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This 5-day tour combines some of the best of Andalusia's rich and varied wildlife with the amazing spectacle of autumn migration through the straits of Gibraltar. We'll spend four nights close to the southern tip of the Iberian peninsular, where we'll be perfectly placed to witness some of the thousands of raptors & storks that cross the Mediterranean each year. We'll also be close to many of the regions best wetlands, home to some of Europe's rarest birds, some of which have their entire European breeding distribution here in this southern corner of Spain.

DAY 1
Meet at the airport for our flight to Seville, from where we drive close to the town of Barbate our base throughout this tour. Here we are close to Tarifa and ready to enjoy the spectacle of migration. Our journey from the airport should produce our first interesting sightings and are likely to include Back & Red Kites, Booted & Short-toed Eagles and White Stork amongst others. After checking into our rooms we'll head out for the remainder of the evening for some birding close to the hotel.

DAY 2 – 4
We'll spend time at a selection of viewpoints watching for visible signs of migration. With the right weather conditions raptors are present in large numbers and can give excellent views, these include Honey Buzzard, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures and Montagu's and Marsh Harriers, these can be joined by many other European raptors such as Hobby, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk and Lesser Kestrel. Close scrutiny may even produce something rarer, with Long-legged Buzzard, Rüppell's Vulture, Lesser Spotted Eagle and Lanner Falcon all recorded in recent years. We'll also look for Spanish Imperial Eagle and Black-winged Kite, both exciting residents of the area. Along with the raptors there should also be good numbers of White Storks moving south, with smaller numbers of Black Stork amongst them.

We will also spend time visiting some of the many wetlands east of the Rio Guadalquivir, where we'll look for the rare White-headed Duck and even rarer Marbled Duck. Amongst the other common species we should also find Red-crested Pochard and Black-necked Grebe, with Ferruginous Duck also possible. Around the margins Purple Gallinule should be encountered along with the possibility of Spotted Crake and even Bluethroat. However it is perhaps the rare Red-knobbed Coot that is most sought after here, and with a recent increase in numbers, helped in part by a re-introduction scheme, our chances are good. Little & Cattle Egret both occur in good numbers, as do Purple & Night Heron, Little Bittern, Spoonbill and Glossy Ibis.

We'll visit an area of saltpans where waders should be present in good numbers and include Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Collared Pratincole and Kentish Plover, with a long list of commoner species possible on migration. Checking through the many roosting gulls and terns should produce Slender-billed, Mediterranean and Audouins Gulls and Whiskered, Caspian and Gull-billed Terns. Greater Flamingo can also be expected in good number.

Passerines will be a feature to, with many migrants such as Melodious, Bonelli's, Sardinian and Sub-alpine Warblers all possible along with various Flycatchers, Pipits, Wheatears and Wagtails. While Hoopoe, Wryneck, Firecrest, Crested Tit, Woodchat & Southern Grey Shrike, Spotless Starling, Spanish Sparrow, Serin and Hawfinch all occur along with the striking Azure-winged Magpie. In drier areas Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is possible along with Stone Curlew and Crested, Short-toed and Lesser Short-toed Larks. While overhead hirundines, including Red-rumped Swallow and Crag Martin move south, along with Pallid Swift and flocks of European Bee-eater. Both Little and White-rumped Swift are also possible.

We'll also spend some time inland in more mountains areas, where we may add Bonelli's Eagle and Peregrine to the list of raptors already encountered. Other species here may include Alpine Swift, Rock Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart, Dartford Warbler, Thekla Lark, Red-billed Chough and Black Wheatear.

Day 5
Will start with an optional pre-breakfast walk close to the hotel. After breakfast we return to Gibraltar for our flight back to the UK.



To comply with Civil Aviation Authority
guidelines all flights are ATOL protected,
for more details see our terms &
conditions section 10.