20th January - Long, Empty Sandy Beaches - Stephen Daly writes
Went down to the long sandy beach between Barbate and Zahara late afternoon. Weather was beautiful with a light easterly which was bringing small numbers of passerines across the Strait. More Meadow Pipits, Goldfinches and White Wagtails mainly, although a few Black-winged Stilts and a single Hoopoe flew in as well. More Song Thrushes also were seen along the coast and the Crag Martins that over-winter here are still feeding around the low-lying areas. Out at sea were some Northern Gannets, Sandwich Terns with Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Audouin's Gulls are an especially clean looking and elegant species. Still globally low in numbers they have made a good comeback in the last 15 years. Small flocks can be regularly seen along the coast. Yesterday was no exception and I photographed some as the sun was setting low in the sea towards Cape Trafalgar.

19th January - Spanish Imperial Eagles - Stephen Daly writes
What a difference sunshine makes to all of us! After a rather wet few days, the temperatures came back up as did the birding activity. I went out for a few hours in the morning and things were starting to move about again. I heard one Little Bustard calling and Stone Curlews were about but staying low as were Golden Plovers. A pair of Bonelli's Eagles flew in the distance near Benalup and in the late afternoon I saw two Spanish Imperial Eagles near Alcala, close to the reservoir. Far off towards the mountains another large eagle circled high up, and I concluded that it was a Golden Eagle. Such great birds in such a beautiful setting with Ravens flying across the setting sun. I thought I might have seen the Ospreys on the reservoir but there was no sign of them as dusk fell.

17th January - Welcome Showers from the Atlantic - Stephen Daly writes
We've had rain showers the last three days with mostly overcast days and as one would expect little raptor flying or large bird movement. The Buzzards nearby our house are looking decidedly miserable and wonder why they moved south at all! But this wet weather, that we are badly needing down this way, will soon pass and it looks like mid-week we'll see another high pressure system coming in from the south Atlantic.
I was fortunate to watch a Merlin hunting in the Las Breñas park on Friday (Natural Park Pine forest near Barbate).I went back up there yesterday (Sun 16th) to see if the African form of Great Spotted Woodpecker was back at one of its haunts but didn't see it. Suddenly a pair of Mongoose came out of the undergrowth no more than 20 metres from me. Snorting indignantly, they crossed the path and disappeared once more.
One of the Black Vultures is back around the Benalup area and loads of Chiffchafs, Song and Mistle Thrushes - with a few Redwings coming over the Strait. I also saw more returning Calandra Larks settle on grazing land after coming in from Morocco. It looks like it's going to be an interesting birding build up before the main migration kicks in.

22nd January - Collecting Tagarninas and Watching Bald Ibis - Stephen Daly writes
I was back along at the beach this morning with the children. We collected shells, stones, multi-coloured bits of fishing ropes and the like... You know what kids like to do on an empty beach! I kept Amelia in the kiddie rucksack to make sure that she didn't try and eat the sand and shells again. She slept for a bit while Lucia and I watched a local man cut Tagarninas, a kin of ground spreading soft thistle that is excellent to eat. You cut the plant off at the base and take of all the leaves one by one. Then with your thumb and forefinger, run them close to the leaf-stem and take of all the spikes and green leaf, leaving only the centre spine of each leaf. The local people use them in stews with beans, chick peas or lentils or cook them in a kind of scrambled-egg dish, often with wild asparagus. Tastes delicious!
A solitary Barn Swallow flew past us up the coast to Barbate and a couple of Grey Wagtails fed near the shoreline. Being a Sunday there were more people about than normal. Today between Barbate and Zahara there were seven and this included a jogger who put up the Audouin's Gulls just as I was getting within a reasonable distance to them.
Midway between the two towns we watched twenty Northern Bald Ibis fly around us in a tight group. They wheeled and glided for ages before flying off in the direction of Zahara. Such a beautiful sight to see on a lovely warm winter morning.

21st January - Try Google Earth or Google Maps - Stephen Daly writes
Having more time on my hands in winter is great. I've always found photos of the Earth from up on high fascinating and now that there are so many free satellite images on the web to look over, I just had to look into Google! Finding out about the Google Earth mapping and satellite image bank has been great for me exploring many of the areas impossible to get access into. These are huge fincas or estates where often it's not easy to gain access or with certain bits of the Military Zone it would be too dangerous at certain times of the year. Having a look from above is fascinating and I've been studying huge areas formerly screened out by thick woodland, mountain ridges or many padlocked gates and high fences. Now we can all look inside and the resolution of of the satellite imagery is good enough to see vehicles. Inaccessible trails that ended at a gate can be looked from above in the quiet of your own home. It's like fitting parts of a giant jig-saw puzzle back together - Ah-ha!....so that's where this track leads to!
I'm having too much fun with this free service from Google.

17th January - Cattle Egrets and Preying Mantis - Stephen Daly writes
A cold clear night under the moon left the garden looking frost-bitten. The House Sparrows got some bread this morning and our winter Robin came to join then as normal. We had a bright day with no rain and few clouds. Some Griffon Vultures passed over the garden and a wary Cattle Egret was looking for grasshoppers, crickets and Tree Frogs that hide in the ivy. I went to a Bay tree growing beside our guest hose, to look for a large Preying Mantis that's been resident for some time now. I found her near the top of another bush trying to get warmth from the winter sun.
A Preying Mantis or Mantid (Sphodromantis viridis)

16th January - A Dashing Merlin and a Mongoose - Stephen Daly writes
We've had rain showers the last three days with mostly overcast days and as one would expect little raptor flying or large bird movement. The Buzzards nearby our house are looking decidedly miserable and wonder why they moved south at all! But this wet weather, that we are badly needing down this way, will soon pass and it looks like mid-week we'll see another high pressure system coming in from the south Atlantic.
I was fortunate to watch a Merlin hunting in the Las Breñas park on Friday (Natural Park Pine forest near Barbate).I went back up there yesterday (Sun 16th) to see if the African form of Great Spotted Woodpecker was back at one of its haunts but didn't see it. Suddenly a pair of Mongoose came out of the undergrowth no more than 20 metres from me. Snorting indignantly, they crossed the path and disappeared once more.
One of the Black Vultures is back around the Benalup area and loads of Chiffchafs, Song and Mistle Thrushes - with a few Redwings coming over the Strait. I also saw more returning Calandra Larks settle on grazing land after coming in from Morocco. It looks like it's going to be an interesting birding week.

11th January - Bluethroats and a Host of Raptors - Stephen Daly writes
A mixture of sun and clouds with a few rain showers seemed to bring everything to life today. Morocco was so clear this morning across the Strait, with views deep into the multiple ridges of the Riff Mountains and higher snow-capped Atlas beyond.
There is still a chill in the air with temperatures down to 12oC! I was at La Janda yesterday and again this morning and both days saw Purple Swamphens, Green Sandpipers, Stonechats displaying and Zitting Cisticola's looking their very best for an early breeding season. There were at least five Hen Harriers seen hunting and one stunning melanistic bird hunted low over the ploughed fields. Red Kites, Marsh Harriers, Black shouldered Kites and a couple of juv. Black Storks could also be seen and one Bluethroat dashed for cover as another wintering Booted Eagle landed atop an electricity pylon. A lone juv. Bonelli's Eagle sat in a low tree and was finally chased away by a plucky Common Buzzard. There were lots of Griffon Vultures at a carcass near Benalup but no signs of the Black Vultures this week ..... so far!
I unwittingly disturbed a hibernating Ocellated Lizard last week in our garden. Our wood burning stove in the living-room keeps us cosy during the winter evenings and the logs which were delivered some months ago were an obvious attraction for "Iggy". As I used up the logs I came across the "Lagarto"As you can see from the photo he was rather put out by his transfer to another part of the garden.
An Ocellated Lizard (Lacerta lepida)found hibernating in my log pile
9th January - Pintails can be seen in winter on some of the lakes (lagunas) towards the Jerez and Puerto Real areas. These beautiful, long-necked ducks are about the size of a Mallard. Males have striking plumage with unmistakable long tail and delicate grey-blue bills. Pintails are not so common here and are always a real joy to find and watch.
Local White Storks and Griffon Vultures are already mating and collecting nesting materials.

6th Jan 2006 - Black Storks and Little Bustards - Stephen Daly writes
The first Black Stork pairs were seen crossing the Strait from Morocco. Two adult birds came over to Spain in the afternoon and put on a wonderful gliding and soaring display over the coastal valley between Bolonia and the Sierra de la Plata, before heading inland. La Janda and the nearby Brazo de Este, on the Río Guadalquivir are still a good sites to see juvenile Black Storks that over-winter in Andalucia.
Apart from the good numbers of Little Bustards, large flocks of Calandra Larks there have been flocks of up to 150 Stone Curlews in one field near Medina Sedonia. La Jana and the environs hold many smaller groups of these long-winged, huge-eyed beauties.

4th Jan 2006 - Christmas Break in Germany and Italy - Stephen Daly writes
Back from Germany's Black Forest where it was a picture postcard, winter-wonderland this Christmas. I found two Egyptian Geese on the old River Rhine tributaries near Karlsruhe and a Great White Egret nearby. One imm. Hen Harrier and several Red Kites were also seen. It was good to see northern European birds such as Rooks, Carrion Crows, Smew, Goosanders and Marsh and Willow Tits.
Patty and I also managed to take a four day trip to Rome from Baden-Baden. Rome certainly is a fascinating city crammed to the brim with millions of performing Starlings at dusk!

1st January 2006 - A Happy New Year to all our readers!
It was a great start to the year with Great Spotted Cuckoo's arriving on the 1st January 2006 at Zahara de los Atunes, (Cadiz). The clear sunny weather and light winds has brought in a lot of different passerines from Morocco this week, swelling the numbers of birds already over-wintering in Cadiz province.
At least three Black Vultures have been seen in the La Janda/ Sierra de Retin areas in December.
Three juv. Black Storks, Seven Black shouldered Kites, One Golden Eagle, Four Hen Harriers, three Red Kites, more than forty Marsh harriers, at least fifty Stone Curlews, six Bonelli's Eagles, twenty plus Common Buzzards and large flocks of Little Bustards, Golden Plovers and Lapwings. Snipe and even some Audouin's Gulls are still feeding on the harvested rice fields. Penduline Tits are still sparring with the resident Reed Buntings and mixed flocks of Spanish and House Sparrows can be seen. Less Short-toed Eagles than last month but still one or two about. Both phases of Booted Eagle, our smallest European Eagle are here and some juv Eurasian Spoonbills are at Barbate along with two Slender-billed Gulls and three Caspian Terns.
Night Herons can be seen at several roosts with both adult and juv. birds present. The bulk of this species does fly south for the winter.
Orange trees seem to attact Wall Brown Butterflies

December 2005 - Cranes, Otters and Bramblings at winter La Janda - writes Stephen Daly
Two Otters (lutra lutra),(1st Dec.05) were seen crossing the main track and swam off along the main collector canal at La Janda. There are quite a lot of Otter spraint or droppings, in various locations in this area which suggests a lot more of these enchanting aquatic mammals. Otter territories are huge and their spraint act as scent markers to either guide family members or deter "foreign Otters".
A few Bluethroats have been seen. These beautiful and scarce birds, over-winter on the Strait of Gibraltar and Morocco. They can be found right now at coastal stretches, in agricultural areas such as La Janda and around the edges of inland freshwater lakes such as the Laguna's near Jerez de la Frontera.
Wrens, Bluethroats, Sardinian Warblers, Willow Warblers, Blackcaps, Blue Tits, Serins, Linnets and Greenfinches and Crag Martins have taken up residence for the winter along the coast.
Two large flocks of Bramblings are feeding on un harvested cotton fields at la Janda.
Groups of Common Cranes (grus grus) are well established this winter in the La Janda and Benalup areas. Cranes have been feeding on the remains of the harvested maize and rice fields. Over 1500 birds have been counted.