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Red-throated Bee-eater

Red-throated Bee-eater
join us for a fantastic tour of The Gambia this November

Saturday, September 4, 2010

September 3rd 2010 - DAY TOUR - Gaucin - Jimena - Palmones

I collected Simon and Karen from their rented finca just outside Gaucin at 9am. The weather was bright and beautiful with a temperature of 22c. we took the Algeciras road towards the coast and hardly got out of the village before we stopped to admire short-toed Eagle as it drifted down the Genal Valley to our left.



Simon & Karen getting into the waders at Palmones Salt Marsh

A few kilometers along the way we turned off along a side road so that we could look at some Bee-eaters that were perched on the power lines. Not looking their best at this time of the year but nevertheless still very impressive and admired by my two guests. During the next 30 minutes they wewre stunned by the quantity of birds and the variety of species. We almost had to dive for cover as another Short-toed Eagle drifted just above heads, what afantastic view, Karen had left her camera in the car! We logged several Turtle Doves, also on the power lines as well as Sardinian Warbler, Southern Grey Shrike, Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture & several common species.

Our next stop was just outside of Jimena, we ventured onto a track that overlooked vast open meadows and gave us a great view of the surrounding fileds as wellas the wooded hillside of the Alcornacales National Park. Simon was particularly interested in seeing raptors and he was not disappointed. we counted 75 Griffon Vultures as they rose from the ground just over a nearby rise, 22 Ravens also came up. Then we notched an adult Egyptian Vulture, Common Kestrel & several Booted Eagles. Passerines seen along the track included: Zitting Cisticola, Woodchat Shrike, Corn Bunting, Stonechat, Serin, Black-eared Wheatear & 3 Tawny Pipits. Several Bee-eaters perched on the track side fence and gave splendid poses for Karen's camera.

Driving up to the castle at Castellar on a very narrow road was a bit scary for my passengers but it was worth it. We had good close views of Griffon Vultures & Crag Martins and enjoyed the wonderful cobbled streets and quaint cottages inside the castle grounds.

For lunch we stopped at a picnic site in a pine woodland where we logged several migrants, mostly Spotted & Pied Flycatchers and we also found acouple of the locals, Crested Tit & Short-toed Treecreeper.
Back on the road we finshed on the coast at Palmones, there we had a scenic view of Algeciras bay and Gibraltar. Along the muddy baks of the river Palomones we found many Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons, Little Egrets and a few Yellow-legged Gulls. Waders present include 12 Knot, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Whimbrel, Redshank, Greenshank, Sanderling, Dunlin, & Turnstone.

On the way back to Gaucin we stopped to admire the many White Stork nests around Estacion San Roque, we were lucky enough to find one two birds still attending their nest which made Karen happy as she got her best photograph of the day!

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