It is that time of year when many of our summer visitors have departed for Africa and we await the mass arrival of our winter birds. October normally sees familiar old friends arrive to spend their time in a temperate Andalucía and they can arrive in spectacular numbers, species such as Blackcap, Chiffchaff, White Wagtail and Meadow Pipit.
Of course there will some more exotic arrivals too such as Common Crane and Ring Ouzel, that will see many of us make special journeys to witness their flocking behaviour at favourite sites.
For now we literally have to endure that ‘Lull Before the Storm’, a quiet period where we can all experience withdrawal symptoms as favourite birding sites seem pretty much empty of so many species. October sites, certainly after the middle of the month, that warrant special attention is La Janda, Doñana, Llanos de Libar, Fuente de Piedra and of course many others, but be sure to get out to these places to catch the first wave of our winter arrivals.