Raptor Migration

After several days that were spent at Europa Point (approximately 3 to 4 hours each day) watching raptor migration from Africa to Europe, we were fortunate enough to capture some great shots so we've decided to post them here for you all to enjoy.

Here's a count of what we saw over those days:

Griffon Vulture



Black Kite

Black Kites 870
Short-toed Eagle 39
Marsh Harrier 12
Sparrow Hawk 77
Boated Eagle 249
Osprey 12
Egyptian Vulture 9
Common Buzzard 7
Hobby 4

The migration is still on-going, so we'll continue to go up to Europa  Point (weather permitting) and hopefully, we'll be able to capture some more photos of these spectacular birds that fly across Gibraltar.



Booted Eagle





Booted Eagle



Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle

Sparrowhawk

Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle

Black Kite

Osprey



Booted Eagle



Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle

Booted Eagle



Sparrowhawk



Booted Eagle



Booted Eagle





Booted Eagle





Black Kite





Sparrowhawk





Griffon Vulture





Booted Eagle



Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea

The Purple heron is a scarce summer visitor found in marshy areas. In the past it was an abundant breeding species especially in La Janda, but over recent years we have seen them mostly breeding in Central Valverde, which is in the Doñana National Park.

They nest in colonies, usually in reed beds as they prefer denser vegetation than the Grey heron.

The purplish-red elements in the plumage are difficult to see at a distance, when it looks generally a little darker than the Grey heron.

The Purple heron feeds in shallow water, waiting  motionless for prey, and spearing fish, frogs, insects and small mammals.

 

Note: All of these photos were all captured on one particular outing so we hope you enjoy them.

 

Another post coming up next weekend hopefully...!

Black-tailed godwits

Limosa limosa

During a previous birding trip in Bonanza we managed to observe some Black-tailed godwits at a relatively close range. This enabled us to capture some decent photographs so we decided to do a post specifically about this bird.

Black-tailed godwits are large long-legged wading birds. In summer, they have bright orangey-brown chests and fronts, but in winter they are predominantly greyish-brown. Their most distinctive features are their long beaks and legs, and the black and white stripes on their wings.

Estuaries and coastal lagoons are the best places to look for such a bird, at almost any time of the year, and they also visit wetland sites inland. It is easiest though to spot them from late summer, and all throughout winter.

Anyhow, we hope you've all enjoyed our post focusing on this particular bird.

 

We're already drafting up our next post, and planning our next outing too. Busy times ahead for the Bird Nerd team!