Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Pelagic off Chipiona, Cadiz Province, Spain.

Saturday, 21 February 2026

Pelagic off Chipiona, Cadiz Province, Spain.

A morning out on the water with Manuel of Oxyura Birding and several others.

Ebird List for Pelagic 1.

Ebird List for Pelagic 2.

Ebird List for Pelagic 3.

Ebird List for Pelagic 4.

Ebird List for Pelagic 5.

1st Winter Great Black-backed Gull (Gavión Atlántico / Larus marinus).

After one of the worst nights sleep I have ever had, not a problem with the hotel but bad timing as it was the first night of the town's Carnival and as much as I like people to have a good time I do wish the couple of guys on the drums without a single bit of musical talent had ******* off somewhere else.

Looking down to the Port entrance just before we headed out.

A group of Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) in the port entrance.

Anyway I was up and met Manuel and the rest of the crew for today's boat trip at the Port of Chipiona, as we were getting ready to head out we started the day's list with Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Great Black-backed Gull (Gavión Atlántico / Larus marinus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and several Little Swifts (Vencejo Moro / Apus affinis).

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus).

Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta).

Mediterranean Gull (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus).

Common Scoters (Negrón Común / Melanitta nigra).

We left the port and headed along the coast of the Parque Nacional de Doñana picking up a ♂ Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Mediterranean Gull (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta) and as we turned out to sea a flock of Common Scoter (Negrón Común / Melanitta nigra).

Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus).

As we headed out to deeper water and soon picked up the first of quite a few Northern Gannets (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), European Storm Petrels (Paíño Europeo / Hydrobates pelagicus) and Leach's Storm Petrel (Paíño Boreal / Hydrobates leucorhous), Great Skua (Págalo Grande / Stercorarius skua), Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii), Sandwich (Charrán Patinegro / Thalasseus sandvicensis) and Common Tern (Charrán Común / Sterna hirundo).

The Gull numbers just starting to build up.

European Storm Petrel (Paíño Europeo / Hydrobates pelagicus).

European Storm Petrels (Paíño Europeo / Hydrobates pelagicus).

We cruised around quite a bit and did just the one chum which only attracted a couple of Petrels mostly because of the amount of gulls that had been following us and the bread trail.

Great Skua (Págalo Grande / Stercorarius skua).

Common Tern (Charrán Común / Sterna hirundo).

On the way back in towards Chipiona we added 1st Winter Common Gull (Gaviota Cana / Larus canus), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

1st Winter Common Gull (Gaviota Cana / Larus canus).

Going from the blue sea to the soil filled brown.

Back in the Brown water but the Gulls were still following us.

As we approached the shallower waters there was a very distinct line where the water flowing out from the rivers was meeting the seawater

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) probably.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus).

Mediterranean Gull (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus).

In the port we again saw the / a Great Black-backed Gull before we disembarked and headed off, I had planned to do some more birding but was feeling knackered, so I headed straight back home.