ANDALUCIA - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 3 - 10TH APRIL

ESTACION DE CORTES - RIO GUADIARO - MONTEJAQUE

A beautiful sunny day brought out the birds and the butterflies, the flowers were terrific and the scenery just fantastic.

We arrived at a track which runs above the river Guadiaro near Estacion Cortes and walked through some cork oak woodland. We found several new species for our list and many birds were in song. Cirl Bunting, Blackcap were the first and Chaffinch, Subalpine Warbler, Serin, Greenfinch quickly followed, lots of species were also heard but not seen. Common Cuckoo, Green Woodpecker, Wren, Robin and Nightingale were not seen but heard well.

At the river we found Little Ringed Plover, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail and we had great views of Nightingale. Many Cetti's Warblers sang unseen and both Booted Eagle and Short-toed Eagles showed well above us. A small flock of Rock Sparrows cheered us up as did a pair of Red-rumped Swallows.

The drive to Montejaque took us through some beautiful scenery with terrific limestone mountains and a deep river valley. Along a track above the village we ate our picnic lunch in lovely sunshine but our target birds did not appear, however, we did find a Spanish Ibex high up on the mountain with a newly born kid.

At the 'dam' we spent a good hour watching Blue Rock Thrush, Alpine Swifts, Crag Martins, Red-billed Chough, Black Wheatear and Rock Doves. We also found good numbers of Yellow Orchids (Ophrys lutea) and several nice butterflies.

Our last walk was through a lovely cork oak woodland where despite the time of day plenty of birds were calling and feeding in the trees. Firecrest, Chaffinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Serin and Great tit were listed. We also saw Green Hairstreak, Moroccan Orange Tip, Scarce Swallowtail, Small Heath, Copper brown and several other butterflies.

We drove home earlier than usual as the wanted to relax in the sunshine on our terraces before getting ready for dinner.

ANDALUCIA 7 - DAY TOUR - DAY 2 - 9TH APRIL

SOTO GRANDE - SAN ENRIQUE - TARIFA LOS LANCES BEACH - LA JANDA

Today we were joined by George and Vivienne for the day, we collected them from the shopping centre at Sabinillas on the coast road. Our first stop was a few kilometers west at Torreguadiaro Laguna. Lesser Kestrels and Little Owls performed well for us in their usual place on the the tower. A few migrants we found in the beach scrub, which included several Northern Wheatears and Woodchat Shrikes, we also saw a Squacco Heron and some Red-rumped Swallows and bee-eaters in flight. The laguna itself held very little but the farmland across the road held more shrikes, Nightingale, Reed Warbler and Cattle Egrets.

At San Enrique we saw the resident Tree Sparrows, Serins and a good passage of Black kites, booted Eagles, marsh Harriers and a single Montagu's Harrier. We drove through Algeciras and up to Tarifa and we soon realised that we had made a mistake, it was dull overcast and very misty. You couldn't see Africa and the wind from the west was quite strong. Our picnic was consumed on the promenade near tarifa Island but the birds recorded only included gulls.

At Los Lances beach hide we found Dunlin, Sanderling, Black-winged Stilt and Kentish Plover. The gull roost included a single Sandwich Tern and a few Audouin's Gull. On the grass turf behind the beach we found a flock of Short-toed Larks and acouplr of Crested Larks.

The rest of the day was spent at la janda where we found Purple Swamphen, White Stork, Grey herons, Little Egrets, Zitting Cisticola and not alot else. Driving the tracks behind La Janda back to Facinas we found many Black Kites, Harriers, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagles and Griffin Vultures. Various other species were added which included: Calandra Lark, Bee-eaters, Yellow Wagtails, Corn Buntings, Common Snipe and Lesser Kestrel.

ANDALUCIA - 7 DAY TOUR - DAY 1 - 8TH APRIL

MALAGA AIRPORT - GUADALHORCE NATURE RESERVE - GAUCIN

Rita, Ann and Ivan joined myself and Dawn at our house for the beginning of their 7 day break, I collected Ivan from Malaga Airport at 11am whilst Ann and Rita arrived a day earlier.

From the airport we arrived at Guadalhorce in bright and breezy weather with plenty of sunshine, we sat on a bench to eat our picnic lunch whilst watching many species of birds and butterflies.

Our afternoon was spent touring the whole of the reserve, we visited all of the hides,we watched over all of the lagunas and we walked along the beach to finish off. Some of our best sightings included: Ruddy Shelduck - a very good record for this part of Spain, we also saw Kentish Plover, Collared Pratincole, Monk Parakeet, White-headed Duck, Serin, Crested Lark, Yellow Wagtail, Red-rumped Swallow, Woodchat Shrike, Common Redstart, Zitting Cisticola and lots of the more common species.

Our drive to Gaucin took just over an hour, we arrived with time to relax before we ate our home cooked dinner of ratatouille with chicken served with a chilled white rioja.

DAY TOUR - 7TH APRIL - TARIFA - LA JANDA

Kevin and Pat came out with me for their second outing, we decided to head for the coast to look for migrating raptors. Big Mistake! Whilst it was a lovely bright, calm morning in Gaucin it was blowing a gale in Tarifa!!! We stopped at Jimena to look over the meadows and hills to look for migrants but only found Griffon Vultures.

At Palmones the river mouth was very quiet despite a low tide. We found only a few Redshank,Greenshank, Whimbrel, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, GreyPlover, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Sanderling and Kentish Plover. At Tarifa we visited Los Lances beach and nearly got blown away! We only saw 3 Sanderling and 2 Kentish Plover on the beach and a single Northern Wheatear on the grass. A few Black Kites braved the crossing but nothing else.

At La Janda the wind was just as bad with very few species on show. White Stork, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Heron, Marsh Harrier,Montagu's Harrier, Booted Eagle and the odd Short-toed Eagle flew over.We also found Collared Pratincole (5)and a Long Legged Buzzard was a great find and a first for Spain for me! A distant juvenile Spanish Imperial Eagle cheered us up and large groups of Bee-eaters flew over several times during our visit. We drove back towards Facinas on a wide track where we found Lesser Kestrels, Corn Buntings, Calandra Larks, Hoopoe, more Bee-eaters and as soon as we returned to Algeciras the wind abated. We returned to Gaucin blown away from the coast by the weather!

DAY TOUR - APRIL 6TH - GENAL VALLEY, SOTO GRANDE

after arriving home from Morocco late last night I was up early to meet Pat and Kev for a day out local birding. Pat and Kev have staying in our upper apartment for the last 12 nights and have logged all the village birds and more.

At the river we were blasted by the sound of Common Nightingales and Cetti's Warblers they seemed to be singing from every bush. It was quite windy so the birding wasn't that great but we did see Serin, Sardinain Warbler, Linnets, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Robin and Grey Wagtail.

Over bthe wooded ridge to the west we saw Sparrowhawk, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and several Griffon Vultures.

We did make a quick stop at Crestellina but it was very windy and quite cold, however we found both Crested and Thekla Larks, Stoenchat, Corn Bunting and a second brief stop was made to to look at acouple of Blue Rock Thrushes.

We made our way down to the river using the track opposite venta Molina and found our first migrants: a female Common Redstart, Woodchat Shrike (5), a female Orphean Warbler and lots of Pallid Swifts.

Every stop we made along the river was rewarded with more Nightingales and Booted Eagles.

But a large group of Bee-eaters were much appreciated during an earlier stop.

At San Enrique we added the local group of Tree Sparrow, more Bee-eaters, a Little Ringed Plover on the river, blackcaps, Chaffinches and Serins in full song.

The laguna at Torreguadiaro was disappointing with only Little Egret, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Moorhen and Mallard found on or near the water. A party of Sanderling ran along the beach, crested larks messed about in the dunes and not much else was seen. At the ruined tower near the car park we found Little Owl (2) and Lesser Kestrel (5) we then walked into some open meadows and found a flock of Yellow Wagtails more Kestrels and more Barn Swallows. In a small patch of reeds a Reed Warbler sang its heart out, showing very well at times.

White Storks on their nest's at San Roque provided us with photographic opportunities and we spent our last hour at Castellar watching the huge Bee-eater colony there. At least 60 birds were present providing a splash of colour and melodic entertainment, we also found Little Egret, White Stork and a Great Spotted Woodpecker there.

MOROCCO SO FAR 16TH 26TH MARCH 2011

We arrived in Morocco during a torrential rain storm and had to wait in the terminal for the rain to stop - what a start to our birding holiday in the sun! The snow clad peaks of the high atlas were a beauty to behold we drove up on the afternoon of our first day but hit a snow blizzard and had to come down. We didn't see a bean!

Thick snow covered the ground even at lower levels, here you can see Steve & Syliva in the foreground and Brian and Duncan in the distance. Taken at a level of 2000 meters.

We usually see many species in the these pine woods but all had deserted. Day 2 was much better with a clear blue sky and lots of birds to see, here the group are seen on the road from the mountains on the way to the high plains at Quarzazate

Sunday 13th March 2011

The rain still pesists, with heavy showers followed by light showers! The only reports recently are of several Black Kites drifting up the Genal Valley (Saturday) and Black Redstarts, White Wagtails and Chiffchaffs still in good numbers in the village. The blue Rock Thrush is still 'singing in the rain' behind our top apartment.

Can't wait to get to Marrakech on Wednesday for some better weather!! Watch this space.

THE RAIN IN SPAIN FALLS...........

just to make you guys in the UK feel at home with us in Spain I can report that the rain in Spain falls mainly in our street. To prove it the whole village turned out yesterday after torrential rain that lasted all day. It was a nice display of their umbrellas I recorded 27 species!!

Picture taken from our lounge balcony yesterday

DAY TOUR - MARCH 8TH 2011 - TARIFA, LA JANDA & PALMONES

Christine & John joined me for their 3rd day tour and what a wash out it turned out to be. It rained nearly all day and some of it was torrential and very wet! However we managed to see a fair crop of species with some goodies included.

We drove down to the coast from Gaucin and travel along the coast road to Tarifa. We parked near Los lances Beach and walked to the hide which overlooks a couple of pools. It wasn't raining when we started out and we enjoyed watching Little & Cattle Egrets, Skylarks, Crested Larks, Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches. Once at the hide it began to rain and it got pretty bad, birds on the beach struggled with the wind and rain but we did find Audouin's Gull (15), Mediterranean Gull (1 - 1st winter), Sandwich Terns and a nice surprise a Caspian Tern.
Black Kites sitting in the rain

Waders included Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Little Stint and Kentish Plover. We also found a couple of Northern Wheatears, lots of Yellow Wagtails, a Sand Martin and my first Swifts of the season - both Pallid and Common Swifts flew over the hide. John located a nice Water Pipit and took several pictures of it before telling us!! Big mistake, no lollipop for him!

We got soaked! During a brief respite in the downpour we made our way back to car and drove to La Janda.

From the car we saw a good number of wet birds seen from along the central track at La Janda. Lots of Black Kites drifted over, a Short-toed Eagle showed in the distance, we also found about 100 Yellow Wagtails, 50+ White Wagtails, Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Marsh harrier and a couple more Water Pipits.

We also saw flock sof Linnets and Golfinches and a Cetti's Warbler out in the open. We found a Reed Bunting and 4 Purple Swamphens in the reeds in the large canal. Then we turned along the Benalup track and found Red-legged Partridge, Lesser Kestrel, Common Pheasant and White Stork.

The rain eventually drove us off and we set off for home. As we passed Palmones the rain had stopped so we pulled into the town and parked at the mouth of the river. It was windy and the tide was very high but we found another Med Gull (1st winter), several Sandwich Terns, a flock of some 50 Sanderling and a lovely 'pink' Slender-billed Gull. That ended our day tour - very wet but all enjoyed the birding when we had the chance.

farewell to Chris & Penny

After 12 nights and 10 birding days with us here in Gaucin, Chris and Penny finally went home today. We left the village at 7:30am and drove down to the coast on the way to Malaga. As we passed Crestellina we looked back to the village and saw a flock of 15 Common Cranes flying high up the Genal Valley, a Griffon Vultures circled over Crestellina and the ubiquitous Stonechat flew across the road.

Their last bird recorded with us was Monk Parakeet as a group flew over us as we neared the airport. The total we recorded reached 145 for the 10 days, a formidable total and one that is going to hard to beat in future winter tours.

Goodbye to Chris and Penny, thanks for your company, your tireless birding endeavour and we hope to see you again, either in Somerset when we visit or again here in sunny Spain.