PeterHG’s sixth. Wherever it may take us.

[PeterHG]

The stonechat may have been the most numerous bird on the trip. They were literally everywhere.

[PeterHG]

And of course we could add the Herring Gull's cousin to the list.

 

190 Sp 07. Yellow-legged Gull. Tarifa, September

 

[Kitsafari]

brilliant shots of the raptors in flight, and the other birds of course. were you just passing through pyrenees or did you try to bird in that area?

 

[Galana]

1 hour ago, PeterHG said:

the 'Miradores de Sevilla'.

Wow that was quite a drive from Ainsa. Are you sure your read the right notes?

Where ever you got to you saw nice birds.

[xelas]

Beautiful photos, looks like road trips through Europe will be on the menu in 2022 so keep posted as many details as possible. I am sure there is an abundance of excellent photos waiting to be posted here.

[PeterHG]

32 minutes ago, Galana said:

Wow that was quite a drive from Ainsa.

Ah, my spelling corrector appears to have adapted it to a more familiar name....;) Thanks, it should read 'Revilla'

[PeterHG]

43 minutes ago, Kitsafari said:

were you just passing through pyrenees or did you try to bird in that area?

We stayed in the Pyrenees for a week and did try to do some birdwatching there, besides walking and taking scenic drives.

[Kitsafari]

10 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

We stayed in the Pyrenees for a week and did try to do some birdwatching there, besides walking and taking scenic drives.

 

 

and we will be there for only a day or two - hope we get to see a lot of birds. but your photos show a really beautiful place so i'm looking forward to it. 

[Galana]

8 hours ago, PeterHG said:

Thanks, it should read 'Revilla'

I meant from the Pyrenees down to Miradores de Sevilla.

[shazdwn]

Awesome griffin vulture photos, well done

[PeterHG]

7 hours ago, Galana said:

I meant from the Pyrenees down to Miradores de Sevilla.

I know, but in fact the name was Miradores de Revilla, situated in the Ordesa National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees. We did indeed travel all the way south to Tarifa and later on passed Sevilla on our way to Portugal. A long drive, but we were away for almost six weeks, so t certainly did not feel like we spent too much time in the car.i

[Galana]

Ah! Revilla in place of Sevilla. I misunderstood your explanation.

Alberto took us to another place more NW of Sipan where we had lots of Vultures and I was trying to place where you saw yours.

[Zim Girl]

Love the pictures of the Griffon vulture!

[PeterHG]

Our cottage had a rather confiding little migrant, visiting us every afternoon, a Pied Flycatcher (already counted)

 

 

[PeterHG]

We went out for a morning with a local guide from Birding the Strait. As nearly always this was a very pleasant and rewarding experience. Not only did he take us to some good locations to watch the migration, he gave us many tips on where to go in the following days. One of the places we visited with him was the local harbour where we spent some time trying to see shearwaters and skuas. We did see Balearic and Cory's Shearwater and also Great Skua and Pomarine Skua (a lifer for me). No photos I'm afraid as they were all distant telescope views, so for images of the Shearwaters and Skua, please have a look at @michael-ibk's excellent photos of his recent pelagic trip. We then went up into the hills north of Tarifa to get a taste of the migration. He told us many of the Storks had already left, but there were still quite a few that had not ventured the crossing yet.

 

 

The main raptors migrating that day were Short-toed and Booted Eagle. Many stayed very high (sometimes up to 50 eagles could be seen overhead) but because of the strong wind a few of them came soaring quite low over the hill tops

 

191 Sp 08. Short-toed Eagle, Tarifa, September

 

[pedro maia]

That is a beautiful Short-toed Eagle photo!

[Peter Connan]

Stunning photos Peter!

[PeterHG]

The next few days there were strong winds. Back home this would perhaps keep us from going out birding, but on this occasion the wind was a bonus. Many of the raptors stayed low, using the valleys to shelter from the wind and often they would return from a vain attempt to cross to Africa. In these conditions (and also when clouds or fog make the Moroccan coast less visible) they hesitate to proceed with the crossing. We found some of the spots our guide had pointed out to us on the previous day and some of them proved excellent vantage points from which approaching eagles and other raptors could be photographed. We had a field day! Booted eagles were in the majority and we must have seen at least one hundred that day.

192 Sp 09. Booted Eagle. Tarifa, September

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

Quite a few Marsh Harriers also flew by. In the background you can see Tarifa harbour.

 

[PeterHG]

We only saw a few Honey Buzzards. Apparently most of them had already passed here a few weeks earlier

 

[PeterHG]

We saw many Griffon Vultures migrating and sometimes they were accompanied by one or two Egyptian Vultures.

193 Sp 10. Egyptian Vulture. Tarifa, September.

 

[PeterHG]

Sometimes a small group of Black Kites would also pass. In many parts of Spain and Portugal they are replaced by their red cousins in winter.

 

194 Sp 11. Black Kite. Tarifa, September

 

 

Here are a few of them among Short-toed and Booted eagles

 

 

[PeterHG]

Like with the Honey Buzzards, the majority of the Black Storks had already left. We did see two small groups and this juvenile individual, who had a lot of trouble making any progress at all into the wind.

 

195. Sp 12. Black Stork. Tarifa, September.

 

[PeterHG]

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly our close encounter with the Short-toed Eagles. I watched two of them approaching low over the hills and dipping into the valley. I quickly moved a few paces to the spot where I supposed they would appear, when it gained height again and it worked perfectly, especially for the first one. I don't think I have ever been closer to an eagle and its big yellow eyes were truly stunning. Magical moments!

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

1 hour ago, PeterHG said:

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly our close encounter with the Short-toed Eagles. I watched two of them approaching low over the hills and dipping into the valley. I quickly moved a few paces to the spot where I supposed they would appear, when it gained height again and it worked perfectly, especially for the first one. I don't think I have ever been closer to an eagle and its big yellow eyes were truly stunning. Magical moments!

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW!

 

with apologies to others, I have to vote this THE shot of this year's BY.  

Edited November 5, 2021 by Kitsafari