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!  

Easter birding in the Algarve

This last week our birding time has been spent mostly around Castro Marim and in the Ludo / Quinta do Lago area.  Both have been full of interest and some days it has been difficult to decide in which direction we should set off! 

 Castro Marim Reserve

Quinta do Lago

In a week which saw temperatures rise to almost 30º and a change in the wind direction, it has been great to see a variety of migrants at last arriving in numbers including Common Cuckoos, Bee-eaters, Nightingales, Northern Wheatears, Purple Herons, Woodchat Shrikes and Reed Warblers as well as the first Golden Orioles and Collared Pratincoles.  There have been Garganeys at several sites and among the Yellow Wagtails birds of the flava and flavissima races have joined the earlier arriving iberiaes.

 Woodchat Shrike

 European Bee-eater

Garganeys

The main attractions currently at Castro Marim have been the Little Bustards, which are now displaying and easy to see.  Spectacled Warblers and Great Spotted Cuckoos have also been popular and there has been a nice selection of passage waders that has included Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits and Greenshank.  On Good Friday we saw a Short-toed Eagle there and the wintering Osprey with the red ring on its left leg seems reluctant to leave.  Marsh Harriers are also displaying and from time to time a pair of Ravens appear.

Spectacled Warbler

Although we have found Little Bitterns, Glossy Ibises, Red-crested Pochards and Purple Swamp-hens around Castro Marim in the last few days, these are species that are definitely easier to see In the Ludo / Quinta do Lago area.  Black-headed Weavers are now busy building nests and are also fun to watch in front of the hide that overlooks the Lagoa de São Lourenço.  The long-staying Red-breasted Flycatcher seems to have left and the Little Crakes didn’t stay very long but we have seen Wryneck, Booted Eagles, Osprey, Black Kite and Black-winged Kite as well as a few Mediterranean & Audouin’s Gulls.

Little Bittern

Purple Swamp-hen

Of course, we have also managed to visit the wonderful Castro Verde / Mértola area where Great Bustards are now displaying and easy to see.  One morning we stood and watched about a dozen of them at the same time as there were also in view two Spanish Imperial Eagles, a Black Vulture, 30 Black-bellied Sandgrouse and several Calandra Larks.  It was hard to decide where to look first!  We saw 10 raptor species during the day, which really is the minimum number we would expect at this time of year.  The first Rollers are just arriving but our experience is that Black-eared Wheatears are so far slow making an appearance.

Great Bustards

 White Storks

Almost wherever we go but particularly numerous in the Baixo Alentejo there are White Storks nesting.  We rather take them for granted but their black, white and red colours seen against a clear blue sky make a fine sight and we love to hear them bill-clapping.  There’s a colour-ringed White Stork nesting near Aipo that was ringed as a nestling at nearby Navarro (Castro Verde) in 1999.  It has been using the same nest for several years which is typical of the species but has been seen feeding on rubbish dumps in Spain in the dry autumn months when frogs are hard to come by.

Another Day in the Alentejo

It was another really good day’s birding in the Alentejo yesterday.  With an almost cloudless sky and hardly any wind, the weather was only a little on the cool side of perfect and there was plenty to see.

At this time of year it is almost worth the trip just to see and hear the White Storks.  They’re busy nesting now and it’s fun to watch their displays accompanied by loud bill-clattering.  In bright sunshine, their white, black and red colours make a fine sight against the clear blue sky.

Of course, we also looked for Great Bustards and probably found close to 100 in total.  Some were quite distant but eventually we had reasonably close views of a group of about 40 that included several males that were displaying – they’re much easier to find when they turn themselves into big white powder puffs!

Little Bustards were fewer but even closer.  From the car we were able to watch some that were only a short distance from the road.  The males are already moulting into breeding plumage, showing their distinctive black neck with two white collars.

Most of the Black-bellied Sandgrouse were also quite distant but we did at least have a flock of six pass almost overhead so that we could see some of the plumage details and hear their characteristic flight call.  As they went away from us, the flock split into three pairs that went their separate ways – it’s that time of the year!

It’s because spring is arriving that most of the Common Cranes seem to have left the area and headed back north.  We found only a handful remaining although in previous years we have seen them well into March.

Among the many raptors it was pleasing as always to see Spanish Imperial Eagles, three immature birds putting on a bit of an aerial performance.  It’s fair to say that we are now very disappointed if we don’t see these birds when we visit this area.  And it was good to find that Lesser Kestrels have not only returned but are already occupying nest sites.

We saw only one Great Spotted Cuckoo.  The larvae of processionary moths (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) are among their favourite foods and there are lots of those about the place now.  As usual there have recently been newspaper articles here warning the populace to avoid contact with these caterpillars which in humans can cause reactions ranging from mild itching to anaphylactic shock, yet the cuckoos seem to love them!

It was dusk by the time we got back to Tavira – just right to see a Short-eared Owl flush about 30 Stone-curlews from a field on the outskirts of town.

Bustards, Raptors and Lots More

Yesterday we drove just a short way north for another great day in the Baixo Alentejo. It was mostly cloudy and a stiff breeze made it quite chilly at times, so from a weather point of view it could have been better but the birding was excellent.

Our aim, as usual, was to get good views of as many of the areas special birds as possible rather than go for a long list but we still managed to record 77 species during the day. Inevitably, some of them, for instance Quail and Wren, were only heard.

Great Bustard is of course the ‘flagship species’ of the Castro Verde area and at this time of year they’re not difficult to find. We saw about 120 of them during the day. Little Bustards, although more numerous in the area, are much more difficult to see but although we managed only a handful there were some good views.

Little Bustard

There were plenty of raptors as usual. Not only did we see 10 species but we saw all of them very well - Marsh, Hen and Montagu’s Harriers, Red, Black and Black-winged Kites, Short-toed and Spanish Imperial Eagles and both Common and Lesser Kestrels. It was a particularly good day for Spanish Imperial Eagles; twice in the morning we saw two birds together and later three birds gave great views. We saw them from below, we saw one sitting on a fence post and, when we were on top of a small hill we even looked down and saw them from above! It’s hard to say how many different birds were involved in our three sightings; they were some distance apart but it seems unlikely that we saw seven birds.

Red Kite

Although the extensive grasslands were the main focus of attention, the area does have a number of lakes/reservoirs and small ponds. As a result, we saw quite a number of species that most people probably associate more with the Ria Formosa rather than the Baixo Alentejo. Most notable amongst these and a surprise even to us were three Greater Flamingos which looked completely out of place. Others at the same location included Spoonbills, Common and Spotted Redshanks, Greenshank, Northern Pintail, lots of Northern Shoveler and Gadwall and even a female Red-crested Pochard.

Many White Storks appear now to be sitting on eggs but there are still lots of them in the fields and there was one point in the afternoon when we were able to look around us and count 70 birds!

White Stork

Corn Bunting

But the day wasn’t just about the big birds. Corn Buntings are now singing from every roadside fence and we lost count of the Southern Grey Shrikes! We were also quite taken with a Water Pipit that was well into its pink summer dress, a common enough bird but looking very smart indeed. Great Spotted Cuckoos were also among the day’s more popular species, but maybe that's just because of how English people feel about the Common Magpies in whose nests they lay their eggs!

Alentejo Day.

Our visit to the Castro Verde area yesterday was our first of the year. The morning was bright and sunny and warmer than we expected but cloud built up later and back here in the Algarve we ended up having some rain overnight.

Although early migrants such as Barn Swallow and Great Spotted Cuckoo may have led us to think that spring has arrived, we were still able to find Common Cranes and flocks of Corn Buntings, Meadow Pipits, Northern Lapwings and Golden Plovers all provided further evidence that it is still very much winter.

European Golden Plover

Great Bustards are easy to see at this time of year and during the day we counted at least 90 of them. In contrast, Little Bustards proved elusive and we managed to find only one small flock numbering 11 birds.

Great Bustards - as so often, with an unattractive wire fence behind them...

...and then unfortunately spooked by a passing truck just as they were coming within range!

It was a reasonably good day for raptors. Red Kites, another winter bird here, seemed to be everywhere and Common Buzzards and Common Kestrels were also numerous. Other species seen were Black-winged Kite, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Spanish Imperial Eagle.

Red Kite

Peregrine Falcon

Iberian Grey Shrikes (as some would have us calling them now) were also numerous. They're hard to miss as they perch on roadside power poles and cables but elsewhere it's often their far-carrying song that draws them to our attention.

Southern (Iberian) Grey Shrike

Black-bellied Sandgrouse are also birds that are very often heard before they are seen. We saw about two dozen of them during the day but all of them were flying and we didn't find any on the ground.

White Storks have been back on their nests for some time now. One day we must count the number of nests in this area!

A happy couple!

With so many waders on our doorstep here on the coast, we don't normally go out of our way to look for them in the Alentejo but still we recorded seven species, a list that included Ruff and Wood Sandpiper, two that we might not have predicted.

Wood Sandpiper

All in all, it was decent day's birding!

Castro Verde Week

There’s not been much time for Algarve birding this week. Bustards have been in demand and our schedule has been dominated by trips to the Castro Verde area.

Great Bustard

As we have indicated previously, Great Bustards can be a bit elusive at this time of year and with temperatures reaching 32° it’s definitely best to be out early to look for them. It’s amazing how well they blend in with the vegetation in the parched landscape. Our 100% record of finding them remains intact but there have been occasional moments of doubt!

Little Bustards have been even harder to find in recent weeks so yesterday’s flock of more than 50 birds was particularly welcome. Sometimes we have to make do with flight views but these were on the ground and we had excellent views through the telescope.

Raptors in the area now include Hen Harriers, replacing Montagu’s, and Red Kites, replacing Black ones. We’ve had brilliant views of Spanish Imperial, Short-toed and Bonelli’s Eagles and yesterday had a reasonably close flock of two dozen or so Griffon Vultures.

Eurasian Griffon

All of the week’s Black-bellied Sandgrouse have been heard first and seen only as fly-overs; the area of habitat available for them now is huge.

Northern Lapwings started arriving several weeks ago but there are still relatively few of them. In this extremely dry environment, food must be in short supply. Mostly they are around the edges of the few reservoirs or on grassland that has been irrigated. The reservoirs are attracting a few other waders including Greenshanks and Green Sandpipers (two of our favourite birds!) and three times this week we have seen a Great Egret along with the Little Egrets and many Grey Herons. Great Egrets are relatively scarce here but we do seem to be seeing them more and more frequently. It was also good to see a couple of Black Storks standing amongst the assembled herons.

Black Stork

Northern Wheatears are numerous now, flying from roadside fence posts everywhere; it’s a time when we can easily see all three wagtail species and amongst the Yellow Wagtails there are a few Tawny Pipits.

Tawny Pipit

This Viperine Snake, a species usually found in or near to water, was taking advantage of a puddle formed by run-off from agricultural irrigation.

We don’t mind how often we visit the Baixo Alentejo and no doubt we’ll be up there again next week!

Castro Verde and more

We spent much of today in the Castro Verde area. Not surprisingly, the forecast was for it to be hot, around 35 degrees, and not surprisingly that's exactly what it was - it was baking hot! But we started early and had an enjoyable and reasonably successful day. We had no particular plan or target species but simply wanted to try and take a few photographs. With very little effort we saw most of the 'usual suspects', including Rollers, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, both Bustards, Collared Pratincoles, Black-eared Wheatear, Great Spotted Cuckoo and a good selection of raptors. We eventually succumbed to the heat and headed back south soon after lunch.

Here are a few of today's more co-operative birds:






On the way home we diverted to a site where White-rumped Swifts were found breeding last year and we were pleased to find that they had returned. This species is now known to be breeding at several sites in the Alentejo and the Algarve and is almost certainly overlooked.



While Peter was away in Tanzania, June managed to see four species of owls in the Algarve in the space of just a few hours. Today it was just Little Owls - lots of them, but they're hard to resist when they pose like this one!

We regularly make our last stop at Altura where the 'tank', a wastewater pond that doesn't look particularly promising, has turned up several interesting species for us in the last few years. These have included Red-knobbed Coot, Ferruginous Duck, Whooper Swan and Ring-necked Duck. Today we spotted a Little Bittern lurking in the reeds, not an unusual species in the Algarve but the furthest east we have seen one.

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!

Alentejo Day

We were in the Castro Verde area again today. The morning was reasonably warm with some sunshine but the afternoon brought more heavy rain and at about 3.00pm we started heading for home.

Grey skies over the Alentejo

Just like the Algarve, there is water lying everywhere but the countryside is amazingly green and there are carpets of flowers. Great Spotted Cuckoos and Quail are here, we lost count of the number of White Storks' nests and we saw our first Little Ringed Plover of the year. Great Bustards were displaying, the males almost seeming to turn themselves inside out. Most of the Red Kites seem to have left but Montagu’s Harriers and Lesser Kestrels have arrived.

Little Ringed Plover

The most noticeable change since our last visit was the complete absence of Golden Plover and Northern Lapwings. Where, less than two weeks ago, there had still been hundreds of both we didn’t seen a single one of either species. Not surprisingly, the Sociable Lapwing has also departed. We wonder whether it will make it back to Kazakhstan or wherever it was it came from.

Changing Weather!

It's been a week when we have had to adapt our birding activities to the ever-changing weather conditions. We've had 'sunny & warm', we've had 'cloudy & warm', for two days it was 'sunny & really cold' and then, yesterday, we had 'torrential rain with winds gusting to gale force'.

Twice we have taken advantage of the good weather to have nice long walks along Praia do Barril and Praia da Terra Estreita, wonderful beaches that form part of the Ilha de Tavira. The trail to the beach crosses saltmarsh and at low tide it's a good place to get close looks at waders, such as Whimbrel, that are obviously quite used to seeing people pass by. At this time of year, we're fairly sure to find a Bluethroat or two and on Sunday we also saw a ringtail Hen Harrier.

Whimbrel

Out at sea there are usually plenty of Northern Gannets passing by. This week we've also seen several Razorbills, a Great Skua, a Caspian Tern and several Sandwich Terns as well as the usual gulls. On the beach there were just a few Sanderlings and a Kentish Plover, although we did also find a few dead birds - a Gannet, three Razorbills, several gulls, a Purple Swamp-hen and what we think was a Manx Shearwater (not much left of it!).

Praia da Terra Estreita

Sanderling

We spent both of the cold days just birding around Tavira, staying in the car most of the time (we must be getting soft!) and taking a few photographs. Mostly it was the usual subjects: Sardinian Warbler, Goldfinch, Stonechat, Little Egret, Zitting Cisticola, Bluethroat, etc. There must be 150 or more Audouin's Gulls here now and it's still fairly easy to go and find a Slender-billed Gull or two; Stone-curlews remain in their usual place and have now been joined by a few Golden Plovers. Of course, the saltpans are still full of birds - about 20 species of waders, Spoonbills, Flamingos and an assortment of ducks.

Stonechat

Bluethroat

The highlight of our week was, of course, the day we spent in the Castro Verde/Mértola area. As well as the Sociable Lapwing that we found near Benviuda we saw an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle, about 70 Great Bustards, a dozen or so Black-bellied Sandgrouse, plenty of Common Cranes and most of the other expected species. It was good to see that quite a few White Storks have already returned to their enormous nests.

White Stork with Red Kite in attendance

Sociable Lapwing

Great Bustard

The 10-day forecast suggests that we might be in for quite a lot more rain. We do need it but unfortunately it might mean that we don't get out quite so much next week! We'll see...