South-west Spain February 2019
In late February we headed to the Andújar Natural Park in Andalucia in search of Iberian Lynx but failed, just bad luck really as no-one saw them while we were there but it was a great area with lots of Black and Griffon Vultures and Spanish Imperial Eagles plus we had Black Wheatear, Short-toed Treecreeper and Azure-winged Magpies, Southern Grey Shrikes plus Choughs and Crag Martins. From there we then headed down towards Tarifa taking in some locations en route that no longer seemed to have bustards but we did bump into a fine group pf White-headed Ducks, only my second encounter with the species and close views through a fence though we were denied access to the supposed reserve. Around Tarifa and La Janda there were already Marsh Harriers, Lesser Kestrels, Short-toed Eagles and Black Kites arriving while the large flocks of Common Cranes at La Janda appeared to be departing, literally, during our stay. My best views for along time of Black-shouldered Kites were also much appreciated and the Bald Ibis colony was another new event for my birding. Large numbers of Cory’s Shearwaters were just offshore in the strong winds and there were also high numbers of Vagrant Emperors along the west coast.
