I lead a tour group from the the US Audubon Naturalist Society in April to southern Spain. We had a great time apart from the awful windy weather. The famous Levante wind just would not stop for almost the whole eight days.
We did however have a great time, saw lots of birds and other wildlife as well as many of the famous towns and cities dotted through the famous Andalucian landscape.
Our Hotel above Barbate in Cadiz Province was El Palomar de La Breña, a quiet place by Spanish standards where there’s a wonderful thriving colony of Lesser Kestrels at the rear of the buildings in the old dovecot.
The old dovecotLittle Owls call at night, as indeed do Barn OwlsFemale Lesser Kestrel. Females look very similar to Common Kestrels and are difficult to separate although if you manage to get a look at the colour of their talons you’ll see they are ivory coloured and not black as with the Common KestrelMale Common KestrelRed-rumped Swallow preeningEuropean Bee-eaterA Short-toed EagleOur group checking out local ancient sarcophagi at Betis, near the town of TarifaBlack KiteMoorish GeckoChurch in Tarifa’s old townPied Flycatcher (f) on migrationFirecrestA Booted Eagle flying with a freshly caught Common StarlingSandstorm down at TarifaThe majestic Collared PratincoleStone Curlew in flightOur group walking along the sandy track between fields of poppies at Mesas de Asta, near TrebujenaSpring poppies in the cornfieldsMilitary road between Algeciras and Gibraltar (in the distance) and Tarifa. A great place to explore the coastal stretches of The Strait of Gibraltar that separates Europe and Africa.This was a scene on The Strait at the Sierra de La Plata, with a huge amount of dust in the air caused by the constant Levante wind blowing out of the Mediterranean sea into the Atlantic Ocean, in front of us. Normally you can see Morocco a mere 14 kms across The Strait, but…Griffon Vulture at the Sierra de La PlataWestern Bonelli’s WarblerBlack KiteGreater Flamingoes, Common Shelduck, Glossy Ibis and a Black-winged StiltA European rarity, the White-headed DuckPied Avocets in flightGreater FlamningoesGull-billed TernWhiskered TernLittle TernWaders flying around the salt-pans and river Guadalqivir, part of the Coto DoñanaA male Spanish Sparrow sits in the morning sunlightDawn over the famous ‘Pueblo Blanco’ of Vejer de la FronteraMale Kentish PloverCollared Pratincole showing off the rich rust colour of its underwingVineyards at TrebujenaShort-toed LarkIberian Yellow WagtailWhite Storks on their church top nestMyself and our happy group on a relief model of The Strait of Gibraltar at the visitor center, Huerta Grande, Pelayo.
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.
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