Regular readers of this blog will remember that at about this time last year we were heading off to Spain for our traditional week watching autumn migration in Andalusia. That was before I was turned back from boarding the aircraft because of the ‘ten year rule’. In my naivety I’d assumed that with nearly eight months left to run on my passport I’d be free to travel, but that was before the EU bureaucrats got busy. Anyway to cut a long story short we ended up in Turkey – https://trevorontour.me/2024/08/28/unexpected-change-of-birding-destination/ Last week, equipped with my new passport, we ventured forth to take advantage of the accommodation booking of an apartment in the hills above La Pena, very kindly deferred by the owners from last year. The place was lovely, with stunning views across Tarifa and the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco, and convenient for most of the regularly visited sites of Cadiz province. We’d already spent a couple of nights at our favourite rural hotel – ‘the Old Pig Farm’ – near Grazalema seeing plenty of birds that pass through this stunning mountain national park.

During the week we visited most of the regular birding sites in Cadiz Province including: La Janda, Bolonia & Barbate, Laguna Medina and sites along the Guadalquivir. Generally it was tough going with small migrants in short supply and the raptors we did see were usually very high up. We finished the week with a trip list of 146 – down on previous years – but we did manage to tick-off most of the ‘celebrity’ species including: Bald Ibis, Ruppell’s Vulture and Elegant Tern. We concluded our stay with a bit of local tourism enjoying the spectacle that is the festival of Romeria Virgin de la Luz.

Another great week in Andalusia. After more than 25 years of visiting this southern province I’m still excited by the birdlife, scenery and culture.