John Cantelo
Well-known member
I'm fortunate enough to have a small house in the lovely village of Alcala de los Gazules (Cadiz) where I escape to when I can. Yes, I know I’m a lucky s*d and shouldn’t grumble, but one thing tarnishes what would otherwise be unalloyed joy; my total inability to find Ruppell’s Vulture. The place is ideally situated at the centre of Cadiz province where the birds are regular (esp. in August). But, thus far, mine is a story of abject failure!
What am I doing wrong? You judge:-
Strategy A - August 2005 Well not so much a strategy as sheer idleness – no effort to look for the species specifically (too much else to see!) and a vague assumption that if one’s going to fly over it will! Result – I saw fair numbers of Griffons but no Ruppells, but then I didn’t really expect one.
Strategy B - August 2006 Drive round the area (i.e. Tarifa/La Janda/Alcornocales) until I find a large flock of Griffons to scrutinise. Result – lots of driving and too few views of generally distant Griffons (although still a few hundred reasonably close).
Strategy C- August 2007 Pick a seemingly suitable spot and wait. Result – perhaps more sightings than last time, but just as distant and, worse, a bad case of heat stroke (which isn’t at all pleasant, I can tell you).
Strategy D - August 2008 Just sit on the terrace every day and wait! Not so daft as it seems as the species has been seen near the village and this strategy ensured plenty of shade, food & liquid refreshment. Result – No heat stroke! Several hundred Griffons seen about a third of which were within, I guess, “identifiable range”, but, of course, no Ruppells.
So four years on and many hundreds of Griffons later and I still haven’t seen the damn thing. I’m beginning to worry that I have somehow misconstrued what the they look like. Perhaps I’m just too unlucky – I daren’t admit how many attempts it took me to get Little Swift. Some visits were with other birders who chuckled at my incompetence …. until they went to the site with me and found all the swifts really did vanish on my approach (or seem to do so!). And every time I try to go on a trip to see Orca’s they’re damn well cancelled at the last minute! So anyone out there with experience of looking for Ruppells in Spain who can tell me how it’s done and what features I should latch onto?
To make all this worse some birding friends were out this year and, on their first day birding, had a Ruppell’s fly over (low) – one of only c100 ‘Griffon Vultures’ they saw! Thankfully this wasn’t actually over the village but about 30 km away as the vulture flies. (I’m not a bitter man, though, since I told them where to find Spanish Imperial Eagle). In fairness to myself I ought to point out that, with Mrs C along, my August breaks have all been a “holiday with some birding” rather than a “Birding Holiday” and that even locals admit seeing one is ‘hit-and-miss’. Future possible strategies include:
1 – Discover Dick Forsman’s itinerary and follow him around
2 – Concentrate on watching the area where the CA212 meets the A381 which, too late, I’m told is a good spot.
3 – Focusing on large roost sites [– there’s one in the Molinos valley near Alcala de los Gazules which I’ve looked at a few times, but birds tend to drift off (or in) high and quickly plus the light’s not great]
4 – Persuade Mrs C to go home a week early so that I can invite any raptor fans I can muster out to the house to have an all-out attempt to see one. (Doomed to failure I fear!).
Any tips and suggestions would be welcomed!
John
What am I doing wrong? You judge:-
Strategy A - August 2005 Well not so much a strategy as sheer idleness – no effort to look for the species specifically (too much else to see!) and a vague assumption that if one’s going to fly over it will! Result – I saw fair numbers of Griffons but no Ruppells, but then I didn’t really expect one.
Strategy B - August 2006 Drive round the area (i.e. Tarifa/La Janda/Alcornocales) until I find a large flock of Griffons to scrutinise. Result – lots of driving and too few views of generally distant Griffons (although still a few hundred reasonably close).
Strategy C- August 2007 Pick a seemingly suitable spot and wait. Result – perhaps more sightings than last time, but just as distant and, worse, a bad case of heat stroke (which isn’t at all pleasant, I can tell you).
Strategy D - August 2008 Just sit on the terrace every day and wait! Not so daft as it seems as the species has been seen near the village and this strategy ensured plenty of shade, food & liquid refreshment. Result – No heat stroke! Several hundred Griffons seen about a third of which were within, I guess, “identifiable range”, but, of course, no Ruppells.
So four years on and many hundreds of Griffons later and I still haven’t seen the damn thing. I’m beginning to worry that I have somehow misconstrued what the they look like. Perhaps I’m just too unlucky – I daren’t admit how many attempts it took me to get Little Swift. Some visits were with other birders who chuckled at my incompetence …. until they went to the site with me and found all the swifts really did vanish on my approach (or seem to do so!). And every time I try to go on a trip to see Orca’s they’re damn well cancelled at the last minute! So anyone out there with experience of looking for Ruppells in Spain who can tell me how it’s done and what features I should latch onto?
To make all this worse some birding friends were out this year and, on their first day birding, had a Ruppell’s fly over (low) – one of only c100 ‘Griffon Vultures’ they saw! Thankfully this wasn’t actually over the village but about 30 km away as the vulture flies. (I’m not a bitter man, though, since I told them where to find Spanish Imperial Eagle). In fairness to myself I ought to point out that, with Mrs C along, my August breaks have all been a “holiday with some birding” rather than a “Birding Holiday” and that even locals admit seeing one is ‘hit-and-miss’. Future possible strategies include:
1 – Discover Dick Forsman’s itinerary and follow him around
2 – Concentrate on watching the area where the CA212 meets the A381 which, too late, I’m told is a good spot.
3 – Focusing on large roost sites [– there’s one in the Molinos valley near Alcala de los Gazules which I’ve looked at a few times, but birds tend to drift off (or in) high and quickly plus the light’s not great]
4 – Persuade Mrs C to go home a week early so that I can invite any raptor fans I can muster out to the house to have an all-out attempt to see one. (Doomed to failure I fear!).
Any tips and suggestions would be welcomed!
John
