Birdwatching in Straits of Gibraltar & La Janda (1 Viewer)

Alf King said:

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.

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Sorry BW, that should have been RT!



I do find names so much easier, but then I'm a bit of a gimmer.

Spent from 0945-1245 up at the little shelter by the new (but not opened) Migres building with views to Cazella this morning.

A good mix of the 3 main spp, Black Kite, Booties and ST's. Estimate ca300/250/200 respectively. Excellent close views of lots of the birds. Sparrowhawk into double figures and 3 Peregrines also. 3 Griffons but no other Vultures noted. A light but steady passage of Swallows and 2 parties of Alpine Swifts 20 and 3 respectively.

Weather very murky with thick sea mist which put off a visit to Los Lances.

Now in Seville with Flamingo's, Black Stork and Marsh Harrier en-route.

3 days here and 3 nights in El Roccio before returning to Tarifa for 4 nights.

Laurie:t:

Around the back roads of Vejer and on La Janda this morning there did seem to be signs of increasing bird numbers. Loads of Stonechats around as well as decent numbers of Whinchats and a few Northern Wheatear are always a good sign.

At least three Montagu's Harrier were on La Janda and we had a party of seven Common Kestrel hunting together as well as a juvenile Hobby flashing through. Not a bad morning in fact.

Ystda @ Tarifa.

Laurie:t:

The poliente continues and it is set to continue for the next few days at least. The last time there was an easterly was around the 2nd September and the Migres watchers told me that the spell of easterlies that blew when we arrived on 29th was a brief interlude from westerlies that blew for much of August.

Very unusual weather for a time of year when stiff easterlies are the norm.

Bird passage is reduced for whatever reason and with light winds the birds that are passing are very high.

The poor Migres observers are bored senseless at the inactivity. I joked with one of them a couple of days ago that at least I could pop off to somewhere else. He was stuck there at Cazalla for the entire shift. He laughed.

This morning I headed off first thing to the Zahara de los Atunes road, where I happened late yesterday afternoon on a flock of about 100 griffons that were feeding on a cow carcass close to the road. Great views as they swooped in and they made a hell of a din as they squabbled. Unfortunately there were no Ruppells. I went today in the hope that they would still be at it, but I was disappointed. Not only were there no vultures, apart from a dozen of so drifting off towards La Janda, there was no cow. The farmer must have been in and lifted the stripped remains.

After that I went to Cazalla (very briefly) and then on to Algarrobo before giving up at lunchtime and going back to the digs to go for a walk. Cazalla was as lively as yesterday's fallen cow and Algarrobo wasn't much better, although there were a few birds, mainly high. I spent part of the morning chatting to a pair of Dutch birders who were most concerned when I told them I was limiting my travel for the rest of the trip to avoid having to go back to the airport to exchange the car again. They went off to check their mileage because they are on the tenth day of their trip and they too were with Record. They knew nothing about the 2000 km limit either.

I took a note of the migration passage figures for the past two days (11th & 12th) and they make depressing reading. Cazalla had only 991 birds of all species combined on the 11th and only 692 on the 12th. Algarrobo fared slightly better, as would be expected in a westerly, but even it had only 1052 birds and 1219 for the same two days.

The storms in the north seem to have abated a bit, so if they have been holding birds up they should arrive in the next day or so. We'll see. It's a three day trip for a honey from the Pyrenees to the Strait.

A couple of days in Tarifa area yesterday and today, as I try to do every September - westerlies, but I got my fix of raptors - Algarrobo very busy with observers, but before the birds got too high at lunchtime onwards, a nice mix of Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Honey Buzzards, Black Kites, with Egyptian Vulture and Black Stork as well. I also had Alpine Swift flocks which were much more numerous than on previous visits. Los Lances has too many kitesurfers for many birds, and only a single Cory's offshore, but Barbate good with 64 Audouin's Gulls, a Caspian Tern, 8 Greater Flamingoes, and a selection of commoner waders. 2 Black-shouldered Kites at La Janda, also numerous juv Monty's and 30+ Glossy Ibis. A good haul for 2 days

Tried the Trafico/Punto Camorro viewpoint this morning between 10.30 and 12.30. Very little to be seen till things livened up after 11.00 but even then only low numbers of raptors many not even trying to cross the straits drifting along the coast. Numbers Booted Eagle 85, ST Eagle 24, Honey Buzzard 1, Black Kite 9, Egyptian Vulture 1. The star of the morning was a close and very low juv Imperial Eagle. The headland below this vp had Tawny Pipit 3, Northern Wheatear 5 and 3 Whimbrel dropped in briefly. Will probably give it another session tomorrow Cazalla was just to busy for us yesterday.

Interesting reading - I, personally, will stick with the little observation shelter rather than the higher and crowded facitilies elsewhere. I would rather have fewer and closer birds than distant silhouettes or specks but we are all different in our requirements

I'm told that the migration finishes when the local Migres observers start to tuck into their lunch?

Laurie:t:

rollingthunder; said:

I'm told that the migration finishes when the local Migres observers start to tuck into their lunch?

Laurie:t:

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I think that's more of a sign that they are peckish and someone has turned up with something nice to eat. I've had great close-range, eye-level afternoon views until the sun dips of eagles, Egyptian vultures, honeys and other stuff on the Trafico road and other places in good numbers, without trying in previous years. That's not a boast, just pull up and they were there. All you need is the weather.

I'm a fan of fewer, closer birds too, but the frustration on this trip, compared with all the rest, is that we are being treated to fewer, more distant birds. They are less in number and they are sky-high. The eye-level, close-range eagles, Egyptian vultures and honeys that you get with a good (but not too good) blow from the east are annoyingly rare this year.

This September so far has been strange. All the species are there, but the numbers of individuals of each are well down on normal.

Have a chat with the Migres observers. They are friendly and helpful, but remember that the volunteers that are assisting them are helpers and may not be able to respond in the same manner.

Attempted the back road from La Janda to Facinas yesterday bird wise is was excellent with many passerines chats, Northern Wheatears, flocks of Corn Bunting and many others. 2 Raven a juv Bonellis Eagle, 14 Griffons 2 Booted and 5-6 Montague Harrier.

From your description Alan the final crater close to Facinas defeated us even tried reversing through it but front overhang kept catching and was in danger of damage. So the long journey back to La Janda in the dusk. The Egret roost was as ever spectacular both in numbers and sounds a lot of Jackdaws also roost with them. 2 R N Nighjar picked up in headlights on the northern track out to the N340 ended the day nicely. B

The hill tops around us are shrouded in low cloud/mist again this morning so it will be another slow start to the raptor passage methinks.

The award for 'Unluckiest Birder of the Year 2014' goes to a birder from Yorkshire that I met on Thursday at Trafico and again on Friday morning at Cazalla. He was here primarily for BOP passage and was hoping particularly for a Ruppells vulture that would be a lifer for him.

He turned up at Algarrobo this morning to put a final stint in on his way back to the airport. He grilled every one of the few vultures that passed over on a largely bird-free morning in his quest before having to leave reluctantly at about 12.30.

After he left, the sky continued to be a clear blue, only occasionally sullied by the outline of any bird larger than an alpine swift (of which there were plenty). This changed after an hour or so when two vultures drifted high overhead at 13.27. The first one was a griffon, but the companion was a Ruppell that loitered over us. It was still there a quarter of an hour later when a birding party arrived and spilled out of their minibus to a treat.

That wasn't the end of it. At 14.25 I noticed a lone vulture gliding towards us at low level from the direction of Pelayo. I idly started firing off shots of it as it got closer and the tour guide I was chatting with noticed at the same time as I did that the subject of my shots was another Ruppell. It rose on a thermal when it got overhead, giving nice views.

Half an hour later, with few other birds other than alpine swifts and a peregrine showing up, we retired to the Pavo Real in Pelayo with Eddy the Eagle for a beer and a delicious plate of boquerones. Nice one, Eddy.

In terms of general migration I see that there has been a massive influx into the UK today, predominantly on the East coast.

Could this be an indication that the weather patterns have "unblocked" hence allowing the southbound migrants through. If so I guess that we could be looking to a shift in fortunes around mid-week. Or am I just being unduly optimistic?

I see on the GONHS website that they report numbers of raptors, particularly Honey Buzzards, passing to the east of the Rock, presumably due to continuing westerlies? This ties in with the lower numbers of birds being counted at the Tarifa watchpoints?

cwpbirder said:

I see on the GONHS website that they report numbers of raptors, particularly Honey Buzzards, passing to the east of the Rock, presumably due to continuing westerlies? This ties in with the lower numbers of birds being counted at the Tarifa watchpoints?

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Honeys, unlike the other raptors like eagles, etc are strong fliers and they aren't reliant on the narrow Strait to get them to Africa. They can flap across wide stretches of water that the others can't handle. I was in Almeria in May a few years ago and I had honey buzzards arriving in off the sea at San Jose on the eastern coast of Cabo de Gata. The wind was light easterly, so they must have crossed from Algeria. Some trip.

They were flying out from Estepona a week ago.

They just point south and go, crossing on a broad front.

It's true that in a westerly the birds push off further to the west via Gibraltar, but the westerlies we've been having since 1st September (just checked my diary for dates, and that was the day the wind changed) aren't particularly strong, so any passage of other raptors over Gib should have been evident over Algarrobo, I'd have thought and that hasn't been the case. Algarrobo overlooks Algeciras, at the opposite end of the Strait from Tarifa.

We had a few honey buzzards at Algarrobo today, but only a handful.

An adult Spanish imperial eagle low over the track between the two sluices on the road to the farm at La Janda, followed shortly after by a black-shouldered kite close-by on the wires next to the road near the t-junction on the main canal provided some nice shots this morning.

By mid afternoon the pool back at the digs became the prime target.

I'll post some shots when I get home at the weekend and have access to my own computer.

Trafico VP was quiet this morning 10.00 to 12.30 what birds we had were distant and high. Highlights were 3 Goshawk and a single Osprey which just powered itself out across the staits. 2 Whimbrel again foraging on headland below vp. Hirundines more noticeable than of late.

Looking forward to seeing the photographs Alan.

A friend phoned me frantically on Friday last to say that the electric company Endesa were taking down all the white storks nests in front of the Frenazo restaurant in Los Barrios and were erecting metal spikes to stop them nesting on the pylons.Thinking that this was rather odd I went to have a look on Sunday and found that they had indeed taken down the old nests but had provided new platforms for new nests and the metal spikes were in fact to prevent electricusions near to the isolators as can be seen in the attached photo.I cannot see Endesa doing this to it´s 1000´s of pylons but it is at least a start.Anyone else seen this development ?....Eddy

It's a good idea Eddy.

There's the remains of a fried stork under a pylon in a field near our digs.

Showers forecast here today, with the risk of 'tormentas'. I'm in credit with the kilometres on the car over the past couple of days, so I can afford a longer trip. The last thing I want is to get to 2000 km on this car before I leave on Friday.

Heading off East, where there is less chance of getting wet. The road to Ronda beckons.

eddy the eagle said:

Anyone else seen this development ?....Eddy

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Eddy, protecting soaring birds from electrocution on pylons using spikes and other measures is European law in SPAs (ZEPA in Spanish). Here in Portugal we have most of them (1,000s!) installed - at great cost to the national electric company EDP. The Portuguese Birdlife partner, SPEA worked together with the EDP to identify the dangerous pylons and power lines.

I remember watching a documentary yonks ago about Goldies in Colorado where the utility company was re-spacing the wires (at huge cost) in order to stop the wings 'shorting' the birds and frying them. Just needs the wind-farms to highlight the edges of the blades like on aircraft or something like that so that it alerts the birds?

At El Rocio @ present which is dry as a bone but an interesting place nonetheless. Back @ Tarifa tmrw aftnn for 4 days before flying back so am looking forward to finishings with migrants - any will do

Laurie:t: