Recent Sightings July 2023
31 Jul: Clear skies with a fresh westerly wind.
Several thousand Black Kites flew south over the Rock today.
30 July: Clear skies with a fresh westerly wind, strong in the Straits.
Several hundred Black Kites flew south over town in the morning. In the afternoon several thousand flew south with an estimate of 5000 individuals for the day.
A visit to Europa point in the afternoon produced 40 Cory's Shearwaters, two Oystercatchers, a Whimbrel, two Mediterranean Gulls, 76 Audouin's Gulls including 18 juveniles and two Gull-billed Terns.
Gull-billed terns at Europa Point. R. Perez
Overhead there were 2219 Black Kites, a Booted Eagle and six Kestrels.
A Hoopoe was present at Governor's Lookout and a Bonelli's Warbler was seen at O'Hara's Battery, with another at the PSA Nursery area.
29 July: Clear skies with a fresh westerly wind.
Five Common Sandpipers were seen at Europa foreshore with several more at Governor's Beach.
28 July: Clear skies with moderate westerly wind.
Black Kite passage south continued throughout the day. Spotted Flycatchers were seen feeding a fledging at Commonwealth park.
27 July: Westerly wind, clear skies.
An Eleonora's Falcon was perched on a tree above Catalan Bay.
26 July: Fresh southwesterly wind, clear skies.
Several thousand Black Kites were heading south over the Rock during the morning and afternoon. Two Eleonora's Falcons were flying together over the Cable Car Top Station.
25 July: Fresh westerly wind, clear skies.
Steady passage south of Black Kites. A juvenile Lanner Falcon flew north over Catalan Bay.
24 July: Strong westerly wind, partly cloudy during the morning.
A trickle of Black Kites continued south over the Rock during the day. An early Montagu's Harrier was observed to the west of the Rock heading south, and a dark morph Booted Eagle was seen over Windmill Hill.
22 July: Mainly clear skies with a moderate to fresh westerly.
A morning watch from Europa Point produced 12 Cory's Shearwaters, seven Balearic Shearwaters, three Shags, two Black-headed Gulls, three Mediterranean Gulls, 51 Audouin's Gulls including six juveniles, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 290 Black Kites, an Oystercatcher, five Pallid Swifts, two Swallows and a Goldfinch.
A visit to North Front Cemetery produced single Hoopoe and Melodious Warbler.
A Hoopoe was observed in the Nature Reserve.
A 2.5hrs watch at Europa Point in the afternoon produced 15 Cory's Shearwaters, five Shags, three Whimbrels, three Black-headed Gulls, 13 Mediterranean Gulls, 133 Audouin's Gulls including 24 juveniles, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Common Kestrel and a Serin.
21 July: Clear skies with a fresh westerly wind.
Approximately 3000 Black Kites and a juvenile Short-toed Eagle flew south over the Rock.
At Europa Point there were 30 Cory's Shearwaters, three Balearic Shearwaters, four Shags, 13 Greater Flamingoes, a Mediterranean Gull, 38 Audouin's Gulls including nine juveniles and three Common Kestrels north.
19 July: Hazy sunshine with Saharan dust. Winds fresh westerly.
A total of 70 Black Kites flew south over the Rock in the morning. Accompanying them were several flocks of Common Swifts. In the late afternoon another 150 Black Kites headed south.
17 July: Heavy levanter cloud over the Rock, town and harbour, persisting until mid afternoon to give sunny spells. Winds moderate easterly.
16 July: Clear skies with a light westerly wind.
The Sudan Golden Sparrow was present at North Front Cemetery, and was seen in the company of House Sparrows drinking and bathing in a pool of water that had collected under one of the taps there.
15 July: Clear skies with a north westerly wind in the morning becoming fresh westerly in the Strait by midday but turning to westerly in the afternoon.
A morning visit to Europa point produced seven Cory's Shearwaters, two Balearic Shearwaters, two Avocets, an Oystercatcher, two Kestrels, a Black Kite, 38 Audouin's Gulls including two juveniles, 10 Swallows, three Goldfinches and three Serins.
A Black Kite was observed over the Apes den early in the morning. A captive bred Bonelli's Eagle was released this evening and was chased off by one of the local Ravens.
Juvenile Bonelli's Eagle released into the wild. T. Finlayson.
The Sudan Golden Sparrow remained at North Front Cemetery. An Oystercatcher was also seen from Catalan Bay in the morning.
12 July: Clear skies with a fresh westerly wind.
Two Black Kites were observed at the border.
11 July: Clear skies with a few westerly clouds at midday but clearing later. Poor visibility due to Saharan dust. Winds light and variable to a light to moderate westerly sea breeze.
Three Booted Eagles were observed over the northern end of the Rock, and another was observed hunting over Windmill Hill in the afternoon.
A mid afternoon watch at Europa Point produced a Cory's Shearwater, an adult Gannet, two Audouin's Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull.
10 July: Clear skies but with Saharan dust increasing and with a moderate easterly becoming light by late afternoon.
A Sudan Golden Sparrow Passer luteus was seen and photographed at North Front Cemetery.
09 July: Clear skies with calm conditions in the morning with a light easterly picking up around midday.
A Robin was seen at Witham's Cemetery, and a Spotted Flycatcher was observed around Signal Station Road. A Chiffchaff and two Bonelli's Warblers were seen in the Nature reserve.
08 July: Clear skies with a fresh westerly with strong gusts in the Strait.
A mid morning visit to Europa Point until 14:00hrs produced seven Cory's Shearwaters, three Balearic Shearwaters, a Gannet, three Mediterranean Gulls, five Audouin's Gulls, two Kestrels, a Lesser Kestrel, an Eleonora's Falcon and four Serins.
Eleonora's Falcon heading north over Europa Point. R. Perez
06 July: Levanter cloud over the Rock in the morning clearing by midday. Winds moderate easterly becoming light in the evening.
A Puffin was seen offshore at the east of the Rock. A Spotted Flycatcher was again seen at Commonwealth Park.
05 July: Clear skies with a moderate to fresh westerly wind.
An afternoon visit to Europa point produced 34 Cory's Shearwaters, 25 Balearic Shearwaters, four Shags, two Black-headed Gulls, 21 Mediterranean Gulls and two Audouin's Gulls.
04 July: Clear skies with a moderate westerly wind freshening in the afternoon.
A few Cory's Shearwaters and seven adult Mediterranean Gulls were seen in the morning from Europa Point.
02 July: Levanter cloud over the Rock with a moderate to light easterly wind.
A flock of 19 Flamingoes flew west over Western Beach. An adult Mediterranean Gull was observed two miles south off Europa Point.
01 July: Levanter cloud over the Rock, town and harbour with a fresh easterly wind.
A Grey Heron was heard calling near Little Bay.