It’s no secret that with our proximity to Africa, here in Andalucia we have more than our fair share of raptors.
In fact twitchers make a point of booking holidays here to catch and the spring and autumn migrations across the Strait. With some patience and a case of the right time and the right place you’ll see Eagles, Falcons, Buzzards, Kites & Harriers.
This morning I woke up really early, about 6.30am, so enjoyed the sun rise from the terrace looking out over the sea, well over towards Nerja and inland towards El Torcal near Antequera and started snapping away with my camera! Then later, once the heat of the sun began to kick in about 90 minutes later, I started to hear the screechy call of the eagles & buzzards that habitually ride the thermals over La Mairena. Despite the urbanization of the area, they still scan the remaining forest area in the mornings and afternoons. Today was different; I could see a group of birds
– sometimes having a tussle with each other. I’m no ornithologist, so I’m not sure what these are, but they look like Booted Eagles and maybe one of them is a buzzard. Well, I gotta go. I have a meeting in Marbella at 11am!
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Hi Andrew,
Fantastic pictures. They certainly tempt me to an area that I had never really considered before. Anyway, I have had a chat with the guys in our Wildlife Enquiries section and they have come back with the following response –
The bird on the left looks like a common buzzard and the other is a booted eagle. They are small eagles, only a little bigger than a buzzard. They are quite variable. This is a paler morph. The buzzard is probably mobbing it. There are a few good images of booted eagles here http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/booted.eagle.html
I have to say I was quite impressed with myself for getting the common buzzard, although the booted eagle is a new one on me.
Thanks Darren and your colleagues at RSPB for identifying the birds. Hope to see you over here at some point.