birding...

Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus ©Sue & Andy Tranter http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk/

The famous Rock of Gibraltar is a limestone promontory, some five km long and 1 km wide. The summit ridge, rising to 426m, offers superb if vertiginous views over the westernmost Mediterranean, the Costa del Sol and, especially, the Strait of Gibraltar itself. The Moroccan shore is only 20 km away and views often extend to the Rif Mountains beyond.

The strategic position of Gibraltar is the root of its ornithological fame. Migration of soaring birds, i.e. storks and raptors, occurs year-round in some form and numbers can be spectacular in the peak seasons of March-May and August-October, almost invariably during periods of westerly winds. The principal species are Honey Buzzards and Black Kites, which both produce daily counts of thousands at peak times. Significant but lesser concentrations occur of Egyptian and Griffon Vultures, Short-toed Eagles, Marsh, Hen and Montagu`s Harriers, Sparrowhawks, Common Buzzards, Booted Eagles and Ospreys, among others, as well as White and Black Storks.

Migration of seabirds is also an all-year phenomenon and features important numbers of Cory`s and Balearic Shearwaters, Northern Gannets, Great Skuas, Mediterranean, Little, Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Audouin`s Gulls and Sandwich Terns. Many other seabirds occur regularly, including Lesser Crested Terns (October/mid-November).

The local list, of some 310 species, grows annually. A recent addition was Indigo Bunting (April 2004). The list includes a particularly comprehensive contingent of passerines, most of them migrants grounded on the Rock by inclement weather, often during the frequent bouts of strong easterly winds which produce the famous levanter cloud over the summit. A diversity of vagrant species enlivens the birding scene; recent examples have included Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Lanner, Allen’s Gallinule and Mountain Chiffchaff.

Resident and breeding species are few but Gibraltar has one of only two colonies of Shags in the westernmost Mediterranean and is the only mainland site in Europe for Barbary Partridges. Other local breeders include Peregrines, Lesser Kestrels, Common, Pallid and Alpine Swifts, Blue Rock Thrushes and, since their recolonisation in 2004, a pair of Eagle Owls. The thousands of Yellow-legged Gulls are an unmissable feature; they even nest on rooftops and in the pine trees of the Botanic Garden.