Day 2 - Wednesday 13th August
The second day saw us head
south to the fantastic Rock of Gibraltar to take in the sights and see what
birds and other wildlife may be on offer on this well-known British Oversees
territory. Waking up relatively early, I was greeted by an absolutely amazing
sight out of the apartment window of thousands of Black Kites drifting
effortlessly on the air currents and beginning their migration south – sure to
filter through to Gibraltar later on in the day. With the sky filled with Kites
at eye level due to our height in the apartment, it was truly breath-taking to
watch – a definite highlight of the trip.
Driving down to Gibraltar and
heading for the lighthouse on the southernmost tip at Europa Point, we scanned the
gorgeous periwinkle blue waves for any seabirds that might have been patrolling
over the ocean. Several stunning summer plumaged Audouin’s Gulls drifted
overhead as we watched, their bright blood red bills clear to see as they
passed. Not a lifer for neither Chris nor Alex but one for myself, I was
exceptionally glad to catch up with this species, as I was unsure if we would
see any on the trip.
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Europa Point lighthouse |
With a complete lack of Shearwaters and other pelagic
species, we headed round the corner to view the rock itself. A migration
hotspot, Black Kites in groups of hundreds at a time steadily rose on
the thermals, a constant presence in the skies above us and fantastic to see.
Still a touch early for the true spectacle of autumn migration, a few weeks
later buzzards, eagles, raptors and storks would all be passing here in their
hundreds and thousands - at present we were merely touching on the very start
of migration. A small kestrel perched on the side of the huge rock itself was
just a bit too distant to firmly nail as a Lesser Kestrel, and like the
majority seen on our trip, was frustratingly yet another female!
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Black Kite flying over the point |
A trip to Gibraltar wouldn’t
be complete without stopping off to admire the iconic monkeys that live on the
rock, and several individuals were happy to oblige and have photos taken with
us.
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Bitey monkey going in for the kill.... |
We decided to venture up to
the top of Gibraltar and explore, seeing what the Nature Reserve had to offer.
Heading up the steep slopes we encountered a number of gorgeous butterflies,
including a very showy and photogenic Two-tailed Pasha, reminiscent of the captive
bred insects found in the butterfly Jungles I used to love.
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Two-tailed Pasha |
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The view of Gibraltar down below |
Approaching the summit, we
were pleased to see a large gathering of swifts directly overhead, our height
on the mountain meaning they were considerably lower down than they usually
would be and consequently flying right over our heads. One much larger than the
others zoomed between the rocks – a second Alpine Swift – that large white
belly and huge wings unmistakeable as it passed overhead on several occasions,
happily providing much better views than
the brief encounter on the first day. Several more Pallid Swifts darted above
us, whilst the continued presence of the ongoing raptor migration was felt with
an absolutely huge gathering of Black Kites slowly drifting overhead, with a
possible Honey Buzzard trying to go unnoticed amongst them.
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Black Kite migration |
Heading back to the hotel
ready for an early start tomorrow in search of Red-necked Nightjars, we tucked
in to a nice Japanese meal after enjoying a poolside paradise that was
apparently part of a private golf club resort! Hopefully nobody noticed....
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