Leaving Andújar behind, we headed straight to Laguna de Fuente de Piedra for some birding around the Reserva Natural. This huge, natural, saline lake is famous for its breeding population of Greater Flamingos, which in a good year can exceed 16,000 breeding pairs.

On the journey to the lagoons we saw decent numbers of Black Kites, along with White Storks nesting on top of electricity pylons at various points along the route.

Dressed in shorts and T-shirts we were immediately made aware of a strong, biting cold wind when we arrived at the reserve.

After a brief visit to the brand spanking new visitor centre, we set off into sub Arctic conditions in search of some birds.

Despite the weather, it was difficult not to be impressed by the sheer number of Greater Flamingos on site. Countless birds could be seen in the foreground, while others were mere dots in the distance. New birds flew in all the time, adding to the spectacle.

Mark immediately set up his scope trying to find one of the reported Lesser Flamingos. If his task wasn’t already impossible, the strong wind made it more so.

Among the many flamingos, we were able to observe a whole plethora of other bird species. In the shallows good numbers of Black-winged Stilts and Avocets probed for food.

Further out Black-headed Gulls and Gull-billed Terns shared the sky with both Common and Pallid Swifts, as well as Barn and Red-rumped Swallows.

Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes were both present in good numbers, together with Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Scaup, Shoveller, Garganey and a very distant White-headed Duck.

A walk around the hides picked up Crested Lark, Little Grebe, House Martin and Red-crested Pochard. Despite the biting wind, a couple of Spanish Terrapins attempted to bask at the back of a small lagoon. John also spotted a probable Southern Water Vole in a reed bed but it failed to show again much to our annoyance.

Driving around the lagoon to another hide did little to warm us up. Stonechat was added to the list along with Marsh Harrier, Kentish Plover and a mixed flock of Yellow Wagtails (flavissima, flava and iberiae).

With little chance of finding any of the reptiles supposedly common in the area, we decided to explore the rest of the area by car, venturing outside only to visit a couple of vista points and to turn over some debris around a dilapidated building.

Common Raven and a party of Lesser Kestrel (below) provided some entertainment as they blew about in the strong winds.

Linnet and Lapwing were also noted on the flooded fields that boardered the wetland.

We stopped for a much needed meal back in the town of Fuente de Piedra before setting out to find a hotel to spend the night. A diversion took us past an abandoned building site where we managed to find both a juvenile and an adult Ocellated Lizard, together with a solitary Corn Bunting.

All the hotels in the vicinity were closed so we widened our search to the next town. En route we came across a male Montagu’s Harrier sat in a field, together with many Red-legged Partridges.

We returned to the lagoons under darkness and drove most of the roads surrounding the main lake. The monotonous olive groves didn’t promise much mammal diversity, although we hoped for a Polecat or Egyptian Mongoose. Instead we saw plenty of Red Foxes, a couple of Iberian Hares and many European Rabbits. An unidentified shrew crossed the road before we headed back to the hotel for a couple of beers.

Day 6 (March 25) Whales, dolphins and la chavs

An early morning visit back at Laguna de Fuente de Piedra failed to produce anything new. The weather was just as bad as the day before, so without much hesitation we headed south to Tarifa.

On the south coast the sun was shining, with Black Kites, Griffon Vultures and White Storks riding the thermals.

We spent the middle of the day driving the dirt tracks around the plain of La Janda, birding the canals that border the road.

A couple of Woodchat Shrikes punctuated the drive into the plain, along with a much wanted Purple Gallinule that lurked in a reed bed.

Fan-tailed Warblers circled the car in song flight, while Little and Great Egrets fished alongside Grey Herons on the exposed canal mud banks.

The flooded fields provided refuge for large numbers of Pintail and Spoonbill, together with several species of common waterfowl. I managed to miss a couple of fly over Bee-eater, although I heard their distinctive call.

Tarifa is well known for its whale watching trips in the Strait of Gibraltar and it seemed bad-mannered to overlook them on what primarily was a mammal watching trip. We found the tour company late afternoon only to find the boat was leaving an hour earlier than advertised. To make matters worse, only two places were left, although we were able to sweet talk the steward into selling two extra tickets (presumably without lifejackets!)

We hastily joined the rest of the whale watchers at the quayside and to our horror soon realised the boat was full of French school kids. Despite an obvious disinterest in cetaceans, they took all the outside seats and proceeded to chant, sing and smoke for the whole two hour trip!

French chavs aside, the trip was productive. Several Balearic Shearwaters were picked out among the many Yellow-legged Gulls, while cetacean interest was maintained by a pod of Long-finned Pilot Whales...

...and good numbers of Striped Dolphins.

Back on dry land we walked past Tarifa Castle where a population of Lesser Kestrel mingled with the feral Pigeons. As Anna predicted, Mark transformed from seasick to hungry in a matter of seconds. After a well earned ice-cream we drove to a car park on the edge of town and took a stroll along the foreshore.

Skylark and a single Black-eared Wheatear were new birds for the trip list, as was a single Sanderling that shared the beach with a flock of Kentish Plover. We tried to pick out a more interesting gull from the Yellow-legs but our stomachs got the better of us and we returned to our hotel for dinner.

A brief night drive back around La Janda didn’t turn up anything other than Brown Rats and European Rabbits. A police checkpoint on the journey home was more interesting, as was the sound of frogs coming from a nearby river.

From the top of a bridge Mark and I managed to spotlight two Iberian Water Frogs adding another amphibian to our tally.

Day 7 (March 26) Apes, fry-ups and fish & chips

The day got off to a good start before we had even left the grounds of our hotel. While flipping some rocks around an abandoned building I found my first Horseshoe Whip Snake. The reptile was still cold and capturing it was relatively easy. The feisty serpent still tried to bite a couple of times before I left it to continue its day in peace.

Our destination for the day was the British territory of Gibraltar, in particular the famous rock. After an unsuccessful detour along the Cádiz coastline in search of Bald Ibis, we entered British soil late morning.

Driving straight to the Rock, it wasn’t long before we were watching our first Barbary Macaques – our most easy mammal tick of the holiday.

After the obligatory photographs, we headed to the café to find that the ‘all day breakfast’ didn’t start until 12 noon! It was good to be back on British soil!

After a tour of the caves and a much anticipated cooked breakfast, we explored the many paths transecting the Rock finding good numbers of Andalusian (Vaucher’s) Wall Lizards...

...and Moorish Geckos. 

Our second Horseshoe Whip Snake of the day was spotted basking at the bottom of a wall, although it was quick to disappear once it saw us.

Raptor migration was in full swing with several Ospreys, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Black Kites and Sparrowhawks noted throughout the afternoon. Most failed to escape the attention of the many Yellow-legged Gulls that inhabit the Rock and were mobbed accordingly.

A few grounded passerines were also noted including Blackcap, Redstart and Black Redstart. Blue Rock Thrush was seen near the top though there was no sign of any Barbary Partridges.

After more ape photos and a cold drink at the top of the Rock, we braved the Gibraltar traffic to find the cemetery in search of more wildlife. Mark handled the rush hour like a pro, dodging Hummers and expensive saloons like he had lived there all his life.

By the time we managed to find a parking place, the temperature had dropped lowering our chances of finding more herps.

We did manage an immature Ocellated Lizard, a Redstart and a Spectacled Warbler before we left the site for some very well earned fish and chips.

We spent the rest of the daylight parked under the Rock, unsuccessfully looking for Barbary Partridge and Eagle Owls. A Shag was seen out at sea and we noticed a couple more Redstarts. The local boy racers kept us entertained before we headed to Málaga under darkness.

Day 8 (March 27) Snakes alive!

After a comfortable night in the Málaga Ibis Hotel, we drove the short distance to the famous Río Gaudalhorce situated near the airport.

The first thing we noticed as we parked the car was some huge nests in a nearby tree. Noisy Monk Parakeets seemingly shared these structures with the local Jackdaws.

Walking along the river we made our way to the actual reserve, keeping an eye out for any wildlife along the way. An exotic Common Waxbill was noted by Mark as it flitted over our heads. Hoping for warblers, we were disappointed to find the area particularly windy, although the temperature was increasing all the time.

Woodchat Shrikes, Sardinian and Fan-tailed Warblers kept us busy, while White-headed Ducks showed extremely well from the hides.

A small mammal crossed the path too far away for a confident identification, although it looked good for a Weasel.

The sheltered areas around the lagoons started to produce warblers and before long we had seen Western Bonelli’s and Subalpine Warblers, followed by a couple of early Orphean Warblers.

A stroll to the seawatching hide gave us a solitary Greater Flamingo, several Sandwich Terns and a Whiskered Tern, while out at sea we added Lesser Black-backed Gull and a small raft of Common Scoter.

Raptor interest was maintained by the local Kestrels and a couple of Booted Eagles. Waders included Kentish Plovers and Black-winged Stilts.

Good numbers of Spanish Terrapins piled on top of each other at a couple of basking sites around the ponds. Careful observation produced several non-indigenous Red-eared Sliders mixed in among the natives.

The sound of Reed and Sedge Warblers serenaded us as we made our way back to the car before we left for an undisclosed site in search of herps.

In habitat very similar to that of the Rio Guadalhorce we carefully searched the rocks and vegetation in search of reptiles. Several Horseshoe Whip Snakes were taking advantage of the midday sun but quickly disappeared once they sensed us.

Moorish Geckos and Large Psammodromus were out in good numbers and Mark spotted a snake swimming across a river which was probably a Viperine Snake.

After an excellent Brazilian meal on the outskirts of Málaga, we headed to up into the Sierras De Las Nieves for an afternoon in the mountains.

As expected, the area was popular with picnickers and it was difficult to find a place free from people. Nonetheless we saw several common birds such as Woodchat Shrike, Jay, Hoopoe and Bee-eater. Griffon Vultures patrolled the sky above as we searched a stream for Fire Salamander. Unsuccessful, we made do with the Andalusian Wall Lizards and Large Psammodromus (below) that inhabited a nearby log pile.

In the early evening Anna spotted a family group of Spanish Ibex feeding only metres away from a group of people. Too distant for photographs, we moved on and waited patiently for nightfall.

Our last night drive turned out to be something of a disappointment, at least in comparison to a night’s haul in the Sierra de Andújar! Making do with Fallow Deer and European Rabbits we headed back to Málaga and called it a night.

Day 9 (March 28) Farewell to Andalucia

We started our last morning in Spain back at the Río Gaudalhorce where we saw pretty much the same birds as the day before.

The Greater Flamingo now had a mate and a good sized flock of Bee-eater were easily observed as they sat in a dead tree. 

Ruddy Shelduck and Common Sandpiper were the only new birds.

At the undisclosed reptile site another three Horseshoe Whip Snakes were out basking on the rocks, together with Moorish Geckos and Large Psammodromus. The highlight, however, was a huge Ocellated Lizard that posed for photographs at the side of the path.

We ate lunch in the tourist town of Torre de Mar to the west of Málaga before walking along the beach to the Río Vélez. This river mouth site was far less pristine then the Río Gaudalhorce but contained some good birds nonetheless.

Cetti’s Warblers seemed especially numerous and called from the reed beds, occasionally giving us a glimpse as they flitted across the path. Reed and Sedge Warblers were also present, together with Hoopoe (below) and Woodchat Shrike.

From the beach Mark spotted a couple of Collared Pratincoles and added Mediterranean Gull to our trip list. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any sign of the invasive Red Avadavats that inhabit the area.

With plenty of debris to flip I was surprised not to find any reptiles. In fact we didn’t see a single lizard despite the weather conditions being almost perfect.

With time to kill before our airport check in, we explored the farmland surrounding the Río Vélez. A Tree Sparrow was spotted among a large flock of House Sparrows and a single Redshank was spotted near to Torre de Mar.

After a last ditch attempt for a Southern Grey Shrike in the foothills behind the reserve, we headed to our hotel to collect our luggage, before checking in at Málaga airport for our flight home.

- - - - - -

The trip was immensely successful on many levels. Our primary aim to observe Iberian Lynx in the wild was met on our first full day. Most other target mammals were seen well shortly after.

The reptile tally exceeded all expectations with the majority seen well and identified quickly. Our final bird list was also pretty decent, although we did miss a couple of easy species such as Black Vulture.

Above all I had a fantastic time in excellent company and I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Spain.

Species List

Birds  /  Mammals  /  Herps  (links open as a pdf)

Acknowledgements

Many people helped with the preparation of this trip, including those people who had written reports on mammalwatching.com. There is also a decent amount of advice and information on Birdforum.net in the mammal section. The guys on the European Fieldherp Forum answered several of my questions, while a couple of helpful people on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Travel Forum were invaluable with translations and general guidance.

Also a big thank you to John, Mark and Anna for their excellent company and providing many of the photographs on this report. Thanks again to Mark for doing all the driving.