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A new reserve & a puzzle solved - Reserva San Gaspar

23/3/2026

For years I've been puzzled about the status of the old gravel pits adjacent to the famous Laguna de Medina. With paths criss-crossing the site, several small pools and a makeshift 'hide' was it an extension of the Laguna de Medina reserve, a hunting area or something else entirely? I made enquiries a few years ago but nobody seemed to know the answer. Happily, if rather creepily, Facebook's algorithms knew better and today they threw up a post by Sociedad Gaditana* de Historia Natural (SGHN - Cadiz Natural History Society) that revealed the answer. Since 2024, it has been a SGHS nature reserve (see here).
* Gaditana comes from the old Roman name for Cadiz, Gades.

Split in two by the A 381, only the eastern part of the old excavations are easily viewable from the service road (although by stopping by the crash barrier may risk a fine). The nearest 'official' parking is at the Laguna de Medina c1 km to the south which doesn't seem too far until you walk it on a hot summer's day. You can just squeeze in a single car by a gate further along the service road but it's not ideal. This area has several small pools which, except when they dry out in the summer, often hold Red-crested Pochards, Coots, Black-winged Stilts and large numbers of roosting gulls. The drier gravelly areas can also attract small groups of Stone-curlews. An underpass links the two service roads on either side of the A 381 but the view from it towards the rest of the old pits is almost entirely screened by trees (see photos).

The first area, I've now discovered, is "Casa Colorada" and the second, by which the reserve seems to be formally known, is "San Gaspar". The owners of the nearby cement works (owned by the international conglomerate HOLCIM) carried out environmental mitigation & restoration work here supervised by the company "Cinclus" (see here) whose president, Beltrán Ceballos, is a well-known and highly respected ornithologist. HOLCIM handed over c105 hectares of the old quarry to the SGHN. In return the SGHN will monitor the site's biodiversity, set up a constant effort ringing site and use it to carry out conservation & educational work. As a former RSPB field teacher the latter is music to my ears as I firmly believe engaging the next generation in natural history is vital.

For birders, the most important project undertaken thus far has involved the endangered Marbled Duck which, not surprisingly given its presence on Laguna de Medina, has been recorded on the small lagoons in Casa Colorada. As part of this project, 30 Marbled Ducks have been released and nest boxes for them put up. Several pairs have already bred on the reserve.

"Doncella Gaditana" (= Cadiz Maiden) or as it's known in English, the Aetherie Fritillary. (Photo: Jason Moule)

A second project involves a rare butterfly, the delightfully (and aptly) named "Doncella Gaditana" (= Cadiz Maiden) or as it's known in English, the Aetherie Fritillary. This attractive butterfly is found largely in North Africa, but has a toehold in the Iberian Peninsula particularly, as the name suggests, in the province of Cádiz. It's a species that I've seen once near the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Santos (Alcala de los Gazules), much to the envy of my lepidopterist friends! The Cardoon (or Artichoke Thistle), the main food plant for the fritillary, is common on the reserve which makes it an ideal site for the butterfly's (re)introduction. (The account doesn't make it clear whether they're already present). The plan is not simply to increase the population of this rare insect but also to study its life cycle in an effort to discover the reasons for its decline.

* Understandably, given the nature of the educational and conservation work carried out there, the reserve is not open for casual, unsupervised visits by birders. To be blunt, visitors are unlikely to see much that they can't find a few minutes away at Laguna de Medina. It would, however, be good if screens/hides and somewhere to park were available to allow viewing from the service road (esp. for the San Gaspar part of the reserve). Either way, the addition of this small reserve to the inventory of nature reserves of the province and the role of the SGHN in its creation is something to celebrate. Warmest congratulations to the SGHN for their initiative. It's certainly worth following the progress of these plans either via the society's Facebook page (see here) or its website (see here).

*This paragraph is a re-edited version of my original post confirming (as I'd suspected) that the reserve wasn't open to the general public. Thanks to Eva Bratek for supplying this information.

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Birding the Canaries

21/3/2026

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I've mentioned in a previous post the impact that "The Birds of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East" (Fitter, Heinzel & Parslow) had on my birding horizons when it appeared way back in 1972 (see Larking about in Morocco). As I mentioned then, my ambition to see many of the exotic birds in that guide was dormant and forgotten until after retirement. I managed to get to Madeira 15 years ago but then Liz's illness prevented further jaunts until my Morocco trip. It's taken me a while but this year I finally got to the Canaries. With worse hearing and less sharp eyesight than I had in the ‘70s, I again opted to join a bird tour (with Birding the Strait) rather than trying to “do my own thing”. This proved to be a wise move as I joined a pleasant small group ably led by Nacho Barrionuevo. As flight times were not convenient (and hotel accommodation a lot cheaper on Tenerife than at Gatwick), I opted to fly in to Aeropuerto de Tenerife Sur a few days early on 31st January. To my surprise and delight, my old friend, author and all-round naturalist, Jon Dunn was on the same flight. I stayed overnight at a soulless service town near the airport, San Isidro and then the next morning caught a bus north to Santa Cruz. (Tenerife appears to have an excellent, fast and moderately priced bus service)

Saturday 1st February
Sites visited (Tenerife): Santa Cruz & the Palmetum
After leaving my bags at my hotel, I stepped out, sans binoculars, with my retired history teacher's hat on to explore whatever historic delights Santa Cruz had to offer. This proved to be a mistake since it transpired that, apart from the early 16th century Iglesia de la Concepción and a couple of streets nearby, the place has no “historic core”. Happily, though, it does have a superb museum (Museo de Naturaleza y Arqueología). As I meandered around something I couldn’t quite put my finger on was nagging me. Then the penny dropped, unlike every large town I’ve visited there were no sparrows! There weren’t even many feral pigeons either. Some tree lined boulevards had singing Atlantic Canary and hid a few Blackcap, but that was it. As I trudged the near birdless streets, I saw a distant tree clad hill that offered a respite from the dull urban landscape so I headed in its direction.

My destination proved to be the remarkable “Palmetum”, a botanic garden devoted to palm trees standing on a 'hill' that was in reality the town's former rubbish tip repurposed and disguised! This was a wonderful arboreal oasis with small ponds and plenty of birds (but still no sparrows). I was now ruing my decision not to take my binoculars on my walk. An unfamiliar song soon penetrated my curtain of deafness and my hunch that it belonged to a Canary Chiffchaff was soon confirmed. Despite not having binoculars, I managed to get a very good view of one of the birds – it was noticeably darker above and below than Common Chiffchaff. I also had poor views of the local race of African Blue Tit (plus Moorhen, Little Egret & Atlantic Canaries).

Tour Day 1 - Sunday 2nd February
Sites visited (Tenerife): Zona Recreative Barranco de Ruiz, Mirador de Lance & Barranco de Ruiz
The trip officially started at mid-day but I was picked up from my hotel by Nacho at 11:00. A second client was picked up before we met up with the four others on the trip at our hotel (Hotel Rural Bentor, Los Realejos) Then we were off birding to the Zona Recreative Barranco de Ruiz. Having struggled to see Trocaz Pigeon on Madeira years before, I imagined that the two endemic pigeons would be similarly difficult. However, a (White-tailed) Laurel Pigeon quickly obliged by flying over as we got out of the van. In the ensuing hour or more we had multiple sightings of the species. They’re bulky birds, suggesting a close family relationship with Woodpigeon, but much darker with a contrasting white upper tail. Also present here were African Blue Tit (like much else of a local race, teneriffae), Sardinian Warbler, (leucogastra), Kestrel (canariensis), Buzzard (insularum) & Robin (superbus) - I'll come back to the latter form anon.

Our next stop was Mirador de Lance which gave good views of the hillside below but little else although we enjoyed great views of African Blue Tit. Although not a 'lifer' I was delighted to see this bird as I'd only had poor views of the nominate form in Morocco. A bolder version of ‘our’ bird like something a child might draw with sharpies!

Although I had seen one the day before, I had my first good view of the local race (superbus) of European Robin. I found it to be a far more distinctive bird, visually and aurally, than I had expected. Individual plumage differences were, perhaps, subtle, but in combination they were surprisingly distinctive (particularly the whiter underparts). The song lacked the nominate form’s mournful quality and had something Woodlark like about its tone. Good for a split, I think.

Our final stop was again at the Barranco de Ruiz but this time high in the hills where it drops down towards the sea. Naturally, there were still more Laurel Pigeons but I also managed to have a brief and distant view of Bolle’s Pigeon (seeing little more than a dark pigeon with a banded, not white, tail as it disappeared into cover).

Tour Day 2 - Monday 3rd February
Sites visited (Tenerife): Mirador Lomo Molino & Tiede National Park
At the start of the day my Kowa 55 ‘scope fell apart which was irritating to say the least and meant that there was now only one ‘scope amongst the whole group. Good views of Barbary Partridge near the hotel was no recompense.

Our first stop was Mirador Lomo Molino which gave us still more views of Laurel Pigeon but also good views of Bolle’s Pigeon which the rest of the party had missed the previous day. There were Atlantic Canaries here in abundance but a singing Canarian Chaffinch, disappointingly permitted only brief silhouetted views. The taxonomic status of this form has long been disputed but I was pleased to learn that the new Avibase taxonomy lists it as a full species

The landscape of the Tiede National Park is rather barren and dominated by the eponymous mountain. It was my first visit to an area with an active volcano and a geology to match – fascinating! It was pleasing to re-aquaint myself with Bertholot’s Pipit (which I’d previously seen on Madeira). Our first bird was surprisingly tame and, as was the case on Madeira, seemed to like car parks. A good example of how relatively minor plumage distinctions can combine to make a more distinctive bird than you might imagine.

A stop in a picnic site in the pines quickly produced Tenerife Blue Chaffinch, my second most wanted bird of the trip. The colour seemed to vary enormously with the angle of the light, sometimes it looked startlingly blue but at other times more slate grey. Also present was a Great-spotted Woodpecker of the local race (canariensis).

Tour Day 3 - Tuesday 3rd February
Sites visited (Tenerife): Monte del Agua, Calle Masca, Bolico Hostal & Teno Alto
The highlight for me today was a visit to Monte del Agua, an atmospheric woodland with Tree Heath, Laurels, etc. and plentiful mosses and lichens. Our walk here started with good views of Bolle’s Pigeon. Deeper into the forested area, we had the local race of Goldcrest (teneriffae) which, like the Robin before it, proved to be more distinctive than expected. They were darker overall (particularly below) with a bolder black band on the forehead more akin to Firecrest. The woods also gave us excellent views of the very distinctive Canary Islands Chaffinch.

Next up was a stop at Bolico Hostal which was notable for the number of large West Canarian Lizards in a stone wall there. The final stop for the day was Teno Alto, an open area somewhat reminiscent of Cornwall, where we had Rock Sparrow and Corn Bunting.

Tour Day 4 - Wednesday 4th February
Sites visited (Tenerife): Zona Recreative Barranco de Ruiz &
Valle Molina
We started our final day on Tenerife by revisiting Zona Recreative Barranco de Ruiz where saw much the same mix of birds as on our first visit but also Grey Wagtail (schmitzi). Our final stop on the island was a small reservoir in Valle Molina conveniently close to the airport. Here our tally of wildfowl (and waders) was significantly boosted by all the familiar species plus a flock of a dozen Ring-necked Ducks and 28 Ruddy Shelducks.
Sites visited (Fuerteventura): Tindaya plains
After all the inevitable faff involved in arriving at an airport, collecting luggage, picking up a hire car and dumping bags at the hotel, we arrived at the Tindaya plains in the late afternoon. Finding our target birds here proved to be no problem … just look for groups of birders! We had Stonecurlews in the middle of the nearby village, Laughing Doves as we dropped down to the stony plains, then a couple of Cream-coloured Coursers by the first huddle of birders and a Houbara Bustard (fuerteventurae) at the second. I’d seen both on my jaunt to Morocco a few years back, but the bustard here showed much better (although the best was yet to come). Also present on the plains were Mediterranean (Lesser) Short-toed Lark (rufescens) and Berthelot’s Pipit.

Fuerteventura Chat - the bird I most wanted to see.

Tour Day 5 - Thursday 5th February
Sites visited (Fuerteventura): La Oliva, Barranco de Fimapaire, Florida laguna, Costa Calma, Tuineje, Balsa Barranco de la Florida, Las Casitas & Tiscamanita
Our day started with a fruitless search for Long-eared Owl at La Oliva although we were rewarded with good views of Spectacled Warbler.

However, I was keen to get to Barranco de Fimapaire, the site that had been earmarked for an encounter with Fuerteventura Chat, my most wanted species of the trip. Happily, we quickly found a female and then, after a pause, a male of this handsome endemic. The female looked like a washed out Stonechat whilst the male was like a Whinchat-Stonechat hybrid! The area also held Hoopoe, the local race of Buzzard, Spanish Sparrow and a family of the local race (keonigi) of Great-grey Shrike. These showed superbly well.

Our subsequent peregrinations around the island took in several small pools at one of which we had a long-staying vagrant Eastern Yellow Wagtail. We drove south to visit the resort of Costa Calma to look for the introduced Red-vented Bulbul but, although vocal, the birds offered only brief UTVs as they flitted around high in the foliage. (To be honest, I felt we spent far too long looking for this 'plastic; addition to the list). We did, however, obtain excellent views of the island’s own race of Kestrel (dacotiae). At Las Casitas, a goat farm, we had good views of Black-bellied Sandgrouse. Our last site for the day, Tiscamanita, was for yet another local race, this time of Egyptian Vulture (majorensis). Unlike the nominate form in mainland Spain, this rather dusky subspecies is a resident of the islands. Here I also had my best views of Mediterranean (Lesser) Short-toed Lark (rufescens) .

Tindaya Plains at sunset

Tour Day 6 - Friday 6th February
Sites visited (Fuerteventura): Tindaya plains & Betancuria
Our morning started with the first of two visits to the Tidaya plains. This again produced views of Houbara Bustard and Cream-coloured Courser but also added Black-bellied Sandgrouse to the list for the area. The bustard gave us stunning close and prolonged views. News that an early Red-billed Tropicbird had been seen from the nearby sea cliffs inevitably led us to check the area, but, alas, what would have been a huge bonus bird was nowhere to be seen. However, we did get superb views of a pair of Peregrines. They were very pale birds of the local race, pelegrinoides, previously regarded as a full species, Barbary Falcon.

As noted earlier, the Canary Islands do not seem to be gifted with many attractive villages, but Betancuria is an exception. This site wasn’t very fruitful ornithologically, but gave us more views of Egyptian Vulture and African Blue Tit (again an new island race, degener).

Nacho, our guide had a hunch that, after the light rain we had experienced, Houbara Bustards might be displaying so we headed back to the Tindaya plains. He was right and we enjoyed fabulous views of two displaying birds. The display involves first elevating their black feathers either side of their chest into epaulettes, then throwing their heads back onto their back, fluffing up their white feathers into a ball and running headlong across the rocky terrain despite having little or no forward vision. An amazing sight!

Tour Day 7 - Saturday 7th February
Sites visited (Fuerteventura): Llanos Pelados
Before our flights off the island we had time to visit a site for Trumpeter Finch which we had missed elsewhere. Happily, soon after we arrived we found seven of them feeding in a muddy depression. A bonus here was another chance to see Fuerteventura Chat.

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La Janda - access March 2026

14/3/2026

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Predictably, after the exceptional flooding of La Janda, access has been compromised by damage to the track beside the Canal Prinicpal.

At the western end (i.e. nearer Vejer) a bridge has collapsed and to the east the road is also closed.* I assume that it will take some time to repair/replace the bridge but, hopefully, the other damaged stretch will be sorted out relatively quickly. I'm not sure what state the bridge (Puente del Pericón) across main canal and the one further along the track (i.e. near the large weir) are in, but they too may be damaged (please let me know). As a result it's advisable to come in from the A 2226 east of Benalup at the moment.
*Many thanks to Liza Kempe Chapman for permission to use her two photos.

The flooding has been an unmitigated disaster for many people living in the area, but the Laguna de la Janda reasserting itself so dramatically seems to have put its restoration back on the political agenda (see here). I gather that local radio and TV stations have also covered the issue. Those who have been following this saga for years will know to temper their optimism with realism, but every little helps!

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Laguna de la Janda lives!

4/3/2026

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The extent to which the old Laguna de la Janda reasserted itself in 2026 cannot be fully illustrated or grasped by still photos alone but drone footage is another matter! More a time machine than a drone! See here.

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A new reserve & a puzzle solved - Reserva San Gaspar

Birding the Canaries

La Janda - access March 2026

Laguna de la Janda lives!

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