The Tour began at Malaga Airport as I collected six of my clients, Mike, Lorna, Chris, Janet, Colin and Maureen all arrived relatively on time. We quickly loaded up the bus and drove the short distance to The Tryp Hotel in Guadalmar to collect Tony and Christine.
A short birding stop very the near the hotel failed to produce the hoped for Hoopoe or Bee-eater but we did see Monk Parakeet, Common Kestrel, Cattle Egret, Red-rumped Swallow and Booted Eagle.
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| the group at Palmones |
After a quick stop at the local supermarket, where we bought lunch, we set off along the coast towards Tarifa. After about an hour we stopped to eat our picnic lunch very near to Estapona Golf Course, during lunch we found Spotted Flycatcher, Common Stonechat and several European Bee-eaters. A short drive deeper into the golf complex was rewarded with great views of 5 Eurasian Hoopoes, they sat on the lush green fairway whilst both White and Yellow Wagtail dashed about nearby. We also saw Northern Wheatear before we continued our journey to Tarifa.
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| Monarch Butterfly |
Just outside of Algeciras there is a good birding area besides the town of Palmones, the salt marshes of the same name usually hold quite a few species. We walked the promenade whilst scanning the salt marsh, this produced sightings of Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great Cormorant and Lesser-black Backed and Yellow-legged Gull.
On a sand-bar we found Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover and Ringed Plover. An Osprey on a distant pole was a nice bonus for us.
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| Keeled Skimmed |
The final leg of the journey took us passed Tarifa to our hotel near the Los Lances Beach, we checked in, unpacked and came back out for an hour's birding before dinner. The trip into rhe Ojen was very pleasant, we noted Corn Bunting, Common Stonechat, Cattle Egret, Spotless Starling and a Common Kestrel. We parked by a dry stream and walked for a while, but soon we were watching MONARCH butterflies, these magnificent beasts stole the show. Views of Alpine, Pallid and Common Swifts were over shadowed by rhe MONARCHS. However our walked gave us good sightings of Red-rumped Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Northern Wheatear, Griffon Vulture and six Black Storks that drifted over us at some grate height.
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| Zitting Cisticola |
That finalised our first day, we got back to the hotel in plenty of time before dinner was served on the terrace at 8pm.
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