Bald Ibis
This does not look like the location for a community of once critically (but now just) endangered birds to make their home, Just beyond the La Barca De Vejer sign in Barbate, SW Spain, you will find an observatory. Across the road amongst the rocks you will see bald ibis. In 2018 there were around 147 breeding pairs in the wild and over 1,000 in captivity.
You need to be there before sunrise to see them fly off to find food or before 4pm when they return. We arrived and parked just yards away as four of them returned and briefly flew around us in the car park. Just enough time for a few silhouette pictures. Who would ever believe a bird so rare could be so close?
They start to breed between the ages of 3 and 5 and once they find a mate they bond for life. In courtship, they mirror each other with bowing displays and also preen each other. We saw a pair mate and heard the gentle rumbling call of the male. The nest is a loose construction of twigs lined with grass or straw and the female lays between 2 to 4 eggs.
One of their feeding grounds is about ten km towards the coast in Barbate. We were fortunate to be parked up watching other birds as a flock of 45 came close. Some landed on fence posts behind us but they were between us and the sun and offered mainly silhouette shots. No complaints from me. They were simply stunning and so close.
