The first stop of the day was at the “International Bird Fair” at Tarifa, a short while later I was on my way to Bolonia and onwards to Sierra de la Plata. On the drive up I saw a single male Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), good numbers of Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris) and Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata). As soon as I arrived at the


The next site was Playa de los Lances, I parked near the garage on the Cadiz to Tarifa road. I walked out on the board walk and picked up a large number of waders, terns and gulls off towards the sea. Most of the terns were Sandwich (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) but there was a single Common Tern (Charrán Común / Sterna Hirundo) was amongst them. This bird had a damaged wing but it still managed to fly off with the rest of the birds when a dog walker disturbed them. In a channel along the edge of the beach several Bar-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colipinta / Limosa lapponica) and 3 Red Knot (Correlimos Gordo / Calidris canutus) were feeding and out on the sand Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba), Little Ringed (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) and Kentish Plovers (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus) ran around. A flock of several hundred gulls were also out on the sand, the flock contained large numbers of Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Somria / Larus fuscus), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and Black-headed Gulls (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) along with a few Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus) and Audouin's Gulls (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii). On and over the fields behind the beach I picked up a pale phase Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apia

The last stop of the day was at Cazalla Raptor watch point, a group of about 15 Spanish birders including a nice chap called Paco who gave me loads of info about what had gone on during the last week or twos passage. When I arrived the cloud cover was total but after about an hour it suddenly cleared and then what happened was fantastic. Birds just started to stream through, literally by the hundred. Groups of 50 or more Black Storks (Ciguena Negra / Ciconia nigra) and Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus) came passed every few minutes making a change from the continuous flow of Short-toed Eagles (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) and White Storks (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia). Lesser numbers of Egyptian Vultures (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus) 70+, Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) 90+, Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Honey

Photographs from the top: Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), two Sandwich (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) and a single Common Tern (Charrán Común / Sterna Hirundo), Raptor watch point and Black Storks (Ciguena Negra / Ciconia nigra).
No comments:
Post a Comment