Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A coastal area around Tarifa bordering the Strait of Gibraltar. The site includes plains and low hills covered by Mediterranean scrub and grassland. The main human activities are arable cultivation, livestock-farming, tourism, and military use.
The site is a major migratory bottleneck, where more than 20,000 storks and raptors regularly pass, including (figures are seasonal totals)
Pernis apivorus (8,000-11,500 birds),
Milvus migrans (45,000-60,000),
Circaetus gallicus (4,000),
Buteo buteo (3,000) and
Hieraaetus pennatus (4,000).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threats are from new roads, illegal hunting, tourism development and the erection of windmills.
National Low
International None226 ha of IBA covered by Natural Landscape (Los Lances, 226 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tarifa (Spain). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tarifa-iba-spain on 24/12/2024.
