GIbraltar & southern spain - birdwatching tours

GIBRALTAR


Explore the wildlife of the famous Rock of Gibraltar in search of the enigmatic Barbary partridge and the notorious Barbary apes!  The tour also includes a round the rock tour visiting all the major birding sites as well as getting to know the local history and traditions at the hands of a local guide.  Possible birds include:-


Target birds include


Resident in Gibraltar:-
European Shags, the only mainland site in Europe for Barbary Partridges, Peregrine Falcon, Common & Lesser Kestrels, Common, Pallid & Alpine Swifts, Blue Rock Thrush, House Martin, Eagle Owl and thousands of Yellow-legged Gulls. A plethora of smaller songbirds such as Spotted Flycatcher, Sardianian Warbler, Blackcap, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Serin, Zitting Cisticola and many others also breed. 

​Migrants
Spring & autumn regular passage migrants include, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Turtle Dove, Northern & Black-eared Wheatears, Subalpine & Spectacled Warblers, Willow Warbler, Western Olivacious Warbler, Whinchat, Common Redstart, Tree & Tawny Pipit, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler, Orphean Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Ortolan Bunting to name just a few! More scare migrants include Lanner Falcon, Roller, Stone Curlew and others. For a more detailed species migration timetable in Gibraltar visit.


The primary habitat in Gibraltar is maquis, or dense Mediterranean scrub.  This is mostly made up of tall bushes that include wild olive, Mediterranean buckthorn, lentisc, Osyris, terebinth, and smaller bushes that include shrubby scorpion vetch, spiny broom, teline, wild jasmine, shrubby germander and felty germander.  The bay laurel, and the dwarf fan palm are also found in parts of the maquis.  Understory plants include the intermediate periwinkle, Butcher’s broom, Italian arum and Bear's breech. The firebreaks in the maquis are home to plants such as paper-white narcissus, common asphodel, giant Tangier fennel, wild gladiolus, Galactites and mallow bindweed.  Butterflies include the Monarch, Two-tailed pasha, Moroccan orange-tip and others.


or enjoy a mixed birdwaching  / bird photography tour

Red-knobbed coot - Fulica cristata

All photos by ©Andrew Fortuna

southern spain


This region represents one of the most important crossing points for diurnal bird of prey and stork migration, with very impressive movement s possible at almost all times of the year.  Our clients always enjoy birding in the sun as well as experiencing the best road-side tapas, a great way to take a break from the early morning birding and tuck into some delicious cheap local food!!  It is also one of the only places in Europe where one has a chance of seeing all 5 species of European Swift - Common, Pallid, Alpine, White-rumped and Little swift.

Target birds include

Spanish Imperial Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Golden Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Black Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Black-shouldered Kite,  Black Wheatear, Purple Swamphen, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Swifts Common, Pallid, Alpine, White-rumped and Little. European Roller, European Bee-eater, Western Orphean Warbler, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Iberian Magpie, Black Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Short-Toed Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Booted Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Collared Pratincole, Scops Owl, Red-Necked Nightjar, Bee-Eater, Hoopoe, Greater Short-Toed Lark, Red-Rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit, Rufous Bush Chat, Reed Warbler, Western Olivacious Warbler Woodchat Shrike, Ortolan Bunting, Yellow Wagtail.


Barbary partridge - Alectoris barbara

Audouin's gull - Ichthyaetus audouinii

Griffon vulture - Gyps fulvus