Day 3 - Thursday 14th August 2015
Awaking exceptionally early
and still bleary eyed as we travelled along the quiet Spanish back roads in the
inky darkness, we headed towards a local site for Red-necked Nightjars. Not too far from Manilva, this is a great location for the species and
nightjars are often seen sat on the many dusty tracks that wind their way through
the heathland. Larger than our European Nightjars and with a distinct rusty
orange patch on the back of the neck, Red-necked Nightjar was another key
target of the trip and one that I was especially keen to see.
With dawn starting to break as
we drove up the hill towards the site, the abandoned apartments looked
especially eerie in the darkness and definitely made us glad we were in a
vehicle! Mediterranean warblers welcomed the morning, with snatches of
beautiful song coming from the many Sardinian and Subalpine Warblers perched on
the heather. A smart male Woodchat Shrike sat on the gorse also provided great
views as we drove slowly by.
With the light now rapidly
approaching and the area now illuminated by the early morning sunshine, I was
slightly sceptical as to whether the nightjars would still be active, and sure
enough the only sighting we had that morning was a possible fly-by seen by Alex
in one of the small heather clearings.
With the morning now well and
truly upon us we admitted defeat (though not before Alex and Chris had managed
to get themselves stuck on a steep slope!) and with the day still ahead of us
we decided to make our way down to Tarifa where a pair of Common Bulbuls were
nesting for their second year. Normally found in Africa, the pair had made the
jump to the European mainland, and with successful breeding in both 2013 and
2014, it is looking like these pioneering individuals may slowly start to
colonise the southern tip of Spain.
Arriving at the woodland track
in question, we made our way
down the path towards the houses where the birds had been nesting. With the
surrounding trees clearly rich in birdlife, we enjoyed several Spotted
Flycatchers perched on the fence, before an odd looking Chiffchaff caught our attention. Showing a bright yellow supercilium in front of the eye we watched as it
was joined by a second bird, both with particularly yellow breasts and white
bellies.
With Common Chiffchaffs only
wintering in southern Spain, there was no question that these birds were the
closely related Iberian Chiffchaff. Formerly treated as just a race of
Chiffchaff in the past, Iberian Chiffchaffs were recently split due to a range
of differences including vocalisations, morphology and genetics.
Another brown warbler caught
our eye in one of the opposite trees, and watching carefully we were intrigued
to see it had an especially long bill. With pale lores and an exceptionally
broad, heavy bill, we soon realised we were watching a Western Olivaceous
Warbler! Found only in southern Spain and North Africa, this was a great bird
to catch up with so early in to the trip – our planned sites for this species
were nearer to Seville.
Pleased with this surprised
addition to our trip list, we headed off down the track in search of the
Bulbuls, the heat of the southern Spanish sun now really starting to kick in as
the temperatures soared. An obliging male Woodchat Shrike sat on the wires for
us to admire, while the thick spiny plants and cacti highlighted the dry and
arid conditions of the area. Keeping our eyes peeled, we scanned the gardens
adjacent to the houses, but after a long wait with no sign of the Bulbuls, we
decided to head back and carry on to our next site.
Driving down to Tarifa, the
locality’s fame as a raptor migration hotspot was clear to see, with a
fantastic number of Black Kites, Booted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles and Griffon
Vultures all seen making their way across the perfect blue skies. With Africa
visible from the coast, we were rewarded with great views of this magnificent
continent looming across the sea - where the raptors would ultimately be
travelling to.
Woodchat Shrike - photo by Alex Jones
|
Africa! |
Little Swift from New Brighton, UK in 2012 |
The beach at La Playa de los Lances |
Fiddler Crab |
Marshy area near the beach |
Kentish Plover - photo by Alex Jones |
Dung fight..... |
...where Chris came off worse |
Chris's vile pizza.... |
Ecstatic and wanting further views of these amazing birds, we waited until night had completely fallen before getting back in the car and heading along the dusty track to search for more nightjar activity. Now in complete darkness and with an absence of any street lighting or the glow of nearby civilisations, we drove carefully and slowly along the narrow road, our headlights on full beam to illuminate the route.
Spotting something glowing in
the distance that reminded me of a cat’s eye in torchlight, I squinted through
my binoculars trying to make out a shape in the darkness. Certain I was looking
at a perched Red-necked Nightjar, I alerted the others, confident I had seen
the tail moving. With Chris reckoning it wasn’t even alive and merely part of
the tree, the three of us kept our focus and sure enough the bird took off from
the branches and hovered gracefully in the air, before alighting back down
amongst the dusty boulders on the track ahead. Now fully illuminated by our car’s
headlights, we could clearly see the bird right in front of us, it’s absolutely
huge saucer-like eyes shining in the bright light. Hovering and flapping above
the track at regular intervals, we watched awestruck, the larger size apparent
compared to European Nightjars and just managing to make out the rusty red neck
when on the floor through the binoculars.
Reaching down to get my
camera, I looked up again only to find the bird had gone, slipping away in to
the darkness unnoticed.
Heading back along the rocky
tracks happy and relieved that we had managed to connect with the Nightjars,
the headlights illuminated a scorpion species in the sand – my first ever one
in the wild – although further investigation sadly revealed it had vanished
when we stopped to get a better look. With several feral dogs barking at the
car on the way down to the town, we were again glad to be in the safety of a
vehicle, and we returned to the apartment for our final night before heading
further west towards Jerez and Seville.
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