Places › Southern shore · City

Ceuta and Monte Hacho

Ceuta · 35.89° N, 5.30° W

The city and its hill, the first relief met by soaring birds crossing from Algarrobo and Punta Carnero on westerlies. Seabirds from the Hacho and Punta Almina.

214
bird species: 1956–2025
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 2012 onwards.

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.

ResidentRed CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
Photo: Stanley Davis, CC BY
39% of its observations here fall in these weeks
ResidentEurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
Photo: YCapelle, Public domain
26% of its observations here fall in these weeks
MigrantLesser Crested TernSterna bengalensis
Photo: Ian Dugdale, CC BY
23% of its observations here fall in these weeks
VagrantHouse BuntingEmberiza sahari
Photo: El Golli Mohamed, CC BY-SA 4.0
18% of its observations here fall in these weeks
SeasonalSpotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
Photo: Marton Berntsen, CC BY-SA
17% of its observations here fall in these weeks
ResidentCommon Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
Photo: hedera.baltica, CC BY-SA
13% of its observations here fall in these weeks
ResidentEuropean SerinSerinus serinus
Photo: hedera.baltica, CC BY-SA
10% of its observations here fall in these weeks
ResidentLong-legged BuzzardButeo rufinus
Photo: Константин Шатилов, CC BY
9% of its observations here fall in these weeks

Where to watch today

Forecast wind at Ceuta, 10:00–16:00

7km/h from the W

Gusts

28 km/h

Calm: crossing along the whole front

With no dominant wind, soaring birds cross at any point between Tarifa and Gibraltar as soon as the thermals rise. It is the most spread-out day and the most comfortable for watching.

Watchpoint: Any; Cazalla and Algarrobo cover both ends

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 Crested Tern×31.7
Fringilla spodiogenys×19.3
Long-legged Buzzard×16.6
Cyanistes teneriffae×15.2
Common Bubul×11.1
Audouin´s Gull×7.1
Rock Dove×4.4
Western Jackdaw×3.9

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

18 %

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

Protection

Important Bird Area (IBA)

Outside every IBA, right next to Estrecho de Gibraltar: 0.2 km.

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 city and its hill, the first relief met by soaring birds crossing from Algarrobo and Punta Carnero on westerlies. Seabirds from the Hacho and Punta Almina.

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.