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 - 7 :-  The Meson de Sancho will be our base for the next 7 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

One day we will have a 'Whale & Dolphin Watching' excursion organised to search the rich waters where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. Over the last few years these trips have usually produced Striped, Bottle nosed, & Common Dolphins, Killer Whale with even a chance of Humpback Whale. This should also produce a few choice sea-birds and hopefully we will get fantastic views of Cory's & Balearic Shearwaters, Audouin's Gulls, Sandwich Terns, plus any raptors heading across the Straits. This could easily be one of the major highlights of the week and not to be missed.

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. We will make an early morning (or late evening) visit Bolonia looking for White-rumped & Little Swifts, these two African species have taken a breeding toehold in this part of Iberia can still be found this late in the season. The beach area will also hold a few waders, and high up amongst the crags here reside Bonelli's Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Green Woodpecker and Blue Rock Thrush.

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 8 :- After breakfast we will load up the vehicle and say goodbye to Tarifa, heading back towards Malaga in plenty of time for everyone to catch their 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.

NB. During this week, if there is enough interest there will be an opportunity to visit Gibraltar for the day. We will arrange transport to the border crossing where you can enter this 'Little Britain' and then to be picked back up at an agreed time. Depending on wind direction it may necessitate a visit anyway as raptor migration over the Rock can be stunning, with views of birds flying at eye level.

Price includes:-

Price does not include:-

1. Flight to Malaga.
2. 7 nights accommodation at local hotels/hostels with ensuite facilities.
3. All meals inc. drinks
4. All transport costs, inc. vehicle hire, fuel, tolls etc
5. Potential trip list with daily check list.
6. Use of field guides covering the area

1. Travel and contents insurance.
2. Extra food & drink to normal meal times.
3. Items of a personal nature.