Somerset Wild Walks: Barbate area Andalucia - Bald Ibis, Stilts, Egrets etc 8/6/15

An early start as we left the mountains for quite a long drive down to the Barbate region on the coast however we stopped along the way for coffee and a bite to eat in a local bar. The scenery and towns along the way provided great interest with plants and various landscape as well as looking out for wildlife.

We arrived at Vejer de Frontera, parked up and walked a few yards to the roadside where we found the small but growing colony of Bald Ibis. Wow what a success story of such an endangered bird. In the car park itself was a huge 'rookery' of Cattle Egrets in various stages of nesting. Great breading colours on these Egrets!

From Vejer we journeyed on to Barbate hugging the coast and getting a glimpse of the African coast along the way. We drove onto a salt marsh area where we got some great views of Black Winged Stilts, Spoonbill, Collared Pratincole, Little Terns, Crested and Short Toed Larks, Tawny Pipits, Kentish Plover and a Great Egret.

After stopping for an excellent lunch we ventured on to a rice growing area. Here we found another 'rookery' of Cattle Egrets and Glossy Ibis plus a single Night Heron. The 'rookery' was buzzing with life, it was amazing to see a Glossy Ibis on the nest. We also had some great views of White Storks, Godwits and more Glossy Ibis and Black Winged Stilts in the rice pan area.

We the journeyed across a field and hill area with woodlands here and there. This area gave us some great views of Turtle Doves, Booted Eagle and a family of Red Legged Partidge. In summary another awesome day!