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Recent Sightings June 2020

28 June:  Clear skies with a light easterly wind.  An hours visit to Europa Point produced two Gannets, 3 Shags, 35 Mediterranean Gulls which included a flock of 33 birds, and 14 Audouin's Gulls.

 

27 June:  Clear skies with a fresh south-westerly wind.  Europa Point proved productive, with two Grey Herons, nine Glossy Ibises, an adult Gannet, 15 Cory's Shearwaters, three Balearic Shearwaters, 12 Shags, a Mediterranean Gull, a Black-headed Gull, and 209 Audouin's Gulls.  Single Booted Eagles flew north one along the east side and one along thw west side of the Rock.

 

26 June:  Clear skies with a moderate to fresh westerly wind.  Single Robin, Spotted Flycatcher and a Mistle Thrush were present at Commonwealth Park.  A Short-toed Eagle flew north over the Rock.

 

24 June:  Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.  Two adult Gannets have been rescued from eastern beach in the last few days with this one picked up this morning.  The bird seemed to be in good health but with lots of parasites on the plumage.

 

Adult Gannet rescued from Eastern Beach covered in parasites.

 

23 June:  Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.  A family party of Barbary Partridges were seen on Sir Herbert Miles Road.

Family party of Barbary Partridges crossing the road by Sir Herbert Miles Road.                        C. Ferrary.

 

22 June:  Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.  A Grey Heron flew north past Rosia Bay.

 

21 June:  Clear skies with a light westerly sea breeze becoming light and variable.  Three Robins and a Spotted Flycatcher were present at Governor's Lookout.

 

20 June:  Clear skies with a light variable to light westerly breeze.  ten Cory's Shearwaters, three Mediterranean Gulls and 19 Audouin's Gulls which included a flock of 16 birds, heading south along the east side of the Rock.

 

19 June:  Clear skies with a moderate to fresh south westerly.  Two Griffon Vultures headed north over the Rock in the morning.  A Robin and two Spotted Flycatchers were present at Commonwealth Park.

 

18 June:  Clear skies with a light to moderate westerly wind in the Strait, but light easterly with fog across the runway.  Moderate to fresh south-westerly in the Strait in the afternoon.  Eight Griffon Vultures flew low over town heading north and harrassed by gulls.  Also a light phase Booted Eagle over the Rock in the afternoon.

 

17 June:  Clear skies with a fresh westerly wind.  A few raptors crossed the Strait with single Honey Buzzard, nine Black Kites, 12 Griffon Vultures and two Short-toed Eagles.  At Europa Point, few seabirds were seen with only a single Balearic Shearwater and 30 Cory's Shearwaters.

 

16 June:  Clear skies with some high cloud over the Strait.  Winds fresh westerly.  An afternoon visit to Europa Point produced 10 Cory's Shearwaters, a Balearic Shearwater, six Shags, three Gannets, four Mediterranean Gulls and an Audouin's Gull.  Some raptors crossed the Strait with three Honey Buzzards, three Black Kites, a Short-toed Eagle and three Booted Eagles.

 

15 June:  Clear skies with some high cloud.  Winds fresh south-westerly in the Strait.   A Hoopoe was seen in the Nature Reserve.  In the morning at Europa Point two Audouin's Gulls flew west, and three Sandwich Terns flew east.  Also seen were three Honey Buzzards, two Black Kites and a Booted Eagle that crossed the Strait.  In the late afternoon a Gannet, a Corys's Shearwater and five Audouin's Gulls were seen at Europa point, together with another 10 Honey Buzzards and a Booted Eagle.  A Short-toed eagle was rescued from Catalan Bay in the afternoon, having been downed by gulls.  Another Short-toed Eagle and two Booted Eagles made it on the western side of the Rock.

 

14 June:  Clear skies with a moderate to fresh westerly wind.  An afternoon visit to Europa point produced five Cory's Shearwaters, three Shags, a Black-headed Gull, eight Audouin's Gulls west and a Honey Buzzard.

 

13 June:  Clear skies in the morning but increasing high cloud in the afternoon.  Winds light to moderate in the morning increasing to fresh south-westerly in the afternoon.  An afternoon watch at Europa Point produced three Balearic Shearwaters, four Shags, three Cory's Shearwaters, three Gannets, four Audouin's Gulls and three Sandwich Terns.  Also seen were four Honey Buzzards, two Black Kites and three Booted Eagles.

 

11 June: Sunny morning with cloudy intervals and a fresh to strong westerly wind. 

 

10 June:  Clear skies with a moderate north-westerly wind.  A Honey Buzzard, five Griffon Vultures, a Short-toed Eagle and a Booted Eagle.  were seen arriving from the Strait. A Spotted Flycatcher was seen in Green Lane behind the Rock Hotel, and may indicate another breeding pair.

 

09 June:  Clear skies with a light to moderate west to south west wind.  Few raptors were seen with eight Honey Buzzards, two Black Kites, 10 Griffon Vultures,a Short-toed Eagle and two Booted Eagles.

 

08 June:  Clear skies with a moderate north-westerly wind.  Five Honey Buzzards and an Audouin's Gull were seen from Europa Point in the late afternoon.  Another Audouin's Gull was seen heading north-east over the Runway.

 

07 June:  Cloudy in the morning but clearing in the afternoon.  Winds moderate to fresh westerly.  Stronger winds today meant that more raptors crossed over the Rock with a total of 12 Honey Buzzards, 68 Black Kites and two Booted Eagles.

 

06 June:  High cloud in the morning with light to moderate westerly winds.  A Glossy Ibis flew north low over town. A few raptors crossed the Strait with a total of two Honey Buzzards , four Black Kites and a Short-toed Eagle.

 

05 June:  Some westerly clouds in the morning with sunny spells, clearing in the afternoon.  Winds moderate to fresh south-westerly.  An unprecedented passage of raptors, possibly due to the prolonged nine days of strong easterly we have had in the previous week.  Totals for the day were 45 Honey Buzzards, 145 Black Kites, 184 Griffon Vultures, two Short-toed Eagles,43 Booted Eagles and a Hobby.

 

04 June:  Cloudy skies with some sunny intervals, and some light showers expected.  Winds fresh to strong westerly.

 

03 June:  Clear skies with a moderate westerly wind.  Several raptors flew across the Strait and over the Rock today, consisting of two Honey Buzzards, 45 Black Kites, 12 Griffon Vultures , Short-toed Eagle and two Booted Eagles.   A couple of the Griffon Vultures flew around the east side of the Rock and were harassed by the Yellow-legged Gulls, with one tired individual landing on the Groyne by Eastern Beach.   A Robin was present at Commonwealth Park.

 

02 June:  Clear skies with a light variable to light westerly wind becoming moderate in the Strait.  A Booted Eagle was seen low over the Rock.  The Spotted Flycatcher pair was present at Trafalgar Cemetery.