iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 11h

Reprising my talk on "Birds in history, myth & legend" tonight for Sevenoaks RSPB Group. They meet in Otford so I got here early to look at the Archbishop's palace. Not a lot left of it but worth seeing

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 17h

A trip to the SWLA exhibition in London has long been an annual fixture on my calendar. This year, I attended the opening day. A bonus was picking up a copy of their book, "This Healing Heath", about the society's Massingham Heath Project, which my old friend Tim Baldwin organised (with others) 1/2

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

At Jerez Airport where an indifferent ☕ was €4.25 (vs €1.25/1.50, max €2 elsewhere), making a 🍊 juice, ☕ & 🌯 more expensive than Monday's 3 course meal & 🍺 in a venta. Moral have a ☕ & snack before you get here!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The sunset behind Medina Sidonia from Alcala de los Gazules this evening. Back to the UK tomorrow. A great few weeks here - Spanish, B'ted, Bonelli's & S-t Eagles, Griffon & Egyptian Vultures, Bee-eaters, R-k Coot, Marbled Duck, Great Bustard, Elegant Tern,Wilson's Petrel etc. What a great place!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I finally managed to visit the small museum in Benalup (Casas Viejas) that tells the tragic story of the uprising & subsequent massacre there in 1933. It was closed when we arrived, but fortunately my friend Claire called the tourismo office who came opened it for us. 1/2

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A sudden reoccurrence of my occasional back problem last night meant getting up & dressed was something of a pantomime this AM. Now dosed up with painkillers but birding 🪶 for the next few days will be restricted to the terrace ☹️. It could be worse though ...

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Very sad & distressing news. I never met Joe Harkness so only knew him through his books. That, though, was enough to know that he was one of the best of us. www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/2655882...

eveningnews24.co.uk

Acclaimed author who once worked with Chris Packham found dead in Norfolk woodland

Inquest opened at Norfolk Coroner's Court into the death of acclaimed author and mental health campaigner.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

FB reminds me that I had this handsome Red-necked Nightjar on La Janda 12 years ago today. Sadly the roost site where they could easily be seen is no more after trees were cut & a new crash barrier installed ☹️🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I stayed local today looking for birds around Alcala de los Gazules & the Alcornocales. I found a fair mix of migrant passerines (Redstart, Spotify, warblers etc.) Good news: I had a Spanish tick. Less good news: it was Egyptian Goose. As in the UK the species is spreading rapidly in Andalucia 🪶

The impressively overhanging rock by the footpath

Alcala de los Gazules from the Benalup road

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Down to Tarifa today for some raptor passage. Cazalla was murky with poor visibility first thing. Late morning I moved to Trafico on the coast where it was better. Hundreds of birds moving inc Booted & Sh-t Eagles, Black Kites, HBs, C Buzzards, Egyptian Vs, Marsh H, Spr'awks plus W-r Swift 1/3

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Photos apparently confirm that one of the shearwaters on yesterday's trip was a Yelkuan. A good bird to get despite being (rightly) relegated to a subspecies of Balearic. (Photo: Manuel Barcena of Oxyura Birding who organised the trip). 🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

A weak (2.5%) German grapefruit infused wheat beer. My beer aficionado friends will be appalled (I'm looking at you Craig @eastkentbirder.bsky.social) but it's delicious and ideal after a hot day birding in Spain😁

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Today's pelagic out from Chipiona started very slowly. We struggled to see any Gannets, shearwaters, petrels or skuas. Happily, they finally obliged so we had good views of Cory's & Balearic Shearwaters, European & Wilson's Petrels, Arctic & Great Skuas. One of the best birds was a flying fish! 1/2🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Another pelagic out of Chipiona underway! Everyone else onboard is, understandably, Spanish. Time that I learnt Spanish bird names!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

My second (failed) attempt to see a Mediterranean Chameleon in the Jardin de Celestino Mutis - said to be the best site for them in Andalucia. Sadly, gone are the days when the gardener here, Andrea, would drop everything to show you 'her' Chameleons ☹️

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Good to catch up with Elegant Tern this morning at Playa de Montijo (Chipiona, Cadiz) today. Distant digiscoped images. Also Roseate Tern present 🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Overnight in Osuna, my favourite small town in Andalucia. It's an architectural gem. Late afternoon trawl around the Osuna triangle netted 13 Great Bustard, 6 B-w Kite, c200 Short-toed Lark, etc 42+° during the day & still 30+° at 22.40🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A pleasingly wet Brazo del Este (Seville) today produced mind-boggling numbers of Glossy Ibis, a huge flock of Pratincoles, Black Stork, Purple Swamphen, B-h Weaver, Golden Bishop, etc. Now in a hotel in Osuna waiting for cooler temperatures (currently c40°C) before looking for bustards🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Another good day around Tarifa with oodles of raptors; HBs, Booted & Sh-t Eagles, Egyptian Vultures, etc. but the star turn was a nice cirtensis Long-legged Buzzard (Photos again courtesy of Phil Chantler)🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Raptor watching at Punta Camorro (Tarifa) today:good nos of Short-toed & Booted Eagles, Egyptian Vulture, Honey Buzzards, fewer Black Kites, fewer still Marsh Harrier and a close cirtensis Long-legged Buzzard.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Good views of Western Olivaceous Warbler today by the service road at Junction 24 on the A381 near Medina Sidonia (Photo: Phil Chantler). A typical & surprisingly common bird of tamarisk stands in Cadiz Province 🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Good to see Laguna de Medina so full this month, in recent years it's had little water come autumn. Good birding too with Red-knobbed Coot, Whiskered Tern, W-h Duck & much else. A pre-dawn start netted a R-n Nightjar near Alcala, also Iberian Green 'pecker at Cetina (but I dipped Med. Lark) 🪶 1/2

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Up to Trebujena early this morning to look for Rufous Bushchat with three Kent birding friends. Happily we soon had three birds at my favourite location. Fabulous birds! 🙂🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Good news/bad news Cadiz Birding. Good news: The track across La Janda is no longer impassable having been fully repaired and in very good condition. Bad news: The track at Bolonia to the famous Cueva del Moro is currently blocked at the Mirador del Camarinal (c2km) from the cave.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I loathe birding in crowded built up areas, but if you want to see House Buntings in Spain you have no other option than traipsing around the less salubrious parts of Algeciras (mobile phone shot)🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

The obligatory photo of the sunset from my terrace in Alcala de los Gazules ...

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Good to see & hear that there are still hundreds of House Sparrows (never any Spanish Sparrows as far as I can see) roosting in the small park in the middle of Alcala de los Gazules. Carmona (Seville) used have one numbering thousands in a similar situation but they cut down the trees ☹️

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Chilly gusting northerlies this AM in Alcala so not ideal - 50+ Alpine Swifts, 3 Lesser Kestrels, 1 Short-toed & 3 Booted Eagles, a ringtail Montagu's Harrier (infrequent over the terrace) and 250+ Griffon Vultures (inc. an interesting looking dark bird l lost swapping between bins & 'scope🤦🏼) 🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Supper on the terrace in Alcala this evening with uninvited (but welcome) guests - 20+ Griffons low over the terrace, 10+ Lesser Kestrels & Booted Eagles (mobile phone shots only). But best news today is that equipped with new hearing aids I can hear Bee-eaters for the first time in years!😄 🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Back in Alcala de los Gazules (Cadiz). For once Andalucia looked greener than the UK I left. Unexpected rain overnight. A Bee-eater, a few Booted Eagles, Griffons & Lesser Kestrels overhead. Count of 21 Lks over the village last night higher than usual here in late August.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Helping at a "Meet the KOS" event at Dungeness RSPB this AM when a juv WWB Tern turned up; detoured en route to home via Stodmarsh for a 2nd WWB Tern (adult)!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I couldn't get to Oare (Kent) y'day for the W-r Sandpiper as I had a fitting for new hearing aids (& other things to sort out). Happily, I saw the W-r Sand today, but the highlight was hearing Bearded Tit & Whimbrel for the first time in years! Perhaps the new hearing aids are worth all that money🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Millions remember Bill Oddie as a musician, comedic genius and populariser of birdwatching (via his TV series); I remember him as the man whose programmes got my elderly mother to join the RSPB, where I'd failed! I remember too his "Little Black Bird Book" - a hilarious & astute book about birding

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Yesterday, Alcala de los Gazules was a blue dot (= very low fire risk) surrounded by orange (= very high risk), but today it's surrounded by orange & yellow (= high risk), so the situation now seems less bad. 🤞 A fire doesn't break out locally; even without flames, smoke inhalation is not good!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

After years of prevarication, I finally made myself some gazpacho. It was very nice too, but no better than the commercial stuff I can buy in my local Sainsbury's & quite possibly more expensive! The price of feeling virtuous.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I was pleased to be at the Global Bird Fair for three days as part of the Crossbill Guides team. It was great to chat to many happy users of the guides and to introduce others to the series. Unfortunately, I was manning the stand, so I missed Dirk's talk on how the guides are produced🪶.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

At the Global Bird Fair this w/e & pleased to catch up with two school friends I birded with growing up in Southampton. Phil Gregory (tour guide & author now based in Oz) in the centre & Jim Milne (now in Coventry) on the right. Unbelievably, we started birding together 60+ years ago! 🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Dark-green Fritillary at Lullingstone yesterday. Photo by my old birding pal Phil Gregory over from Oz for the Global Bird Fair. A new species for us both.

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

16 butterfly species in Kent y'day (probably my biggest UK total). Neither Large Tort nor Purple Emperor obliged, but Dark-green Fritillary at Lullingstone was new for me. In breezy conditions, they hardly stayed still, so here's a photo of the habitat & a flower they had landed on moments before!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I'm out looking for butterflies tomorrow in Orelstone Forest & maybe Lullingstone with my old school/birding friend Phil Gregory (now resident in Australia), so I thought I'd get my eye in by visiting East Blean Woods - highlights White Admiral and this Silver-washed Fritillary

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

In just over a week, I'll be on the Crossbill Guides stand (& wandering around) at the Global Bird Fair. If you see me, do say "Hi!", ask about the Crossbill Guides, birding Cadiz/Western Andalucia or just have a chat 🙂🪶

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

After half-a-dozen attempts over the last 2 years, I finally caught up with White-letter Hairstreak (a butterfly tick) at Nethergong (Upstreet, Kent). It would have been near the Peacock in the photo if it hadn't seen me lining up my phone camera first!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Further to my recent blog post on the Marisma de Casablanca, Bruno Asencio Sevillano added the comment: This is a really underexplored area even by local birders but it has great potential ... for owls, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis ... Spoonbill, storks, ducks, shorebirds... 1/2

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I'll be in Spain again this autumn & as always, would be happy to host birding friends & help them explore the area. PM me if interested. In the meantime, here's a post on my blog about a neglected (winter) birding site near Jerez 🪶 birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com/cadiz-birdin...

birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com

Marisma de Casablanca

Keen young Jerezano birder, Bruno Asencio Sevillano , kindly made a detailed comment about the little known and neglected Marismas de Casablanca on an earlier post ( May 2025 ). As this may be...

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Scorchingly hot early this afternoon in Canterbury, so I walked home via the cathedral, which was blissfully cool, especially the crypt. What a magnificent air conditioning unit!

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

The ancient city walls here in Canterbury look wonderful this year, thanks to a marvellous display of wildflowers instead of hard mown grass. Why didn't they do it before?

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

CORRECTION with Gift Aid, the total my guide etc has raised for @alzheimerssoc.bsky.social is actually £8242.67 with money from a defunct platform for AgeUK & Alzheimer's Research, the overall total is now £10,000+. Huge thanks to all for their support. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-cantelo

justgiving.com

John's Providing a guide to birdwatching in Cadiz Province

Help John Cantelo raise money to support Alzheimer's Society

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Huge thanks to all for helping me raise over £7,000 for the @alzheimerssoc.bsky.social (via my Cadiz birding guide & talks) in Liz's memory (esp. Maidstone RSPB Group, whose fee for my talk pushed the total over £7,000). It means more to me than I can say. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-cantelo

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John Cantelo @johncantelo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Insomniacs in Kent may like to know that I'm reprising my talk on birding on foot during lockdown for Maidstone RSPB Group tomorrow (Thursday 17th) at 19:30 at Grove Green Community Hall, Penhurst Close, Weavering, Maidstone (near the Grove Green Tesco Superstore)

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