Short-toed Eagle - circaetus gallicus
On the way to visit my son Tom at the Pilot Training Academy in Jerez we made a quick stop at the migration watch point near Tarifa, and sure enough there was a steady stream of raptors passing high overhead. Mostly Short-toed Eagles with a scattering of Booted Eagles mixed in. Griffon Vultures were also quite numerous and others I could not be sure of as they were too high to pick out distinguishing features.
Blackcap female - sylvia atricapilla
On Monday a break in the almost perpetual wet weather allowed Tom to fly both morning and afternoon, so we made the most of the sunshine and after a fascinating trip to the famous Tio Pepe Bodega, took a walk around the Laguna Medina. This was once an important wildfowl and wader reserve until it somehow became populated by carp. The fish ate the water plants that wildfowl feed on to the extent that there are virtually no ducks there at all any more. In fact we spotted a pair of Shoveler, half a dozen Great Crested Grebes, one Moorhen and a solitary Coot, That was it, apart from a few hundred black-headed Gulls which were roosting on the water. A few years ago it would have teemed with wildfowl including Red Knobbed Coot, but no longer. The situation was seemingly exacerbated by the carp dying in numbers as the food supply dwindled, so polluting the water.
The fringes of the lake did provide a habitat for Blackcaps however which were very numerous, along with many Stonechats and a few Shrikes, both Woodchat and Iberian Grey varieties.
The fringes of the lake did provide a habitat for Blackcaps however which were very numerous, along with many Stonechats and a few Shrikes, both Woodchat and Iberian Grey varieties.
 Stonechat male - saxicola torquatus  Iberian Grey Shrike |  Stonechat female - saxicola torquatus  Woodchat Shrike |
Spanish Festoon - zerynthia rumina
I noticed a lot of Spanish Festoon butterflies out again today, it has been a very good spring for this species which obviously are not adversely affected by wet conditions. I recall that in England during the wet summer last year there were more Ringlets about than any other species. No matter what the weather it always suits one or more species of wildlife. However today´s brief sunny respite brought out the Corn Buntings and the air was filled with the trill sound of their song, and there were plenty of Red-legged Partridges to be seen looking particularly plump and well fed.
 Corn Bunting - emberiza calandra |  Red-legged Partridge - alectoris rufa |
