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| Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola (PHOTO: Jenny Wainwright) |
Tarifa, 31 August: Day 1
Winds exceeding 36kmph.
As Jenny and I travelled down the toll road to Tarifa, we were
amazed at the sheer numbers of Common and Pallid Swifts that were about,
apart from the Barn and Red-rumped Swallows here, but as we arrived at
the viewpoint just prior to Tarifa itself, there
were none whatsoever. We did however log Booted Eagles, Black Kites and
Griffon Vultures. Hundreds of Egyptian Vultures (mainly juveniles),
Short-toed Eagles, but by far numerous among the raptors were the Honey
Buzzards. A few Rock Doves and a Sardinian Warbler
were the only other counts.
As the wind showed no sign of abating we went and obtained our
bungalow at La Cordorniz, we waited to see if the wind died down at all
but too no avail, so we finished for the day.
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| Egyptian Vuture Neophron percnopterus over Cazalla, Tarifa (PHOTO: Jenny Wainwright) |
Tarifa, 1 September: Day 2
Another very windy day, humid as well.
We met at Lidl´s car park at the stated hour and then up the hill to the viewing point.
Again, as of yesterday, the strong winds made the passage of birds here very difficult, if non-obtainable.
But, we did see some birds, that were simply going round the
valleys, waiting for the opportunity to pick up that elusive thermal to
Morocco. Most of these were Egyptian Vultures with a few Griffon`s mixed
in. Also about were Honey Buzzards, Black Kites and
a single Peregrine Falcon was logged off the coastal area. A few Rock
Doves and a couple of Short-toed Eagles completed the log-ins here.
We now split into groups with Frankie Hair, Myself and Jenny,
Katerina, Ron and then last but not least Keith and Lindsay Pheasant
moving off to the Hermitage Road towards Facinas. A further eight members headed off to the east to try their luck in the Ojen Valley. Just a small number of
Short-toed Eagles, along with Stonechats, Blackbirds
and Crested Larks. We then moved on to La Janda, whereupon our arrival
was greeted by Griffon Vulture and Short-toed Eagle, then a pair of
Ravens were noted feeding among the stubble. As we got to the embankment
track a White Stork, a Glossy Ibis and a Crested
Lark were put to flight. Looking over the irrigation canal here we
spotted more White Storks and Glossy Ibis, while on this side of the
canal Goldfinches, House Sparrows were in good numbers.
As we progressed along the track a Squacco Heron was disturbed out
of the reed bed, this was picked up by the back cars in the convoy. All along this track we noted White Storks and Glossy Ibis feeding
in the rice paddies interspersed with the odd arrival of Marsh Harriers
(all female ). Zitting Cisticolas were here also, but only one Linnet
was spotted. Three Grey Herons were noted on a raised bank among the rice
paddies as well as Little and Cattle Egrets, and a bit further down a
Green Sandpiper was put up.
At the "Dam" turn off we split up again just leaving Frankie,
myself and Jenny. Just as they left a Black-winged Kite lifted off from
the irrigation platforms, we did get better views on the way back. A
Lesser Kestrel was spotted on a pylon arm and a
kilometre further down a male Common Kestrel was seen coming into land
in the centre of a pylon. Here just prior to the farm complex we parted company but not before seeing a Red-legged Partridge crossing one of the tracks.
On our way back to the main road we noted another two Marsh
Harriers, Woodpigeons, White Storks, Glossy Ibis, Mallard, Green
Sandpiper, and of course the Black-winged Kite.
On the trip back to Tarifa and the hotel we logged more Honey
Buzzards and Black Kites, lots of hirundines along this road now,
including Barn Swallows and House Martins.
Tarifa, Barbate & Viewpoint, 2 September: Day 3
Another very hot, sultry and blustery day.
We decided to stay an extra day at our hotel, so we started off
for Tahivilla, and on the way picked up 3 male Montagu´s Harriers before
we called in at the Apollo X1 for breakfast. Then we moved onto the
Barbate marshes. The wind was quite moderate until
we reached the marshes, but the big surprise was that all the pools were
full.
Still, undeterred, we moved down the track some distance, and
looking out onto one of the islands we spotted eleven Stone Curlews.
Also about here were Little Terns, Black Kites, Lesser Black-backed,
Yellow-legged and Auduoin´s Gulls. Moving the scope
onto another island I counted at least four hundred and seventy Ringed,
Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, mixed in with Little Stints, Dunlins
and some beautifully plumaged Grey Plovers. Lots of Little Egrets in the
ponds and Cattle Egrets following the cattle
which were feeding amongst the thistles alongside the track.
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| Three Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola at Barbate (PHOTO: Jenny Wainwright) |
As
we moved off yet again we put up three Short-toed Larks and two
Hoopoes. A juvenile Woodchat Shrike was perched on a fence post, while
behind it a small number of Black-headed Gulls
rose off the water. Two small groups of Greater Flamingos were logged as
was a single Spoonbill and a flock of Sanderlings were feeding close
by. Barn and Red-rumped Swallows were about as were House Martins and as
we drove back to the main road along the
track parallel to the road we noted Crested Larks, House Sparrows and
Stonechats.
We then drove back to Tarifa to the new viewing point (I can never
remember its name). The wind had picked up by now and as the last couple
of days was hard work - one bloke did lose his scope. But we did see
here hundreds of White Storks, Short-toed and
Booted Eagles, Egyptian and Griffon Vultures, Bee-eaters and I believe
thousands of Black Kites. I did managed to rescue a European Praying
Mantis (Mantis religiosa) as it was being blown all over the watching
area, that's my good deed for the day.
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| European Praying Mantis Mantis religiosa (PHOTO: Jenny Wainwright) |
Back to the hotel now to get these reports over to Bob and a few beers as well!!!!
Many thanks John and it certainly sounds that like us, you found more wind than birds. But those birds seen were great sightings, especially the high Honey Buzzards and the relatively close Egyptian Vultures.
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information
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