Cazalla September 12th Day 5

 

Cazalla

8.45am – 12.50pm



The day had started off quite well in the grounds of our Cabin, where we added some very welcome ticks in the garden and beyond.

I never would never have thought that we could add 4 additions to the list before we headed off to Cazalla, but this was the case.

These were Short Toed Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Peregrine and a little gem in the shape of an Iberian Chiffchaff.

The Iberian Chiffy call stopped me and Lee dead, it eventually gave itself up with brief but good views, checking the call was spot on.

These 4 birds had rounded the trip list up to 132 and they were our final additions to the trip list, buoyed on by a good start, we headed off to the Watchpoint.

Again, the winds weren’t right for in-your-face migration, but it was pretty constant, it was also obvious that Honey Buzzards were on the move.

With several flocks seen I arrived at a total of 170 for the morning, some were very high, but a few individuals provided our best views yet.

Egyptian Vulture was another in numbers, I recorded 66 with a few flocks of 8+, we also had a small flock on the deck of 13 birds having a rest.

The totals for the morning were as follows:

Booted Eagle – 13
Short Toed Eagle – 49
Black Stork – 10, a flock of 7 + 3 singles
Bee Eater – 29
Sparrowhawk – 3 individuals
Common Kestrel – 2
Cattle Egret – 2
Black Kite – 14
Marsh Harrier – 2
Griffon Vulture - 4

                                                     13 Egyptian Vultures on the deck

A good morning and a fitting end to our trip, the 2 days with Birding the Strait had been the highlight for me and very memorable, there is no doubt I will be using them again, 1st class.

A big thanks to my mates Lee, Russ and Steve for their great company in making it such an enjoyable trip, I can hear the Pyrenees calling for the next one.

Raptor Watchpoints Sept 11th Day 4

 

Raptor Watchpoints

September 11th Day 4

Cazalla 8.10 – 9.10a.m

With a multitude of Raptor watchpoints in close vicinity to our hotel, Meson De Sancho, we eventually decided on Observatorio Cazalla as the early morning starter. This was conveniently positioned pretty close to us and was a short hop off the N – 340, as yet it was a venue we hadn’t tried.

Arriving at Cazalla at 8.10a.m not expecting too much this early, very few people were present, but we got some movement fairly early.

It was quite obvious that Short Toed Eagles were around in numbers and during the hour we watched, we recorded 19.

We also saw 3 Booted Eagles during this time frame, 4 Black Kites, 5 Egyptian Vultures, a few Common Swifts, Sardinian Warbler and a Yellow Wagtail.

                                                                           Cazalla

                               Wind Turbines - in times of extreme migration they are turned off

                                                                          Black Kite

                                                                     Short Toed Eagle

Cazalla watchpoint looked very promising offering great views, a pity the building seemed empty inside, it also had no WC facilities, this was quite obvious if you went off piste, it was a bit of a minefield!

Breakfast was calling so we headed back towards the direction of our hotel and stopped at Bar Cafeteria El Estrecho, this stop proved quite a fortuitous one.

We were sitting outside tucking in, a few big Raptors and Vultures in view, when a Vulture came over pretty low, we all got on it as it seemed different. This proved a big positive as simultaneous shouts of Ruppell’s Vulture went up, the underside uniform brown markings of the wing and the 2 white lines clearly visible.

                                           Bar Cafeteria El Estrecho - Africa in the distance

                                                                             Africa

A trip list tick for us and a lifer for most, it bought the trip list up to 126.

After we topped up, we then headed to




Obsevatorio Del Estrecho Watchpoint

9.40a.m – 12.20pm



We decided at another go at this watchpoint as it offered good photo opportunities, again it was a bit windy and like the previous day, again in the wrong direction for mass migration.

However, it was an enjoyable 3 hours+ and we gained our 127th tick, in the shape of several passing Cory’s Shearwaters, some coming very close to the shoreline also. A bit distant where we were up higher, at sea level on the shoreline, they would have provided stonking views. I did toy with the idea of going down there to have a look, but I think the walk/climb back up would have killed me.

It was obvious that this was the Booted Eagle hotspot, in this period we recorded 38, some so close using the side wind, they were frame fillers. Stunning views and 95% of them pale phase.

Other highlights were

Black Kite – 6
Bee Eater – 2
Lesser Kestrel – 6
Yellow Wagtail – 6
Honey Buzzard – 2
Audouins Gull – 2
Short Toed Eagle – 11
Egyptian Vulture – 3
Cattle Egret - 1

A very enjoyable session, as above, no mass filling the skies migration due to the wrong winds, but none the less I really enjoyed it.

                         Short Toed Eagle, Honey Buzzard, Black Kite and Booted Eagle below  

                                                      

Bellies were rumbling so it was back to Bar Cafeteria El Estrecho for some lunch.

Cazalla

1.20 – 3.40pm



We decided on Cazalla again for the afternoon session, admittedly we hadn’t checked out the other watchpoints, but for convenience, we liked Cazalla, and it produced good birds and numbers, for one we still needed Black Stork.

Our calls were answered shortly after arrival, a single Black Stork overhead providing our 128th species for the list.

Lots more people present as well and the wind was ferocious, but again it proved another good session.

This time, Booted Eagle were present in better numbers than the morning session here, we recorded 18 along with 16 Short Toed Eagles.

We also ended up with a small flock of Black Storks numbering 5 birds, adding to the single seen earlier.

                                                                     Black Stork

                                                                  Egyptian Vulture

In addition, we recorded Red Rumped Swallow - 7, Egyptian Vulture – 5, a single Sparrowhawk, a flock of 40 Bee Eaters powering overhead calling and a single Marsh Harrier.

You always seem to hear the Bee Eaters before you see them, unless it’s a flock overhead, singles can be a bugger to pick up in the blue skies, fantastic birds.

Another good day, we then headed back to the Hotel for a well-earned pint or 2.

                                           Knackered but always better after a few pints

The next day we were due to fly home, but we still had enough time for another session in the morning, more to come……….

Barbate Marshes September 10th - Day 3 afternoon

 

Barbate Marshes etc

September 10th Day 3 - Afternoon



This was to be another good venue, not a classic Marsh as the name suggests but a great site producing no less than 6 new trip list ticks.

It was quite teeming with birds, on arrival, we checked the cattle pens for Northern Bald Ibis, the info was that 2 had been seen amongst the cattle quite recently. This proved negative so we turned our attention to the ‘marsh’, after scanning we picked up a Wagtail, this provided some photo taking and consideration as it didn’t look like the usual Yellow/Grey we see in the UK.

I had noticed over here that with the heat, everything seems to be taller/longer, this was a well marked Wagtail that was eventually decided on as a Yellow.

Moving we drove round and scanned the islands, no less than 14 Stone Curlews were seen along with around 50 odd Audouins Gulls.

Plenty of birds on show, all the normal waders, Greater Flamingo etc and we added Stone Curlew, Montagu’s Harrier, Shelduck, Little Owl, Red Legged Partridge and Audouins Gull to the trip list, bringing us up to a nice 122 species.

Other birds seen was a flock of around 40+ Calandra Larks, Crested and Thekla as well along with Woodchat Shrike, 2 Short Toed Eagles and a couple of Waxbills. A very good site again and we left here to go in search of Northern Bald Ibis.

                                                                       Calandra Larks

Pablo had a site up his sleeve, the worm farm at Vejerde Frontera and this proved positive for the big Ibis, in fact there was around 11 of them.

We watched these for a good while, not the most attractive of birds I have to say, but a tick for most of us none the less and another addition to the trip list – we were now on 123.

                                                                 Northern Bald Ibis

Obsevatorio Del Estrecho Watchpoint

We were here from 3.35 – 4.10pm, it is a Raptor Coastal Watchpoint that offers fantastic views across to Africa, very windy but for the 35 minutes we were here, we had some good birds and quite a lot of activity.

To be honest, this late in the day I wasn’t expecting mass Raptor/Stork migration but was pleasantly surprised in what we saw.

First up was a very high flock of around 350 White Storks heading over to Africa, not one of them flapping, all on glide mode having gained the height for the crossing. I must admit it was quite an impressive sight even that high, we searched the flock for Black’s, but none present.

We gained an unexpected tick in the shape of White Rumped Swift (124 for the trip list) it was also a lifer for us and a bit of a surprise.2 were seen, and I managed to get a couple of snaps as they headed along the coastline.

We also saw a couple of Gannets out at sea which provided the final addition to the trip list with 2 individuals seen.

Other birds of note were Black Kite (2), Booted Eagle (5), Short Toed Eagle (4), Red Rumped Swallow (8), Pallid/Common Swift and 52 Bee Eaters.

                                                                White Rumped Swift

                                   Not a flapper amongst them - White Storks gliding to Africa

                                                                       Booted Eagle

                                                                       Pallid Swift

                                                        Bee Eaters powering across to Africa

                                                                     Short Toed Eagle

                                                      Hanging in the wind hunting

With the Gannet we finished the day on 125 species for the trip, Pablo and Birding the Strait had given us a great few days and were worth every penny, highly recommended.

I know we all found Pablo an excellent guide, but also a very nice approachable chap, his patience was endless.

Next day was to be our first day of Raptor watching at the watchpoints, more to come.