31 May: Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.

Barbary Partridge with three chicks seen above Little Bay.

29 May:  Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.

Alpine Swift seen above Europa Advance road.  There are at least two pairs in holes in the cliff above Gorham's cave.

28 May:  Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.

There were lots of flying fish close to shore at Camp bay, chased by dolphins and Cory's Shearwaters.

27 May:   Clear skies and a light variable wind.

The female African Chaffinch was again observed at Europa foreshore.  There was a Spotted Flycatcher at Governor's Parade, with two present at the Botanic gardens.

26 May:  Clear skies and a light variable wind.

A Spotted Flycatcher heard calling in Arengo's garden.

25 May:  Clear skies with a light easterly breeze.

In the morning at Europa foreshore there were two Cory's Shearwaters heading east,  a Melodious Warbler, four Sardinian Warblers and four Chaffinches.

Five Mynas were seen on the Westside school!

24 May:  Clear skies with a moderate to light easterly wind.

An afternoon visit to Europa Point produced 25 Cory's Shearwaters, 101 Balearic Shearwaters, a Gannet, a Shag and three Serins.

23 May:  Clear skies with a moderate easterly wind.

A worrying observation of four Mynas which indicate that they fledged two birds.

22 May:  Clear skies with a light variable wind.  Winds increasing from the west, with a moderate south-westerly mid afternoon.

As winds increased in the afternoon, raptors began to cross over the Rock.  mainly from 16:00-19:00 there were an Osprey, 587 Honey Buzzards, a Griffon Vulture, two Short-toed Eagles, 42 Booted Eagles and 145 Black Kites.

At the Europa foreshore there was a Melodious Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher and the female African Chaffinch.  Another Melodious Warbler was heard singing at Windmill hill.

A family party of a Barbary Partridge crossed the road along Queen's Road with at least 10 chicks.

21 May:  Clear skies with a light to moderate easterly wind.

A Robin was heard calling at Camp bay.

20 May:  Clear skies with a light to moderate to light westerly wind.

Thirty Honey Buzzards were seen at dawn, but no other raptors observed until late evening when a Black Kite was seen.

The Booted Eagle was back hunting over the Rock.

19 May: Clear skies in a moderate westerly wind.

A Grey Heron was seen at the extension jetty.

18 May:  Gale force easterlies blowing overnight around 5:00am after which winds died down.  Clear skies throughout the day with a light easterly winds becoming light westerly.

Fifteen Honey Buzzards were observed over the Rock in the evening.  The Booted Eagle was back hunting over the top Cable Car station.

17 May: Levanter cloud over the Rock and town, dissipating around midday to give clear skies, in a moderate to fresh easterly wind.

In the morning there were 11 Balearic Shearwaters, three Cory's Shearwaters and nine Gannets.

16 May:  Clear skies with a moderate westerly wind.

A Black-winged Stilt was resting at Catalan Bay beach.  At Europa Point in the evening 15 Balearic Shearwaters, nine Cory's Shearwaters and an Audouin's Gull.

15 May:  Clear skies with a moderate westerly wind.

Honey Buzzard passage along the east side of the Rock, with approximately 100 birds seen.

A light morph Booted Eagle has been hunting on the Rock for the past week.

A watch between 17:00-20:00hrs produced 39 Honey Buzzards, six Griffon Vultures, six Short-toed Eagles, 12 Booted Eagles, a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard and 15 Black Kites.  Also seen were 15 Swallows.

14 May:  Mainly clear skies with a moderate westerly wind.

An Eagle Owl was heard calling from the Talus slope, and a Little Owl was present at the eastern reclamation area.

Little Owl at the east side reclamation.                                 C. Fortuna.

Twelve Honey Buzzards and a Booted Eagle were observed during the morning.

Spotted Flycatcher now established at the Botanic gardens, and a Robin at Commonwealth Park.

13 May:  Overcast skies with high cloud in the morning becoming clear in the afternoon.  Winds light to moderate south-westerly.

A late afternoon watch from Europa Point produced four Cory's Shearwaters, 66 Balearic Shearwaters, two Gannets, a Shag, two Black-headed Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls and a Sandwich Tern.

Melodious Warbler still around and singing in Arengo's garden.  At around midday there were three Honey Buzzards, a Booted Eagle and 13 Black Kites.  Later another Booted Eagle arrived at Europa Point across the Strait, and three Black Kites were seen in the late afternoon over the Rock.

12 May:  Cloudy with increasing sunny intervals.  Winds light to moderate north-westerly.

A morning watch at Jews' Gate and Europa Point produced 27 Honey Buzzards and 21 Griffon Vultures.   A further nine Honey Buzzards, four Short-toed Eagles, 33 Booted Eagles, a Sparrowhawk, a Marsh Harrier, a Long-legged Buzzard and 30 Black Kites were observed form 17:15hrs.  Also seen from Europa Point at midday were four Cory's Shearwaters, a Gannet, two Shags, four Audouin's Gulls and three Swallows.

A Ruppell's Vulture with a gps transmitter, ringed and tagged in Morocco, ditched in the middle of the Bay and drowned.  The body was washed ashore at Camp Bay where the transmitter was retrieved.

Ruppell's Vulture with gps transmitter.    S. Morgan.

11 May:  Cloudy with sunny intervals in the morning becoming sunnier with some high cloud.  Winds light westerly.

Ringing Totals

Melodious Warbler again singing in Arengo's garden.

At Europa Point there were 46 Balearic Shearwaters and a Goldfinch in the morning, and in the evening a further 29 Balearic Shearwaters, four Cory's Shearwaters, three Shags and two Gannets flew west.

10 May:  Clear skies with some high cloud.  Winds light north-westerly in the morning becoming south-westerly in the Strait mid morning.

Only two birds processed, a Willow Warbler and a retrap Blue Tit.

Raptors crossed mainly in the morning, with passage moving to the east side as winds picked up. 

Totals were 2965 Honey Buzzards, three Griffon Vultures, two Short-toed Eagles, 86 Booted Eagles, a Sparrowhawk, five Marsh Harriers and 263 Black Kites.

A Crested Lark was observed by the frontier fence area.

At Europa Point there were 157 Balearic Shearwaters west, five Gannets and a Shag.

09 May:  Overcast skies with a chance of a shower.  Winds light westerly, becoming moderate in the late afternoon.

Ringing Totals

Female Spectacled Warbler.                                     R. Geary.

A trickle of raptors for much of the day, but a large count of Honey Buzzards in the evening.  Totals were 2948 Honey Buzzards, three Short-toed Eagles, 11 Booted Eagles, three Sparrowhawks, a Marsh Harrier, and 33 Black Kites.

At Europa Point seven Cory's Shearwaters, 119 Balearic Shearwaters west and a Lesser Black-backed Gull west.

A Turtle Dove was observed at the South Mole.

08 May:  Cloudy morning with sunny intervals, becoming overcast in the afternoon.  Winds light westerly.

Ringing Totals

At Europa Point there were two Cory's Shearwaters, 22 Balearic Shearwaters west, two Turnstones, two Gannets, two Black-headed Gulls,  and seven Black Terns.

A Little Egret was present at the Small Boats Marina.  Two Barbary Partridges were present at Little Bay.  There were two Robins at Jacob's Ladder, and a Melodious Warbler along Europa road.  Two Spotted Flycatchers were observed at North Front cemetery.

A trickle of raptors in light winds with 315 Honey Buzzards, 27 Griffon Vultures,  19 Booted Eagles, two Sparrowhawks, two Marsh Harriers, a Montagu's Harrier and 180 Black Kites.  Also seen were seven Bee-eaters, and two Swallows.

07 May:  Mainly clear skies with a light south-westerly becoming fresh in the Strait in the afternoon.

At Europa Point there were five Cory's Shearwaters, 150 Balearic Shearwaters west, 13 Gannets, two Turnstones at the foreshore and four Red-rumped Swallows.

A Melodious Warbler was heard singing at Arengo's Gardens.

Female Orphean Warbler ringed at Jews' Gate.  R. Geary

06 May:  Clear skies with some cloud over Morocco and increasing high cloud..  Winds moderate to fresh south-westerly.

Windy conditions prevailed at the Observatory hampering the ringing activity.  Only a Willow Warbler, a Reed Warbler, a retrap Sardinian Warbler and two Spotted Flycatchers were processed.

A total of 107 Honey Buzzards, four Short-toed Eagles, two Booted Eagles, a Sparrowhawk and 93 Black Kites were recorded.

05 May:  Overcast skies in the morning with a few light showers, remaining cloudy in the afternoon with some sunny intervals increasing late.  Winds moderate westerly.

A ringed  female African Chaffinch was photographed at Europa foreshore.

African Chaffinch at Europa foreshore.                                      T. Vinent.

A trickle of raptors in the late afternoon when the weather cleared. total 20 Honey Buzzards a Booted Eagle and 20 Black Kites.

Two Glossy ibises flew past the Observatory heading north.

 A Whitethroat was present at Europa foreshore.

04 May:  Cloudy with a light drizzle in the morning, giving way to sunny intervals in the afternoon.  Winds moderate to fresh westerly.

Ringing Totals

In the morning, a rush of raptors as rain showers passed over the Moroccan shore and Strait.  Over 340 Honey Buzzards and 280 Black Kites were counted before 09:00hrs.  After which a few distant raptors were seen over the Bay.  There after very few raptors were seen.

Totals for the day were 531 Honey Buzzards, two Griffon Vultures, eight Short-toed Eagles, 12 Booted Eagles and 363 Black Kites.

A Griffon Vulture was observed over Catalan Bay.

At Europa foreshore there was a Reed Warbler, and offshore a Common Sandpiper, 18 Balearic Shearwaters west, two Cory's Shearwaters close in, and an Audouin's Gull flying east.

Three Cattle Egrets flew west at Europa Point at 18:30hrs.

Cattle Egrets heading west past Europa Point.                               R. Perez.

03 May:  Mainly clear skies with some westerly cloud.  Winds light south-westerly but north-westerly at higher elevations.  Becoming fresh south-westerly in the Strait mid morning.

Windy conditions hampered the ringing effort.

Ringing Totals

The early morning saw a rush of Honey Buzzards,1035 Honey Buzzards, an Osprey, a Short-toed Eagle, a Sparrowhawk and 24 Black Kites counted until 10:30hrs.  Also seen were several flocks of Common Swifts four Swallows and a House Martin heading north.

Total for the day, with an Osprey, 1726 Honey Buzzards, two Griffon Vultures, three Egyptian Vultures, three Short-toed Eagles, 12 Booted Eagles, three Sparrowhawks, a Hobby and 639 Black Kites.  Also seen was a Black Stork.

Black Stork heading north over the Rock.                                         R. Perez

Two Turtle Doves were observed above Lathbury Barracks. A flock of 31 Balearic Shearwaters were seen off Europa Point.

At Windmill Hill there were the following:-

02 May:  Mainly clear skies after a stormy night with plenty of lightning and thunder.  Winds light westerly in the early morning with winds picking up to a fresh south-westerly.

A trickle of raptors in fresh to strong south-westerly winds with 15 Honey Buzzards, five Griffon Vultures, an Egyptian Vulture, 18 Booted Eagles, six Short-toed Eagles, a Sparrowhawk, a Marsh Harrier, 110 Black Kites and a Kestrel.  Also seen was a Black Stork.  A late evening rush produced 136 Honey Buzzards.

A Eurasian Nightjar was resting on the cliff above Little Bay. A Turtle Dove was inside Bruno's Pub, and a Quail struck Peninsular Heights building but was unhurt.  It was taken to Jews' Gate Observatory where it was ringed and released.  Another Turtle Dove was seen around Trafalgar Heights.

Two Yellow Wagtails were observed on the roof of the Victualling Yard

At Europa foreshore there was a Turtle Dove, 12 Willow Warblers, a  Chiffchaff, a Sedge Warbler, three Reed Warblers, five Melodious Warblers, a Sardinian Warbler, two Redstarts, four House Sparrow, a Chaffinch, two Serins. and a Corn Bunting.

On the Talus slopes there were two Barbary Partridges, a Kestrel, two Willow Warblers, a Reed Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher, two Pied Flycatchers and a Redstart.

01 May: Overcast skies with a low levanter cloud over the Rock and town.  Winds moderate easterly, becoming light and variable with some sunny intervals in the late afternoon.

Ringing Totals

Migrants at the Botanic Gardens included a Woodchat Shrike, a Willow Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Pied Flycatcher.  Europa foreshore held over 14 Willow Warblers, two Melodious Warblers, two Redstarts and a Whinchat.

Five Honey Buzzards and two Sparrowhawks were seen along the east side, and 11 Balearic Shearwaters flew south at this site.

Several flocks of Bee-eaters flew north over town, together with seven Swallows and a House Martin.

At the Talus Slope two Kestrels, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Pied Flycatcher, a Whinchat and two House Sparrows.

At North Front cemetery in the early morning, there was a Collared Dove, Woodchat Shrike, two Willow Warblers, two Melodious Warblers, two Sardinian Warblers, two Whitethroats, three Spotted Flycatchers, two Redstarts, a Nightingale and a Whinchat.

Around Vineyards estate there were three Willow Warblers, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Pied Flycatcher.

Windmill Hill held the following:-

A Bonelli's Warbler was heard at Spur Battery, and a Spotted Flycatcher, a Pied Flycatcher and a Whinchat were among migrants seen at the Talus slope.