Bald Eagle in Lisbon

Although we are both keen football fans and regularly go to matches when we are in England, not until yesterday had we been to a match here in Portugal.  Particularly since local team Olhanense were promoted to the First Division in 2009, we have often looked at fixture lists and talked about going to see them but somehow it hasn’t happened.

So what finally prompted us to go to last night’s away fixture against S.L. Benfica?  Well, you won’t be surprised to learn that there was a bird involved!

Mural in subway outside the Estádio da Luz

Benfica is definitely the biggest club in Portugal.  Based in Lisbon, they play at the Estádio da Luz, an impressive stadium with a capacity of 65,647 that was built for the 2004 European Championship.  So going to see and experience the stadium was one reason to go.

However, the clincher was probably the chance to see the Benfica mascot, a Bald Eagle named Águia Vitória that flies inside the stadium before each match and eventually lands on top of the club emblem.  Not that we haven’t seen plenty of Bald Eagles before, you understand, but we had heard a lot about this tradition and thought it might be fun to go and see it.

The opportunity to go presented itself when we saw in the local newspaper that we could travel on a supporters’ coach from Olhão for 25 Euros, a price that included the match ticket as well as the coach fare!  With the kick-off scheduled for 8.30pm, we were puzzled as to why the coach was leaving Olhão at noon for the 300km journey but that was the deal and we went along with it.

Unfortunately, as we headed north the weather worsened and by the time we crossed the Tejo river on the 25 de Abril Bridge, the city of Lisbon was shrouded in low cloud and it was raining.  It continued to rain all evening.

Across the road from the Estádio da Luz is the Colombo Shopping Centre, one of the largest malls in Europe.  Maybe that’s why we arrived at the ground four hours before the kick-off.  Maybe the Olhanense fans were treating this as a Christmas shopping trip!  Anyway, it was somewhere we could get a bite to eat and importantly stay out of the rain. 

We entered the stadium as soon as it was open and after some fairly stringent security and a steep climb to the third tier of the stand, we quickly found our seats.  One description of the stadium that we have read refers to its polycarbonate roof allowing the Sun's rays to penetrate it, lighting the stadium.  Unfortunately, we were there on a Saturday evening, long after the Sun had disappeared and the roof was also being penetrated by heavy rain!  Away fans everywhere seem to draw the short straw!

The match itself was fairly uninspiring.  The first half was played almost exclusively in one half of the pitch with Benfica creating quite a few scoring opportunities but managing only a single goal in the 26th minute via a fairly 'soft' penalty taken by Oscar Cardozo.  Olhanense did show a bit more ambition during the second half but seldom really looked likely to equalise.  They conceded a second goal in the 72nd minute from a Luisão header that bounced before going over the visiting goalkeeper.  The attendance was reported to be 24,107 but the crowd was quiet and we were surprised that there were so many – it was difficult to judge with people scattered about in the huge stadium.

Our view from behind netting at the Estádio da Luz

There were probably no more than a couple of hundred Olhanense fans and they made very little noise at all.  It seems that, much like their team, they had showed up at Benfica resigned to the fact that they were going to lose and on a miserable, wet night they weren’t going to get too worked up about it.  In fact, there was much more noise from them on the coach than there was during the match.

We arrived home at 3.30am, still drying out, but at least we had seen the Benfica eagle!  All this was on a day when June’s first love, West Bromwich Albion, scored a great win at the other Stadium of Light in Sunderand taking them to third place in the Premier League.   

African bee-eaters & kingfishers

It was fun to see European Bee-eaters in Botswana. I wonder where they were from. Possibly not from Europe as there is a resident population of this species breeding in Southern Africa and it is much more likely that they were 'local' birds. BWP suggests that birds that breed in south-west Europe migrate only as far as West Africa south to Ghana but whether there have been any ringing recoveries to confirm that isn't easy to find out! Six species of bee-eaters were recorded during the tour of which I managed to photograph four: Little, Blue-cheeked, Southern Carmine and White-fronted.

The number of bee-eater species seen on the tour was impressive but they were out-numbered by kingfishers. Eight species were recorded of which I photographed just three: Giant, Malachite and Brown-hooded. The last of these (photographed in Namibia) is the odd one out of the three as it is, like several African kingfishers, a largely woodland bird whereas both Giant and Malachite are mainly fish eaters. 

Avian Adventure in Africa

Peter has recently returned from leading another Avian Adventures tour, this time in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.  The tour was operated by Letaka Safaris, based in Maun, and the local guide was Gabatsholwe Disho, known to his friends simply as Disho.

Leopard

After an overnight flight from Heathrow to Johannesburg and an onward flight to Maun, the tour began in the Moremi Game Reserve on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta.  Here we camped for three nights and explored the surrounding area of mopane and acacia woodland, floodplains and lagoons.

Lilac-breasted Roller

Camping in the African bush is a great experience!  The night sky in an area with absolutely no light pollution is magnificent.  Lying in a flimsy tent listening to Lions roaring and to the howls of Spotted Hyaenas can be a worry for some, but waking to a dawn chorus that includes the calls of Fiery-necked Nightjar, African Fish Eagle, Black Cuckoo, Black-collared Barbet and Red-billed Hornbill is simply wonderful.

Burchell's Sandgrouse

Great White Pelican

From Moremi we moved just a short distance to Khwai River for another three nights camping and then to Lake Ngami for our last night under canvas.  The whole camping experience was most enjoyable and something I would recommend for at least part of any trip to this part of the world.

Lion

African Fish Eagle

After that we were in comfortable lodges for five nights - Drotsky’s in Botswana, Caprivi River Lodge next to the Zambezi River in Namibia and finally, Taita Falcon Lodge in Zambia, close to Victoria Falls.

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Victoria Falls isn’t the highest or the widest waterfall in the world and November isn’t the best time of year to see it as the volume of water in the Zambezi is relatively low but it’s still a very impressive sight.

Wattled Cranes

Just a small part of Victoria Falls

Highlights among the many birds seen were Pel’s Fishing Owl, African Finfoot, White-backed Night Heron, Lesser Jacana, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane, Rock Pratincole, African Skimmer and Schalow’s Turaco.  We saw five different Leopards, more than twenty Lions and about thirty other mammal species.  All in all it was a really great trip and there are lots more photographs!

Recent highlights...

So what exactly constitutes a highlight?  Well, the Aquatic Warbler that was ringed at Vilamoura on 12th October was the first of that species in the Algarve since 2005, it was the first that either of us had seen in Portugal and it was the first that June had seen anywhere.  That was probably enough to make it the highlight of that day and possibly also the highlight of the month!

Aquatic Warbler

Very often at the end of a day’s birding one of us will ask the question: what was your bird of the day?  The answers are sometimes surprising but just as often there will be a standout candidate that we agree on.  Maybe it will be that we have witnessed some unusual behaviour.  Sometimes it will be a common bird that we have seen somewhere unexpected or out of season.  Occasionally it will be a single bird that has brightened an otherwise mundane day.  Frequently it will be a bird that has given particular pleasure to someone who has been with us, maybe a bird that we ourselves take for granted.

An example in the last few days would be the single female Great Bustard that we eventually found in the Castro Verde area at 5.30pm in the late afternoon after searching all day.  Great Bustards can be difficult to find at this time of the year and on a day when it seemed that every farmer in the Baixo Alentejo was out ploughing and there was disturbance everywhere, it seemed that our 100% record in finding this species was in serious danger.  The bird that saved our bacon was definitely a candidate for ‘bird of the day’.

If that Great Bustard was ‘bird of the day’, then ‘species of the day’ was definitely Spanish Imperial Eagle.  Never have we seen quite so many of them!  Although, to be fair, we don’t know how many different individuals we saw.  On at least five occasions during the day, we got out of the car and looked up to see two or sometimes even three of these magnificent birds.  We were often able to watch them for several minutes and on one occasion were close enough to hear the harsh, barking call of one.

Spanish Imperial Eagle

Recently we spent a day doing survey work for the Atlas of Wintering & Migratory Birds.  We always say that Atlas work gets us into areas where we probably wouldn’t otherwise go and that’s true.  Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily a good thing!  We were out all day, visited six widely separated tetrads and saw no more than about 35 species in total.  Eventually, we got to some water where we found as many as five Green Sandpipers.  After counting so many Corn Buntings and Azure-winged Magpies, Green Sandpipers were definitely that day’s highlight even if we do see them most days at this time of year.

Green Sandpiper

Purple Swamp-hens are common at several sites here and hard to miss at Quinta do Lago.  Finding them here in the Eastern Algarve is a different story!  We have about half a dozen sites east of Tavira where we have seen them but few are reliable and easily accessible.  So it’s been good these last couple of weeks to have one that has been easy to get to and co-operative.  When you rely on being able to show birds to people, these things are important!

Purple Swamp-hen

On several occasions, at the same site, we have also seen one or more Ferruginous Ducks, a species unusual enough in these parts to be a highlight some days, whereas it probably wouldn’t be if seen at one of the more regular sites such as the Parque Ambiental de Vilamoura.

Ferruginous Duck

Little Bittern is a species that we have seen in every month of the year at Quinta do Lago.  Sometimes they are hard to find, sometimes they are hard to miss but always they are popular.  This one posed for several minutes in front of the hide, illuminated by perfect late afternoon sunshine, and brought real pleasure to those few who were there to enjoy it.

Little Bittern

In the category of unusual behaviour, we recently watched a Black-winged Kite that was apparently ‘fly-catching’, making short flights from the top of a small dead tree presumably to take dragonflies or similar before returning each time to the same perch, much in the manner of a Spotted Flycatcher.  It continued like this for all of ten minutes.  We are seeing Black-winged Kites with increasing frequency but can’t recall seeing this feeding method before.

Currently we have a reasonably reliable Water Rail that we can sometimes to show to people and several Bluethroats are now established in winter territories around Tavira.  Any one of these birds that performs when required is potentially the day’s highlight!
 

Bluethroat

Salgados update

Yesterday, we were among a crowd of about 250 people, predominantly Portuguese, who gathered at Lagoa dos Salgados to support the continuing opposition to the planned hotel and golf course development that threatens to severely impact on and probably destroy one of the Algarve’s best birdwatching sites.

The main speaker was Domingos Leitão from Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA) who described at some length the importance of the area for birds, the need for water level management and the problems that have been experienced over several years as a result of the neighbouring golf course management at Herdade de Salgados diverting water for their own use.

Frank McClintock, who set up the 'Save Salgados' petition on the Avaaz website (and has done much more for the campaign besides this), provided short summaries in English and explained that the petition is to be handed in to the Ministry next month.  To date it has attracted more than 17,500 signatures, many of them from outside Portugal.  Frank recognised that most if not all of those present had already signed but urged everyone to continue publicising the petition in order to maximise its effect.

One interesting development announced in the last few days is that the Government here has suggested that it might be appropriate for an environmental impact assessment to be carried out in relation to the proposed development project.  Better late than never you might think!  Maybe this is something that has been prompted by the formal complaint against the Portuguese State that was lodged with the European Commission by SPEA, Quercus, Almargem, and the League for the Protection of Nature.  What the outcome will be, of course, remains to be seen.

What remains unexplained is why Salgados, which is clearly an extremely important and valuable wetland for breeding, wintering and migrating birds, has no formal protection, why it isn’t a Special Protection Area under the 1979 EU Birds Directive and why it isn’t part of the Natura 2000 network set up by the 1992 EU Habitats Directive.  If it had been so recognised years ago and maybe also designated under the Ramsar Convention, then none of this would be happening.

Aquatic Warbler

Our return visit today to the Parque Ambiental de Vilamoura could hardly have been better timed!  The ringers were just starting to pack up after what had been a fairly unproductive morning when Colin McShane appeared with a bag containing one last bird to ring - a juvenile Aquatic Warbler!

So, as on Sunday, we saw only one bird being ringed but this time it was a genuine rarity, the first of this species we have seen in the Algarve and it seems the first anyone has seen here since 2005, although several birds have been trapped and ringed further north in Portugal at Salreu.

Late August is said to be the best time to see this species in the UK as birds migrate from their breeding grounds in eastern Europe to winter quarters in West Africa.  Similarly, previous records in Portugal all appear to have been in August and September so today's bird was very unexpected so late in the season.

The Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola is the rarest and the only globally threatened passerine bird found in mainland Europe. Once widespread and numerous in fen mires and wet meadows throughout Europe, it has disappeared from most of its former range. Nowadays, its world population of only 12,100-13,800 singing males is said to be confined to fewer than 50 regular sites in only five countries (Belarus, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine), with four sites supporting over 80 % of the global population.

On migration the Aquatic Warbler has been recorded in 13 European countries, mainly in the west and southwest of the continent. The species winters in West Africa south of the Sahara notably in the Senegal delta in and around the Djoudj National Park (Senegal).

Avian Adventures Re-union

The Avian Adventures Re-union Tour took place here recently and more than kept us busy for a few days.  It brought to the Vila Galé Albacora Hotel in Tavira a group of 21 birdwatchers from the UK, 18 of whom had travelled with us on Avian tours to various parts of the world over the past 20 years.

Together with Ray Tipper (also Tavira-based and an Avian Adventures tour leader) we took the group to some of the Algarve’s best birding sites and, of course, the programme also included a day in the Castro Verde area.

A total of 126 species was recorded during the three days with a further nine species being seen by several participants who chose to stay on for a few days after the main tour.  However, this was always going to be a very relaxed tour and the number of species was never likely to be a major issue.

For most of us one of the main highlights was the sight of three Spanish Imperial Eagles together, tangling and tumbling in the air above the parched grasslands of the Alentejo.  They came into view at almost exactly the same time as a group of about ten Great Bustards, which for once and indeed for several minutes had to play second fiddle.

We were also quite pleased to see two Garganeys at Lagoa dos Salgados, a species that we have seen much less often in Portugal than Spanish Imperial Eagle!  Their presence together with so many other ducks and waders underlined the importance of Salgados and the uniqueness, in Algarve terms, of this shallow ‘fresh water’ lagoon.  Of course, we encouraged anyone who hadn’t already done so to sign the online petition to oppose the planned hotel and golf course development that promises to destroy this wonderful place.

 Lagoa dos Salgados

It was less of a surprise to see six Ferruginous Ducks at the Parque Ambiental de Vilamoura, a site which for some reason seems to be particularly favoured by this species.  They are far from being common birds in Portugal, however, and always nice to see.

 Ferruginous Ducks

Also at Vilamoura it was good to meet up again with Colin McShane and his group from the UK who were there for their annual week of ringing at this excellent site for passerine migrants.  As it was, the only bird we actually saw handled during our short time with the ringers was a Common Kestrel but based on what we saw around the area it would seem likely that Blackcaps, Bluethroats, Reed Warblers, Willow Warblers, Whinchats and Northern Wheatears would have been featuring in their catch.

 Young male Common Kestrel

Two years ago (on 18th October 2010 to be exact), this same team of ringers trapped and ringed what is still the only North American passerine to be recorded in mainland Portugal, namely a Common Yellowthroat.  By coincidence we had a couple of days out recently with two birders from California.  They were spending a short time here before joining a ship in Lisbon for a cruise back to the USA via Madeira and The Azores.  When they arrived home they emailed to say that three Common Yellowthroats had landed on the ship about 500 miles out from the US coast which then travelled the rest of the way with them back to land.  Just imagine what might have happened if the ship had been heading in the opposite direction?