Highlights from this year's Spring Tour on The Strait of Gibraltar - April 2015

Here’s a quick photo summary of some of the birds we watched down in Andalucia on one of my spring birdwatching tours.

Each spring we offer such small tour group holidays to go out in the field and see what bird species are arriving from Africa.

The close proximity of the two continents makes this one of the best places to watch concentrated avian migration and it really is a spectacular setting all throughout Cadiz province in southern Andalucia, Spain to learn about birds and bird behaviour.

Highlights from this year’s Spring Tour on The Strait of Gibraltar – April 2015 — Short-toed Eagle

Booted Eagle Spain spring 8361 — Booted Eagle, light or commoner form

Booted on post Eagle spring Spain 8402 — Booted Eagle

Cattle Egret in flight Spain 8214 — Cattle Egret

Greater Flamingo pair w 0449 — Greater Flamingoes

Eurasian Spoonbill adult Spain spring w 9391 — Eurasian Spoonbill

Pallid Harrier female spring Spain 0686 — Pallid Harrier, a rare sighting

Yellow Wagtail Iberiae Spring Andalucia 9293 — Yellow Wagtails feeding with Retinto cattle

Zitting%2BCisticola%2Bwatching%2Binsects%2BSpain 9477 — A Zitting Cisticola watches insects

Sparrowhawk spring Spain 8603 — Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Squacco Heron flight spring Spain 9579 — Squacco Heron

Subalpine Warbler male spring Spain 8871 — Subalpine Warbler, male

Tawny Pipit spring Spain w 2451 — Tawny Pipit feeding

White Storks from Africa spring Spain w 8672 — White Storks arriving in Europe. Morocco is in the background

Purple Swamphen flight 9149 — Purple Swamphen

Black eared Wheatear male spring Spain 2243 — Black-eared Wheatear

Bonelli's Eagle imm. with griffs Spain 8308 — Bonelli’s Eagle (centre) flanked by two Griffon Vultures

Booted Eagle taking rabbit Spain w 8418 — A Booted Eagle attempts to get airborne with a rabbit

Botted Eagle on ground with rabbit Spain 8442 — The same Booted Eagle as above

Little Swift spring Spain w 9095 — Little Swift at Chipiona

Lesser Kestrel male spring Barbate 1518 — Lesser Kestrel at the colony at the rear of Hotel El Palomar de La Breña, Barbate

Gull billed Tern feeding Spain 1854 — Gull-billed Tern

Griffon Vulture adult Spai 9317 — Griffon Vulture on the Río Guadalquivir near Trebujena

Greater Short toed Lark Spain 9267 — (Greater) Short-toed Lark

Montagu's Harrier male spring Spain 0405 — Montagu’s Harrier, male

Northern Bald Ibis Barbate Spain w 8851 — Northern Bald Ibis at Barbate

Wryneck spring Spain 0104 — Our only migrating woodpecker, the Wryneck

Woodchat Shrike spring Spain 0449 — A quite large looking female Woodchat Shrike

Photographers are very welcome to join such tours. More details of both the spring and autumn migration tours as well as other European destinations can be found at andalucianguides.com/tours

Stephen Daly

Stephen Daly, has been birding since he was eight years old in his native Scotland. After living in Germany and France he established Andalucian Guides the successful birding and wildlife tour company on The Strait of Gibraltar in Spain and has been living here since 2001. Photographing birds in flight is one passion and his photos can be found in many books, magazines and journals. Studying bird behaviour and bird migration are two other positive aspects of being based on one of the busiest migration routes on Earth.