A Saturday with my brother in Tabarca resulted in some fun snorkeling but few birds. However, migration is in full swing, and a flock of dotterels has returned to El Hondo again.

The fieldwork of a new ornithological project in Cabo Cope y Puntas de Calnegre provided great views of trumpeter finches and rufous-tailed scrub-robins, as well as numerous migrants and other highlights.

Southern Cádiz ensures top-class birding. Local specialties such as house swift and northern bald ibis were combined with migratory birds such as ortolan bunting in La Janda or puffins and poms in Tarifa.

Ceuta hosts different North African birds: African chaffinch and blue-tit, common bulbul, Levaillant’s woodpecker, long-legged buzzard, house bunting, black-crowned tchagra, Maghreb owl and Barbary partridge.

April in Spain calls for the steppe. Little and great bustards are busy with their spectacular displays, a must-see show which ensures views of larks, shrikes or orchids in awesome green-and-red landscapes.

Arabuko Sokoke is the largest remnant of East African coastal forest. Walking its trails produced endemic Sokoke scops-owl, Amani sunbird and golden-rumped sengi and a close encounter with an elephant!

A trip to Kazbegi five years ago marked my first experience watching birds abroad. Highlights include wallcreeper, Caucasian snowcock, and flocks of migrating kites, buzzards, sparrowhawks, chiffchaffs, and wheatears

September brought the opportunity to look for long-awaited species: dotterel and northern bald ibis. Bee-eaters, wheatears, flycatchers, honey-buzzards, and whinchats showed up everywhere.

A long drought is especially evident by June. Rufous-tailed rock-thrush, tawny pipit, pin-tailed sandgrouse, stone martens, and Lataste’s vipers are some specialties found with friends and family.