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One of the largest flocks of White Storks that I’ve ever watched, over eight hundred birds, was seen between Tarifa and Guadalmesi. It was truly a fantastic sight watching them through our telescopes as they flew in and out of the low sea mist that was hugging the coast, before disappearing altogether. Accompanying them were over two hundred Black Kites with a lone male Montagu’s Harrier trailing in from the west.
The Beautiful Montagu’s Harrier
The weather has been a mainly light Poniente winds from the Atlantic. It’s been sunny the last ten days with only light cloud in the Straight of Gibraltar usually breaking up by midday, There was one very light shower of rain on last week morning, the first real shower since the end of April!
The volume and variety of birds during this wonderful period of observation and study never disappoints. One day last week, at least fifty Egyptian Vultures flew over us from the northwest through the Alcornocales forest to the coast. Quite a few birds were resting in some of the open grazing sections of the Parque Natural and we had time to watch them and compare plumage differences with adult and juvenile birds. All around us came Short-toed and Booted Eagles. Some of the Short-toed Eagles were landing on the Cork-Oak canopy watching other birds streaming over the Sierras. Honey Buzzard as well as some Common Buzzard, Black Kite, Sparrowhawks, scores of Common Kestrel and a lone male Merlin flew past.
In the forest there was also plenty of passerine activity with Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Crested Tit and Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Robin, all keeping a very wary eye out for predators such as Sparrowhawk or the larger Goshawk! Of late, an increase in the numbers of Lesser Kestrels have been observed, as birds from the north and west move south to disperse from their breeding areas and migrate.
An elegant Lesser Kestrel
At the weekend, at higher altitudes In the Parque Natural de Grazalema I watched at least eight Bonelli’s Eagles soar and glide over the mountain passes and I delighted in good views of Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Rock Sparrow and Golden Oriole around the river valleys that flow south to the Mediterranean.
The rolling valleys, and the dry, parched rocky terrain of the outer fringes of the vast Alcornocales held Northern Wheatear, Stonechat, Spotted Flycatcher, Yellow Wagtail, Turtle Dove, Whinchat, Ortolan Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Chiffchaff and Sardinian Warbler.
The local resident colonies of Griffon Vultures often follow Raptor groups, sometimes in amongst them or soaring above keeping watch and studying the terrain for any food they might have missed.
The mighty Griffon Vulture
Photographs are shown courtesy of Dick Forsman and are copyrighted | 
