On August 6, 2018, a Broad-billed Sandpiper was found in Salina Carboneros, Cadiz. The observer was Fernando Gross, a young birder of only 14 years old, who first found the bird resting within a small flock of dunlins and curlew sandpipers. To our knowledge this is the first record of a Broad-billed Sandpiper in Cadiz!
Adult Broad-billed Sandpiper in Cadiz, Andalucia. This is the first record for the province!
Broad-billed Sandpiper status in the world
This wader breeds in the west taiga of Arctic Europe and Siberia, and overwinters from easternmost Africa through south Asia to Australasia. According to the IUCN, the Broad-billed Sadpiper is listed as Least Concern. However, its population is declining.
The main threats are habitat loss and environmental pollution. This is specially the case in China and South Korea, where you can find some important migrational staging areas of this species.
Broad-billed Sandpiper status in Spain
With some 50 previous records in Spain, the Broad-billed Sandpiper is considered a rare species by the Spanish Committee of Rare birds (SEO/Birdlife). Most of the records happen to be on the eastern coast of Spain. Only a few sightings occur on the interior and western provinces. This makes this record all the more exciting for local and visiting birders. What a good start for the rarities season!
Below you can see a short video of the bird while feeding. We recorded these clips on August 7, 2018:
Do you want to go birding in the Bay of Cadiz? This is an excellent area for shorebirds and waterbirds. Contact us if you want to arrange a trip.
This summer is bringing long-awaited books to the ornithological community. While we are still marveling with the Handbook of the Western Paleartic Birds, August brings “African Raptors” by Bill Clark and Rob Davies.
African Raptors
Africa is the continent of Raptors and, therefore, this comprehensive work will certainly fill a gap in the specialized literature. The book features all the 106 African Raptors. It includes colour plates by Rob Davies and over 300 photographs. In Birding the Strait we are pleased to have contributed to this work with some of our pictures, including: Black Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Rüppell’s Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle and Lesser Kestrel.
African Raptors: species accounts with text and photographiesAfrican Raptors: illustration plates
The Old Times
Inevitably, all this reminds us of the visit by Bill Clark and his team to Tarifa back in 2001. Indeed, it was with him that we photographed our first Rüppell’s Vulture in the Strait of Gibraltar. At that time the published information on this African species was frustratingly scarce. This was especially true regarding immature plumages. For that reason, Bill’s first-hand information came as a real treasure.
Immature Rüppell’s Vulture with Griffons in Tarifa, photographed with Bill Clark in October 2001
The Handbook of the Western Palearctic Birds by Hadoram Shirihai and Lars Svensson is here! This is a milestone in global ornithology and Western Palearctic birding.
Handbook of the Western Palearctic Birds: Unboxed!
We just received the two volumes in the office and are quite excited. For this reason, we have made a new video with the unboxing of the most awaited bird book ever! It is now available in the most specialized bookstores. We got ours from Oryx.
Going over the images of this book reminded us of the days we spent with Hadoram Shirihai in the field, when he was photographing target birds in Andalusia for this project. We will surely spend a good time this summer reading and studying the texts and images! You can find more information about these long-awaited books here.
The Iberian Chiffchaff is one of the must-see species on every birding tour to Spain – They are hard to ID with certainty unless heard singing, like this individual did right in front of us
Last April and May we were fortunate to run a tailor-made trip throughout Spain. We covered emblematic areas, such as Sierra de Gredos, Monfragüe and Doñana National Park, among others. This was, admittedly, a beautiful and fun trip, specially because the scenery looked spectacular after the copious rains in March and April.
We designed this tour for the spring season and customized it upon a few requirements from the participants. Spring is probably the best season to visit Spain, and we focused in all the specialties of the region that would be breeding at the time.
We also included, upon requirement, the visit to some historical sites such as La Alhambra and the Roman ruins of Mérida.
Some of the highlights of this trip in Spain:
The scenery on most of the trip was fantastic. The copious rains before the trip and the good weather through most of our itinerary made for an unforgettable journey. There were blooming flowers everywhere!
Monfragüe NP and the plains around Trujillo were very productive. It provided us with good views of the Spanish Imperial Eagle. Also, some distant views, but with excellent behavior, of displaying male Great Bustard and Little Bustard.
Getting to see an Iberian Lynx, one of the most critically endangered cats in the world was certainly another highlight. We had a Bearded Vulture observation the day after.
Fuente de Piedra was particularly good. There was a record number of Greater Flamingos breeding this year and we even got to see a few Lesser Flamingos!
The Doñana wetlands were teeming with life. There were good numbers of shorebirds and waterfowl, and had close views of key species like Marbled Teal and White-headed Duck.
We had brilliant local guides during our cultural visits to Merida, Cordoba and Granada. This added significant value to the tour and the whole experience.
Last, but not least, we ended on a high note in the Strait of Gibraltar. We got to see some raptor migration, including European Honey-Buzzards and Eurasian Griffons crossing from Africa; and saw great birds like Eurasian Eagle-Owl and Common Quail.
For those interested in knowing more about the itinerary we followed, detailed description of the tour and a full list of species, we have uploaded the Trip Report here. Let us know if you would be interested in a similar trip in the future!
Immature Griffon reaching the European continent from Africa after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar
Under suboptimal weather conditions, like strong crosswind and rain showers, the narrow sea crossing that separates Africa from Europe at the Strait of Gibraltar may present a major obstacle to migrating raptors. This is particularly true for the Eurasian Griffon, the largest soaring migrant in the area. In fact, the mere 14.5 Km that separate both continents is at times an insurmountable barrier, causing an undetermined number of vultures to fall into the sea every spring.
Instinct of survival
Once in the water, Griffons show an impressive instinct of survival and use their large wings as paddles in a desperate attempt to reach the shore. Except in the rare occasions when fallen Griffons are rescued by passing vessels, their fate is normally fatal. This is a highly dramatic scene and a brutal example on the forces of natural selection that we observe every spring in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Immature Griffon in active migration across the Strait of Gibraltar, with Europa Point (Gibraltar) in the background.
But! Last 1st of May we witnessed the absolutely exceptional and unbelievable case shown in the following video:
With moderate westerly winds a group of 36 Griffons undertook the sea-crossing of the Strait. The crossing started on top of the Djebel Mousaa in Morocco, and headed to Punta Carnero in Spain. As they approached the European shore, we saw the kettle soaring in a thermal updraft over the Ocean. This is a rather infrequent event as thermal updrafts do rarely occur over water bodies. Nonetheless, the thermal seemed to suddenly dissipate and vultures did rapidly lose height. In a strenuous active flight, most individuals managed to safely reach the continent. Two vultures, however, did not have the strength to go on and hit the water!
Attack of the gulls
Their efforts to stay afloat an reach the shore “swimming” were hampered by the ruthless attack of Yellow-legged Gulls. This had us on tenterhooks for over 15 minutes. We finally saw one of them drowning while, to our surprise, one of them skilfully reached a rocky islet near the shore! After some 45 good minutes spreading its wings to the sun in a cormorant fashion, and boosted by a timely gust of wind, the vulture took off again and completed the intercontinental flight. This caused cheers and applause from all present observers!
Indeed, because of this kind of observations we will never have enough of raptor migration in the Strait of Gibraltar! Contact us if you want to arrange a trip to experience the Griffon Vulture migration.
Adult female Honey Buzzard in active spring migration across the Strait of Gibraltar.
In early May the Honey Buzzard play the leading role in the raptor migration in the Strait of Gibraltar. This is, no doubt, among the most celebrated and awaited periods for international birders and nature enthusiast visiting Tarifa. Thousands of this otherwise rather secretive and forest-dwelling raptors will cross the ocean between Africa and Europe in massive streams. Crosswind direction, westerlies vs easterlies, will determine the flyway, which may range from the Rock of Gibraltar to Sierra de La Plata and beyond.
Adult Honey Buzzard crossing the ocen in a misty day in Tarifa.
The Honey Buzzard peak migration
The first big groups of migrant Honey Buzzards where observed last 2nd of May in the Eastern side of the Strait. Tomorrow, 5th of May, we expect a BIG DAY in the Tarifa area prompted by a shift in the wind direction. Indeed, the bulk of the Western European breeding population of Honey Buzzards will cross the Strait within the ongoing fortnight. The strength and determination while on active migration of these apparently delicate raptors is admirable. The spectacle is greatly enhanced by the striking diversity in their plumage colour. Indeed Honey Buzzards shows the most striking colour polymorphism among European raptors (with all due respect from Common Buzzard). This way, some individuals show a paler-than-an-Osprey plumage, while others look completely black.
Dark morph adult male Honey buzzard in actibe migration at low height in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Remarkably, only adults will cross the Strait during spring and juveniles (born in 2017) will extend their stance south of the Sahara until next spring.
Do not miss this animation, based on satellite tracking from the University of Amsterdam showing the 3D migration route of Dutch Honey Buzzard to Africa and back across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Pale adult male Honey Buzzard with notably worn primaries in active spring migration in the Strait of Gibraltar.
As every year, Birding The Stait will be in the frontline to admire this natural wonder. We cannot think of a better way to celebrate the Global Big Day! Contact us if you want to arrange a birding trip during the spring migration season. Be part of this phenomenal natural spectacle.
Spring has just begun! On this post we will tell you about 6 great birding hotspots when visiting Tarifa and the Strait of Gibraltar in this great season. To give you an idea of what’s possible we list some suggestions about what to do in a day, and what you should expect to see.
Adult Purple Heron at La Janda.
6 Birding Hotspots in Tarifa and the Strait of Gibraltar
1. Tarifa
An early start in Tarifa, where we are based, can be rewarded with the prominent song of the Common Bulbul, a common species in Africa that, however, can only be found in one location in Europe: Tarifa. Nearby, we’d probably hear the sharp calls of the Lesser Kestrels too. At a walking distance, a short session of seawatching from the pier can provide good views of migrant seabirds, like Northern Gannet, Razorbill, Atlantic Puffin, Arctic Skua (Parasitic Jaeger) and the first Balearic Shearwaters coming out of the Mediterranean after their breeding season.
Western Yellow Wagtail, from subspecies iberiae, also known as Spanish Wagtail
2. Los Lances
As you drive out of Tarifa, it might be a good idea to make a stop in Los Lances. This small nature reserve can be very productive, particularly in the morning. Mediterranean and Audouin’s Gulls are regular at this time of the year, same as Kentish Plovers. The migration of passerines can be visible here, with the first Western Yellow Wagtails and Greater Short-toed Larks showing up, while the last Meadow and Water Pipits abandon these latitudes in order to breed further north.
The Rock Bunting is an uncommon but regular species at Sierra de la Plata
3. Sierra de la Plata
A visit to the lower limestone ridges around Tarifa, like Sierra de la Plata can be very good. Some species you should expect, and already singing in their breeding plumage, can be: Cirl and Rock Buntings, Iberian Green Woodpecker and the gorgeous Blue Rock Thrush. On top of that, the Eurasian Griffons will already be on their nests, some of the hatchlings already out of their shells. Surely, we will be looking for the first Black-eared Wheatears of the year, as well as the passing Northern Wheatears.
Eurasian Sparrowhawk as its arrival to the European Continent
4. Punta Carnero
Depending on the winds, we will be sure to be well positioned in order to witness the raptor migration. This event that takes place, roughly, from March to May. Even though many raptors have already passed by the beginning of Spring, there are still thousands still waiting for their opportunity on African soil: Short-toed Eagles, Booted Eagles, Black Kites, Sparrowhawks, Egyptian Vultures as well as good numbers of White and Black Storks. One of the best hotspots to see these birds crossing the Strait would be Punta Carnero, not far from the city of Algeciras.
Northern Bald Ibis starting their breeding season at the colony
5. Barbate
After having lunch at one of the numerous excellent restaurants that serve homemade food in the area, we can visit the Northern Bald Ibis colony, a must-see species for every birder, and certainly a highlight for anyone traveling to the province of Cadiz. You can combine this with a short drive to the Barbate Marshes. This is one of the best birding hotspots, both for shorebirds and migrant passerines.
Corn Bunting: a common song in the fields of La Janda
6. La Janda
An excursion to the southernmost region of Spain can not be complete without a drive through La Janda. This well-known birding hotspot is excellent throughout the year, but even more splendorous during the spring months. Hundreds of Garganeys, which can be seen flying along the shoreline, mark the beginning of the season. If the weather has been wet enough and some of the seasonal lagoons and rice paddies are flooded. Good numbers of these gorgeous dabbling ducks can be seen in La Janda.
Along with the ducks, Purple Herons start to arrive, and Hoopoes are easier to find while feeding along the tracks. Raptors are always abundant here. Among all of them the Spanish Imperial Eagle stands out, on average almost as large as a Golden Eagle.
All of this is possible in a day without needing to drive very long distances. While you enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Strait, you can experience the marvels of migration firsthand. With the possibility of including other bird-rich locations or adapt the itinerary for wildlife photographers, the combinations are endless! If you want us to arrange a private excursion for you to see some of these sites and find some of the most sought after species of birds, contact us and let us know what your preferences are. You will find out, the Strait of Gibraltar never disappoints!
MIGBird Tarifa 2018 “Welcome to migratory birds” starts tomorrow, March 19th, at the Cazalla Bird Observatory! Birding The Strait will be opening the event with the first presentation at 10:00.
Tarifa Town Hall, in collaboration with local companies and NGOs, has arranged an extensive program of activities. These include excursions, educational activities for children, photo exhibitions and a bird race!
During the event, next Sunday 25th we will be offering a free guided visit to the Isla de Las Palomas, a restricted area of El Estrecho Natural Park in the southernmost tip of the continent and an excellent site for seawacthing!
The fur of the Iberian Lynx shows a striking variation. It ranges from thickly spotted orangey phenotypes to rather stripped greyish individuals. There are also a wide range of intermediates. As a result of the dramatic decline that the species suffered during the previous century, some variations disappeared from certain populations. In Doñana, for instance, only thick-spotted Lynxes occurred from the 60s (source Life+IBERLINCE).
Navajuncosa is a female of the Thick-spotted type born in Córdoba in 2016. She takes her name from one of the estates where actions to improve the habitat for the Lynx have been undertaken. We obtained this picture from a wildlife photography hide fullfilling all legal requirements aplicable. January 2018.
Nowadays, the phenotypic diversity of the Iberian Lynx is recovering its former splendor. This is thanks to translocations and population reinforcements by means of captive breeding. This phenomenon should be understood as a visual statement of the undergoing population recovery, now totalling over 500 individuals in Spain and Portugal (less than 100 by the early 2000s).
Iberian Lynx Tours
This winter we guided several tours with the Iberian Lynx as main target. Luckily enough, we had the chance to observe all the most representative fur types!
A male Lynx scans his territory in Andujar lying atop a “bolo” granite formation, characteristic landmark in Sierra Morena, Jaén. December 2017.
In doing so we closely collaborate with renowned local guides and companies. This way, we ensure our clients the most respectful approach to this sensitive species. We wish to echo the recently published “Guide for responsible Iberian Lynx watching” by Life+IBERLINCE project.
In Birding The Strait we strongly believe in ecotourism as a sustainable activity which benefits nature conservation and local economies. We enthusiastically work to make this true with our Iberian Lynx experience.
If you want to arrange a trip to see the Iberian Lynx, contact us. You can join in one of our scheduled Iberian Lynx Quests!
Dark morph Booted Eagle reaching Europe from Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar
The Booted Eagle is one of the most representative raptor species in the Strait of Gibraltar. It is a medium sized raptor of powerful flight whose migration has received low attention by the scientific community. However, this has changed with the recent publication of a comprehensive monograph: “Migration and spatial ecology of the Spanish population of the Booted Eagle” is based on GPS tracking current information. The work has been conducted within the MIGRA project of SEO/Birdlife. It has had the input of a remarkable group of ornithologists from different Spanish institutions. They present the results in a beautifully edited open access document. You can find it in Spanish with an English summary.
Booted Eagle in active migration over the ocean in Tarifa
Birding The Strait has contributed to this project with several photos of Booted Eagles in migration in the Strait of Gibraltar, including the one on the cover. As ornithologist and birdguides in Tarifa we received this publication with big interest. Next, we summarize some of the most striking results.
Pale morph Booted Eagle over Tarifa in southbound migration to Africa
Booted Eagle Migration Routes
In Spain the Booted Eagle is a migrant species except in the Balearic Islands, where it is resident. Booted Eagles spend 13% of their lives on migration, 42% at their breeding grounds in Europe and 45% at their wintering quarters in Africa.
All migratory routes converge in the Strait of Gibraltar where the average date of arrival is the 17 of September and the 31st of March in their Southbound and Northbound migrations, respectively. Eagles crossed the Sahara in a broad front following similar routes in spring and summer, with no coastal flyways observed. The studied individuals completed their migration in 28 in spring and 23 days in autumn. Interestingly, this pattern opposes the general trend observed in most migratory species, on which the return migration to their breeding grounds is faster than the autumn migration to the wintering quarters. The eagles flew an average of 8 hours a day, covering from 130 to 250 km, with an absolute record of 541km between two consecutive night roosts!
Dark morph Booted Eagle in the Strait of Gibraltar
Visual counts in the Tarifa area have shown that approximately 71% of the individuals belong to the pale morph while 29% belong to the dark one.
The number of Booted Eagles crossing the Strait has significantly increased within the period 1999-2016 with similar numbers at raptor watchpoints in the Pyrenees. Nowadays over 30.000 Booted Eagles cross the Strait of Gibraltar to Africa every year.
The bulk of the Iberian population overwinters in the Western Sahel region including Mauritania, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameron and Sierra Leona with a remarkable wintering site fidelity in consecutive years.
The logo of a leading energetic corporation on the front cover may arguably raise alarm bells to critical readers. In fact, Iberdrola received a sanction in Spain of millions of euros on account of the electrocution of raptors. This includes the endangered and iconic Spanish Imperial Eagle. Pushing conflicting emotions aside, it is important to highlight that this work identifies and highlights electrocutions and hunting as the two main causes of non-natural mortality for the species.
Pale morph Booted Eagle in active migration in the Strait of Gibraltar
The global results show the Booted Eagle as a rather plastic species on its foraging, migrating and habitat selection habits. Also, it shows that it has a wide distribution range. Therefore, it seems likely that thanks to this attributes the Booted Eagle will have a more promising future than other less adaptable species. This work stresses the importance of stablishing integrative conservation measurements. For example, the description of breeding sites, foraging areas, migration flyways and wintering regions.
Booted Eagle in active migration near Tarifa
All in all this work fills an important gap on the knowledge of raptor migration. We believe it is of interest for bird enthusiasts, researchers and decision makers.
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