Birding Tarifa and the Cadiz Province, December 2017

Winter break in Southern Spain, 9th to 13th of December, 2018

I had a short break before Christmas, and what better to do than go to the Tarifa area, as so many times before. I stayed at the Hotel Dos Mares, also as many times before. The view from the front line bungalows there are simply stunning.

On Sunday the 10th, I had agreed with Yeray Seminario at Birding the strait to have a half day at La Janda to look for Spanish Imperial Eagle. And it was a success. We had at least three individuals, 2 adults and 1 immature. At the site for one of the adults, we also constantly had an immature Bonneli's Eagle in view. We also had three Black Storks, four Spoonbills, three Black-winged Kites, two Hen Harriers and some Red Kites. In La Janda, also about 500 Cranes, 300 Golden Plovers and quite a lot of other waders were wintering. In the evening, I walked along Los Lances, and had a nice flock of 17 Audouins Gulls.

On Monday, it was quite stormy with rain, so I did some property search in stead. I managed a short visit to Palmones estuary, though. 1 Mediterranean Gull was the most interesting. On Tuesday, it had cleared up and I went up along the Costa de la Luz. First, I visited Barbate. There I had about 20 Stone Curlews and about 10 Bald Ibises. It is not far from the breeding 
site at Barca de la Vejer, so this is natural.I then drove up to Chipiona to look for Little Swifts, which in fact winter there. I had none, but a Caspian Tern and a Booted Eagle was ok. Next stop was the Bonanza Saltpans. Due to the rain the day before, I did not drive far into the area, but I drove enough to have Slender-billed Gulls and Flamingoes. Next stop was Laguna Tarelo. This is a very accessible and rewarding small lake, good in spring, autumn and winter. This time I saw Black-necked Grebe, 10 Shovelers, 15 White-headed Ducks, 40 Black-crowned Night Herons and one Little Swift.

By the way, when driving up to Chipona, I chose to go through El Puerto de Santa Maria. And there, in the middle of the round-about, with Burger King as the nearest neighbour- a replica of La Nina... what a place for this historic and world-famous Columbus ship!

On the way back, I encountered a circling flock of about 150 White Storks between Tarifa and La Janda. It might in fact have been the first arriving flock on "spring migration" as many leave Spain already in July and will start to return already in January- so why not December...?

Last day was a real mess, as I found out that I had a return ticket for 13th of February and not December..., so the best thing to do was to go to Malaga to sort things out.

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QX4NkaXn0jJHaOTi2

Andalucia march 2014

Cadiz, Grazalema and Cordoba, march 2014

Seabird watching from Hotel Dos Mares

My wife and myself had a short holiday in Andalucia, combining the coast with the interior of Andalucia. The first days we spent some days in Tarifa, at our favourite hotel, Dos Mares with view over the Atlantic. I did some raptor watching at Tarifa, in addtion to shorter trips we had to Vejer de la Frontera, Barbate and Cabo Trafalgar.

Some days later we started going north-east, going all the way up to Cordoba. I had just been driving through there earlier, so it was a new city for both of us. Cordoba is a must see, with it's history having been one of the three major cities within the Arabic empire- together

Cordoba, situated along the Guadalquivir

with Damaskus and Bagdad. The famous La Mezquita probably being on top of the list for all tourists.

I also liked how the city was situated on the bank of the Guadalquivir river. It is said to be heronries along the river, but I could not see any signs of that in march. The surroundings are more or less enormous, flat agricultural land, so the city is a bit like an oasis. But, do not go here during the summer months! This is one of the hottest places in Europe during summer, and combined with masses of tourists; no way.

Routa de Ornitologico, Grazalema

After a very nice day and night in Cordoba, we went south towards Grazalema. This mountain area is situated close to the more known Ronda, but Grazalema is more nature. I have been there twice, and I really like this small village and the mountains surrounding it. There are some big colonies of Griffon Vultures here, and can easily be seen on short range within the village. A way up in the mountains from Grazalema, there are many foot paths to choose from. I walked here in the -90-ties, but this time the fog was to heavy so we did not take the chance this time.

Last; on the way back we drove through

Ronda Gorge

Ronda. Ronda is very touristic, as it is situated so near Costa del Sol. But I have still been here off-season 3 times and have enjoyed it every time, The scenery is fantastic, both the gorge and the surroundings. And, here you can off-season find top quality hotels, where you can sit on your terrace with wonderful views, having Peregrines, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Sparrow and Griffons on close range!

Southern and Eastern Spain 1996

185 species in one week from 7th to 14th of April 1996

We were a group of 20 Norwegians- from the BirdLife Oslo branch- travelling on a very intensive birdwatching trip to Spain. The reward was 185 species, one of the highest numbers we have ever had in one week in Europe. But, it meant a lot of travelling...

The route was as follows:

• Alicante- Petrola- and Pedro Munoz Lagoons- Santa Olalla
• Santa Olalla- Navalmoral- Monfrague-Trujillo
• Trujillo-Madrigalejo-La Serena-Hornachos- Zafra
• Zafra-Sierra Morena-Azuaga-Llerena-Cordoba-Laguna Zonar-Montemayor
• Montemayor-Andujar-Cazorla
• Cazorla-Sierra Espuna
• Sierra Espuna-Alcantara-El Hondo- Salinas de Santa Pola
• Santa Pola- Alicante...puh

The first real birding we had was in the two very good "lagoons" in Castilla-La Mancha, Pedro Munoz and Petrola. We had Red-crested Pochards, White-headed Ducks and other specialities. In the evening a nice Barn Owl flew above us outside the hotel in Santa Olalla. Next day was essential, as we were heading for Monfrague and the surroundings. As we entered Extremadura, we were rewarded with Great-spotted Cuckoo, a pair of mating Black-winged Kites and Iberian and Azure-winged Magpies. And Monfrague did not dissapoint us; we had 14 species of raptors, including both Black Vulture and Spanish Imperial Eagle.

Each night of the trip we were also out listening for owls. And, it was a very good year; 4 species and among them 16 Scop's Owls! 

Next day was steppe day with a visit to La Serena, and we were rewarded with both bustards and many Montague's harriers. And the day after, at the Llerena steppe, we had a flock of 16 Greater Bustards, flying very close to us.

After more driving, we started to approach Cazorla, and it was evident that we were close to a migration route for raptors, as we had a constant movement of Booted Eagles and Short-toed Eagles. Cazorla added several new species to the list among them a lovely Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush, Firecrest and Tawny pipit. So far on the trip, we had all possible species along the route, and we had also seen most of Central- and South-Eastern Spain, allthough most of it through the bus window.

The next day it was time to go for the Dupont's lark in the Sierra Espuna area. And, we suceeded there also, with two singing males. And, then it was time for the grand final, with some very intensive birding around in the Alicante area, to ensure we would break a record of number of species. And we did, as we added many waders, ducks, terns and gulls in this coastal area; Marbled ducks, Slender-billed Gulls, Audouin's Gulls, Little Stints, Grey Plovers etc etc. 

After a very intenisve week we could finally relax at a very pleasant hotel in Santa Pola. Seen in retrospect, it was really to much driving and to little birding. On the other hand, if this was the one trip to Spain, you certainly got most of it in one week and value for money. And people were not fed-up, as many of the same participants joined for new trips the coming years. In fact, these trips of the nineties were the start of the formalisation of the BirdLife Travel Agency in Norway- in 2006.