Light SSE turning SWS with a sea fog that mostly cleared by 9am produced a fantastic Quail that I flushed out of a tussock next to the path on Foxhill down at 6am. It didn’t fly far and I was ready for it the second time and got a nice view of it fly into the crop field bordering the coastguards. I checked the area when I walked back but no sign. Might be worth heading up this evening, my second here after a singing bird last summer.
Whilst scanning out to sea just before 09.30 I picked up the obvious outline of a Honey Buzzard powering in towards the cliffs. It’s trajectory, unfortunately took it up North side of the bay and over the monument but it was a good enough view to see it was male shaped and grey above. The bird circled over the village briefly and continued North.
Another brief view of what I thought could be another HB way out over the sea never re-materialised through heat haze which was now beginning to form, but almost an hour later (10.20) as I lowered my bins after scanning out to sea I picked up another Honey Buzzard right above my head over Lighthouse down, quite a rufous male, which gave a few lazy flaps, circled once and continued due north over the middle of the valley.
Not exactly the views I’ve been used to in Tarifa recently but the thrill is greater!
A trickle of Hirundines, mostly Swallows but 2 Sand Martin and 5 House martin, 9 Shelduck Flew down channel at height and the Ravens have fledged 3 noisy chicks which are already lording up the headland.
PERDIX BIRDER 