AUGUST 2ND - DAY 5 - SHORT BREAK - BIRDS 'N' BUTTS

TARIFA - LOS LANCES BEACH - LA JANDA - BARBATE MARSH AND ESTUARY - OJEN VALLEY - SIERRA CRESTELLINA


HONEY BUZZARD PASSAGE - AT LEAST 4 WEEKS EARLY!!!


This was our best day so far and the hottest - we recorded 75 species of birds and 44C in mid-afternoon.


An early start saw us out on the road at 7am and by 8:20am we were on the beach at Tarfia. It was surprisingly quiet but there were lots of joggers, walkers sunbathers out already! We found some nice species which included: Audouin's Gull (12), Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, Dunlin, Sandwich Tern and it was lovely to see a Kentish Plover chick running up to mother and climbing into her wing, just two little legs hanging out, marvelous! On the open fields behind we saw Cattle Egret, Crested Lark and a Hoopoe.

At La Janda it was glorious, the temperature was in the lower twenties with a nice breeze. Hundreds of birds were present: large flocks of Glossy Ibis, White Storks and Cattle Egrets were joined by Collared Pratincole, Little Egret and Black-winged Stilts. We found a single Black-tailed Godwit in the rice fields and to our great delight we saw at least two Black-winged Kites, they were very flighty so we didn't get any pictures.

Along the track to Benalup the thriving Cattle Egret breeding colony was very active, hundreds of newly fledged youngsters with their 'punk' hair-do's ' were all over the place. Several adult males were still in pristine breeding plumage. There were also many Turtle Doves on show and 'turring'.

Raptors overhead included several Montagu's Harriers, Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards, Black Kites, Booted Eagles and plenty of Griffon Vultures.

At Barbate Marshes (sewer works)  again there were hundreds of birds, mainly: Glossy Ibis, Mallard, Black Winged Stilts and Moorhens but we did record Purple Swamphen, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper and two more Black-tailed Godwits.

In Barbate we stopped at the bridge near the river mouth and a good selection of waders were present: Oystercatcher, Ruff, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Curlew and Whimbrel. A few Black-headed Gulls were outnumbered by at least 50 Sandwich Terns.

We stopped off at a dry stream in the Ojen valley to look for some butterflies, I knew that a small colony of Monarchs were there, and indeed we found them, but we also saw, Holly Blue, Southern Gatekeeper, Copper Brown and Small White.

Finally we stopped at Crestellina, it was now 4pm and 44C, as we stood looking up at the mountain a breeze blew from behind us, I am not kidding when I say it was like someone holding a hair drier right behind me switched on full heat mode!

Anyway we saw the usual Griffon Vultures and again we saw an adult Egyptian Vulture but to our great surprise a flock of 15 HONEY BUZZARDS circled above the mountain and joined the vultures, this is amazing really, a full month early and indicative of the unusual weather patterns we have seen in northern Europe this year. many species have had an abysmal breeding season and are traveling back south very early.