In choosing to write a blog I had a couple of missions in mind. Firstly to find a space to pencil my thoughts and secondly, to give those that know me a little insight into my comings and goings, with an emphasis on the great outdoors, and the nature that I come across in my local patch and further afield.

For those that don’t know me, I’m a Brit living in Málaga, Spain. I co-own a bicycle shop & café here in Málaga. My interests include biking (road mainly but a bit of gravel now and then) and bird watching. Hence this blog will mainly feature random observations of the birds and other animals I see while out dog walking or biking.

I first came to Málaga in 1989, invited by my very oldest of friends Mark to stay with his in-laws as it transpired. I met my wife on that trip and I eventually moved here in 2010. Málaga has changed quite dramatically since my first visit. In my experience, the British perspective used to be that Málaga was not much more than a handily placed airport for the popular Costa Del Sol tourist destinations like Marbella and Torremolinos. There was no beach and not a single 5 star hotel back then. Nowadays or course, the place is packed with visitors all year round, and accommodating the foreign visitors has become the main revenue source for many.

Málaga is an ideal place to live if you like your bird life, and especially if variety is your thing. Within Málaga province you can find estuaries, olive and cork oak groves, high mountain, and the typical Mediterranean scrub covered slopes. There is plenty of rocky coastline, and there are some vitally important wetland sites to the North. Being a short distance from the Straits of Gibraltar, means a lot of migrating birds either pass through or stop off for a feed on their respective journeys. Plenty of the nesting species here are also seasonal visitors, the most easily identifiable and numerous of which is the Common Swift, which use any crevice in the blocks of flats to raise the family. They can form impressive flocks as they head off in the mornings, and smaller compact groups with birds chasing each other at close quarters and diving between buildings while screaming their heads off as they come home to roost. We had nesting swifts in a previous flat, and I would wait anxiously for their return every Year (normally the 2nd week in March).

I’ll be concentrating on the hill which our block of flats backs onto and is my twice daily destination for walking Billy who I will introduce to you later. Our hill is called the Gibralfaro and it has a walled fort on the top. There is also a hotel situated just below the fort, but other than that, it is a re-forested pine wood with eucalyptus, wild olive, carob and other species mixed in. The hill is criss-crossed with paths both paved and otherwise. It is THE place to walk your dog, and it can get a little busy at times. Luckily, Billy and I are usually up and about early so we miss the peak hour.

I might be posting the odd photo. I don’t normally take the camera out but I aim to do a bit more photography. Expect plenty of photos of Billy, the ever obliging and ubiquitous Collared Doves, and the odd vista. I also aim to stay away from work related stuff but we’ll see how that goes!

I feel extremely privileged to live here. Like anywhere, there can be downsides to life in this part of the World but I aim to concentrate on the positive and will unashamedly plug some of the great organisations and local activist groups which help to make this city a great place to live.

For my Mother Naomi Hull

Inspiration: the wonderful Urban Birder, Mr David Lindo who brightened up the confinement and kept reminding me to look up. Mr Bob Wright and the amazing people at Andalucia Bird Society.

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