Tuesday 28 August, Gaucin, light E-SE wind, sunny, 35C: A good start to the day with a Hawfinch visiting the gardens between Calle Convento and Calle del Pino. There was very little raptor migration to be seen with just 37 Honey Buzzard far away over the wind turbines at 1120hrs and 8 more over the village at 1400hrs. Local Common Buzzard and Short-toed Eagle were showing well below the village to the south during the afternoon and 20 or so European Bee-eater were wheeling around very close to the houses in Calle Convento. A short walk along Camino de Gibraltar from 2000-2100hrs produced a good bird list including 2 Pied Flycatcher, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, Firecrest, Great-spotted Woodpecker, European Nuthatch, a family group of 4 Cirl Bunting, a group of 6 Sardinian Warbler feeding on the track and a Chiffchaff sp. (probably Iberian given the prominent yellow supercilium). No bird photos as I'm trying out a wide-angle lens on the 'scope and having enough trouble getting on the birds let alone taking photos! Here's one of Sierra Crestellina at dusk from the camera.....

On this day last year we saw the most impressive numbers of Honey Buzzard passing over Gaucin; so far this year I haven't seen anywhere near that rate of passage. The question is, have the birds gone through further afield, have they been missed, or are they yet to come.....?