MONTENMEDIO GOLF COMPLEX – LA JANDA – TARIFA WHALE WATCHING CRUISE
WEATHER: all day sunshine, very hot with a moderate breeze. Top temp 32C
Our final day had arrived and, oh, too quickly! But we went out with a bang and had a most enjoyable last day of this most enjoyable tour! The raptor migration had been constant, we never saw massive numbers (except for White Storks) but the presence of a high number of raptors had been constent throughout the week.
the view from our 'bungalow' rooms in the garden of our hotel from Keith Harris
White Storks over tarifa taken by Tony Moore
Some of our targets birds today did not turn-up, but we had a fabulous time looking for them. We tried to see an Eagle Owl in the quarry adjacent to the Golf Complex at Montenmedio, along the way we saw the Bald Ibis once again feeding on the earth mounds just before the golf club.
At the quarry we had a surprise when two Iberian Woodpeckers put on a show, they were clinging onto the rock face of the quarry wall and moving about like mountain goats. A nice show, I have never seen them doing that before.
We searched the pine trees and the cork oaks a little further into the golf complex, a few species appeared such as: Spotted Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Great tit and a possible Pied flycatcher. There was no sighting of the Little Owl that usually frequents this part of the complex.
Booted Eagle - we saw several of these flying quite low - taken by Tony Moore
After leaving the complex we checked another quarry across the road, lots of Bee-eaters were flying over and a few Honey Buzzards with Booted Eagle and Black Kites. This was going to be the theme for the rest of the morning, the sky was never empty, always Honey Buzzards, Vultures Kites and Eagles.
The raptor passage intensified as the morning wore on, especially when we drove onto the open spaces of la Janda, we had a lot of sky to look at. A constant stream of raptors and then a huge flock of White Storks appeared, at least 2-3000 birds in a continuous stream, they would circle and form huge plumes.
there were dozens of low flying Honey Buzzards - aconstant stream of them over La Janda - Tony Moore
Bee-eaters were the same, I have never seen so many and during the first kilometer along the La Janda track we must have seen 15 Hoopoes, also a Tawny Pipit, Northern Wheatears and Stonechats.
At the first bridge we got out for a walk, raptors filled the sky, some very low-flying Honey Buzzards were particularly nice to see. Dave Ball then watched a Booted Eagle when a Black-winged Kite started to mob it. Wowza! That was our main target bird and now we all had it in our bins, well pleased with that one. Tony then pointed out four Spoonbills in flight and Keith saw a single Glossy ibis.
A Stork on the La janda track taken by Tony Moore
Lesser Kestrels must have numbered over 20, we saw 14 together over one field, we also saw Montagu’s and Marsh Harriers. At the next bridge over a small stream we heard Cetti’s Warbler, a Kingfisher flew by and a Grey Heron stood stock still in the reeds.
We spent the next hour travelling slowly down the central track stopping to watch a number of species. A Green Sandpiper flew along a roadside ditch just before a Purple Heron exploded from the reeds. We back-tracked to get better views of the Heron which only showed from the neck upwards. Huge flocks of Storks stalked the fields and drifted overhead.
Before long it was lunchtime, we drove back to Tarifa to buy lunch and headed back to the hotel for 2 hour siesta, it was now over 30C with little or no breeze.
taken from the car park at Lidl's in Tarifa by Tony Moore - juvenile Montagu's Harrier
At 3:30pm we headed back into Tarifa, we parked the bus and walked into the town centre and then along the causeway to Tarifa Island. From the causeway Tony and Keith saw a couple of Northern Gannets. It was packed with tourist and surfers. We sat down at 4:30pm to eat an early dinner, because at 6:30pm we were boarding a boat for a whale and dolphin cruise.
our last supper together - one of us was going to be crucified at the airport for denting the bus!!
The cruise was fantastic we had so many dolphin and whale sightings it was the best I have ever had. At least 100 Common Dolphins surrounded the boat and later 50+ Pilot Whales did the same. I had never seen a Pilot Whale breach before today.
Common Dolphin taken by David Adams with his new iPhone 17
Bird-wise it was quiet as usual. We saw a dozen or so of Cory’s Shearwaters, one or two were quite close to the boat. At least 3 Balearic Shearwaters were seen and a single Arctic Skua was one of the last birds seen.
Pilots Whales also taken by David and his new phone!
It was almost dark when we disembarked, we drove straight to the hotel and into the bar, a cold drink went down well as we completed our last checklist. We recorded just under 150 species which was a good total considering the weather conditions. Everyone agree that it had been a wonderful and enjoyable trip.