Today, at Fuente de Piedra, we watched birds searching for a couple, others caring for their eggs, and mothers proud of their broods already...

Bird watching at the Fuente de Piedra Lake and El Torcal (2018.05.10)

Fantastic birding day with a good number of emblematic Southern Spain birds!

Click here for more pictures and the complete list of 78 species observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...costa-del-sol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain

The highlights of the day were great observations of Little Bustard in the farmlands, the presence of Great Spotted Cukcoo and the return of the Purple Swamphen to the Cantarranas Lake, next to the Fuente de Piedra Lake, and a squad of Lesser Kestrels hunting at El Torcal.

The number of Greater Flamingos at the lake, according to the curators of the Nature Reserve, adds up to 35.000 birds!

Bird watching around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.05.12)

What a fantastic tour around El Torcal, the Fuente de Piedra Lake, Guadalteba farmlands, El Chorro and the Valley of the Guadalhorce, with Lesser and Greater Flamingos, Little Bustard, Montagu’s Harrier, Spanish Sparrow, Bonelli’s, Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Egyptian Vulture, Bee-eater and Lesser Kestrel as the highlights (among others!).

Click here for many more pictures of the trip: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-05-12

Watching Vultures at El Chorro (2018.05.15)

We spent a wonderful day watching vultures at El Chorro and many more birds along the Valley of the Guadalhorce on our way down to Malaga!

Click here for more pictures of other species observed like Lesser Kestrels and Bee-eaters: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-05-15

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.05.22)

A really long and productive day to visit Montes de Malaga, El Torcal, Fuente de Piedra lake, Guadalteba Farmlands and Valley of the Guadalhorce.

Click here for more pictures of the day: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-05-22

Bird watching at El Torcal and the Fuente de Piedra Lake (2018.05.27)

We enjoyed a very pleasant morning with some of our most emblematic species of El Torcal and the Fuente de Piedra Lake.

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list and the complete list of birds observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-05-27

Birding at the Mouth of the Guadalhorce Nature Reserve (2018.05.29)

Another fantastic day at this emblematic birding site of the Costa del Sol, with a very early start to watch Red-necked Nightjars and a good representation of seagulls including Yellow-legged, Black-headed, Audouin’s, Slender-billed and even a late Lesser Black-backed one.

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list of 51 species observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-05-29

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 birds 2018.06.22

Fantastic record of 114 species in the really first summer week of the year.

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list of 114 species observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-06-22

The first bird ticked on the list was the Scops Owl that was hooting in the pine woods when we arrived at Montes de Malaga at 5:45. Some minutes later, the fist surprise of the day was the song of a Nightjar, which is not as common here as it is the Red-necked one, also present in the area this morning.

The Tawny Owl also called with the first lights of the day before the morning choir started. Cirl Buntings and Bonelli’s Warblers were very active early in the morning. It is a pity the poor morning light does not allow better pictures...

El Torcal is also looking great and there are a lot of fledglings around. It was nice to see Rock Thrushes, Golden Eagle, Black and Black-eared Wheatears, Rock Sparrow, and most of the typical warblers in the area: Melodious, Orphean, Sardinian, Subalpine and Dartford. It was also rewarding hearing the song of a Quail in a recently reaped wheat field.

The lake is looking very good and there is a lot of species around including Gull-billed Tern, Red-crested Pochard, White-headed Duck, nice flocks of Black Kites and, of course, thousands of Greater Flamingos. The surprise was a flock of a few Glossy Ibis next to the Visitors Centre.

The farmlands were very productive too, leaving Crested, Calandra and Short-toed Larks, Montagu’s Harrier, Lesser Kestrel, Short-toed Snake Eagle and Spanish Sparrow.

We were doing so good that we already had 97 species recorded before visiting the Peñarrubia Cliff. There, we spotted the Peregrine Falcon, Chough and... Alpine Swift made number 100!

We still visited the Valley and Mouth (a short call!) of the Guadalhorce for some more interesting species like Bee-eater, Booted eagle, Kentish Plover and Audouin’s Gull.

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.07.28)

Fantastic record of 102 species in a very hot “terral” day.

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-07-28

It was still at night at Montes de Malaga when I started to think I would not hear any sound of the night in such a powerful moonlight (after the beautiful eclipse!), when the Scops Owl gave me a few notes...

The morning chorus was not as splendid as in previous months but I could still catch the Bonelli’s Warbler amongst the “invisible” birds.

The breeding season is over at El Torcal as well, so all our little visitors are much more difficult to spot though we could still watch Melodious Warbler, Black-eared Wheatear and a gorgeous male Rock Thrush, this latter doing what is expected of all birds at this time of year: resting in the shade after an exhausting breeding period and a very energy consuming moulting process.

The Fuente de Pieda Lake has lost a lot of water and the Greater Flamingos colony is waiting for the famous “ringing day” in the coming weeks. There is still plenty of Gull-billed Terns around, with many juveniles, some Red-crested Pochards, Isabelline Warblers around the Visitors Centre, White-headed Ducks in the Laguneto. The Laguna Dulce in Campillos is looking very good, with a few hundred Flamingos resting there, a very big population of Black-necked Grebes with juveniles and quite a lot of Glossy Ibis.

Despite we could find a few sitting on the wires, the Bee-eaters have finished breeding and have now dispersed, or even left already at the Valley of the Guadalhorce. Anyway, we could also tick Booted Eagle, egrets, Grey Heron and Grey Wagtail on the list before our last stop at the mouth of the river.

The target at the Guadalhorce was basically waders and seabirds to complete the complement the observations at Fuente de Piedra. Some of the new birds were Kentish Plover (of course!), Audouin’s, Mediterranean and Slender-billed (a bonus!) Gulls, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Ringed Plover and Redshank among the “passing” waders, and Scopoli’s Shearwater in a very intense passage westward in front of the sea birds observatory.

That was it when we sat down at the Laguna Grande Hide, where we also ticked Sandwich Tern. I counted the birds out and... Magic, just a hundred! Unbelievable! It was then time to go after a very long and hot day but... What are those big birds in flight over there? It’s a flock of seven Purple Herons! One hundred and one!

And we were about to leave the trail towards the car when a Hoopoe flew past along the bank of the river to make it one hundred and two.

"The Route of 100 Birds" presented at 2018 Birdfair (Rutland - UK)

The Route of 100 Birds is presented in 2018 Birdfair as a birding holiday opportunity on the Costa del Sol.

Back from another great edition of the most important bird watching tourism event of the year. My plan was being present Saturday afternoon and Sunday all day but my flight from Malaga was delayed and I did not get on time on Saturday. My apologies to all my friends who tried to meet me that day.

This time, besides meeting clients, good colleagues and potential collaborators, we have had the opportunity to give a talk about The Route of 100 Birds, the name I want to make for this wonderful birding area next to the city of Malaga and the Costa del Sol.

I acknowledge my friends attending the lecture for their support, other attendants for their interest in my loved birding patch, and the Organization for inviting me to talk about this in the best possible forum.

Those who want to have a look at the presentation may request for a copy in pdf format at [email protected]

August birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2018.08.31)

Fantastic Big Day with 109 species recorded!

Click here for some more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: http://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/...ol-malaga-andalucia-southern-spain-2018-08-31

The songs and calls of summer birds are gone at dawn though we could hear a few shy calls from the Tawny Owl and Redstarts will be part of the morning choir for some weeks at Montes de Malaga. We saw our first Chiffchaff of the season!

It is the same at El Torcal, where brambles and hawthorns await for Ring Ouzels and Redwings to arrive. The vultures were very active here today and we were so lucky to spot a gorgeous young Golden Eagle so close to Las Ventanillas viewpoint that I could not even try a shot.

The Fuente de Piedra Lake is very dry though Flamingos still feed in a couple of puddles in the lake bed and the Laguneto as well as in the little pools around Campillos. There were several Curlew Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits and the starring birds of the day there: a couple of Spotted Redshanks. The number of some winter birds like Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Teals is increasing and we spotted our first three Snipes of the season.

It was very hot at the farmlands, where Calandra Larks were sitting on top of the clods, beak and wings half-open in search for a little breeze to cool their bodies and lungs.

Herons, egrets and wagtails for the list at the Valley of the Guadalhorce and seagulls, shearwaters and more waders on passage at the mouth to complete a fantastic birding experience around The Route of 100 Birds.

The Route of 100 Birds in Nat Geo Traveller!

Some good reading about The Route of 100 Birds in National Geographic Traveller magazine.

Enjoy!

http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/destinations/europe/spain/malaga-avian-superhighway/

Birding Big Day around The Route of 100 Birds (2019.01.18)

A dawn to dusk birding big day including El Chorro, Guadalteba Farmlands, Fuente de Piedra Lake and Archidona with a record of 85 species.

Click here for many more pictures and the complete list of birds observed: https://www.birdaytrip.es/blog/item/856-birding-big-day-around-the-route-of-100-birds-2019-01-18

The day began at El Chorro, with a beautiful foggy break of dawn. We could record Peregrine Falcon, Griffon Vulture, Crested Tit, Common Crossbill, Firecrest, Yellow-legged Gull, Dartford Warbler, Blue Rock Thrush and Black Wheatear, among other species.

The little lakes around Campillos are looking great this year. We found Spotted Redshank, Kentish Plover, Marsh Harrier, Little Owl, White-headed Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Crested and Calandra Larks, lots of Cranes and the Great-crested Grebes have started their nice displays.

There are many Flamingos in Fuente de Piedra. We could also spot, Iberian Grey Shrike, Spanish Sparrow and see how some White-headed Ducks’ bills have already turned into their summer blue colour.

If the day started with the hooting of the Tawny Owl at El Chorro, it ended with the muffled calls of the Long-eared Ow near Archidona…