19 Aug:  Clear skies with a moderate to fresh westerly wind.

Eagle Owl heard calling along the east side. A Kingfisher was present at Mid Harbour's Marina.

18 Aug: Levanter cloud over the Rock and town, dissipating by mid morning to give clear skies.  Some fog along Europa Point in the late morning.  Winds light easterly.

Ringing Totals

An unprecedented early passage of trans-Saharan migrants, and a good breeding result for local resident birds that were ringed with totals from the 16^th July until the 18^th August:-

A Golden Oriole was seen along the Saluting Battery, and a Willow Warbler was seen near the top of Med Steps.  There were still 12 Pallid Swifts hawking around Ocean Village.

Six Ravens flew in from Spain and landed in the Middle Hill area. Two Grey Herons flew east past Europa foreshore, and another flew north over Windmill Hill.  An Audouin's Gull was present at Seven Sister's rocks.

17 Aug:  Overcast skies with levanter cloud over the Rock, town and harbour, and westerly cloud overhead as well.  Winds moderate easterly, but a south-westerly wind managed a few gusts early in the morning in the south of the Rock, with mist patches.

Ringing Totals

A flock of approximately 450 White Storks flew in over the Rock in the afternoon.  This is an unusual sighting as White Storks tend to congregate in the Tarifa area, specially with easterly winds.

Also seen in the morning and early afternoon were several Booted Eagles and 14 Black Kites.

Robins were present at Campion Park, and Montagu Gardens estate, and three Spotted Flycatchers were present at the Convent gardens.

16 Aug:  Light drizzle before dawn, with south-westerly cloud and levanter cloud over the Rock, town and harbour.  Winds light to moderate easterly.

Ringing Totals

A Whimbrel was present at Europa foreshore, and a Grey Heron was on the pontoon at Mid Harbours Marina.  A Little Egret was seen in the harbour area.

A Tawny Owl was heard above Queen's Road in the early morning.

15 Aug:  Slight fog over the town at dawn quickly receding and slight levanter cloud until mid morning, with a light south-easterly wind becoming light and variable.

A Hoopoe was present at Europa foreshore.  Two Grey Herons were present at the Detached Mole.

There were 21 Booted Eagles, a Sparrowhawk and 180 Black Kites over the Rock.  Also seen were a flock of Bee-eaters.

14 Aug:   Low fog at dawn rising quickly but dissipating mid morning, with levanter cloud  mid morning over the Rock and town.  Sunny intervals away from the rock in the afternoon. Winds moderate easterly.

Seven Sisters rocks held a Grey Heron and two Shags, whilst Camp Bay had a Common Sandpiper.

A dead Kingfisher was picked up at the GSLA Bathing Pavilion.

13 Aug:  Low fog at dawn rising quickly but dissipating mid morning, when heavy levanter cloud developed mid morning over the Rock and town.  Sunny intervals away from the rock in the afternoon. Winds moderate easterly.

Ringing Totals

Four Booted Eagles were observed over the Rock.  Eleven Black-headed Gulls in two flocks headed south off Sandy Bay.

12 Aug:  Clear skies with a light variable wind becoming light easterly mid morning, with a few wisps of levanter cloud over the Rock.

Ringing Totals

Two adult Audouin's Gulls were foraging at Camp Bay. A Booted Eagle was seen over the Rock.

11 Aug: Clear skies with a moderate north-westerly wind.

A Little Egret was present opposite the New Harbours Marina. A juvenile Swallow was seen perched on vegetation at Camp Bay.

 A juvenile Woodchat Shrike was present at North Front cemetery.

An evening watch at Europa Point produced the following:-

Two Grey Herons were observed off Europa Advance road.

10 Aug:  Clear skies with a light to moderate westerly wind.

Between 11:45-12:30hrs a steady passage of Black Kites were observed numbering 1200 birds.  No more were seen after this until 16:20hrs when a further 701 Black Kites and a Montagu's Harrier were seen.

In the evening an Eleonora's Falcon, (probably yesterdays bird), was seen heading north over Apes Den.

A morning and afternoon visit to Europa Point produced the following:-

The flock of 21 Glossy Ibises west at Europa Point.                         A. Fortuna.

Two Grey Herons flew south over Mid Harbours Marina.  Another Grey Heron was present at Rosia Bay.

A walk along the Alameda Botanic gardens produced the following:-

09 Aug: Dense fog overnight and at dawn but quickly disappearing and leading to clear skies.  Winds light variable becoming light to moderate south-westerly.

A morning visit to Windmill Hill produced the following:-

A morning walk along Engineer road produced four Blue Tits, two Blackcaps, six Sardinian Warblers, a Wren, two Blackbirds, two Spotted Flycatchers and a Greenfinch.

A Hoopoe and a Bonelli's Warbler were present at North Front cemetery. An Eleonora's Falcon was observed over Jews' Gate.

08 Aug:  Clear skies at dawn but heavy fog from the east over Europa Point and the airfield, and low levanter cloud developing for most of the morning and early afternoon.  Winds light variable to light easterly.

Ringing Totals

Two Purple Herons flew south over the harbour.  A Booted Eagle was seen over Rock Gun in the afternoon.

Four Common Sandpipers flew from Sandy Bay groyne towards Catalan Bay.

At North Front cemetery there was a Bonelli's Warbler, an Iberian Chiffchaff and a Greenfinch.

07 Aug:  Clear skies with a light variable becoming light easterly by midday.

Ringing Totals

A Kingfisher was seen outside a window at St. Bernard's Hospital.

A Black Kite flew in from the east side and soared over Jews' Gate.

06 Aug:  Clear skies with a light westerly wind.

The Audouin's Gull at Camp Bay remained in the area.

At North Front cemetery there was a Hoopoe, a Woodchat Shrike, a Melodious Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher.

Three Black Kites were seen in the morning.

An adult Sabine's Gull flew west past Europa Point.                       A. Fortuna.

05 Aug:  Clear skies with a moderate south-westerly in the Strait and Bay but moderate north-westerly at the head of the Bay.

A count from 08:00-15:30hrs produced, a juvenile Flamingo heading south over town, 11 White Storks, 16157 Black Kites, a Red Kite, an adult Egyptian Vulture, two Booted Eagles, and two Lesser Kestrels.  Over 5000 passed in an hour between 10:30-11:30hrs. Later on passage resumed for a record total of 26200 Black Kites.  Obviously some were missed so this is only the ones counted. A Zitting Cisticola flew overhead at Princess Caroline's battery.

At Europa Point in the early afternoon there the following:-

Two Whimbrels west at Europa Point.    C. Fortuna.

There was an adult Woodchat Shrike at North Front cemetery.

Adult Woodchat Shrike at North Front cemetery.               C. Fortuna.

04 Aug:  Clear skies with a moderate westerly, turning to fresh south-westerly by midday, but north-westerly further north.

An early morning watch at Europa Point produced the following:-

In the afternoon there were a total of 15 Oystercatchers west at Europa Point.

Eight Oystercatchers west at Europa Point.   A. Fortuna.

A juvenile Flamingo was rescued off Rosia Bay when it was seen in difficulties and unable to fly from the surface of the sea.  The Department of the Environment was notified and the bird was taken to the Vet.

A total of 12268 Black Kites counted today, with passage continuing well into the evening.  Also seen were several hundred Common Swifts,  a Long-legged Buzzard, four Booted Eagles and four Lesser Kestrels.

A Grey Heron was present at Small Boats Marina.  Three Oystercatchers flew west past Europa Point in the early afternoon.

03 Aug:  Clear skies with some high cloud.  Winds moderate north-westerly, but fresh south-westerly in the Strait.

An exceptional day with at least 12565 Black Kites observed heading south.  Also several flocks of Common Swifts, six Grey Herons along the east side of the Rock, two Little Egrets heading north over the North Mole,  a Lesser Kestrel, and three Swallows.

At Europa Point there were two juvenile Flamingoes,  8 Audouin's Gulls, two Cory's Shearwaters, two first year Gannets and a Gull-billed Tern in the morning.

There were two Hoopoes at North  Front cemetery and another at Europa foreshore. A Little Egret was present at Mid Harbours Marina.

02 Aug:  Mainly clear skies with some high cloud.  Winds moderate to fresh westerly.

There were at least 7500 Black Kites heading south over the Rock.  Some aborted the Strait crossing in the afternoon and evening.  Also seen was a late Honey Buzzard heading north over Europa Point.  Five Ravens were seen over the Rock.

At Europa Point the following were seen:-

One of the Shags flying east bore a white ring.

A mid afternoon watch at Europa Point produced the following:-

01 Aug:  Heavy fog at dawn, persisting into mid morning, and dissipating later.  Some high cloud also, with a light easterly wind.

Ringing Totals

A Melodious Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher were present at North Front cemetery.  Two Iberian Chiffchaffs were heard calling in the vicinity of Jews' Gate.

An evening watch at Europa Point produced the following:-