It's hardly surprising that the raptor passage across the strait is invariably the first thing that comes to mind when birders consider Cadiz Province or that a close second tends to be various Iberian or Mediterranean specialties like Lesser Short-toed Lark, Black Wheatear, etc. What tends to be forgotten, or perhaps not appreciated at all, is that many common (or in some cases formerly common) passerines also get funneled down through SW Andalucia as they approach Africa. This was brought home to me in mid-September as I stood in a municipal park just over the border in Seville Province and found myself surrounded by a dozen or so Pied Flycatchers - more than I'd expect to see in a whole autumn in Kent. Even though I was there to help (successfully) a friend find two lifers, Iberian Green Woodpecker and Azure-winged Magpie, for me the highlight was seeing 'commoner' migrants. Every other bird seemed to be a Pied Fly., those that weren't often turned out to be Spotted Flycatchers or, less often, (Common) Redstart. , both now depressingly scarce migrants in SE England. This wasn't a one-off but was a regular feature during my visit and I'm sure a systematic survey at several sites would have turned up many dozens of birds, perhaps a100 or more in some instances. This isn't a peculiarly autumnal phenomenon but happens in spring too. Urban parks (notably Parque Princessa Sofía in La Linea), coastal strips of woodland (Tarifa beach) and isolated woods surrounded by pastures and saltmarsh (La Agaida, Bonanza) often harbour more migrant flycatchers, Redstarts and warblers than you might expect.
However, this post isn't about a coastal site or an isolated patch of flycatcher-friendly woodland but a small arid site surrounded by poor cistus scrub not too far from the centre of the province near Medina de Sidonia, El Berrueco. So what has this site got going for it? The optimistically named Rio Iro does provide a narrow thread of better vegetation but after a long hot dry spring and summer (as was the case in 2021) is reduced to a series of disconnected puddles. However, what it does have is an old quarry in the middle of which is an overflowing water trough that feeds several larger puddles nearby. Looking at noticeboards informing visitors about this quarry it seems this trough has been leaking for several years! Here I had good views of Common Redstart, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Goldfinches, Serins, Linnets and Ortolan Bunting. Other observers here have seen Blue and Common Rock-thrushes, Cirl Bunting and various warblers here (see https://ebird.org/hotspot/L13469116 ). . A more patient observer here armed with a decent camera and lens would be in a good position to take some decent photos of the birds.
However, this post isn't about a coastal site or an isolated patch of flycatcher-friendly woodland but a small arid site surrounded by poor cistus scrub not too far from the centre of the province near Medina de Sidonia, El Berrueco. So what has this site got going for it? The optimistically named Rio Iro does provide a narrow thread of better vegetation but after a long hot dry spring and summer (as was the case in 2021) is reduced to a series of disconnected puddles. However, what it does have is an old quarry in the middle of which is an overflowing water trough that feeds several larger puddles nearby. Looking at noticeboards informing visitors about this quarry it seems this trough has been leaking for several years! Here I had good views of Common Redstart, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Goldfinches, Serins, Linnets and Ortolan Bunting. Other observers here have seen Blue and Common Rock-thrushes, Cirl Bunting and various warblers here (see https://ebird.org/hotspot/L13469116 ). . A more patient observer here armed with a decent camera and lens would be in a good position to take some decent photos of the birds.
I was delighted to see the Ortolans as, embarrassingly, it was a species I hadn't seen in Cadiz Province. They're a declining and uncommon breeding bird in Spain being restricted, apart from an outpost in the Sierra Nevada, to the northern half of the country. They're regular but rather scarce migrants in the province so seeing one is a bit of a lottery. I had three Ortolans at El Berrueco but others reported 4, 5 or even a dozen birds at this site (for photos of Ortolan at this site see Ortolan Bunting - Emberiza hortulana - Media Search - Macaulay Library and eBird).. This seems to have been the only site they were regularly reported in the area on eBird with only two isolated reports elsewhere during the autumn (both of single birds) from Vejer and La Zarga (obviously more were seen by observers not using eBird but the paucity of reports on this increasingly well-used app is a fair indication of the species' status). In fact, it was through these eBird reports (cleverly discovered by my guests Ben & AJ) that I became aware of the site and although I do randomly explore tracks leading off into the campo, I doubt that I would have found it otherwise. This is where eBird can be extraordinarily helpful (although it seems in this instance some of the references took us to the centre of the village rather than the site itself, the photos on eBird certainly helped to confirm once there that we were in the right place). If, as seems likely, the supply of water here isn't a one-off due to temporary negligence but has been a recurrent feature over a number of years then if you're driving along the A395 between Medina Sidonia & Chiclana de la Frontera a detour here could be well worthwhile.
The two morals of this post are a) remember to check eBird for details of target birds and b) in drought conditions even the most unpromising sites can attract birds if there's a good source of water.
The two morals of this post are a) remember to check eBird for details of target birds and b) in drought conditions even the most unpromising sites can attract birds if there's a good source of water.
I started this account by doubting that El Berrueco is very reliable site for birds but on reviewing my photos, I notice that the image on the noticeboard shows an overflowing water trough. Perhaps, then, the supply of water here isn't a one-off due to temporary negligence but has been a recurrent feature over a number of years. If you're driving along the A 395 between Medina Sidonia and Chiclana de Frontera in the autumn, then a detour to check this site could be worthwhile.
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