Southern Spain; Raptors and migration April 2012

A great eight days spent camping just west of Tarifa on the southern coast of
Spain. The weather was very variable, with the hottest day reaching 30c and
the coolest only 14c. It was difficult keeping warm some nights in my sleeping
bag! I visited lots of sites in the area, with a focus mainly on seeing the
Raptor migration that the Straits are famous for. Over the duration of the trip
i had some wonderful close-up views of Raptors and  managed to see three
lifers; Northern Bald Ibis, Marbled Teal and a surprise that came in the shape
of a Cream-coloured Courser!

On the down-side i found it difficult to locate some of the sites and wasted
valuable time in doing so. On the 8th April i met up with local birder Jeff Saez
and we spent a full day birding the mountains in search of my target bird of the
trip, Bonelli's Eagle. We saw two over the course of the day and later in the
week i located another near the town of Ronda.

Booted Eagles were very common

this bird was hunting close to the campsite

Griffon Vulture

Jeff, scanning the mountain ridges

Pallid Swift

This Short-toed Eagle gave superb, close up views as it soared to gain height
just 30-40 metres in front of us. We saw around 400 birds of prey in the
mountains that day, along with a host of many interesting birds including;
Melodious and Sardinian Warblers, Cirl Bunting, Firecrest, Alpine and Pallid
Swifts and Woodchat Shrike.

Later in the day we stopped at Castellar de la Frontera and were treated to
some close-up views of Lesser Kestrel that breed within the castle walls.

view from the castle, with the 'Rock' in the distance

Lesser Kestrels

Throughout the rest of the week i travelled up and down the coast, calling in at

various sites. One of the best areas was the Bonanza salt pans, about 1.5 hours 

from Tarifa. It was teeming with migrant Waders and is a 'must see' place for anyone 

visiting the area.

Playa de Los Lances was very close to the campsite and i made multiple visits, 

seeing Waders, Terns and Gulls. It was a good place to see the Raptor migration, 

as the birds tended to be quite low as they came in off the sea. And with the light

reflecting off the sand, made it good for photography too.

dark Booted Eagle

pale Booted Eagle

This superb, melanistic Monty flew in one evening, what a treat!

Audouin's Gulls

La Janda was only a fifteen minute drive away and was another place that was 

good for photography. It was a farmland site with lots of Corn Buntings, Finches

and water birds in the dykes. Purple Gallinule was easy to see here and the views

of Corn Bunting from the car were superb!

Corn Buntings

Stonechat

Cattle Egrets

Calandra Larks could be seen high over the fields, song-flighting and i saw a flock 

of 100 'Yellow' Wagtails, almost all Iberian, with an odd flavissama, on one visit!

Calandra Lark

Hunting Montagu's Harrier

La Janda

Serin

Iberian Wagtail

Bee eater

Waders featured strongly at Bonanza saltpans and excellent close views using

the car as a hide were obtained. Around the area were Red and Black Kites,

Booted Eagles, Flamingos, Hoopoe, Warblers, Short-toed Lark and several  Ducks on

the nearby lagoon, including a single Marbled Teal.

Mixed Duck flock

Kentish Plover

Slender-billed Gull

Dunlin

Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin

Black-winged Stilt

Greenshank

Short-toed Lark

Curlew Sandpiper

Little Stint

Crested Lark

Night Heron

Collared Pratincole

Hoopoe

I spent two mornings at Punta del Carnero to watch the migration as quite a strong

westerly wind was blowing, pushing birds east of Tarifa. Whilst there, i saw the

following: c400 Black Kite, 20 Montagu's Harrier, 5 Egyptian Vulture, 35 Booted

Eagle, 40 Short-toed Eagle, 2 Buzzard, 4 Sparrowhawk, 6 Kestrel, 20 Griffon

Vulture, Peregrine, and 2 Marsh Harrier. Other birds moving included; 2 Black Stork,

Bee-eater, Swifts and hirundines.

Home for the duration!

Woodchat Shrike

Ronda

Cirl Bunting

Cabo de Trafalgar. 

Western Bonelli's Warbler

Whitethroat

Nightingale

I was told of a Cream-coloured Courser that had been found close to where i was

staying near Tarifa and after missing it initially, returned in the evening and saw it

well. Five birders in total where there that evening, with six the next day. The bird

showed down to c15yards.

Courser twitch

At the end of my stay i met up with Jeff again and we birded some sites close to his 

home. We spent 30 minutes at a refuse tip, watching Kites and Gulls and on the way

managed a Tawny Pipit, nice one Jeff! Then it was time to say my goodbyes and

drive back to Malaga for the flight home.

White Stork

Black Kites

Black Kite

Tawny Pipit

Yellow-legged Gulls

A few more images from earlier in the trip.

Spotless Starling

Little Owl

Rock Bunting

Collared Pratincole

'Floyd'