Gibraltar is situated in Latitude 36’ N, 5’W at the eastern end of the strait which bears its name. It is not as many think the closest European point to Africa. This honour goes to Tarifa around the other side of the bay in Spain. That said the coast of Morocco is only about 14 miles away. The Rock as it is affectionately known rises to 426 metres at O’Hara’s battery which is near the southern edge of the rocks ridge.

Straits of Gibraltar

Western Mediterranean (This photo was not taken by me! The eagles below, were). 

Since convection is poor over sea, large birds which mainly migrate by soaring find it extremely difficult to cross. Therefore all large soaring birds that migrate from Europe to Africa have to pass either to the East or West of the Mediterranean Sea. (Ok so a few do pass down Italy but then risk the wrath of the Maltese hunters). The majority of these migrating birds that breed in Central North Western and Western Europe choose to cross the Med either at Gibraltar or Tarifa depending usually on the prevailing winds. Ther can literally be 1000's of raptors in the air on the best days. In westerly winds Gibraltar gets the lion’s share of the passage whereas Tarifa gets the easterly wind birds. Unfortunately for this visit the wind was predominantly from the east but due to poor weather over the hills to the north of Tarifa we did get a little more passage than we expected.

Booted Eagle, O'Hara's Battery, 14 Oct 2009

Booted Eagle, Cable Car Station, 15 Oct 2009

Short Toed Eagle, Cable Car Station, 14 Oct 2009

Steve Copsey