Southern Spain Trip Report (12th August-17th August 2014) - Species List and Locations

Day 1 – Malaga to Alcaidesa

Pallid Swift – 12^th August - Route from Malaga to Jimena de la Frontera off the A-2100 near Castellar de la Frontera, Cadiz. (Large flock flying in the valley by the side of the road)

Alpine Swift – 12^th August - Route from Malaga to Jimena de la Frontera off the A-2100 near Castellar de la Frontera, Cadiz. (One flying over the valley by the side of the road amongst the Pallid Swifts and another seen later on Gibraltar)

White-rumped Swift – 12^th August - Alcaidesa, near San Roque, Cadiz. (One flying with large swift flock over the roads, showing exceptionally well)

Day 2 – Gibraltar

Audouin’s Gull – 13^th August - Europa Point, Gibraltar (Several flying over the lighthouse)

Day 3 – Tarifa and Las Mesas de Chullera

Iberian Chiffchaff – 14^th August - Woodland near Tarifa, Cadiz (Two showing very well in the trees next to the path)

Western Olivaceous Warbler – 14^th August - Woodland near Tarifa, Cadiz (Showing very well in the trees next to the path. Another at Laguna de Fuente de Piedra)

Kentish Plover – 14^th August - Playa de los Lances, near Tarifa, Cadiz (Several on the beach and dune pools)

Short-toed Lark – 14^th August - Playa de los Lances, near Tarifa, Cadiz (One on the fields next to the beach)

Red-necked Nightjar – 14^th August - Site near Manilva (One fly-by and an individual showing very well sitting on the dirt track and flying in to near-by scrub, illuminated by the car headlights)

Photo by Alex Jones

Day 4 – Alcaidesa to Jerez

White-headed Duck – 15^th August - Bonanza Pools, near Bonanza, Cadiz (Several birds on pool 2 next to the road)

Purple Swamphen – 15^th August - Bonanza Pools, near Bonanza, Cadiz (Two individuals near the reeds at the edge of pools 2 and 3)

Little Bittern – 15^th August - Bonanza Pools, near Bonanza, Cadiz (One individual in the reeds surrounding pool 2)

Slender-billed Gull – 15^th August - Bonanza Salt Pans, near Bonanza, Cadiz (Several birds on the pools)

Common Waxbill – 15^th August - Laguna de Tarelo, near Bonanza, Cadiz (Small flock in the conifer trees leading up to the pool)

Marbled Duck – 15^th August - Laguna de Tarelo, near Bonanza, Cadiz (Several at the back of the pool, though distant)

Whiskered Tern – 15^th August - Laguna de Tarelo, near Bonanza, Cadiz (One flying round the pool)

Day 6 – Sevilla to Malaga

Lesser Flamingo – 17^th August - Laguna de Fuente de Piedra, near Fuente de Piedra. On the route back from Sevilla to Malaga. (Three individuals seen within the Greater Flamingo flock, showing well)

Also of note: Two Gibraltar Buzzards seen (hybrid Common Buzzard x Long-legged Buzzard) One seen at Lagunas de Espera, near Espera, Cadiz on the 16^th August, with another seen off the small tracks by the SE-715, near Osuna, Sevilla on the 17^th August.

Additional birds:

Mallard

Gadwall

Shoveler*

Pochard*

Red-crested Pochard*

Ferruginous Duck*

Red-legged Partridge

Black-necked Grebe

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Night Heron

Cattle Egret

Squacco Heron

Little Egret

Grey Heron

White Stork

Glossy Ibis

Greater Flamingo

Cormorant

Griffon Vulture

Short-toed Eagle

Booted Eagle

Red Kite*

Black Kite

Marsh Harrier

Montagu’s Harrier

Common Buzzard

Honey Buzzard

Kestrel

Moorhen

Coot

Avocet

Black-winged Stilt

Little Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

Grey Plover

Sanderling

Turnstone

Dunlin

Little Stint

Green Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Black-tailed Godwit

Whimbrel

Black-headed Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Little Tern

Caspian Tern

Feral Pigeon

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

Turtle Dove

Common Swift

Little Swift

Hoopoe

Kingfisher

Bee-eater

Roller

Crested Lark

Thekla Lark

Lesser short-toed Lark

Sand Martin

Crag Martin

Barn Swallow

Red-rumped Swallow

House Martin

Pied Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Nightingale*

Stonechat

Blackbird

Blackcap

Sardinian Warbler

Subalpine Warbler

Fan-tailed Warbler

Cetti’s Warbler*

Reed Warbler

Western Bonelli’s Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Penduline Tit

Woodchat Shrike

Jackdaw

Raven

Spotless Starling

Golden Oriole*

House Sparrow

Tree Sparrow

Chaffinch

Linnet

Goldfinch

Greenfinch

Serin

Corn Bunting

Monk Parakeet

(* birds not seen by myself)

Birds that were heard only:

Robin

Wren

Dartford Warbler

Woodlark

Southern Spain Trip Report - Day 2

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. 

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!

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.

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.

Two-tailed Pasha

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.

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....