Azure-winged Magpie is one of Spain’s most attractive birds. Photo: Stuart Elsom
The Straits of Gibraltar may be the gateway to the Mediterranean, but for the vast number of migrating raptors, storks, and passerines moving south every autumn, the Straits are also the gateway to Africa and their winter home. This migration is easily visible, and from clifftop vantage points at Europe’s southern tip we’ll enjoy eye-level views of some of Europe’s most exciting species as they gain altitude in preparation for the sea crossing. Nearby we will enjoy migrant gulls, terns, and waders against a backdrop of Atlantic rollers and distant Moroccan mountains.
We’ll be based near the old town of Tarifa, with its ancient castle overlooking a bustling harbor. Much of the old town is still intact, a maze of narrow passageways opening up into small squares lined with tapas bars.
Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Malaga. Night at Malaga airport hotel.
Day 2: Following the arrival of the other participants from London, we’ll journey to our hotel at Tarifa. Approaching the town in the late afternoon, we should see some raptors that have just reached the southern tip of Europe, coming in low, looking for a place to roost for the night before the big push the following day. The sight of a few Black Kites or maybe a Montagu’s Harrier flapping south will whet the appetite for the days ahead. Night at Tarifa.
Days 3 to 7: Raptor passage across the Straits of Gibraltar can be dependent on the weather, and wind direction often affects the line many birds take. This means we’ll be flexible in our itinerary, going to different viewpoints based on wherever the winds and the birds take us. Watching raptors on migration, we’ll never know just what is going to come along next. One minute we might be noticing the difference between a Black Kite and a Marsh Harrier, the next moment there maybe the dark form of Booted Eagle thrown into the equation and seconds later a pale one for comparison. This area holds good numbers of vultures, and in addition to the smaller Egyptian Vultures, we’ll need to check all the Griffons sailing overhead for Rüppell’s Vulture, a visitor from sub-Saharan Africa seen more and more frequently here in recent years. Another bird from across the Straits that could turn up is Lanner Falcon, a species more regular in Morocco but one that has recently been annual in southern Spain. In addition to all the raptors, we should see both White and Black Storks, also opting for the shortest crossing possible from Europe to Africa. Raptor migration often peaks between late morning and early afternoon and we will arrange our days accordingly, but even on some mornings there may be the chance to see raptors leaving the night’s roost, or again in the evening as they opt not to cross the water until the next day.
With our heads pointing skywards for long periods we’ll have to remember to keep checking the bushes and scrub around us, where migrant warblers and chats such as Blackcap, Redstart, and Nightingale may mix with the resident Cetti’s Warblers or a stripy Cirl Bunting. Bee-eaters, swallows, martins, and swifts could well be on the move, and at one site we will check for another African visitor, White-rumped Swift. This species uses the old nests of Red-rumped Swallows and has to wait for that species’ young to fledge before it can start breeding, so they are usually around this late in the season. Little Swift is also possible at the same site.
Just a short distance from our hotel is a superb beach that usually holds reasonable flocks of gulls, and we should see many Audouin’s Gulls among all the Lesser Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls. This is also a great site for terns, and we’ll check the flocks carefully just in case there is a migrant Lesser Crested hiding away. Shorebirds on the beach are ever changing, and a small lagoon may hold Black-bellied and Kentish (Snowy) Plovers one minute and then a scurrying party of Sanderling or some plump Red Knots the next. On a couple of mornings there will be an option for a seawatch before breakfast, where we hope to see both Cory’s and Balearic Shearwaters, and a strong onshore wind may push a Great Skua or Parasitic Jaeger close in. Nearby we’ll explore coastal marshes and wetlands where we should see a good selection of herons, egrets, and shorebirds including Black-winged Stilt, Little Stint, and Curlew Sandpiper.
The beauty of our location in the fascinating old town of Tarifa is that whatever the weather, there should always be something to look for, whether a flock of Short-toed Larks in the dunes, a kettle of raptors overhead, or a juvenile Woodchat Shrike pondering its first migration south. Nights at Tarifa.
Day 8: If time allows we will take the opportunity to enjoy more birding close to our hotel, and we may use this last morning to search for any species that have eluded us so far, or perhaps take the time to wander the narrow passages of Tarifa’s old center. We’ll then return to Malaga, where the tour concludes.
Updated: 08 January 2009
Prices
- 2009 price reduced to about $2,920
- Single Occupancy Supplement $280
Notes
This tour is limited to 14 participants with two leaders.
Tour participants interested in meeting the Sunbird participants in London rather than in Malaga should contact the WINGS office for further information and assistance.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.