If you have visited the Cazalla watchpoint in Tarifa, you must have seen an employee always eager to help and give useful explanations. In this BIRDER OF THE MONTH interview, meet Diego, born and raised in Tarifa!
Hi Diego, what exactly do you do here at Cazalla?
Cazalla was a project set up years ago by the local authorities of Tarifa because they wanted a decent place to observe the birds. I do a lot of different jobs here, for example I create and organise activities all year round, both for foreign visitors and local people. I inform them about birds and places where they can see them. Some birders might want to see a specific species and then I can tell them where to find it. That is not necessarily limited to Tarifa, of course. I may have to send them to Sanlucar, anywhere else in the province of Cadiz and beyond.
Sometimes visitors come here and due to the unpredictability of this place they hardly see any bird. I understand it can be frustrating for tourists from Finland or Norway for instance who have come all the way to Tarifa to find out there isn’t anything to see due to the weather conditions. Then it is my job to tell them about other places they can go to and give them worthwile alternatives. In winter I work a lot with the local people: I visit schools or the students come here for informative chats or activities related to environmental education. Sometimes we organise excursions or crafts for children.
Every so often I give visitors general touristic information about restaurants, hotels or other places of interest.
Where do most visitors come from?
From all over the world really. Japan, United States, India, Scandinavia, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain of course. In Spain, the pandemic has had a huge impact on the birding phenomenon. Watching birds was one of the activities people could do without leaving their homes. There were even competitions to see who could spot the most birds from their balcony.
Did the interest in birding decrease after the pandemic?
No, the interest keeps growing. We receive many families with kids who are keen on birding, it’s amazing. What we also see is that people who are keen on photography start to become enthusiastic about birds and nature in general. At first they may not have a clue about what they are taking photos of, but their knowledge grows rapidly.
How did you get started in this job?
I have a touristic background, but working in an office is boring for me. I wanted to do something more active. Not going on exhausting hikes either, but rather informative activities in which I could tell people about plants, trees or landmarks. I’ve also worked on windfarms.
You felt bored in an office, but not on a windfarm?
Not at all (laughs). I could watch birds all day, or other animals.
Where does your passion for birds come from?
I got the bug during an environmental course, which led to going on a lot of excursions to the countryside with friends. We spoke a lot about plants and other types of animals as well, but the birds were clearly my passion. It’s hard to explain why, it’s like a poison, something that bites you and you get infected for the rest of your life. Also, you can see birds wherever you go. In winter for example, insects are hard to find. Cetaceans can also only be seen during a certain period of the year; mammals can also be harder to find. But whether you live in a city or the countryside, or when you go to the mountains, or even when you’re travelling by train: you will see birds. In the desert, at sea, near a landfill, on the South Pole, you name it.
To me, birdwatching is a form of meditation. I enter in a state in which I forget about my problems, I only focus on the birds. I have a lot of patience when I count birds, something I may lack in my daily life with other things.
Do you go out birding outside of your job as well?
Birdwatching is a full-time job for me, yes! I never go to the beach without a pair of binoculars. Or when I go camping with my family, I wake up extra early to see what I can find. However, I am not that obsessed with rarities, I enjoy any type of bird. Some people prefer birds of prey, or seabirds, or waders. I like them all. I can spend a lot of time just looking at their behaviour, how they interact. There might be a surprise around every corner. Don’t expect me to drive one hundred kilometres by car just to see one rare bird. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be glad to see it, but preferably in my local patch.
One day I went looking for a Moussier’s Redstart, because it was not too far away. If I can go on a journey to find a special species far away with other people, then I’ll do it because of the experience of sharing a special moment together, something worth remembering.
Do you have a favourite bird?
I have a new favourite bird at every moment! But I like Redstarts a lot: the Common Redstart or Black Redstart. I know they are quite common birds, but it’s more about what I feel when I see them, they provoke a special sensation, they feel very fragile. The same happens when I see a group of Red-rumped Swallows migrating. Or the Bearded Vulture! Or even a Bluethroat. Recently, we had a full moon and observed the birds’ silhouettes that passed in front of it, that was simply spectacular! Like watching a documentary, but in real life. Or a group of Honey Buzzards. Or thirty Egyptian Vultures, soaring together in the sky. I could go on and on, I have so many beautiful memories. I guess you could say that seeing a new species for the first time is like going on a first date, you’re full of excitement and all eyes.
Seeing birds is all about emotions! When I see a group of visitors here in the observatory admiring a flock of White Storks, gathering in the air to cross the Strait, I’m filled with contentment.
Which place would you like to visit for watching birds?
I’d love to go to Colombia because there are so many wonderful species and also because my wife has lived there. I would probably freak out just at seeing the most common bird there.
Are there any species here in the south of Spain you think are facing a dark future?
Steppe birds will get into trouble, without a doubt. Montagu's Harriers, Bustards and Larks, for example, mainly because of habitat loss. I think that it's important to start to reintroduce species that have disappeared here, for example the Common Buttonquail, of which now only a few individuals live in Morocco. I think efforts should be more focussed on the species that we have left or are actually endangered instead of introducing new ones.
Do you think authorities are making enough effort to help endangered species?
Clearly not. They should invest much more in conservation and environmental education, at least here in Spain. We should have more respect for nature and birds, after all we mustn’t forget that they were here long before us! Fortunately, in recent years, I have seen a positive evolution in the local schools. Children now know what migration is, they know the importance of the La Janda area, they can tell apart different bird species. But I think a lot more should be done. Let’s stay hopeful for the future and try to contribute. Make the young generation aware that life is not about money and building more and more houses destroying the habitats, especially on the coast. We have to protect our natural areas.
Finally, which time of year would you recommend to people who would like to visit Cazalla?
You can observe many birds all year round, but the peak is without a doubt during migration season, which is in Spring (March) and Autumn (October).
Thanks a lot for your time and your interesting answers!
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