September 7th 2010 - DAY TOUR - Tarifa - La Janda

I met Martin & Louise at a roadside venta not far from Tarifa at 8am. The sky was thick with cloud and it was a bit chilly, such a contrast to recent days. In the car park we logged our first sightings: Montagu's harrier (3) & Egyptian Vulture (1) a great start as both of these birds were on the wish list of my clients!

We took a walk along a track at the back of the venta and found several Zitting Cisticola, Crested Larks, Griffon Vultures, Sardinian Warblers & a Woodchat Shrike. We then drove the short distance to Bolonia and the Sierra de Plata just above the village. We had a fantastic few minutes on arrival as a juvenile Bonelli's Eagle began circling just above us, it was then mobbed by a Honey Buzzard the two birds actually made contact in their aerial tussle, what a show. A couple of Griffon Vultures sat perched on the rock face and eventually made a move providing more photographic opportunities for us.

Montagu's Harrier & Bonelli's Eagle - photos by Martin Murray

A trip to a vulture feeding station was thwarted by a series of camping vans in the vicinity so we

drove across to Los Lances beach. The wind was very strong there but we managed to log a few species that were settled on the sand and brackish pools in front of the hide. Over 40 sandwich Terns were joined by Common Tern (2), Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin & Yellow-legged Gulls.

The wind drove us off up into the hills above Tarifa where we attempted to watch the raptor migration passage. It was obvious that the few birds in the sky were going nowhere as the strong southwesterly wind was forcing them back onto the land if they attempted to cross the sea.
We ended up in sheltered valley just north of Tarifa where hundreds of migrant raptors were milling about. The light wasn't too good but we managed photographs of Booted Eagle, Black Kite, Short-toed Eagle, Bee-eaters & Sparrowhawk.

We ate a typical English picnic lunch........sitting in the car as the rain pelted down on the roof!! The sky looked clear in the south west so we moved back to the south to visit La Janda which proved to be a good move as the weather and the birding improved greatly. The wind died down and the sun came out and the birds began to show well. We spent 2-3 hours watching a good variety of species which began with a flock of Short-toed Larks, then Corn Buntings, White Storks, Glossy Ibis, Cattle & Little Egrets, Marsh & Montagu's Harriers.

The harriers were terrific they provided immense entertainment and there were so many of them including 2 melanistic Montagu's. But better was to come, as we drove the central track of the rice paddies an Opsrey flew off a pylon and hovered just above the car, it then dived vertical into the channel next to us and caught a large Carp. It then flew off - collided into the power lines and dropped the fish!!

We spent a lot time in the bright sunshine watching the harriers but also noting Green Sandpiper, many Turtle Doves, Lesser Kestrels, Griffon Vultures, flocks of Spanish Sparrows, Goldfinches Lots of Grey Herons.

We ended the tour by driving back through La Janda via the central track watching many of the species we noted on the way in.

Osprey - photo taken by Martin Murray