Tag: Whitehawk Birding
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Senegal Part III: Raptor Haven and Dense Mangroves
As our tale of birding in Senegal continued and one of the spectacles we most wanted to see was the gathering of Lesser Kestrels and Scissor-tailed Kites. A roost site was discovered less than ten years ago. These birds gather in overwhelming numbers, over 15,000 kites and almost 30,000 kestrels have been counted in this…
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Senegal Part II: From Sahel to the Jungle
Senegal’s biodiversity is incredible. The road from Saint Louis to Wassadou produced some very attractive species, even without making frequent stops. In fact, our long drive couldn’t have started better. We spotted a carcass alongside the road which had attracted Rüppell’s Vulture, African White-backed Vulture, Eurasian Griffon and Hooded Vulture. The nearby acacias were covered with…
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Senegal: Africa’s Best Kept Secret
My first visit to Senegal left me wanting more. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in such a friendly and extraordinarily diverse country. Senegal is extremely rich in wildlife. Thus it is an attractive destination for anyone ready to experience the natural wonders Africa has to offer. The Democratic Republic of Senegal makes up…
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Watching Barbary Macaques in northern Morocco
Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) can be found in Morocco and Algeria. There is a small population in Gibraltar as well. They are the only species of primate to inhabit Europe beside humans. Barbary Macaque numbers have shrunk over the years due to habitat loss and persecution. Today, most of them survive in small and increasingly…
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Post-fledging behavior and prey of the Solitary Eagle
With just a few nests discovered to date, the Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus solitarius) is one of the least known birds of prey in the world. As such, there is very little information on the ecology and behavior of the Solitary Eagle at any stage in their lives. In 2009, our team of biologists was working…
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The Honey Buzzard Migration
Having the opportunity to spend long periods of time in strategic places for watching migrating birds is priceless for any birder. The spectacle of migration is something that happens almost continuously throughout the year in the Strait of Gibraltar. The peaks of activity are mainly in August and September during the fall migration. Then again…
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Into the Wild Desert: Merzouga
One of the best places to enjoy desert avifauna is Merzouga. For most people, the desert represents one of the final frontiers. They might see it as a lifeless place of harsh extremes. But nothing is further from reality. It is true that the fauna in deserts is less abundant than in other ecosystems. However,…
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La Janda, a Magical Place
Without a doubt, the loss of La Janda Lagoon was an environmental catastrophe for southern Spain. Those who made the decision to drain the largest lagoon in southern Europe for its use as farmland cared little for the fact that it was a refuge for millions of resident and passing birds and located in a…
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Working with the Canarian Houbara Bustard
In late 2011, Whitehawk began collaborating with GREFA, a Spanish NGO. We partnered with them to help carry out a population census of the Canarian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis fuertaventurae undulata) on the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, Spain. An Endemic Subspecies of the Houbara Bustard The Canarian Houbara Bustard is an endemic subspecies. It inhabits…