Today was not an official birding day, but I still have Stephen with me for a few days but he decided that he would like to visit Gibraltar for a little birding and a lot of sight-seeing.
We set off at 7:30am and arrived in the centre of Gib at 9am, not too bad. Dawn had come with us, she went off shopping whilst we drove straight to the bird-ringing station at Jew's Gate on top of the Rock, which is run by GONHS (Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society).
It was a cloudy morning with a very light breeze but very clear-looking over to Morocco. At the ringing station we met Ray, the annual ringer, he had just finished his rounds and was carry several little bags with his catches.
It was amazing luck that he had caught not only a RED NECKED NIGHTJAR but also a SCOPS OWL!! How fantastic was that? He also had 7 Blackcaps and 2 Garden Warblers which he weighed and measured and ringed whilst we were there. The two special catches were truly incredible in the hand, the colours of their cryptic plumage looks fabulous at close range and the photographs do not do them justice.
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| Red-necked Nightjar showing its wide gape |
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| 'Bird of the Day' - Scops Owl look how tiny they are, this is a full grown adult bird |
After our ringing excitement we drove down to Europa Point for a little sea watching. Looking out over the Strait of Gibraltar the sea was flat calm we could see for miles. Hundreds of Dolphins could be seen in various group sizes, both White Sided and Bottle Nosed were easily identified. We also saw lots of Cory's Shearwaters that skimmed the water or formed large 'rafts' on the surface. Smaller numbers of Balearic Shearwaters flew by, a few Northern Gannets were also out there.
On the rocks below us we found a single Ruddy Turnstone and to my great delight we found two European Shags. This latter mythological bird has eluded me for years and this sighting represents the first ever for me in Spain.....at last!!!!!! My first ever Shag in Spain!
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| European Shags on the rocks at Europa Point |
After another couple of hours seeing the sites of the lower town area we headed back off the Rock and into Spain once more. A short but very sweet birding day!
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