Places › Southern shore · Cape

Cape Spartel

Tánger (Marruecos) · 35.79° N, 5.92° W

The Atlantic cape at the entrance to the Strait, west of Tangier, with a lighthouse and pinewood. Seabirds on passage and soaring birds arriving from Tarifa on easterlies. Road access from Tangier.

131
bird species: 1902–2025
first and last open record

See the place in the explorer

within about 2.5 km · Natural Earth cartography, public domain

90 % of the records are from 1994 onwards.

Few open observations: the southern shore has fewer observers, not less life. The figures here describe what has been published, not what is there.

September

What to watch this week

The species with the largest share of their open observations in these weeks of the year, here (week 37 and its two neighbours). A likelihood, not a promise: observations measure effort as well as presence.

Open records within about 2.5 km of the point by ISO week, all years added up. The current week is outlined.

Too few open observations in these weeks to single out species.

Where to watch today

Forecast wind at Cabo Espartel, 10:00–16:00

10km/h from the SW

Gusts

23 km/h

Light poniente: crossing in the east

A westerly shifts the passage east. Soaring birds approach the sea between Algeciras, Punta Carnero and Gibraltar, and cross towards Ceuta and Jbel Musa.

Watchpoint: Algarrobo and Punta Carnero

Forecast for Tuesday 8 September, Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0). A reading, not a prediction of passage.

The ones that define the place

Species more concentrated here than in the rest of the Strait: their share of observations at the place divided by their share across the whole area. An index of 3 means three times more frequent here than expected.

Lesser Black-backed Gull×2.2

Most observed birds

Birds with 30 or more open records within the site radius. It measures observation effort as well as presence.

Each species' line is its weekly distribution here; the vertical tick is the current week.

The place's calendar

25 %

Monthly distribution of the open observations within about 2.5 km of the point.

Protection

Important Bird Area (IBA)

The IBA inventory covers Spain. The Moroccan shore has its own, which this atlas does not use yet.

Inventory kept by SEO/BirdLife within BirdLife International's IBA programme. It is not a legal protection status, but it carries weight in impact assessments and in court.

Natura 2000 network

The point is not inside any Natura 2000 site.

How to watch

The Atlantic cape at the entrance to the Strait, west of Tangier, with a lighthouse and pinewood. Seabirds on passage and soaring birds arriving from Tarifa on easterlies. Road access from Tangier.

The colonies on Isla Verde and Isla de las Palomas are watched from a distance. Binoculars and telescope, no approach.
No drones over islands, breakwaters or docks: they flush the birds and are forbidden in the port domain without authorisation.

Other places

CC0 and CC BY records from GBIF and OBIS in the own database, deduplicated, within about 2.5 km of the point. Natura 2000 sites from the European Environment Agency. Protection designations as currently in force; no legal value. 8 September 2026.