Our birding week

There's been some fairly mixed weather this week but that’s what we expect at this time of the year.  We’ve had warm sunshine, we’ve had storms with strong winds and torrential rain and one morning we had to change our plans because of thick fog.  At least it hasn’t been too cold.

We helped out with the monthly count of wetland birds at Castro Marim on Monday.  In addition to the Cerro do Bufo area and Sinexpral, we also covered the Esteiro da Carrasqueira with the whole count taking four of us almost four hours.  Cerro do Bufo is a huge area which held close to 3,000 birds.  Counting them without disturbing them is a challenge and on this occasion we weren’t help by the presence of a couple of Marsh Harriers, an Osprey and a Peregrine Falcon that caused panic among the ducks and waders whenever they appeared.  The Shelducks were particularly flighty and we have to admit that our total count of 364 might not be the most accurate.

Osprey

Greater Flamingos (700) were the most numerous species; there were 18 wader species, seven duck species; 112 Cormorants and 70 Black-necked Grebes.  A single Great Egret was the nearest we came to seeing anything unusual.

Black-necked Grebes

At Sinexpral we found around 1,300 birds more than half of which were Dunlins; there were about a dozen Curlew Sandpipers amongst them.  In fact there were more than ten times more Dunlin here than there had been at Cerro do Bufo and lots more Ringed & Kentish Plovers, a pattern we have seen before.

Easily the most numerous species of the day were the Eurasian Coots on the Carrasqueira, about 900 of them.  On another day we might have searched through them for a Red-knobbed bird but we have to be in the right mood for that sort of thing and this wasn’t the time.  About a dozen each of Great Crested & Little Grebes were with them plus just a handful of ducks and gulls.

Great Crested Grebe

As well as Marsh Harriers and Peregrine Falcon we saw an Osprey, a Sparrowhawk, a Common Buzzard and a Common Kestrel – a six raptor day!  The following day at Quinta do Ludo we beat this with seven raptor species.  These included a Black-winged Kite, a Hen Harrier and no fewer than ten Booted Eagles.

Black-winged Kite

We always enjoy Ludo but for some reason on Tuesday it wasn’t at its best.  There was a marked lack of waders on the saltpans and an almost complete lack of ducks on the Ribeira de São Lourenço.

Thankfully, when we reached the lagoa de São Lourenço it was a different story - there were lots of birds to sort through and to photograph in the really nice afternoon light.   On the way there, we saw a Water Pipit, which wasn’t unexpected and a Woodcock, a species we see only rarely which was certainly a surprise!  Unfortunately, the Woodcock was dead by the roadside, probably hit by a car.

Eurasian Wigeon

Lagoa de São Lourenço is well-known as a place to see Little Bitterns and although this is a species that is considered to be a trans-Saharan migrant, it’s usually possible to find them here through the winter.  Today we saw three different birds.
 
Of course, this is one of the best sites in the Algarve to get close to and to photograph various common duck species and also Western Swamp-hens (a name, incidentally, we are still struggling to get used to).  Glossy Ibis and Black-headed Weaver are species that we expect to find here and in recent times we have regularly seen Water Rails.

Western Swamp-hen

Hoopoes are fewer here in winter but can usually be found on the neighbouring golf course, which is also the favoured feeding area for Mistle Thrushes.

 Hoopoe

Mistle Thrush

We got our required wader fix first of all in the Ria Formosa at Praia de Faro and later, on the way home, at saltpans near Olhão.  We often find a few Knots here and on this occasion were able to more or less walk up to one for a photograph.  This is also a regular place to find Slender-billed Gulls and we weren’t disappointed.

 Olhão saltpans

Red Knot

We finished the week with a trip west to Sagres and this turned out to be another six raptor day with Short-toed Eagle and Red Kite amongst them bringing the total of raptor species for the week up to eleven.

Short-toed Eagle

This was planned to be mainly a photography day and we hoped to find Alpine Accentors, Rock Pipits, Ring Ouzels and Purple Sandpipers.  As it was we had to settle for Cormorants, Black Redstarts, Thekla Larks and other more common species but had an enjoyable day in spite of that.

 Great Cormorant

Black Redstart

In fact we had a very pleasant week, dodging the worst of the weather and enjoying a great variety of birds.

Bad light fails to stop play!

After an enforced absence from the Algarve that lasted several long weeks, we returned to Tavira on Monday evening.  Those unproductive and frustrating weeks with very little birding or photography are the main reason why there has been no recent update here on the blog.

On Tuesday we managed a couple of hours birding around Tavira and Santa Luzia and it was good to see all the familiar species still in their regular places.  When we are here all the time it is easy to take for granted the Spoonbills, Greater Flamingos, Slender-billed, Mediterranean & Audouin’s Gulls, the Bluethroats and Caspian Terns but a few weeks away gave us a fresh appreciation of them.  We sat and watched Dunlins, Little Stints and Greenshanks and even took a few photographs!

 Greenshank

Yesterday, we spent the day in the Castro Verde area where we saw most of the species that we might have hoped for.  Great Bustards and Black-bellied Sandgrouse were easy to find but we didn’t see Little Bustards until three were flushed by a Red Kite.  That was one of perhaps thirty or more Red Kites seen during a day when raptors of one species or another were in view most of the time.

Great Bustards

We have seldom enjoyed a day with so many sightings of Black-winged Kites and after all the talk and debate in the UK about Hen Harriers it was good to have several opportunities to actually watch them.  It was also a treat to be able to watch a Golden Eagle but sadly there was no Spanish Imperial Eagle on this occasion.

 Black-winged Kite

Golden Eagle

Hen Harrier

It was reported here last week that a Spanish Imperial Eagle was one of the victims of a recent poisoning incident in the Castro Verde SPA.  Eight Red Kites were also found dead.  To say that this is disappointing is a massive understatement.  After being absent from Portugal for many years, Spanish Imperial Eagles have been making a comeback and they had become birds that we would expect to see on most visits to the Baixo Alentejo.  This latest one is the fourth to die there this year from poisoning.

Common Cranes

We went to the Alentejo particularly in search of Cranes and we were not disappointed.  They were difficult to count but there were more certainly than 1,000 of them.  Unfortunately, they were too far away for worthwhile photographs and the light was very poor but that was the story of the day so we’re already thinking about when we can go again!  

Tavira - Owls & Raptors

We’re now regularly seeing Short-eared Owls here in Tavira.  We love just to sit and watch them hunting over the saltpans but if we get a chance we also like to try and photograph them.  There are only two of them so far and they range over quite a large area, so it’s not easy!

In past winters photographing Short-eared Owls has also been difficult because the birds haven’t normally been active until quite late in the afternoon.  By that time the light has faded to the point when we need to resort to high ISO settings and our Canon 50D starts to produce some fairly unsatisfactory, grainy images.

Recently, though, we’ve started to see the owls out hunting much earlier and we could even persuade ourselves that they have started to become accustomed to seeing us and our car.  Certainly they seem to be coming closer to us and when they’re perched they haven’t seemed concerned by our presence.

When we’re waiting for the owls to perform there are inevitably a few distractions.  There’s a Little Owl that sits on the roof of one of the buildings.  We’ve seen it so often that we feel we know it personally!  On several occasions recently we’ve seen a Hen Harrier passing through the area which we suspect has been going to roost on the nearby Ilha de Tavira.  It has flown by quickly, staying low and perhaps hoping to surprise an unwary Little Stint or Dunlin.  A couple of weeks ago a Merlin was seen that presumably had the same intention and it isn’t unusual to see a Black-winged Kite hovering or perched on top of a distant tree.

Yesterday, however, was exceptional!  By 2.30pm the two Short-eared Owls had already had a fly round and had found resting places less than 100m apart where we could see them both.  We were watching and waiting to see what they would do next when an Osprey appeared carrying a fish.  It landed on top of a pole about 250m away where it really didn’t look very comfortable, but it didn’t matter as after just a few minutes it was disturbed by a passing cyclist and took flight.  Fortunately, it came towards us and we were able to get a series of flight shots before it disappeared.

Very soon after that we were hoping for repeat success when a Marsh Harrier came into view.  It was quartering the saltpans in typical fashion and just for a minute it threatened to come within camera range.  Soon, however, it was like all the other Marsh Harriers we see here and heading off into the distance!

Then, suddenly, the Marsh Harrier was forgotten as we became aware of two large birds having some sort of skirmish high above us.  As we have seen it happen before, our immediate thought was that the two owls were having a territorial dispute but we quickly realised that only one of the birds was an owl.  So, what was the other?  The Osprey returned?  No, it was a Booted Eagle!  Their disagreement didn’t last long and the eagle quickly went on its way but it rounded off a remarkable couple of hours for us and we were left reminding ourselves that this is December in the Eastern Algarve!
 

Transatlantic Visitors

There's been a flurry of North American waders here in Portugal these last few weeks. It started with a Pectoral Sandpiper on the last day of August and then in September there was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Lagoa dos Salgados, two Spotted Sandpipers (Vilamoura and Alcochete) and an Upland Sandpiper (Santa Luzia). Already this month there has been an American Golden Plover (Estuário do Mondego), a Lesser Yellowlegs (near Vila Nova de Gaia), a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Ria Alvor) and a Greater Yellowlegs (Tavira). Surely it can only be a matter of time now before we get a passerine from across the Atlantic!

The Greater Yellowlegs was reported from the saltmarsh here in Tavira on Sunday morning by John Edge and Clive Viney and after their phone call it took only a few minutes for us to get down there. Unfortunately, although John and Clive were still there when we arrived, the bird had flown and they were trying to re-locate it. Trying to re-locate it is what we have been doing ever since!

So we've had three days when we've spent quite a lot of time around Tavira. That's no hardship at all - the saltpans are full of birds and there are at least twenty species of waders but that does make it difficult to find just one Greater Yellowlegs. All of the regular six gull species that winter here can also now be seen together and as usual we have taken some time out to read and report colour-ring details. In fact, this morning it was possible to read colour-rings on Audouin's and Slender-billed Gulls, Greater Flamingos and Spoonbills, all from the roadside at the edge of town.

Slender-billed Gull

No Greater Yellowlegs yet but this afternoon there was reward for our efforts, in the form of an unusually approachable Black-winged Kite that was perched on a pole in the middle of the saltpans. Sometimes carrying a camera can be a bit of a chore but not today!

Black-winged Kite

Another Alentejo Day!

For the second time this week we spent the day in the Castro Verde area. No two days up there are ever the same and today, in spite of some pretty unfriendly weather, we saw several species that we didn’t find on Tuesday and we also saw a lot more Great Bustards.

With 100% cloud cover, a strong wind blowing and occasional rain, it wasn’t a day when we would have expected to find many raptors flying. However, we finished up seeing four Short-toed Eagles, a Golden Eagle, a Spanish Imperial Eagle, a probable Booted Eagle, four Black-winged Kites, a Red Kite, three Montagu’s Harriers, six or more Lesser Kestrels, a couple of Common Kestrels and two Common Buzzards!

Some days we can struggle to find Great Bustards and Little Bustards. Today wasn’t one of those days! And we had reasonably close views of both although the largest group of Great Bustards (48 birds) was some distance away and we definitely needed a telescope to see them. In total we reckon we saw 108 Great Bustards and 14 Little Bustards.

The day’s bird list also included Stone-curlew, Green Sandpiper, Calandra Lark, Wood Lark and Thekla Lark, all of them species we not only like to see but particularly enjoy hearing.

All in all, quite a successful day but wouldn't some sunshine have been nice!