Andalucia - Autumn Migration

Next trip will be 2010

This week involves so much more than watching the spectacular raptor migration across the Straits of Gibraltar, we will also be visiting many of Southern Andalucia's premier sites. This is a two centre holiday with most of the week staying at a fantastic hotel between Algeciras & Tarifa. During our five days we will be visiting sites such as Rio Guadalhorce, Playa de Los Lances, La Janda, & Bolonia. At the end of the week we will spend two nights in Almeria Province at another fantastic area - the headland of Cabo de Gata, with it's wetlands, rocky coastline and mesquit plains.

Day 1 :- At Malaga Airport you will be met off the plane and once we are ready we will head off to one of Malaga's favourite sites 'Parc Natural Rio de Guadalhorce'. Here we should find plenty of wildfowl, Squacco & Purple Heron, Greater Flamingos, Marsh Harrier, and many of the common waders. Along the coast there may be some seabird passage with a chance of Balearic & Cory's Shearwaters, Arctic Skua, Sandwich & Black Terns. Although over the years this site has turned up many rarities, recently including Western Reef Heron, Sacred Ibis, and Marsh Sandpiper. We shall then make the journey through to our accommodation for the week perfectly positioned between Algeciras & Tarifa.

Days 2 - 5 :-  The Mesón de Sancho will be our base for the next 5 nights enabling us to travel to many of the bird-rich sites within this area. The excellent hotel is positioned only minutes away from one of the best raptor watchpoint's and migration can even be seen from your balcony!. During daylight hours the watchpoints are constantly manned by volunteers (Migres) who count the raptor species passing over their alotted station. You will spend time marvelling at the 'kettles' of raptors gaining height on the thermals before heading south over the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco. It is a truly breath-taking experience, especially when there are mixed flocks of Honey Buzzards, Black Kites, Sparrowhawks, Short-toed & Booted Eagles, of course Ken will be on hand to give his expert advice on how to indentify them as they fly over. There are always scarcer species seen during the day with Montagu's & Marsh Harriers, Egyptian Vultures, Red Kite, Osprey, Common Buzzard, Peregrine, & Lesser Kestrels all being recorded on a regular basis. However there is always a chance of something really special with 2007 producing Ruppell's Vulture and Steppe Buzzard during the course of the week, both Spanish rarities. Birds of prey are not the only species migrating south and with luck we should also see Black Storks, Bee-eaters, Pallid & Alpine Swifts. Of course you will not be spending all day at the watchpoints and usually after lunch we visit one of the other birdwatching sites found in this area, some of which are listed below.

Places we will visit during our stay in Tarifa

Los Lances Beach to look for Balearic & Cory's Shearwaters, Audouin's Gull, Sandwich & Common Tern, plus plenty of waders on the beach. The salt marsh is very good for Tawny Pipits, Greater Short toed Lark, Stone Curlew, and occasionally Little Bustard.

La Janda is a vast expanse of waterways and flooded paddy fields that hold 100's of White Storks, with lesser numbers of Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, and an outside chance of one of the now resident Great White Egrets. Raptors include the beautiful Black shouldered Kite, which can be seen in small parties hunting over the fields, There are plenty of Marsh & Montagu's Harriers, (including the rare melanistic form), as well as the occasional eagle with both Bonelli's & Spanish Imperial Eagles seen here in 2005. Flocks of Calandra Larks, Little Bustards & Stone Curlew can be found in one of the drier fields adjacent to the marsh.

Barbate Estuary is a fishing port where the river (Rio Barbate) runs into the sea creating a small estuary with some saline small pools amongst the salt marsh. This is a very good place for Gulls & Terns to congregate with a chance of a Caspian Tern standing amongst the many Yellow-legged, Lesser Black backed & Black-headed Gulls, Common & Sandwich Terns. The pools hold good numbers of returning waders such as Curlew, Wood & Green Sandpipers, Little Stints, Ruff, Spotted Redshanks and a Spanish scarcity Red Knot.

Palmeros is a coastal resort adjacent to a fantastic salt marsh and river-mouth where many waders gulls and terns congregate at low tide. During a short visit in 2007 we found an adult & juvenile Lesser Crested Tern with the Sandwich, Common & Little Terns. Mediterranean, Yellow-legged & Black-headed Gulls. The pools and sand-banks can have good numbers of waders such as Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Common & Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Ruff, Bar tailed Godwit, Greenshank and Common Redshanks. On the marsh we should see a patrolling Osprey or Marsh Harrier, plus good numbers of White Storks, Grey Herons, and Green Sandpipers.

Day 6 :-  After breakfast we will load up the minibus and spend our last few hours raptor watching before heading for the Almeria Province after lunch. O n the way we will stop off at Las Norias, a small wetland that is very good for the rare White headed Duck, as well as Black necked Grebes, Marsh Harriers, Black & Whiskered Terns, wildfowl & waders. We will then drive the short distance to some saline pools near Las Marinas, which are also extremely good for ducks, waders, gulls, & terns such as Common & Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Avocets, Little Stints, Dunlin, Wood, Common & Curlew Sandpipers, Audouin's, Lesser Black backed, & Mediterranean Gulls, Sandwich & Black Terns. Finally we drive the short journey to our hotel on the edge of the excellent Cabo de Gata salinas  where we will stay for the last two nights.

Day 7 :- This whole day will be spent exploring the Cabo de Gata peninsular with visits to the beach, salinas & coastal scrub area is very good for a varied number of species including Common & Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Avocets, Little Stints, Dunlin, Wood, Common & Curlew Sandpipers, Crested Larks, Quail, Whinchat, Northern & Black eared Wheatear, Spectacled & Eurasian Reed Warblers. We will visit the nearby desert reserve with it's fantastic visitor centre, where the agama & mesquit areas adjacent to the centre is very good for Black bellied Sandgrouse, Southern Grey Shrike, Spectacled Warbler, Lesser Short toed & Thekla Larks. The coastal hills can be good for Black & Black eared Wheatears, Thekla Lark, Blue Rock Thrush and possibly an early returning Trumpeter Finch, and a seawatch from the peninsular may produce Gannet, Cory's & Balearic Shearwaters as they migrate south along the coastline

 Day 8 :- After breakfast we willl say goodbye to Almeria, driving back to Malaga in plenty of time for everyone to catch our flights back to the UK. If there is enough time before having to get to the airport we will stop off at a site on the route back in the hope of adding one or two final species to our already extensive species list.    

"What's been said"

Hi Julian, Just to let you know that we are safely back in the UK and deeply immersed in our old worlds. We had a great time, easily one of our best birding trips, not least because the way you take care of the itinerary means that we have maximum time birdwatching and we felt we had the flexibility to change the itinerary with you, depending on what we felt like doing and seeing. We will definitely be back! Many many thanks for the way you looked after us, we will be sending  you a copy of the trip DVD. All the best. C. Lewis & P Taylor

Hi Jules, Just wanted to say thanks again for a really great holiday. Bit of a shock to the system being back home. Hope your trip this week goes well and isn't too affected by the weather. K. Blasco

Many thanks for driving us about and for finding so many of the birds during the week, and for your good humour.  I had a good time and lots of laughs, and I think everyone else did, too.  I just wish I could have spent another week or two watching those raptors, in all their variations.  As it is, I have a particular image burnt into my mind of moon-high adult Honey Buzzards, stacking up on the thermals; and of Griffon Vultures, sailing along with ne'ery a flap, just casually peering about them as they go along. I wish you good luck with your developing venture into birding tours. I shall keep the occasional eye on your website, just to see what you have been up to and what you may have in store. E. Chaplin

Just a few lines to say thanks for all your help last week, the tips you passed on with regards to identifying some of the birds was invaluable, it certainly helped to make the week a great success for me, thanks again. I hope you have great success, as I said during some of our chats you have tremendous enthusiasm and of course great knowledge so I'm sure it will work out anyway "good luck". D. Grant

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