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Life in the port

The docks, islands, breakwaters and open ground of the port of the Bay of Algeciras and the port of Tarifa are not a blank in the atlas. At 7 sites of the port area 287 bird species are known, bringing two sources together: the open GBIF and OBIS observations geolocated at each site, and the field records of the Port Authority. Each site is a place of the atlas with its own page.

283 with open observations, 45 recorded in the field and 41 by both routes.

Port of Algeciras, Green Strategy. Committed to greenSites of the port area of the Port Authority of the Bay of AlgecirasAPBA bird guide (PDF, in Spanish)
Photo: Greater Flamingo, El Golli Mohamed, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great Cormorant, Frank Vassen, CC BY · Osprey, froggymum, CC BY · Northern Gannet, Brooke J., CC BY · Spotless Starling, Peterwchen, CC BY-SA 4.0
287
bird species, by open observation or field record
117,892
open observations at the sites
7
sites of the port area
96
with a threat category

Two sources, together and told apart: CC0 and CC BY observations from GBIF and OBIS, deduplicated, within the radius of each site; and the Port Authority's field records, which say the species was seen there and with what presence, but not how many times.

Campamento port facilities, 31 bird species with open observationsCampamento 31Isla Verde, 72 bird species with open observationsIsla Verde 72Saladillo dock, 116 bird species with open observationsSaladillo 116Punta de San García, 130 bird species with open observationsSan García 130Port of Algeciras, 122 bird species with open observationsPuerto de Algeciras 122Isla de las Palomas, 257 bird species with open observationsIsla de las Palomas 257Port of Tarifa, 247 bird species with open observationsPuerto de Tarifa 247
Position of each site; the number is that of bird species with at least one open observation within its radiusNatural Earth cartography, public domain

The sites, one by one

Each site is measured at its own point and radius, not across the whole port. What to see this week (week 43 and the two around it) comes from the open observations of each one; it is a probability, not a promise.

  • Port

    Campamento port facilities

    San Roque · 1.0 km radius

    46bird species194 observations

    46 species: 31 with open observations, 21 recorded in the field, 6 by both routes

    2020–2025

    The most observed

    • Common Sandpiperrecorded in the field · Resident (according to the guide)
    • Grey Heronrecorded in the field · Resident (according to the guide)
    • Cattle Egretrecorded in the field · Resident (according to the guide)
    See the place

  • Port

    Isla Verde

    Algeciras · 0.5 km radius

    76bird species848 observations

    76 species: 72 with open observations, 12 recorded in the field, 8 by both routes

    2013–2024

    What to see this week

    • Crested Larkrecorded in the field · Resident (according to the guide)
    • Northern Wheatearrecorded in the field · Seasonal (according to the guide)
    See the place

  • Port

    Saladillo dock

    Algeciras · 0.5 km radius

    116bird species3,573 observations

    116 species: 116 with open observations, 2 recorded in the field, 2 by both routes

    2018–2024

    What to see this week

    See the place

  • Port

    Punta de San García

    Algeciras · 0.5 km radius

    130bird species4,307 observations

    130 species: 130 with open observations, 1 recorded in the field, 1 by both routes

    2017–2024

    What to see this week

    See the place

  • Port

    Port of Algeciras

    Algeciras · 0.5 km radius

    123bird species2,262 observations

    123 species: 122 with open observations, 6 recorded in the field, 5 by both routes

    2018–2025

    What to see this week

    See the place

  • Island

    Isla de las Palomas

    Tarifa · 1.5 km radius

    257bird species75,330 observations

    257 species: 257 with open observations, 14 recorded in the field, 14 by both routes

    2012–2026

    What to see this week

    • EuSkylark59% of its observations here fall in these weeks
    • Northern Gannet44% of its observations here fall in these weeksrecorded in the field
    • Northern Wheatear40% of its observations here fall in these weeks
    See the place

  • Port

    Port of Tarifa

    Tarifa · 0.5 km radius

    247bird species31,378 observations

    247 species: 247 with open observations, 9 recorded in the field, 9 by both routes

    2016–2026

    What to see this week

    • European Shag20% of its observations here fall in these weeks
    • Cecropis F.Boie, 182618% of its observations here fall in these weeks
    • Common Chaffinch17% of its observations here fall in these weeks
    See the place

Observations measure observer effort as well as presence: the Isla de las Palomas and the port of Tarifa concentrate the migration watchers, and the quays of Algeciras have almost none. “Recorded in the field” marks the species documented at that site by the Port Authority.

October

This month in the port

Of the species with enough data at the sites, those whose open observations are most concentrated in October. A probability of seeing them, not a promise.

The ones that matter most

Species with enough data at the sites that are listed as threatened in Andalusia or Spain, or with a threatened or near-threatened category in the Red Book of the Birds of Spain or the global Red List. That they can be seen from a port is worth telling.

Each species with the most severe category given to it by the Andalusian Catalogue, the Spanish Catalogue, the Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021 or the global IUCN Red List, in that order of priority. Sources and dates on each species page.

Under the water of the bay

Open data barely reaches below the surface of the port: in the waters of the bay birds are well observed, but only 2 cetacean species are on record, and 1 of marine fauna in OBIS. That gap between what is known in the field and what is published openly is the first one Bioestrecho wants to close with its own data from the port area.

Cetaceans observed in the bay

Watching from the port

  • 1Port facilities have restricted areas: watch from promenades, viewpoints and public accesses, never from working quays.
  • 2The colonies of Isla Verde and the Isla de las Palomas are watched from a distance. Binoculars and telescope, no approach.
  • 3No drones over islands, breakwaters or docks: they scare the birds and are forbidden in the port domain without authorisation.
  • 4Uploading your observation to an open platform (with a CC0 or CC BY licence) is how it ends up in this atlas.

CC0 and CC BY observations from GBIF and OBIS, deduplicated, geolocated at the point of each site with its radius; our own text. The “recorded in the field” mark comes from the bird guide of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (Green Strategy), from which only that fact is taken. Download the APBA bird guide (PDF, in Spanish)