Los Lances, Tarifa

My dad told me there was a bird fair in Tarifa on Friday 24th September and if I was keen to go with him. Fortunately I was on leave from work and could make it, and I'm so glad I did! When we arrived I discovered a large marquee and inside were plenty of stalls providing everything from general birdwatching information, free DVD's to selling clothes and camera lenses. We managed to collect some leaflets on typical birdwatching areas in Southern Spain that we hadn't yet visited, some maps, restaurant information and even details regarding accommodation.

We weren't sure at what time the bird fair started and inevitably, we got there two hours early so we decided to head to Los Lances, a typical birding spot in Tarifa. During the two hours that we spent there, we managed to see 16 different bird species. What a great start to the day that was! Here's the list of what we managed to catch a glimpse of:

• Little Egret
• Spoonbills
• Ring Plover
• Sanderlings
• Black-headed Gulls
• Mediterranean Gulls
• Grey Heron
• Booted Eagle
• Short-toed Eagle
• Osprey
• Wheatear
• Crested Lark
• Alpine Swift
• Swallows
• Fan-tailed Warbler
• Godwits

We also spent some time in a hide and all of a sudden the Godwits went into a frenzy and we wondered what they'd seen that we hadn't until we saw an Osprey perform a spectacular splashdown as he dove for fish, his feet brought forward. I had only ever seen this bird in flight so it was a nice change to see it feeding instead. My dad has the photos on his camera so I'll upload some pics in a few days time hopefully.