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Costa del Sol (27/3/99-3/4/99),

Introduction

What follows is an account of a trip that I made to the Costa del Sol during Easter 1999.  I stayed at the "Los Amigos beach club" situated about two miles west of Fuengirola. This was a family holiday and so most of my birding was done during the first couple of hours of daylight. (However as the day dawned at 8.00am this was hardly a sacrifice!)

Given the time of year I was unsure about which species would be present and so I was pleasantly surprised at the number of summer visitors that had arrived.   In addition to these, the nearby Sierras held a good variety of mountain species, especially birds of prey.

The weather was excellent, every day was like a British summer without the overbearing heat that characterizes this area in July and August.

The sites.

Most of these sites can be reached in little more than an hour (and often quicker) from any of the resorts on the Western Costa del Sol.  Estapona, San Pedro, Marbella, Fuengirola and Torremolinos are all well placed.

By the apartment!

The road west from Fuengirola passes under the only lighthouse hereabouts, called the Faro y Torre. The road junction immediately after this leads to the Los Amigos Beach Club.   Park here.  A track now leads inland through some typical Meditteranean scrub with a tiny willow and reed lined stream.

The area was alive with Cetti's Warblers and Nightingales, both giving good views.   The Nightingales had arrived the previous week.  Serins and Sandinian Warblers were everywhere. Obvious new arrivals included a Woodchat Shrike and two waves of Pallid Swifts.  (Ordinary Swifts arrive about mid-April. )  The only Starlings were Spotless.  Hoopoe and Crested Lark also featured.

Without repositioning the car it is possible to walk down to the headland. (About 100m and through an underpass.)  This is potentially a good seawatching spot as this part of the Costa sticks out more than most.  My brief visit produced four Audouins Gulls loafing offshore, a few distant Med Shearwaters, Gannet, Little Egret and a few Sandwich Terns.

Refugio de Jaunar

Very easy to access, being just a few miles inland from Marbella.  This is a mountain site and probably best visited a couple of weeks later than I did when more species are in.   The walking is beautiful.  After parking near to the Refugio follow tracks to the Mirador and superb views down to Marbella.  A fine variety of overflying raptors had been promised, Blue and Rock Thrushes and Orphean and Bonelli's Warblers with Eagle Owls near the Mirador.  They all failed to materialise but I did manage to add Jay plus Blue and Coal Tits to my Spanish list.  Well worth the effort!

Serrania de Ronda

A visit to Ronda is a must even if you are not bird watching.   Unfortunately most of Spain thinks this way too and so parking and congestion are a problem if you don't arrive before the hoards.  Allow a full day.  I didn't, and ended up having to miss some of the sites.  It is possible to do a circular tour off the area.  I took the main road from San Pedro to Ronda and returned via the the more minor road through Coin and back down to Fuengirola.

The key site in Ronda is the Bridge over the "Tajo",  a very deep gorge.   Many Chough nest here as do Crag Martins and Lesser Kestrel.  Alpine Swift should be present but I didn't see any.  Peregrines hunt the Rock Doves. There is a fine walk along the cliff top to the north of the town where further views of similar species will be seen.  White Wagtail, Serin and Blackcap frequent this area.

The road from Ronda to Coin leads through the Sierra Blanquilla.   Parking spaces were few but the region 8-11km out of Ronda was particularly worthy of stopping and scanning.  Chough were again numerous.  Lesser Kestrel, Golden Eagle, Southern Grey Shrike and Spotless Starling all showed well.  A gorge called the Puerto del Viento and a flat area just beyond it were rewarding.

Other worthwhile stopping points are Tolox, the Mirador del Guardia Forestal and Jorox Gorge.

The Rio Guadalhorce Estuary (Malaga)

This prime wetland seems to be no longer accessible due to the building of an eastern channel to the Rio Guadalhorce which completely cuts off the area.  At the time of writing, construction is ongoing.  It is possible that when construction finishes, it may be possible to ford the river during a dry summer.  At present this is not possible!  If anyone can update me on the situation, please e-mail me. 

I rescued something from my visit by driving down to the mouth of the original (western) branch of the river at Guadalmar.  Best birds were a Purple Heron, Med Gull and Little Egret, with Fan-tailed and Cetti's Warbler in the reeds.   (Update Aug'99)

El Chorro

This is a stunning area of cliffs, deep gorges and lakes some forty miles NW of Malaga.   There are several areas which are well worth exploring.

The Valle de Abdelajis is situated below a line of high limestone cliffs about 1km east of the village of Abdelajis. However, it is probably best   to approach from El Chorro village.  Griffon Vultures and Bonelli's Eagles both originate from this area but apparently disperse widely soon after the sun rises.   Black-eared Wheatears and Corn Buntings were also seen.

The Garganta del Chorro is the prime site of the area.  It is best to park at the "El Pilar" bar.  From here you can scan the sky for raptors (especially Griffon Vultures), gaze in awe at the chasm with its hundreds of wheeling and swooping Alpine Swifts and Crag Martins or look for passerines in the steep pine woods behind.   The cliffs hold Choughs and in winter, Wall Creepers.

Continuing along the road, one comes to a sign on the left to the Ruinas de Bobastro.  The road leads to the very top of the hill above El Chorro, were it is possible to have eye to eye contact with the same soaring raptors seen from below.  There is a handy Bar and on a clear day there is a view all the way to the Sierra Nevada.  The road up the hill produced several Rock Buntings along with several more familiar species.

The Parque de Ardales is a beautiful area of pine fringed lakes about five miles NW of El Chorro.  The lakes have few birds but the trees have Crested Tit, Rock Bunting, Serin and Crossbill.  There are many tracks to explore.   Red-necked Nightjars and other migrants inhabit the area in summer.

Montes de Malaga

Situated just a few miles north of Malaga, these pine clad mountains are well worth a visit.  However, without local knowledge finding the correct road out of Malaga is difficult!  It is easier, though further, to drive north from Malaga on the N321, turn left at Casabermeja, left again at Colmenar and then drive 14km south to the Fuente de la Reina, the main entrance point. 

There are miles and miles of driveable tracks, all colour coded.  It is difficult to know where to stop.  This is a site that holds Azure-winged Magpie though I failed to see any.  Raptors should be plentiful and there are many view points for scanning.   Most of the common woodland species occur here including Short-toed Tree Creeper and plentiful Crossbills.  Three Bee-eaters flew north, presumably early migrants.

Gibraltar

No trip to the area would be complete without a visit to Gibraltar.  It should be pointed out that this site comes into its own during westerly winds at migration time.   My afternoon (tourist) visit to the Rock coincided with the visible migration of just one Sparrowhawk!  (Apparently Black Kites had been prominent earlier in the day.)  Barbary Apes were much easier to see though the partridges of the same name become very shy when the tourists arrive.

Currently the border crossing can be difficult due to political reasons of the Spanish Government.  I drove straight in but was held up for an hour on the way out.

Where to watch birds in Southern and Western Spain Ernest Garcia and Andrew Paterson: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk The reprint and update of this excellent book have been long awaited. I have birded in this region of Spain many times and yet I still have much to learn, Garcia and Paterson are the experts. Where else in Europe can you see five species of swift in one day? Did you know that Ruppel's Griffon Vulture is now regular in part of the region? New sites have been added and access details thoroughly updated. Areas covered include birding hotspots such as Extremadura, Gibraltar and Ronda. A "must buy" if you are traveling to Southern Spain.

John Girdley (16/4/99)

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