This
was another trip to Zahara de los Atunes, situated on the Costa de la Luz
in the Strait of Gibraltar in Cádiz provence, Andalucía for the annual
university field course trip on ecological genetics. Much
of the time was spent around Zahara de los Atunes, Barbate and the Valle de Ojén in the Parque
Natural de Los Alcornocales. Some time was possible for birding and looking
for orthopterans but in general
the following notes document the observations at the various student
study
sites.
This year we travelled all the way and back on trains via Paris,
Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga. This year, for some reason, I spent
little time looking for birds and did not make it to locations like
the Barbate estuary and La Janda.
Kentish
Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), Playa de Zahara
Highlights
Andalucian
Wall Lizard, Bee-eater, Black Oil Beetle, Black-eye Blue, Black-winged
Stilt, Blue Rock Thrush, Booted Eagle, Broad Green-winged Grasshopper,
Calandra Lark, Cleopatra, Common Digging Grasshopper, Common Maquis
Grasshopper, Common Stick Grasshopper, Crag Martin, Crimson Speckled,
Earthling Stone Grasshopper, Egyptian Grasshopper, European Field
Cricket, Garden Locust, Greater Flamingo, Griffon Vulture, Hawfinch,
Hoopoe, Iberian Chiffchaff, Iberian Grass Snake, Iberian Mantis,
Iberian Three-toed Skink, Iberian Wingless Groundhooper, Kentish
Plover, Long-tailed Blue, Mediterranean Conehead Mantis, Mediterranean
Field Cricket, Montagu's Harrier, Moorish Gecko, Pallid Swift, Provence
Hairstreak, Provence Orange Tip, Puissant's Green-winged Grasshopper,
Quail, Raymond's Grasshopper, Shady Grasshopper, Short-toed Treecreeper,
Slender Digging Grasshopper, Smooth-striped Bush-cricket, Spanish
Dung Beetle, Spanish Festoon, Spiny-footed Lizard, Spoonbill, Stone
Curlew, Swallowtail, Thekla Lark, Three-cornered Garlic, Three-leaved
Snowflake, Two-tailed Pasha, Vineyard Mole-cricket, Western Bonelli's
Warbler, Western Subalpine Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Wryneck.
Itinerary
Day 01 09/04/25 Purfleet-on-Thames >
London
Day 02 10/04/25 London >
Paris > Barcelona Day 03 11/04/25
Barcelona >
Madrid
> Malgaga > Tarifa > Zahara de los Atunes Day 04 12/04/25
Zahara de los Atunes > Atlanterra
> La
Zarzuela Day 05 13/04/25 Zahara de los Atunes > Atlanterra
> Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Day 06 14/04/25 Zahara de los Atunes > La
Breña
de Barbate > Conil
de la Frontera Day 07 15/04/25 Zahara de los Atunee >
Atlanterra Day 08 16/04/25 Zahara de los Atunes >
Atlanterra > Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Day 09 17/04/25 Zahara de los Atunes >
Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Day 10 18/04/25 Zahara de los Atunes >
Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Day 11 19/04/25 Zahara de los Atunes >
La Breña
de Barbate
Day 12 20/04/25 Zahara
de los Atunes
Day 13 21/04/25 Zahara
de los Atunes > Tarifa > Malaga
>
Madrid > Barcelona
Day 14 22/04/25 Barcelona > Paris
>
London > Purfleet-on-Thames
Map
of main locations visited 2003-2025
1.
Zahara de los Atunes & Río del Cachón (Zahara estuary)
2.
Playa de Zahara
(Theba and beetle study site)
3.
Atlantera, Faro de Camarinal & Cabo de Gracia (Cistus
and beetle study site)
4.
La Zarzuela & El Almarchal (Polistes
& Theba and beetle study site)
5.
Bolonia
6.
Cueva del Moro
7.
Embalse de Almodóvar, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales
8.
Arroyo del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales
(Aquarius
& Asphodelus study site)
9.
Sendero Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales
(Lavandula
study site)
10.
El Cañillo, Marismas del Barbate
11.
Marismas del Barbate
12.
Río Barbate (river mouth) & Playa del Cañillo
13.
West side of the Río Barbate, Marismas del Barbate
14.
La Breña de Barbate (Lavandula
study site)
15.
Sendero Marismas del Barbate (from Km 2.4 on N-314, SE of Vejer
de la Frontera)
16.
La Barca de Vejer
17.
Casa la Palmera, Conil
(Polistes study site)
18.
La Janda - entrance opposite Venta de Retín to Canal Colector del
Este (Río Almodóvar)
19.
Itinerario Ecuestre IE-027.2 (marsh at start of horse track)
20.
Oxbow, near Benalup
21.
La Janda - entrance at Km-47 on the N-340
22.
Sendero Colada de la Costa, Tarifa
Day 1 Wednesday 9
April 2025
Purfleet-on-Thames, Essex,
England >
Bloomsbury, London, England
Purfleet-on-Thames,
Essex > Bloomsbury, London Had
to sleep in the office at work in order to make the 7am check-in
for Thursday's Eurostar to Paris. The first of several trains over
the next few days, I took my local train into London, passing the
hotspot of Rainham Marshes.
Day
2 Thursday 10
April 2025
London St. Pancras International
> Paris Gare du Nord, France > Barcelona Sants, Spain
Highlights Black Kite, Hoopoe, Greater Flamingo,
Great Egret, Spoonbill, Cattle Egret, Black-winged Stilt.
Bloomsbury,
London > London St. Pancras International Left
work early morning for an early Eurostar and walked to St. Pancras along Euston Road in the
dark. Wren,
Blackbird and Robin singing.
London
St. Pancras International > Paris Gare du Nord, France Nothing
of note seen. Didn't have a window seat.
Paris
Gare de Lyon, France > Barcelona Sants, Spain On to the second and main train of the day (7 hours),
the highlight was the area between Montpellier and Perpignan on
the Mediterranean coast with flamingos, egrets, waders and terns.
Despite our travel agent booking me a window seat, someone was already
sittng in it and did not move.
Seat
with a View, Salt lagoons on the Mrditerranean coast of France, April 2025
Parc
de L'Espanya Industrial,
Barcelona, Spain, Apr
2025
Day
3 Friday 11
April 2025
Barcelona > Madrid
> Malaga > Algeciras >
Tarifa > Zahara de los Atunes
Train:
Barcelona
Sants > Madrid Puerta de Atocha
Train:
Madrid
Puerta de Atocha > Malaga Maria Zambrano
Drive
from Malaga to Zahara, via Tarifa
Zahara
de los Atunes36° 08' 07.8'' N 05° 50' 48.0'' W
Day
4 Saturday
12
April 2025
Zahara de los Atunes > Atlanterra
> La Zarzuela Partl
cloudy, wind 20 mph E easing later, max 19°C..
Hotel
Gran Sol,
Zahara de los Atunes Woke
up at 06:00 to loud thunder. Grey and windy at breakfast. Brightened
up after midday.
Zahara
de los Atunes,
Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Map
of Zahara de los Atunes & Río del Cachón
area - where to find birds in April
Map of
Zahara de los Atunes & Río del Cachón
1.Río del Cachón - river mouth: a few waders/terns/egrets inc
Caspian Tern
2.Sierra de Retín: end of the ridge good for raptors inc Griffon
Vulture; Little Owls in outcrop above the road; Northern Bald Ibis
occasionally pass.
3.Río del Cachón - upriver of bridge: tidal mud and saltmarsh
holds small numbers of waders/egrets/wagtails, inc Black-winged
Stilt and occasional Spoonbill. Crag Martin often around the bridge.
4.Castillo de las Almadrabas: Spotless Starling, Pallid Swift
with regular Crag Martin and Red-rumped Swallow; occasional Blue
Rock Thrush and Black Redstart on castle wall; roof of Gran Sol
Hotel good for observing diurnal passage of many species - occasional
Little Swift.
5.Playa de Zahara: low dunes viewable from boardwalk. Good for arriving passerines
(in certain weather conditions) inc
Woodchat Shrike, Nightingale, Subalpine Warbler, Hoopoe, wheatears;
breeding Kentish Plover and migrant Sanderling; offshore movements
of gulls (inc Audouin's), terns (inc Gull-billed), Balearic &
Cory's Shearwater, Gannet, skuas, auks & waders. Exhausted raptors
in strong easterly winds.
6.Río del Cachón - bridge NE of town: marsh and grazing
good for raptors, egrets and other migrants.
Playa de
Cabo de Plata (Playa de los Alemanes), Atlanterra (2nd
beetle study site) Several
Common Digging Grasshoppers (Acrotylus insubricus) were
flying short distances in the low dunes, briefly revealing their
reddish wings before settling inconspicuously on the sand again.
White Banded (or Lamenting) Grasshopper (Eyprepocnemis
plorans) and
Earthling Stone Grasshopper (Euryparyphes terrulentus)
including nymphs were found, and a Garden Locust (aka Brown-headed
Grasshopper) (Acanthacris
ruficornis citrina)
was on the track up towards the lighthouse. The small, marshy stream
at the foot of the steps at the eastern end of the beach held several
vocal Iberian Water Frogs
(Pelophylax perezi).
Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady butterflies were on the move in
the breeze but there was not much birdlife around apart from
a singing Zitting Cisticola and singing Nightingale, and a Crested
Lark on the sand. A few reptiles were found: Andalucian Wall Lizard
(Podarcis vaucheri),
Large Psammondromus (Psammodromus algirus) and
Turkish Gecko (Hemidactylus
turcicus)
- also known as the Mediterranea House Gecko.
Playa
de Cabo de Plata,
Atlanterra, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Tenebrionidae
(Darkling) Beetles on the beach: Tentyria
sp., Erodius sp., Pimelia sp., Pimelia sp.,
Zahara de los Atunes-Atlanterra, April 2024
Scarites
sp., Atlanterra, April 2024
La
Zarzuela:
north side of village (Theba study site) 36°
10' 19.1" N 05° 48' 42.5" W There
were many
grasshopper nymphs (Omocestus and Chorthippus spp.) in
the long grassland between the road and grazed pasture on the north
side of the village. Red Clover flowers held several Mediterranean
Wart-biter nymphs, aka White-faced Bush-cricket (Decticus albifrons).
The students found a female Smooth-striped Bush-cricket (Odontura
glabricauda) while counting banded/unbanded snails. Other orthoptera
here included Broad Green-winged Grasshopper, Earthling Stone Grasshopper
and White Banded Grasshopper. A few Silver Y moths (Autographa
gamma) were flying and the larvae of Spurge Hawk-moth (Hyles
euphorbiae) and Grass Eggar (Lasiocampa trifolii) were
found. Among the commoner butterflies was a Provence Hairstreak
(Tomares ballus). Other nice insects included Iberian Mantis
(Apteromantis aptera) which is endemic to the Iberian
Peninsula. Calandra Larks were displaying over the nearby arable
fields under the wind turbines.
La
Zarzuela,
Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Zahara
de los Atunes Stopped
off for refreshments at the petorl station on the SE side of the
town and found a Spanish Dung Beetle (Copris hispanus) and
an Egyptian Grasshopper (Anacridium aegyptium). In the hour
before sunset, small groups of Cattle Egret were flying south-east
along the coast to roosting sites. The largest flock numbered 36.
Day
5 Sunday
13 April 2025
Zahara de los Atunes > Atlanterra > Arroyo
del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Partly
cloudy, max 18°C, v light wind
Highlights Western Subalpine Warbler, Mediterranean Field
Cricket, Bee-eater, Crimson Speckled, Iberian Three-toed Skink,
Griffon Vulture, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Iberian Chiffchaff,
Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Maquis Grasshopper, Spanish Festoon,
European Field Cricket, Booted Eagle.
Zahara
de los Atunes Grey
and cool at dawn again. In the hour before sunrise, a chorus of
House Sparrows and flight-calling Barn Swallows could be heard from
my hotel bedroom. Later, a Spotless Starling was wolf-whistling
as
the half-hourly chime from the nearby church bell sounded.
Boardwalk:
Castillo
de las Almadrabas
> Playa de Zahara Walked
the mile or so from the hotel to pick up the car as the town is
much busier these days and space is at a premium. Several Mediterranean
Field Crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)
(aka Two-spotted Field-cricket) were singing from the low dunes
and two migrant Western Subalpine Warblers in the dune scrub were
the highlights from the boardwalk.
Boardwalk
through the dunes, Zahara de los Atunes, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Boardwalk
through the dunes, Zahara de los Atunes, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Playa de
Cabo de Plata (Playa de los Alemanes), Atlanterra (2nd
beetle study site) Similar
species to yesterday though a flock of 20 Bee-eaters overhead was
nice. The insect highlight came from one of the most stunning little
moths I've seen in Europe (and there are many to choose from) in
the form of
a Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella).
A few were sitting tight in the grass on the edge of the dune, only
flying when accidentally kicked up.
Cabo
de Gracia,
Atlanterra, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella), Zahara
de los Atunes,
Andalucía, Spain, 13 Apr
2025
Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella), Zahara
de los Atunes,
Andalucía. Spain, 13 Apr
2025
Common
Digging Grasshopper (Acrotylus insubricus), Atlanterra,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Earthling
Stone Grasshopper (Euryparyphes terrulentus),
Atlanterra, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Andalucian
Wall Lizard (Podarcis vaucheri), Atlanterra, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Playa
de Cabo
de Plata,
Atlanterra, Andalucía, Spain, 13 Apr
2025
Arroyo
del Tiradero,
Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales (Aquarius
study site) 36°
08' 55.5" N 05° 34' 56.9" W Walking
down though the Asphodel-studded pasture to the stream saw a couple
of Iberian Three-toed Skinks (Chalcides
striatus) rapidly disappear on approach. Had
lunch at the stream before the students began studying the pond
skaters. Western Bonelli's Warbler, Iberian Chiffchaff, Short-toed
Treecreeper and Firecrest were singing and a Kingfishers zipped
past. Very few raptors seen with just a single Griffon Vulture over.
Several European Field Crickets (Gryllus campestris)
were stridulating and a search of the grassland found Common
Maquis Grasshopper (Pezotettix giornae),
Earthling Stone Grasshopper and White Banded Grasshopper. Despite
the cloudy conditions, Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia
rumina),
Provence Hairstreak and Brimstone were flying.
Valle de Ojén, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Mediterranea
Wart-biter/White-faced
Bush-cricket (Decticus albifrons) nympth, Valle de Ojén, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Common
Maquis Grasshopper (Pezotettix giornae), Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía,
Spain, Apr
2025
Earthling
Stone Grasshopper (Euryparyphes terrulentus),
Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Arroyo
del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Playa de
Cabo de Plata (Playa de los Alemanes), Atlanterra (2nd
beetle study site) A
return visit in the evening and the Crimson Speckled moths were
still present. A Booted Eagle was over the lighthouse on the headland.
Day
6 Monday 14
April 2025
Zahara de los Atunes > La
Breña de Barbate > Conil de la Frontera Cloudy
and cool day, wind 15 mph W, 17°C at 11:00
Highlights Hoopoe, Common Stick Grasshopper, Swallowtail,
Cleopatra, Blue Rock Thrush, Three-leaved Snowflake, Calandra Lark,
Quail, Stone Curlew, Montagu's Harrier, Pallid Swift, Smooth-striped
Bush-cricket.
La
Breña de Barbate:
Sendero Torre del Tajo Light
rain at dawn with cool and cloudy conditions continuing through
the morning, but again clearing and warming up by midday. A
Hoopoe flew over the road on the west side of Barbate before the
road starts to climb up steeply into the forest of Umbrella Pines.
Walking through the forest I managed to locate at Common Stick Grasshopper
(Pyrgomorpha conica),
maybe more by sheer luck than skill, and when it wasn't moving it
was remarkable how it almost completely disappeared in a pile of
wood chips, bark flakes and needle. Passerines singing included
Sardinan Warbler, Short-toed Treecreeper and Serin, and notable
butterlies included Swallowtail (Papilio
machaon)
aka Old World Swallotail and Cleopatra (Gonepteryx
cleopatra).
One of the students photographed a Broom Burnet (Zygaena
lavadulae).
At the high sandstone cliffs around the Torre del Tajo, a female
Lesser Kestrel and pair of Ravens were overhead along with a few
Bee-eaters and a male Blue Rock Thrush was singing from a hidden
location below. Many plants flowering in the areas that have been opened
up by thinning the forest including Three-leaved Snowflake (Acis
trichophylla).
Umbrella
Pines, La Breña
de Barbate,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Common
Stick Grasshopper (Pyrgomorpha conica), La Breña
de Barbate,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Casa
la Palmera (Polistes study site near Conil
de la Frontera)36°
15' 09.4" N 06° 03' 54.0" W The
Prickly Pear Cactus hedges are completely gone now and so it was
very difficult to locate many paper wasp nests. The two Fig trees
at this site were also dead. The arable fields on the north-east
side of the farm had some nice birds including a male Montagu's
Harrier, calling Stone Curlews, singing Calandra Larks and Quail.
Orthoptera found included Smooth-striped Bush-cricket, Common Maquis
Grasshopper and Mediterranean Field Cricket.
Farmland
near Conil de la Frontera, Andalucía,
Spain, Apr
2025
Day 7 Tuesday
15 April 2025 Zahara de los
Atunes > Atlanterra Partly
cloudy, wind 20 mph W, max 16°C
Faro
de Camarinal, Cabo de Gracia Found
half a dozen Raymond's Grasshoppers which was a new species for
me. They were all in one small area next to the track from the lighthouse
up to the Sierra de la Plata in an area of sandy soil that was
cleared of scrub several years ago, and now slowly regenerating.
Photogarphed a Moorish Gecko on a large rock below the lighthouse.
Playa de
Cabo de Plata (Playa de los Alemanes), Atlanterra (2nd
beetle study site) Photographed
Shady Grasshopper and Slender Digging Grasshopper in the low dunes
at the eastern end of the beach.
Shady Grasshopper (Morphacris
fasciata), Atlanterra,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Slender
Digging Grasshopper (Acrotylus patruelis), Zahara
de los Atunes,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Bee
Orchid (Ophrys apifera), Atlanterra,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Day
8 Wednesday
16
April 2025
Zahara de los Atunes >
Atlanterra > Arroyo del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural
de los Alcornocales Partly
cloudy, wind 15-17 mph W, max 19°C
Playa de
Cabo de Plata (Playa de los Alemanes), Atlanterra (2nd
beetle study site) Back
to the beetle beach. When we left Zahara there were seven Griffon
Vultures soaring right over the town.
Playa
de El Cañuelo,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Sendero
Arroyo San Carlos
del Tiradero, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales (Los
Barrios end of trail) Walked
this woodland trail along the stream and heard a Woodlark
singing as well as Western Bonelli's Warbler, Iberian Chiffchaff
and Short-toed Treecreeper. Found Puissant's Green-winged Grasshopper
and Common Maquis Grasshopper in a more open area. Speckled
Woods were abundant and a few Spanish Festoons and Provence Orange
Tips were flying. The large grassy area around the car park had
a displaying Zitting Cisticola. Just a single Griffon Vulture seen.
Sendero
Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Searched
the higher areas of the trail for Asphodels that were still in flower
for one of the tudent projects. All of them at lower elevations
had now gone to seed. Found some tracks and diggings of Wild Boars.
Oak
woodland,
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Spanish
Festoon (Zerynthia rumina),
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Spanish
Festoon (Zerynthia rumina),
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Arroyo
del Tiradero,
Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales (Aquarius
study site) 36°
08' 55.5" N 05° 34' 56.9" W The
walk down from the road to the stream produced an Iberian Grass
Snake (Natrix astreptophora) which sat partially hidden and allowing close approach. Photographed
a Mediterranean Conehead Mantis (Empusa pennata) - less common than Iberian Mantis
at this site, though much easier to see! On the drive back, a Hoopoe
flew over the Embalse de Almodovar where two Thekla Larks were on
the causeway and Woodchat Shrike on an nearby fence.
Earthling
Stone Grasshopper (Euryparyphes terrulentus),
Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Iberian
Grass Snake (Natrix astreptophora), Valle de Ojén, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Mediterranean
Conehead Mantis (Empusa pennata), Valle de Ojén, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Valle de Ojén, Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Playa de
Cabo de Plata (Playa de los Alemanes), Atlanterra (2nd
beetle study site) Evening
trip. Nothing new noted.
Day
9 Thursday
17
April 2025 Zahara de los Atunes
> Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Cool,
with low, thick cloud. Rain showers in the hills
Sendero
Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales We
arrived to heavy rain and conditions remained cool and cloudy for
the rest of the day. In addition to the usual species, a Roe Deer
was heard barking and a Tawny Owl called a few times. On the drive
back in the late afternoon, a Vineyard Mole-cricket was stridulating
continuously at the Puerto de Ojén.
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Black
Oil Beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus),
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Day
10 Friday
18 April 2025
Zahara de los Atunes >
Arroyo del
Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales Blue
sky, wind 2-12 mph W, min 12°C, max 20°C
Sendero
Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales A
much better day on the Risco Blanco trail with blue sky and temperatures
reaching the twenties. Bird of the day was a singing Wryneck
- the first I've heard on these spring trips. I not sure if they
breed in the park or if this one was a newly arrived migrant.
Three Great Spotted Woodpeckers were drumming. A tiny Iberian Wingless
Groundhopper (Tetrix
nodulosa)
was photographed right in the middle of the stoney forest track
in bright sunshine, and you can see it is well-named with the pronotum
and tibia covered in bumps. At the opposite end of the size scale,
nine Egyptian Grasshoppers were found along the trail. Butterflies
were qute abundant with Black-eyed Blue, Holly Blue, Spanish Festoon,
Cleopatra, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood, Provence Orange Tip, Clouded
Yellow, Painted Lady and Large White. The Vineyard Mole-cricket
was stridulating again at the Puerto de Ojén on the way home.
Black-eyed
Blue (Glaucopsyche melanops), Sendero
Risco Blanco,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Provence
Orange Tip (Anthocharis euphenoides),
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Wall
Brown (Lasiommata megera),
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Broad
Green-winged Grasshopper (Aiolopus strepens), Sender
Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Egyptian
Grasshopper (Anacridium aegyptium), Sender
Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Moorish
Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica), Sender
Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Sender Canuto de Risco Blanco, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Andalucía, Spain, Apr
2025
Day
11 Saturday
19 April 2025
Zahara de los Atunes > La
Breña
de Barbate Thick,
overcast cloud at dawn (rain overnight), brightening later to blue
sky, wind 22 moh, max 22°C.
Highlights Common Stick Grasshopper, Spiny-footed Lizard,
Green Tiger Beetle, Two-tailed Pasha, Long-tailed Blue.
La
Breña de Barbate:
Sendero Torre del Tajo Another
Common Stick Grasshopper was located. Green Tiger Beetles had been
seem regularly on this trip and yet more were seen under the pines
today.
Umbrella
Pines, La Breña
de Barbate,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
La
Breña de Barbate:
Sendero del Acantillado Walked
down this trail to the undercliff looking for Western Stone Grasshopper
and Desert Sand Grasshopper without success. A brief view of a fine
Two-tailed Pash was some compensation. Swallowtail, Long-tailed
Blue and Spiny-footed Lizards were also noted.
Barbate
Cliffs, La Breña
de Barbate,
Andalucía, Spain, April 2025
Noted
in most areas of grazed pasture. Daily coastal movements
of birds at dawn and dusk along the coast. Largest flock
was 36 flying SE past Zahara at 20:54 on 12-Apr.
Cattle
Egret (Bubulcus
ibis) flying into
the nesting colony at dawn
Cattle
Egret Bubulcus ibis
La
Janda, Andalucia, Spain12
April 2013
Breeding
calls from incubating birds in a large heronry.
Regularly seen from Zahara over Sierra de Retín & Sierra de
la Plata but in very small numbers this year.
1,
Arroyo del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, 13-Apr
7,
Zahara de los Atunes, 15-Apr
1,
Sendero Arroyo San Carlos del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén,
15-Apr
1,
Sendero Canuto de Risco Blanco, 17-Apr
Eurasian
Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Sierra de
la Plata
Short-toed
Eagle
Circaetus
gallicus
Not looked
for in 2025.
Booted
Eagle
Aquila
pennata
1,
over the lighthouse, Faro de Camarinal, Cabo de Gracia,
13-Apr
Black
KiteMilvus
migrans
Not looked
for in 2025.
Black-winged
KiteElanus
caeruleus
Not looked
for in 2025.
Western
Marsh Harrier
Circus
aeruginosus
Not looked
for in 2025.
Montagu's
Harrier Circus
pygargus
m,
El
Palamar, 14-Apr
Common
Buzzard Buteo
buteo
1,
Arroyo del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, 13-Apr
Osprey Pandion
haliaetus
Not looked
for in 2025.
Eurasian
Sparrowhawk Accipiter
nisus
None
seen in 2025.
Common
Kestrel Falco
tinnunculus
1,
Atlanterra, 13-Apr
Lesser
Kestrel Falco
naumanni
1,
La Breña de Barbate, 14-Apr
Lesser
Kestrels (Falco naumanni), Tarifa
Lesser
Kestrel Falco naumanni
Tarifa, Andalucia,
Spain 51°
39' 29.9" N 0° 02' 43.9" W5 April 2016
Two call types from a male returning to the nest with
a lizard shortly before the female had departed: repeated
high-pitched 3 and 4 element phrases and single
and double harsh screeches.
Noted almost everywhere including Zahara, La Zarzuela, El Almarchal,
Facinas, La Janda, Benalup, Barbate, Los Caños de Meca, El
Palmar, Bolonia.
Crested
Lark (Galerida cristata), Zahara de
los Atunes
Thekla
Lark Galerida
theklae
2,
Embalse de Almodovar, 16-Apr
3+,
Embalse de Almodovar, 17-Apr
Woodlark Lullula
arborea
Singing
m,
Arroyo del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, 15-Apr
1,
Sendero Canuto de Risco Blanco, 17-Apr
Greater
Short-toed Lark
Calandrella
brachydactyla
Not looked
for in 2025.
Greater
Short-toed
Lark Calandrella brachydactyla
Marismas
del Barbate, Andalucia, Spain
36°
10' 28.6" N 05° 53' 34.6" W17
April 2015
Territorial/advertising
'short' song uttered in flight composed of one to second
phrases of 'dry' warbles, often preceeded
by a longer, more 'musical' element.
Noted at
Playa de Zahara, Castillo de las Almadrabas, Atlanterra,
Sendero del Acantilado, La Breña de Barbate, Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, Cabo de
Gracia.
Arroyo
del Tiradero, Valle de Ojén, Andalucia, Spain
36°
08' 46.4" N 05° 35' 04.3" W 11
Apr
2011, 1337h
Territorial song
from skulking male in thorny, evergreen scrub on open cork oak
slopes. Fast, chattering, scratchy warblers, each strophe
lasting 3-8 seconds, mostly utter from within cover.
Fairly common
in the Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales.
Western
Bonelli's Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli
Valle
de Ojén, Parque
Natural de Los Alcornocales, Andalucia, Spain
36°
9' 35.16" N 5° 34' 55.40" W
15
Apr
2019, 1421h
Territorial song
from cork oak woodland: ~ 0.7 sec trill composed of
8-10 elements. Singing at a rate of 6 strophes/min.
Note subtle variation between trills.
Fairly common
in the Valle
de Ojén, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales.
Iberian
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus ibericus
Sendero Canuto de Risco Blanco,
Parque
Natural de Los Alcornocales, Andalucia, Spain
36°
09' 31.9" N 5° 35' 15.2" W 10
Apr
2014
Territorial song
from holm oak woodland. Note this individual shows little
or no slurring of elements compared with birds below.
Part of a 10 minute recording where bird sang from four
different regular song perches.
Valle
de Ojén, Parque
Natural de Los Alcornocales, Andalucia, Spain
36°
08' 46.8" N 05° 34' 58.2" W11
Apr
2011, 1209h
Territorial song
from cork oak/holm oak woodland. This bird was singing
with continual variation between successive strophes.
Note the rapid delivery with more elements than is typical
in the first strophe.
Valle
de Ojén, Parque
Natural de Los Alcornocales, Andalucia, Spain
36°
09' 42.4" N 05° 34' 55.0" W15
Apr
2010, 1132h
Territorial song
from cork oak/holm oak woodland. This strophe composed of
seven notes rhythmically decending in pitch,
followed by faster phrase of four to five higher
notes.
Common,
cliffs around La Breña de Barbate & La Barca de
Vejer.
Jackdaws (Corvus
monedula) sharing a nesting ledge with Northern
Bald Ibis
Common Raven Corvus corax
pr,
La Breña de Barbate, 14-Apr
1,
Sendero Canuto de Risco Blanco, 17-Apr
Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor
Common around
human habitatation, agricultural areas, and semi-natural
grassland.
Noted at Zahara,
Atlanterra, Barbate, El Almarchal,
Facinas, La Janda, Benalup, Barbate, Los Caños de Meca, El
Palmar, Bolonia.
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Common around
human habitatation, agricultural areas, and semi-natural
grassland.
Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis
Not looked
for in 2025.
Spanish
Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis
Marismas
del Barbate, Andalucia, Spain 36º
14' 24.6'' N 5º 56' 53.5'' W9
April 2018
Calls
from a male Spanish Sparrow adjacent
to a calling House Sparrow. Spanish
calls are higher-pitched and upslurred,
while House calls are lower-pitched
and downslurred.
Montenmedio,
Vejer de la Frontera, Andalucia, Spain
20
Apr
2010, 1223h
Territorial song
from Umbrella Pine woodland; a continuous rambling series
of squeaky notes interspersed with short trills (e.g.
5.1 to 5.5 secs) and whistles (e.g. at 6.7 sec).
Common and
widespread in most open habitats including coastal dunes,
rough pasture, agricultural fields & marshes.
Noted around
Zahara de los Atunes, La Zarzuela, El Almarchal, Parque
Eolico, Venta de Retín, La Janda, Benalup, Barbate,
Cortijo
Los Villares, El Palmar, Facinas,
Embalse de Almodóvar, Bolonia.
Corn
Bunting Emberiza calandra
Marismas
del Barbate, Andalucia, Spain
36°
10' 28.6" N 05° 53' 34.6" W17
April 2019
Territorial/advertising
song from fence post.
Each
~2.2 sec strophe composed single elements accelerating
into a brief trill before forming a longer buzz (~1.0
sec) which increases then decreases in pitch, ending
with a shorter trill which increases in pitch.
