AUGUST 31ST - MORE HONEY BUZZARDS

The weather remained the same with a light westerly breeze and lovely clear skies with excellent visibility down to the coast:

A 30 minute watch at 4:30pm from my top terrace produced:

97 Honey Buzzards
2 Short-toed Eagles
1 Booted Eagle

A second watch from 6pm to 7pm produced a lot more:

526 Honey Buzzards
2 Black kites
3 Egyptian Vultures
19 Griffon Vultures
3 Booted Eagles
10 Pallid Swift
19 Bee-eaters

Most of these birds passed over very high up and I needed to scope them for ID's. they all passed over the Castle and fleww down the Genal Valley towards Crestellina.

Later I counted 40 Honey Buzards forming a 'kettle' on the thermals at the southern end of Crestellina but they wee probably counted earlier.

AUGUST 30TH - BEE-EATERS MAKING A SPLASH

Over the last few weeks we have sat under a tree at the Rio Guadiaro and watched the world go by especially on a Sunday afternoon. The main highlight of our bird watching has been the Bee-eater Sunday afternoon bath-time.

I filmed them doing this, so watch the video clip to see how quickly they dive in and out of the water and then look at the fantastic sequence of photographs taken by Martin Murray on Monday 29th August. he was using a canon 500 IS F4. lens, hand held!

AUGUST 29TH - DAY TOUR

Martin and Louise are staying with us for a couple of nights and we went out for a birding/deer searching day into the mountains of the Guadiaro Valley.

View of the countryside around Montejaque

The morning was dull and overcast and Gaucin was shrouded in a morning mist, it was quite cool too! As we drove north from the village on the Ronda road we could see beautiful white cloud sitting in the valleys on either side of the road, it was a fabulous sight.

We headed straight for Montejaque so that we could look for the Spanish Ibex which was high on our wanted list. A couple of stops near Benaojan produced some distant views of Ibex and a flock of 50+ Bee-eaters in road-side bushes.

The gorge at Montejaque

At Montejaque we turned onto a track just north of the village and spent a couple of lovely hours in warm sunshine watching agreat variety of birds and we had better views of Spainsh Ibex.

The Ibex family.

The hillside above Montejaque is good for Black Wheater and Spanish ibex

A group of Griffon Vultures were seated on the rocks down in the valley below us and made frequent sorties into a grassy area where there must have been a dead animal, but it was just out of sight.

On the mountainside above us we found: Black Wheatear (singing), Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Cirl Bunting, Black Redstart and in the shrubs and trees we found Golden Oriole, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Garden Warbler, Serin, Goldfinch and Greenfinch.

As the air temperature rose so did the vultures and a number of other species flew over which included: Raven, Sparrowhawk (which put up a large flock of Spotless Starlings), Bee-eaters, Short-toed Eagle and a Common Kestrel.

We also found Stonechat, Rock Dove, Woodchat Shrike, Corn Bunting and Willow Warbler. Our next stop was just a few hundred meters up the road at the limestone gorge above Montejaque where we found more Ibex, Crag Martin, Alpine Swift, Linnet and Red-rumped Swallow.

Black Wheater

The cork oak woodland a little further up the valley provided our next venue and it produced some good sightings. Red Deer being the main target and we found one almost straight away. But we also found a Honey Buzzard as it flew from its perch near a lake, on which we found Common Coot and Little grebe. Several Bee-eaters were swooping over the lake catching dragonflies! The wood also provided Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Grey Heron and soaring above us with a small flock of Griffon Vultures we saw Black Kite (12), Black stork (2) and another Short-toed Eagle.

We ate our lunch at the edge of the wood in the shade of the trees whilst we watched Red-rumped Swallows and then two Egyptian Vultures (adults) circled above us on the thermals, good birds and my first for the autumn.

After a quick coffee in the Venta Vaga we paid a second visit to the limestone gorge at Montejaque where we found anothe three Spainsh Ibex, unfortunatley, none of our sightings were of males.

Lastly we spent a lovely hour at the river Guadiaro at Estacion Cortes watching a good variety of species. Bee-eaters entertained us for about an hour as they spent a lot of time diving into the water for a wash! But we also watched Little-ringed Plover, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff sp, Bonelli's Warbler, Kingfisher, Serin, Cirl Bunting and a single Hoopoe.

We left at 4:30pm, after a lovely day, we had over 60 species in the bag and lots of pictures to sort through!

AUGUST 28TH - HONEY BUZZARDS GALORE + ROLLER

ROLLER FOUND AT LA JANDA BY MARTIN & LOUISE (photo by Martin Murray)

MARTIN AND LOUISE ARRIVED AT 5PM THIS AFTERNOON FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS BIRDING.

Between 17:30 and 19:30 4 of us sat on my top terrace on the eastern side of the village and we recorded the following:

1250 Honey Buzzards

22 Black kites

5 Booted Eagles (4 pale)

1 Short-toed Eagle

25 Griffon Vultures

110 Bee-eaters

2 Pallid Swifts

2 Common Swifts

1 Blue Rock Thrush

Not a bad little start to Martin's and Lou's stay with us. they also visited La Janda earlier in the day and recorde amongst other things the first Roller of the autumn.

STELLAR'S SEA EAGLE SEEN IN GAUCIN?

BUT ONLY ON VIDEO - CHECK THIS GREAT FOOTAGE OUT.

AUGUST 24TH - RIO GUADIARO AT ESTACION DE CORTES

Paul from the village and I had a few hours this morning down at the river at Cortes in the hope of finding some passerine migrants as well as raptors on passage. We met outside my house just as it was getting light at 7:30am.

It was a lovely morning with a bit of nip in the air especially down by the river, but the sun quickly rose and warmed us up. At the river we soon logged several species: both Grey & White Wagtails, Chiffchaff, Kingfisher, Cetti's Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher were among the first sightings. A Sparrowhawk flew down to the river bank and landed on the gravel spit much to anoyance of the local Little Ringed Plovers however it flew off before we had chance to photograph it.




COMMON WHITETHROAT


We also had great views of Golden Oriole, Spotless Starling, Red-rumped Swallow and a Peregrine Falcon that made a couple of sorties over us. On the distant hillside we logged a flock of 55 Bee-eaters, a Short-toed Eagle and some swift species high up in the distance. A flock of some 25 Rock sparrows was nice as was a smaller flock of Cirl Buntings.

We had brief glimpses of Melodious Warbler but Common Whitethroat, lots of Spotted Flycatchers and Sardinian Warblers showed well. Other species seen included Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Crag Martin, Pallid Swift, Jay, Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper, House Martin & Barn Swallow.

By 10:30am we were back in the car and heading up the hill to Gaucin, we both had chores to do, work and all that jazz but we both enjoyed a lovely bright morning with plenty to see.

AUGUST 23RD - DAY TOUR

San Pablo track - San Martin - San Enrique - Palomones Salt Marsh - Sierra Crestellina

I collected Jack and Marg from the campo just down the hill from the village at 7:30 am. It was a lovely morning, cloudless sky and a nice cooling breeze. The breeze continued all day but the temperature still rose to over 35 degrees.

JACK AND MARG AT SAN ENRIQUE WOODS

Jack and Marg are from the USA, they are staying in the area for a month and wanted to see some Europen species for the first time with alittle guidance from me.

Along the track they were totally overwhelmed as many species popped up at the same time, the sky was full of hirundines and birds of prey. We quickly ticked off Short-toed Eagle, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Booted Eagle and Montagu's Harrier. The number of these eagles and harriers has steadily picked up over the last fews weeks, I counted 7 Montagu's Harriers and 9 Short-toed Eagles today. Back on the ground or on the wires we logged Common Starling, my first for the autumn, with a flock of Spotless Starlings; Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Woodchat & Southern Grey Shrike, Stonechat, Corn Bunting, Red-rumped Swallow, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Tawny Pipit, Whitethroat, Melodious Warbler, Serin, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and several Spotted Flycatchers.

RIO HOZGARGANTE FROM THE BRIDGE

After a lovely couple of hours we walked back to the car and on the way back we logged my first Honey Buzzard of the autumn and also a Black Kite. We then took a quick look at the Rio Hozgargante from a nearby bridge. A good choice I think. We had superb views looking down on a Cetti's Warbler that was singing out in the open, we also had great views of Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Hawfinch, Spotted Flycatcher and 8 Griffon Vultures as they drifted over. We also saw Barn Swallow, Common Swift, House Martin, Collared Dove and more Goldfinches.

At San Enrique woods we quickly got onto Jay, Tree Sparrow and Serin. In the woods we watched Great Spotted Woodpecker (3), Spotted Flycatcher (4), Bonelli's Warbler (4), Chiffchaff sp. Blue Tit, Great Tit and lots of House Sparrows.

From the wood we scanned the river Guadiaro and found Kingfisher, Grey Heron and not much else.



RIO GUADIARO FROM SAN ENRIQUE WOODS

We lunched under the shade of Stone Pines at Pinar del Rey and afterwards we walked for a while but only turned up Robin and Chaffinch as new species for the day.

Driving down to Palmones we stopped to look at the White Stork's nests at San Roque and found a huge flock of White Storks up on the thermals, there must have been 300, an impressive sighting, a single Black Kite joined them.

Palmones offered a cooling breeze and an ebbing tide, lots of mud become exposed and many birds covered it. Gull species included Yellow-legged, Lesser-black Backed, Black Headed and Mediterranean, with Sandwich Terns in attendance. Several Little Egrets joined the Cattle Egrets, that we found along the way, onto the list.

Waders we represented by Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Turnstone, Redshank, Greenshank, Whimbrel and the star bird of the day a MARSH SANDPIPER, a great find.

Lastly we stopped at Sierra Crestellina to look for Bonelli's Eagle without success, but we did add Pallid Swift (8) to our list and had good fun watching Griffon Vultures, Black Kite and Booted Eagles playing on the thermals.

AUGUST 22ND - BIG MOTHS

A couple of species of moths have made appearances in th last few evenings to the village:

The first was a Red Underwing Catocala nupta which was found in my bathroom! It has a wingspan of up to 80mm.

But the best one was this lovely beast found and photographed by Jim and Alice down in the valley below the village last week.

This is a female Giant Peacock Moth Saturnia pyri . which is also a very large moth with an wingspan in excess of 100mm. (the hand in view is that of an adult man!!!)

AUGUST 18TH - SAN PABLO TRACK

Another glorious morning spent in the bird-rich hillsides around San Pablo, it was dry, sunny and very warm even at 7:30am.

TAWNY PIPIT

It was interesting to note the change in the number of birds and in the species composition. I think that the Bush Robins have finally migrated, there wasn't a Hoopoe in sight and I didn't see a Melodious Warbler. But chiffchaffs have started to appear in small numbers.

Bee-eater numbers were well down too, however it is still a magical place and a great number of birds were present. Short-toed Eagles sat on every pylon, (7 were in view), there was also Lesser Kestrel (5), Booted Eagle (3) and Montagu's Harrier (4). Woodchat Shrikes were still present but in fewer numbers, the Southern Grey Shrike was present again, probably here for the winter and the Tawny Pipits were still there.

ZITTING CISTICOLA
At least 10 of these little gems were seen and the number of seed-eating finches has increased with lots of small flocks of Serins, Greenfinches and Goldfinches around.

RED-RUMPED SWALLOWS
Hirdundines were represented by Barn Swallows, house Martins and Red-rumped Swallows, all in reduced numbers.

SERIN

Other birds of note were Common Raven (2), Sardinian Warbler (20+), Spotless Staring (50+), Common Swift and Pallid Swift both in small numbers drifting over.

AUGUST 15TH - DAY TOUR

This was the second day out with Richard and Michael. It was another birght sunny day that got very hot in the afternoon - 35 degrees in the shade!!

Landscape around Montejaque

We made avery early start at 7am and set off for the 'Dead Tree' found at the pumping station in El Colmenar. The tree did not let us down! Perched in the tree when we arrived was Hawfinch (6), looking very scruffy in their summer moult, Spotless Starlings (4), ditto, Chaffinch, Spotted Flycatcher and a few House Sparrows. After an hour we had added Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker (2), Green Woodpecker (1) and the star of the morning a male Golden Oriole.

View up the Guadiaro Valley

Well satisfied with the morning's birding we went back to Gaucin for breakfast with Dawn. At 9:30am we all set off for a trip up the Guadiaro Valley, stopping first at the River near Estacion Cortes. We had a terrific time watching: Little Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper, Grey Heron, White & Grey Wagtails, Red-rumped Swallows, Chiffchaffs, dozens of House Martins, a few Barn Swallows and the odd Pallid Swift. two bits of excitement enhanced our visit: A small flock of Bee-eaters descended on the river and began to drop into the water for a wash and a small party of White Rumped Swifts (3) were seen over the hillside.

Guadiaro Valley

Other birds of note were Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Griffon Vulture and Common Buzzard.

Further up the valley we stopped for lunch at a venta in Montejaque and after enjoying a lovely salad with Tortilla we were quickly back on the tracks and trails. Soon we notched Black Wheatear, Crag Martin, Alpine Swift, Rock Dove, Bee-eaters (again), Pallid Swifts and Griffon Vultures. It was whilst we were watching the vultures soaring on high that we noticed tiny black specks in the sky which turned out to be migrating Black Kites, there were 40 - 50 passing through extremely high up.

View of the Guadiaro River

Well it was now 38 degrees and getting warm, so we decided to call it a day, Richard and Michael set off home (near Antequera) and I went back to Gaucin.

Over the two days we had logged over 70 species, considering the high temperatures and for-shortened time in the field I thought that was pretty damn good!