13-11-17 4:55 PMVisit Gibraltar - Birdwatching

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BirdwatchingAs the Strait of Gibraltar is the narrowest crossing point for birds migrating to and from Europe and Africa, theRock offers unrivalled bird watching opportunities. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded, many ofwhich are migratory. Gibraltar, at the head of the Strait, is a prominent headland, which accumulates migrantsduring the passage periods. The vegetation on the Rock, unique in southern Iberia, provides a temporaryhome for many species of migratory birds that stop to rest and feed before continuing migration for theircrossing over the desert and sea. In spring they return to replenish before continuing their journeys to WesternEurope, journeys that may take them as far as Greenland or Russia. The bird watching high season extendsfrom February to June, and from July to October, although interesting species can be seen throughout theyear. For example, Gibraltar also has its permanent residents such as the Barbary Partridge, which was only tobe found originally in North Africa, and nowhere else in Mainland Europe.

Full details of the bird passage through Gibraltar can be found on the Gibraltar Ornithological and NaturalHistory Society website: www.gonhs.org (http://www.gonhs.org)

February - MarchFebruary to March is good for Cory Shearwater, Black Kite andShort-toed Eagle.

March – April

During late March to April there is a good variety of passageraptors including Black Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Short-toed Eagle,Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers, Buzzard, Booted Eagle andOsprey.

April – May

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Are excellent for migrating passerines and large falls occur inthe Strait area after bad weather.

July – August

July and August are probably the best sea-watching months.There are large numbers of Balearic and Cory’s Shearwatersoffshore and there is a large westward movement of thousandsof Audouins’s Gulls which pass close to the shore. Otherseabirds are likely at this time. July to August is also the peakof the southward migration of the White Stork, Black Kite andSwift.

August – October

The last week of August and the first ten days of September are the best for large numbers of raptors onmigration, especially Honey Buzzard, Egyptian Vulture and Montagu’s Harrier. Black Storks and Short-toedand Booted Eagles follow at the end of September and in early October. The main passerine activity in autumnis in late September to mid-November when large falls occur after bad weather. Finch migration duringOctober and early November is spectacular.

Birds move through the area of the Strait throughout the year, making is difficult to divide the year by seasons.The bulk of migration takes place from March to May and from August to October but not all species conformto this pattern. White storks, for example, pass south across The Strait in large numbers during late July andearly August, and return northward from the end of October. Any time of year can be rewarding for the visitor.

ALL YEAR

Interesting species which can be found throughout the year include:

Balearic Shearwater, Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Marbledand White-headed Ducks, Red Kite, Griffon and Black Vultures,Goshawk, Spanish Imperial, Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles,Barbary Partridge, Purple Gallinule, Crested Coot, Little andGreat Buzzards, Avocet, Stone-curlew, Kentish Plover, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Eagle Owl, Dupont’s andThekla Larks, Crag Martin, Alpine Accentor, Black Redstart,Black Wheater, Blue Rock Thrush, Cetti’s Dartford andSardinian Warblers, Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Great Grey Shrike, Azure-winged Magpie, Chough, SpotlessStarling, Spanish and Rock Sparrows, Serin and Hawfinch.

APRIL - SEPTEMBER

Those wanting to observe the greatest variety of species should visit during mid-April to mid-June. At this timebirds are still migrating north and most of the summer visitors have arrived to breed. Among the interestingsummer visitors are:

Little Bittern, Night Squacco and Purple Herons, Black and White Storks, Black Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Booted Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Pratincole,Slender-billed Gull, Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Scops Owl, Red-neckedNightjar, Pallid, Alpine and White-rumped Swifts, Bee-eater, Roller, Hoopoe, Short-toed and Lesser Short-toed Larks, Red-rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit, Rufous Bush Robin, Black-eared Wheatear, Rock Thrush, Savi’s Great Reed, Olivaceaous, Melodious, Spectacled, Subalpine, Orphean and Bonelli’s Warblers, Woodchat Shrike, Trumpeter Finch and Ortolan Bunting.

NOVEMBER - FEBRUARY

The winter period, which may be considered to start in November and end in February, is also an interestingtime as winter visitors from the North arrive and the residents species are still around. It is a good time toobserve waterfowl, waders and some passerines, in large numbers and some raptors such as Red Kite andHen Harrier are most abundant at this time. The winter is a suitable time for a short visit as the weather isusually mild except in the mountains. Interesting wintering species are: Greylag Goose, Red-crestedPochard, Crane, Black-tailed Godwit, Mediterranean Gull, Alpine Accentor and Penduline Tit.

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THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS

During the height of the last glacial advance 18000 years ago,the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans become refuges for birdswhich could not survive the rigours of the climate further north. During this period much of Iberia was covered in deciduous andconiferous forests of a similar type to those nowadays found incentral and northern Europe. With the retreat of the glaciersand the return to more temperate environments all over Europe,many species of birds began to re-colonise these areas. Birdsfrom Iberia advanced over much of Western Europe and thosefrom the Balkans moved into Eastern Europe. In winter, as theclimate deteriorated, these birds would return to their southernhomes. The migratory patterns of many birds were thusestablished with West European birds migrating south-west inautumn and East European birds flying southeast. Other factors have modified this basic pattern in the caseof a number of species of birds but the trend still holds true for a large number of species of land birds.

Tropical Africa is the major wintering zone for thousands of millions of European migratory birds. Many ofthese birds are reluctant to fly over the sea on migration and the Mediterranean Sea presents itself as aformidable barrier. For this reason vast numbers of West European birds congregate to cross the Strait ofGibraltar in autumn and return across in the spring. Gibraltar, at the head of the Strait, is a prominent headlandwhich accumulates migrants during the passage periods. The vegetation of the Rock, unique in southernIberia, is temporary home for many species of migratory birds which stop there to rest and feed beforecontinuing the migration.

Gibraltar’s proximity to the sea and to another major hurdle in the migration, the Sahara Desert, makes it anessential landfall. In autumn migrants from the north feed on the Rock and deposit large layers of fat whichmay double their body weights. This fat is used during the migratory flight over the sea and desert (duringwhich the birds do not feed) to provide energy and water. In spring the migrants have finished the desertcrossing and stop at Gibraltar to replenish reserves of fat before continuing towards Western Europe. Thisjourney may take them as far as Greenland or Russia.

Gibraltar is the winter home for other migratory birds from Western Europe which find food and protection onthe Rock. Ringing research has shown that many individuals return to winter on the Rock in successivewinters having performed many journeys north and south in the intervening periods. In the case of the CragMartin, a species of swallow which only weighs around 22 Grams, individuals have returned to winter on theRock for seven years.

The Rock of Gibraltar is therefore a stop-over for migrating birds of many species and a winter quarter forothers. These species are protected in their breeding areas. Transit points and winter quarters must also offerprotection if international conservation is to have any real meaning. All birds in Gibraltar are protected by lawwhich means that they cannot be hunted. It is equally important that the habitats which they utilise for feedingand shelter are protected from urban development and therefore destruction. The loss of vegetation from theRock or the progressive fragmentation of vegetated areas on the Upper Rock would reduce the sizes of thebirds populations living there, whether as residents or in transit, to unacceptable levels. The protection of theRock’s habitats is a commitment which goes beyond Gibraltar, it is an international commitment which formspart of a global strategy for the protection of birds with more than one home.

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