If it's mid September it must be Tarifa..........

12-13 Sept - My annual raptor fix, 2 days at Tarifa.......westerly winds, and the raptor passage has been quiet this week, but good numbers of birds seen at Algarrobo watchpoint.....during the 2 days, over a hundred each of Short-toed and Booted Eagles and Honey buzzards, passing in mixed flocks, progressively higher as the day warmed up so mornings best for good views. Also seen, Egyptian Vulture and Black Stork, as well as the commoner species such as Black Kite. Alpine Swifts were passing in numbers, something I haven't seen in previous years, but every year is different. La Janda rice fields were productive as usual - Montagu's (juvs) and Marsh Harriers, together with 2 Black-winged Kites and a few Lesser Kestrels. Glossy Ibis again present this year alongside White Storks and a variety of Herons. An area I hadn't previously visited was Barbate lagoons, which were a highlight with no less than 64 Audouin's Gulls and a Caspian Tern the highlight, along with 8 Greater Flamingoes. Commoner waders here included Redshank and Greenshank, Whimbrel and Black-tailed Godwit on passage, alongside the resident Black-winged Stilts. I could only manage a single Cory's Shearwater off Los Lances beach in misty conditions, and the disturbance here meant there was little to be seen apart from Kentish Plover and Sanderling, and a few Sandwich Terns. Another excellent brief visit to the Strait of Gibraltar, and after this week's birding travel I will be going back to work for a rest!