strait nature news

March 2007  - latest migration news

Wednesday 28th April - Spotted Crake, Whiskered Terns and Common Cuckoos - Stephen Daly writes

Brendan and Michael Tapley from Dublin are staying at Hoopoe Cottage at present and wanted to see exactly for themselves all the wonderful birds and wildlife on and around The Strait of Gibraltar. Both have been avid readers of the updates on our website and wanted to witness the visible migration of birds, in particular, across the stretch of water that separates Europe and Africa. The recent heavy rains had hit the southern coasts of Spain and Morocco with quite a deluge and made some of the tracks pretty much impassable. Nevertheless, I assured them that our early morning start would be worth while and that the dark clouds would soon pass. I was actually pretty confident that the moderate southerly winds would bring in more migrants and it wasn't wrong when quickly we had great views of Common Cuckoo, Montagu's Harriers, Red-legged Partridge and Woodchat Shrike. Stopping to check out a small flooded area near Naveros, we came across an adult Spotted Crake feeding. This for me was lovely to see as these birds are at the best of times shy and retiring. The light wasn't so goo. but I did manage to get some reasonable shots of the bird when it re-emerged onto the side of the pool.

The weather improved and the sun shone bringing more birds into the skies. Bonelli's Eagles, both phases of Booted Eagles and hunting Short-toed Eagles were watched. Alpine Swifts, Red, Rumped Swallows and hosts of Sand Martins flew over with Pallid Swift, Barn Swallows and House Martins. Marsh Harriers quartered over the fields and two Osprey were seen displaying near Benalup. A flock of fifteen Whiskered Terns flew passed us. It's so lovely to see these Marsh Terns in flight and another sign that summer was starting.

Little-Ringed Plovers displayed loudly in a muddy, water-soaked meadow and a White Stork sat on its clutch of eggs in mighty spreading Cork-Oak, oblivious to the nearby din.

We stopped at a culvert to watch more Red-rumped Swallows carrying mud in their beaks, building their long tunneled nests under the road near Benalup whilst Black Kites, Griffon Vultures and Common Buzzards wheeled past.

Painted Frogs were seen and although we kept a lookout for Ocellated Lizard, Moorish Gecko's and other smaller reptiles it was still a bit to fresh after the rains.

Smaller passerines included Wood Warbler, one Bonnelli's Warbler, Zitting Cisticolas, Corn Buntings, Linnet, Goldfinch, and Stonechats galore, providing Brendan and his father michael with endless photo opportunities. Both managed to photograph and video a pair of Little Owls out in the quiet countryside  where the only sound was Hoopoes calling from nearby wild olove trees and a Nightingale singing beautifully in the distance. What could be more tranquil.

Hoopoes and a Booted Eagle (dark phase or morph)

Thursday 22nd March - Merlin, Mating Griffon Vultures and Rock Sparrows - Stephen Knapp writes

The northerly wind of the last few days had subsided to a gentle breeze, there were no clouds in the sky and the sun was warm. On clear days like this the views from the mountains overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar are both beautiful and dramatic. Through bins you can spot the minarets of the mosques in Morocco just a few kilometres away; through the scope you can watch people working in the fields.

My two clients, Art and Sandy from the USA, had requested “close ups” of Griffon Vultures. Everything was perfect when I took them to watch a pair bonding and mating (very noisily) just above us, on an imposing limestone crag. Overhead, among the tens of Short-toed Eagles moving north, two recently arrived adult Egyptian Vultures were displaying. Blue Rock Thrush were flying from one rocky pinnacle, Rock Sparrow nervously fed by the track side and amidst the grassy scrub, Hoopoes, Woodchat Shrikes, Sardinian Warblers, Stonechat and Black Redstart were active. Before moving on for lunch two adult, male Montagu’s Harriers slowly drifted in at eye-level from Africa and a superb male Peregrine began to hunt overhead.

The La Janda rice fields can be fantastic for birdlife when flooded, but can be hard work when water levels have been lowered. Unfortunately the levels were still being held low, but if you know where to look there is always some standing water and it is here where the birds congregate. Marsh and Montagu's Harriers were everywhere. Whilst studying a ringtail Monty’s flight and identification features, a small falcon shot into view and attacked the ringtail. A second pass by the falcon, both raptors present talons, and then the falcon turns, a third sortie on the Harrier and then lands 30 metres away on a fence post. It turned out to be a beautiful male Merlin! The pools were full of duck, mostly Mallard with a few Shoveler. A group of  7 Spoonbill in full breeding plumage were busy feeding alongside Little Egret and a handful of Glossy Ibis, Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt, Snipe, Redshank, Little-ringed Plover, Little Stint and Green and Common Sandpipers and a single Curlew were in the shallows whilst overhead more Marsh Harriers, more Short-toed Eagles along with Booted Eagle and a superb Black-shouldered Kite put in “fly-by's”. A great days birding.

Wednesday the 21st march - Montagu's Harriers , Egyptian Vultures and Short-toed Eagles - Stephen Daly writes

To watch the visible bird migration is really something. There is no substitute to witnessing this annual event that fills you with awe at the way these birds make such fantastic journeys, through some of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Sub-Saharan migrants can be accurately tracked nowadays with satellite transmitters and their progress monitored. Smaller birds, even the size of Nightingales have been fitted with such and have given scientists the benefit of understanding migration routes, flight heights and feeding locations where birds re-stock and build up fat reserves before continuing their hazardous journeys.

This was the first day that I witnessed the new arrivals of this spring's Montagu's Harriers. The Monty's as they are affectionately called, are one of my favourite raptors. Their grace and buoyant agile flight is sheer ariel ballet. They are slight birds and it's estimated that they can survive on a daily diet of approximately 35 medium sized crickets or grasshoppers a day! Of course they will take other food apart from insects and small birds and rodents make up a varied diet.

I had Art Schade and Sandy Sharonhouse with me for a few days. They had booked into the lovely El Palomar de la Breña Hotel up in the Umbrella pine forest and natural park above Barbate. Art hails from New York state and Sandy comes from Benicia in California. We had a great day together and during birding, plant finding and insect and butterfly watching, we got on like a house on fire. Both were amazed at the stunning beauty of The Strait of Gibraltar and the variable habitat that just happens to be on my doorstep. What really made their days out so joyous was the variety of birds and wildlife on this very special place. Our day was particularly rich with raptors and we had already seen a Short-toed Eagle within a few kilometres. Common Buzzards, Lesser and Common Kestrels cam past as did three Montagu's Harriers. Woodchat Shrikes were plentiful and a Nightingale was heard singing from a wooded glade filled with Ash trees.

We moved onto the Alcornocles to seek out Iberian Chiffchaff  and before too long we heard one singing with its distinctive monosyllabic four note ending. Instead of the Chiffchaff's onomatopoeic "Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff chaff" plain song, there is a little bit at the end of the Iberian Chiffchaff's song that has a rapid (normally) four note "deet-deet-deet-deet". Bird song is a complex business and apologies for this poor explanation, but if you are interested then do go out and buy a set of the "Bird Songs of Europe" from Wildsounds by Jean C Roché & Jérôme Chevereau. ISBN1-898665-06-0   or "The Sound Approach to Birding" by Mark Constantine & The Sound Approach. (This is the whole title of the book) ISBN 90-810933-1-2, a more informative book with CD's that goes into bird song in some depth and the CD's offer the listener/reader some understanding of the complicated social relationships of birds.

Iberian Chiffchaff

Back to our day out and the afternoon proved to be just as interesting and exciting with more Woodchat Shrikes coming in from Africa. Pallid and Common Swifts fed and put on a wonderful display for us and gave us time to compare flight ID of these lovely birds.

Butterflies that delighted us were Spanish Festoon, Green Hairstreak, Orange Tip, Painted Lady and Southern Swallowtail. More Short-toed Eagles came past, the sun shone. Views across The Strait were fantastic with the clearest skies we had seen for a long time and the views into Morocco were stunning. We could make out the minarets of the mosques in the bustling port of Tanger as well as the windmills on the lower Riff and Atlas mountain ridges.

All around us, the scent of the Cistus, Thyme, Lavenders and Sage amongst the Cork Oaks and Acebuche (Wild Olive) trees filled the air with characteristic perfumes of the mountains along the start of the Mediterranean. I'm sure this particular birding and wildlife "day out" will remain as lovely memories for our  American clients.

Monday 19th March - I've Just Got To See a Stone Curlew! - Stephen Knapp writes

The morning was a struggle! Weather was lovely, a gentle breeze, warm sunshine, but the birds just did not really perform. The laguna at Barbate marismas once again provided wonderful views of a male Hen Harrier, loads of Calandra Larks, Yellow Wagtail (Blue-headed ssp.), Audouin’s Gulls, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Shoveler etc but the Garganey, the small gulls and the bulk of the waders were noticeable by there absence! Jack and Gillian from  Bristol, whom I was guiding seemed quite content but I was feeling cheated and decided a visit to La Janda was in order. Much like Barbate, La Janda was very slow. We had fabulous views of several Marsh Harriers, White Storks, Zitting Cisticola, Thekla Lark, Purple Swamphen and a couple of Short-toed Eagles but the numbers of wetland birds was disappointing and apart from Barn Swallows there was very little evidence of spring migration. By now it was two o’clock so time for a “menu del dia” at a venta near Tarifa and re-appraise the afternoon itinerary.

Forty minutes later, feeling well fed, we stepped out into the bright sunshine to see masses of raptors low overhead, drifting north. Dark and light phase Booted Eagle, perhaps thirty of them, two immature Bonnelli’s Eagles and many more Short-toed Eagles were mixed in with hundreds of Black Kites. For the next thirty minutes or so we were able to get wonderful close views of these birds of prey, examine variations in plumage and really get to see the differing flight styles and silhouettes of these great birds. The Sierra del Plata was on obvious place to head to next as even more raptors appeared to be coming in off the sea in that direction. No sooner had we arrived when wave after wave of Black Kites started to appear at eye-level. In amongst them were Booted, Short-toed and another beautiful immature Bonnelli’s Eagle, a fine male Peregrine and even a very close, adult male Marsh Harrier. Soaring continuously overhead were dozens of Griffon Vultures the occasional Pallid, Common and Alpine Swift and all of this to the fabulous backdrop of singing Blue Rock Thrush….fabulous.

We could have stayed for hours as the birds were simply pouring through but I had promised we would look for Stone Curlew at a roost site near Vejer. True to form we picked up a small group of perhaps twenty birds, but they were quite a way off even in the scopes. Just as I was contemplating trying another nearby roost site to get better views when two more birds flew in calling and landed close by. Two very happy clients and a perfect end to a great day birding.

Friday 17th March -  Building My House....and Birding at The Same Time - Stephen Knapp puts down his bins to write

The Levante has been blowing hard for the last couple of days and although it was now easing off, it did not look promising bird wise so I settled into a day of DIY at Casa Athene, the house I have been building for the last six months. Sitting by my French windows whilst having lunch I could hear Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler and Corn Bunting whilst a quick scan of my garden revealed Cirl Bunting, Spanish Sparrow, Stonechat, Black Redstart and my houses name sake….Little Owl.

No sign of any raptors in the sky but there were swifts, quite a lot in fact. For the next forty minutes or so I scanned the skies. 50+ Pallid, quite a few Common Swift, 6 Alpine Swift and two White-rumped Swift. A Hoopoe flew in, Ravens displayed overhead and just as I was returning to work, a fine Black-shouldered Kite started its daily hunt over my land and the nearby fields.

13th March - Barbate's New Laguna - Stephen Knapp writes

The weather was beautiful,not a cloud in the sky, warm sun and just the beginnings of stronger breezes from the south east. I had not visited the new laguna at Barbate marismas for quite a while so Steve and I headed off along the track with Calandra Larks and Corn Buntings singing all around.  Dozens of Avocets, Black-winged Stilts and Kentish Plovers were on each of the small pools we passed and on some of the banks standing motionless and looking slightly prehistoric were Stone Curlews. As we rounded the bend to the laguna hundreds of duck took flight. Amidst the Mallard were good numbers of Shoveler and as they wheeled around the pale blue wing patches of some smaller ducks revealed migrant Garganey's. A superb male Hen Harrier quartering the pastures nearby appeared to be the reason for the ducks taking flight. The Harrier seemed far more interested in hunting over the grasslands so within a few minutes the duck settled back on the shallow waters. With scopes set up we began scanning the ducks now spread out over the two hectares of water. 45 Shoveler, 15 male and six female Garganey, a pair of Teal, 6 beautiful Pintail and 200 plus Mallard.

Crown Anemone, Barbary Nut (a type of Iris), vetches and Southern Centaur ea were in bloom all around us and on the fringes of the laguna Water Crowfoot was adding wonderful colour against the reflection in the water of the nearby Sierra.

Clouded Yellows, Painted Lady's, various Whites and a couple of Cleopatra butterflies were dancing in the gentle breeze around us....fabulous.

Chamomile Flowers in profusion during February/March

A party of seven Greater Flamingo were resting over the far side and next to them a large group of gulls so we headed around the shoreline to get closer views. In the shallows large numbers of Sanderling and Little Ringed Plovers were scurrying around feeding and amidst them a group of 30 plus Little Stint and a few Dunlin. Seven Ruff, dozens of Snipe a Common Sandpiper and a few Redshank were also in attendance but were keeping close to the emergent vegetation and only showing themselves occasionally. The gull flock was well worth a closer view. Amidst the Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were a tight group of about 40 adult Audouin's Gulls and 2 Caspian Terns. The smaller Black-headed Gulls were roosting in another group which on close inspection revealed six Little Gulls, 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls, a stunning Slender-billed Gull and a very conspicuous adult Laughing Gull. Over the water, scores of Barn Swallow were feeding whilst higher up and fresh in from Africa, Common, Pallid and a few Alpine Swift were racing about. Distant Griffon Vultures soared, Kestrels hovered and a group of 12 Northern Bald Ibis passed overhead. A perfect mornings birding!

10th March - Tawny Pipit, Garganey, Turtle Doves and Short-toed Eagles cross The Strait - Stephen Daly writes

The first Tawny Pipit was seen today! About 25 Garganey are on the new flooded area in the Parque Natural de las Marismas near Barbate. Teal, Mallard and Shoveller were also present. Waders include  Stone Curlews, Pied Avocets, Kentish Plover, Black-winged Stilts, Little Stints, Sanderling and Redshanks. Calandra Larks and Greater Short-toed Larks were also seen. Caspian Tern, Slender-billed Gulls and Black-crowned Night Herons, Eurasian Spoonbills, Greater Flamingoes and Little Owls were seen on the mudflats and surrounding military areas.

The lovely Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus)

7th March - Egyptian Vultures, Stone Curlews and Butterflies Galore! - Stephen Daly writes

Beate and Manfred Eisenhardt from Hamburg spent five nights at Hoopoe cottage and wanted a day's guiding in our area.

We had originally planned to do this the day before, but we were literally "rained off"! Blue skies returned quickly and the very next day, off we went.

We began well, looking at Stone Curlews, Black-shouldered, Red and Black Kites, Marsh and Hen Harriers, Osprey, Sparrowhawk, Bonelli's Eagle and Short-toed Eagles.

At another location we watched fifteen Stone Curlews (Eurasian Thick-Knee) in a field. They took off briefly and re-landed near the same location and it was great to see their flight as well as the wing pattern. Purple Swamphens, Snipe, Green Sandpipers, Little-ringed Plovers, White Wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Spanish Sparrows, Calandra, Thekla and Crested Larks were also watched and a bit further inland we spotted Alpine Swifts, Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallows with  House Martins and Barn Swallows

                    Wild Hyacinth                                               Blue Rock Thrush                        

We had a lovely lunch out and afterwards explored the ridges of the Sierra del Bartolomé and the Sierra de la Plata where Griffon Vultures put on a magnificent display. Short-toed Eagles were  seen coming across the Strait with Egyptian Vultures. Turtle Doves were seen from on high moving quickly through the tops of the coastal pine forest.

Butterflies abounded too with Provence Hairstreak, Spanish Festoon, Painted Lady, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Wall Brown and Green-veined White's all being seen and photographed. Manfred was another keen photographer and took some lovely shots of the Short-toed Eagles displaying. The birds were level with us on top of the high limestone rocks with Morocco serving as a dramatic backdrop. Here the height of the Sierra de la Plata is about 450m. Blue Rock Thrushes chased and caught flying insects and all around us the scents from the first spring plants and mountain herbs filled the warm air.

3rd March - Birding in the Early Mist - Stephen Daly writes

Dan and Ruth-Ann Beaudry from Ottowa, were visiting Andalucia for three weeks and came and stayed a few nights at our guest house, Hoopoe cottage. We had a lovely day out together, on The Strait. Dan wanted the chance to try out his new lens in perfect light conditions with his Nikon digital camera. He had viewed the nature diary report on this website and said that he wanted to see for himself

   Calandra Lark                                                   Corn Bunting

An early start along the various tracks in the La Janda area was not the perfect light conditions we wanted. A thick mist hung eerily around this vast agricultural are, which was once one of the largest freshwater marshes in southern Europe.  Nevertheless, Corn Buntings, Zitting Cisticolas, Crested Larks and Stonechats all sang in the grey mist. Watching the birds dawn chorus we saw we were surrounded by thousands of spider webs that hung between plants, cloaked in water droplets.

It wasn't long before both we and the birds were bathing in sunshine.

Thousands of Mallard Ducks were seen with some Shoveller and a few Teal. Cormorants and Grey Herons were abundant as were Marsh Harriers and Black Kites. Some Hen Harriers too made some passing flights and White Storks seemed to be every where, probing the muddy rice-fields looking for food. Other White Storks were watched coming across from Africa and seen spiraling high in the warm sky, riding high on a huge thermal, getting their first views of Europe.

Purple Swamphens                                        Speckled Wood

Purple Swamphens and Moorhens scurried along the reed banks or flitted across the many ditches and canals in the area. Common Kestrels were plentiful and a few Bonelli's Eagles circled then past, skirting the droves of Griffon Vultures that are constantly on the lookout for fallen animals. Two Mongoose made brief appearances across our path and Common Buzzards and Night Herons were also seen.

Green Sandpiper                                          Male Hen Harrier

Up on one of the nearby mountain ridges we watched Blue Rock Thrushes displaying and found many Griffon Vultures.

Dan had managed to get some great photos and like a lot of clients from North America, found the common birds like our Goldfinches and Stonechats the most enchanting and fairly easy to photograph.

European Goldfinch                                      Male Stonechat

The Strait of Gibraltar, where exactly is it? - Stephen Daly writes about a very special place just off the coast of Africa.

A herd of Cows search for sun beds near Zahara de los Atunes

The Strait of Gibraltar is one of the most wonderful and rewarding places to live. Every day brings a new joy to watch, listen or to sit back and savour! But although we all know a strait normally refers to a stretch of water between headlands, where does The Strait of Gibraltar start and finish on the European side.

The eastern side of the Costa de la Luz is fairly well buffered by military Zones or Natural Parks. The chances of major development  or the military selling off their exercises areas is pretty remote. It's not to say that it won't happen, but even although there would be huge interest in any sale of protected land, the converse would happen with protest and objection to any development proposals. In fact the actual coastline on the Spanish side of the Strait is more or less, one large coastal park, offering protection and essentially limiting touristic growth and investment on this fragile area of southern Europe. The area know as The Strait of Gibraltar is recognised as being from the western side of Algeciras, where the Alcornocales touches the Mediterranean, through to the sandy point at Cape Trafalgar, west of Caños de Mecca.

A Short-eared Owl takes a refueling break on The Strait of Gibraltar

The exquisite resident Dartford Warblers on The Strait of Gibraltar's Natural Park