Strait of Gibraltar - Honey Buzzard Migration

Timed to coincide with the peak of the European Honey Buzzard migration, this trip puts us right at the heart of a massive movement of thousands of these beautiful nomads as they journey north to breed. Bird-of-prey aficionados will enjoy mornings at raptor watchpoints as these stunning birds stream across the migration bottleneck at The Strait of Gibraltar, accompanied by a strong supporting cast of Griffon Vultures, Black Kites, Short-toed and Booted Eagles. 

The Strait is just 14 km wide and provides migrant birds with their best chance of a successful crossing of the Mediterranean. Soaring birds make use of the thermals which form over the rocky coastlines of Morocco to gain height and help them on this most treacherous part of their journey.  This combination of geography and geology means a helping hand for birds, and quite simply spectacular birding for us!

During the spring, 250,000 raptors migrate over this area, as well as untold thousands of other journeying passerines and seabirds. Though it is towards the end of the season, May is no less impressive thanks to the 15,000 Honey Buzzards that pass over, often concentrated into just a few perfect days. We will spend the week visiting the very best places to experience this event.

We will also explore some of the area's other exceptional bird-watching sites, where the breeding season will be in full flow for our resident birds and summer visitors. We'll be on the look-out for Egyptian Vultures, Bonelli’s and Spanish Imperial Eagles as well as a glimpse of Rüppell's Vulture, an increasingly familiar vagrant visitor to the area. 

European Bee-eaters will be busy at their breeding colonies in the hills, as will Lesser Kestrels in the picturesque Old Town of Tarifa. We will also visit the colony of the Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis – a quirky charismatic bird that thrives here thanks to a successful reintroduction programme. 

A boat trip into The Strait itself will let you get close and personal with the area´s rich sea-life.  Common, Bottlenose and Striped Dolphins are all resident, as are Long-finned Pilot Whales. Even Fin and Sperm Whales are possible here as they pass through on migration.

Visits to wetlands should yield a host of waders including Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Little Stint and Collared Pratincoles, as well as larger stars like Purple Swamphen, Eurasian Spoonbill and Greater Flamingo. As we visit both saline and freshwater habitats, we'll look out for Gull-billed, Little, Whiskered and Caspian Terns, and White-headed and Marbled Ducks, Great Reed Warblers and Isabelline Warblers.

To cap things off, our base for the week is a lovely converted farmhouse with delicious food, the weather should be perfect in early May and each lunchtime you’ll be greeted with a veritable spread of delicious local produce and wine!