Woodland Targets

We had arranged to be at Faro airport at lunchtime and needed no more excuse than that for spending the morning at Ludo. Much of our birding here in the Algarve concentrates on wetlands, particularly saltpans so we decided today to have a change and look for a few woodland species that we don't see very often.

Within no more than ten minutes of leaving the car two of our target birds had been found: Crested Tit and Short-toed Treecreeper. This was actually not too difficult but photographing them was a different matter and we came away with just this one image that we're willing to share!

Crested Tit

Chiffchaffs have become more plentiful in the last week and were a distraction when looking for other small birds. Blackcaps, too, were in evidence but the most numerous migrants were European Robins, as often heard as seen. Eventually we found our third target, a Firecrest, but unfortunately that proved to be even more camera-shy. Azure-winged Magpies, Eurasian Jays, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Green Woodpecker all followed before we resumed our usual walk towards the farm.

An unusual sight on the saltpans was a group of five Greylag Geese. We are used to seeing a few as winter visitors at Castro Marim but these are our first ever at Ludo. Last year we saw our first on 30th September so we've been expecting them. They looked rather out of place and didn't stay around very long.

Greylag Geese

By now it was mid morning and we were looking directly into sun when viewing the saltpans. A few of the usual wader species were present and, of course, a bunch of Flamingos. On the river, the ducks all seemed to be Gadwall and Wigeon with a few Great Crested and Little Grebes, Cormorants, Moorhens and Eurasian Coots. Raptors this morning were a single Marsh Harrier, an Osprey and a Common Buzzard plus two distant specks in the sky which we believe were probably Peregrine Falcons.

And that was that - we had a plane to meet...

A Break from 'Admin'

We spent most of Monday at Castro Marim including a decent walk around Cerro do Bufo in the morning. Most of the expected birds were seen although for once we failed to find Little Bustards. On the way home we looked in at Altura tank hoping as always to find something unusual but it's been a while now since this short diversion brought any real reward. Actually there were 60 Little Grebes which is quite a good number for such a small site but we live in hope of finding another Red-knobbed Coot there or maybe a Grey Phalarope. Next time, maybe! At the end of the day we had seen 77 species, several of them in quite large numbers so there were no complaints.

Since then far too much time has been spent on 'admin', a term that covers everything we do that isn't birding! Finally, late this afternoon, we cracked, we couldn't take any more and had to get out for a couple of hours. We grabbed binoculars and the 50D and headed for the local saltpans, five minutes drive away.

The light was fading fast as these photographs were taken and well before we got to the Audouin's Gulls the camera really ought to have been put away. We spent a while watching the Stone-curlews and trying to work out how we might get close enough to get some proper photographs. We reckon there are now about 80 birds and it was impossible to resist taking a couple of 'snaps' even from a distance.

Black-tailed Godwit

Common Redshank

Greenshank

Stone-curlews

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Kentish Plover

Audouin's Gull

After watching a flock of about 100 Greater Flamingos flying across the saltpans against the backdrop of a typically vivid Algarve sunset, we thought about heading for home. Instead, not yet satisfied, we drove a short way and then sat in the car listening to the Cetti's Warblers, Azure-winged Magpies, Crested Larks and Little Owls and watching Cattle Egrets streaming in to roost. A Fox appeared from nowhere and for a moment sat in the road and then we got our bonus, a Black-crowned Night-Heron - a really scarce bird in these parts even if we have seen lots of them elsewhere. It would have been greedy to have asked for more...

Quinta do Lago

We had an enjoyable visit to Quinta do Lago this morning but nothing very unusual to report. Duck numbers are increasing with Wigeon in particular quite vocal and we saw Booted Eagle and Osprey and a nice selection of waders on the saltpans as we walked through from Ludo farm. A highlight for June was one of her favourite Iberian Green Woodpeckers.

At Lago do São Lourenço Purple Swamp-hen, Kingfisher and Glossy Ibis were popular as ever but none gave really good views during our stay and the only Little Bittern that put in an appearance was at the far end of the lagoon. The photographs below are ones that were taken on our last visit on 2nd October.

As to be expected on a Sunday there were plenty of walkers, joggers and cyclists to contend with and with the temperature reaching the advertised 27°C or more, after lunch at Faro beach we decided to call it a day.

Glossy Ibis

Purple Swamp-hen

Northern Shoveler

Little Grebe

Another Day at the Cape

Yesterday we were at Cape St Vincent again - only two days after our last visit but it was quite different. The sun shone from a mostly clear blue sky and there was just a light breeze - no hint of rain all day. And the birds were different.

We began by stopping off at a small wooded area near Sagres where on Wednesday there had been no birds at all. Now there were several Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff or two, Blackcaps and Garden Warblers and half a dozen or so Blackbirds which were probably also newly arrived migrants.

Garden Warbler

Along the peninsula there were still plenty of Northern Wheatears and a few Whinchats but a short seawatch from the lighthouse produced only Northern Gannets and one or two Cory's Shearwaters.

We saw our first Black Stork of the day from the car and watched it disappear out over the sea. We like to think that this same bird was one of those we saw later from the raptor watchpoint after it had realised the need to make a U-turn. Raptors today included about 20 Booted Eagles and about 30 Eurasian Griffons, the latter being our first of the autumn. Mostly they were fairly distant but a Short-toed Eagle did fly more or less overhead.

Blue Rock Thrush and Red-billed Choughs duly obliged but for once Little Bustards eluded us. We should probably have been there earlier before the many surfers who inevitably cause a bit of disturbance on their way to the beaches.

A pleasant enough day was rounded off by a brief visit to the Alvor Estuary where the usual Spoonbills, Greater Flamingos and a few of the common waders were quickly seen before we headed back east.

Diamond Day

Some days are diamonds, some days are stones! A day that began looking like a stone with a torrential downpour ended as a diamond in bright sunshine. What seemed likely at first to be disappointing turned out to be an excellent day's birding.

A day when we see Little Bustards, Little Owls, Honey-buzzards, Booted Eagles, Golden Plovers and Red-billed Choughs probably qualifies as a good day. A day when we are able to photograph all of these is a very good day.

Add to these good views of Black Redstarts, Blue Rock Thrush, Northern Wheatears, Whinchats, Cory's, Sooty and Balearic Shearwaters, Great and Pomarine Skuas, Northern Gannets, Peregrine Falcon, Hobby, Short-toed Eagle, Black Kite, Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Thekla and Crested Larks and we're happy to call it excellent.

We were, of course, at Cape St Vincent.

Another Sagres pelagic trip

Pelagic trips from Sagres with Mar Ilimitado have become a feature of autumn here in the Algarve and are something to which we look forward. Yesterday's three hours or so aboard Ricardo Silva's boat, Kogia, were particularly enjoyable as the sea was flat calm and the sky almost cloudless, a marked contrast to some pelagic trips we've been on!

Ricardo specialises in dolphin-watching trips so it was no surprise that Common Dolphins were the first species that we came upon. This one was photographed while it was completely submerged, just alongside the boat.


We hoped to find a fishing boat that was already attracting seabirds, perhaps including storm-petrels and shearwaters but the only boat we saw had only Northern Gannets and gulls in attendance.

Northern Gannet

Yellow-legged Gull

Later we did see a couple of Sooty Shearwaters, a few Balearic Shearwaters and 50 or more Cory's Shearwaters but for a while we had to be content to watch Gannets and it was a chance to put the new Canon 50D through its paces.

Several European Storm-petrels and a Wilson's Storm-petrel were seen but none came very close and they presented a much more difficult subject. Great Skuas were impossibly distant to photograph.

European Storm-petrel

All of the day's gulls were Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed except for this lone Mediterranean Gull.

For us this was a new view of the lighthouse at Cape St Vincent, the south-westerly tip of mainland Europe.

We probably didn't go more than about 10 miles from land all morning but the only time we found shearwaters in any numbers they were quite close to the shore. These two were amongst a raft of 50 or so Cory's Shearwaters that included one bird identified as being of the slightly smaller Mediterranean race known as Scopoli's Shearwater.



When we were about one kilometre of the tip of the peninsula and intent on looking for shearwaters, it was a surprise to see flying overhead five Booted Eagles and a Honey-buzzard. Going in a south-westerly direction, these birds presumably thought they were heading for Africa. Let's hope it wasn't too long before they realised their mistake!

Ringing at Vilamoura

We spent yesterday morning at Vilamoura with a team of ringers from the UK headed by our friend and fellow Avian Adventures tour leader, Colin McShane.

Colin checking one of the mist-nets

We always find these ringing sessions entertaining and educational and it's particularly interesting to have good, close-up views of species that are often difficult to see well in the field such as Grasshopper Warbler.

Grasshopper Warbler

For the ringers it's a great opportunity to get experience of species that they don't often get chance to handle back at home. And it's a further illustration of the importance of the Vilamoura area as a wintering and re-fuelling site for migrant birds.

As well as those species photographed, birds mist-netted while we were there included: Kingfisher, Stonechat, Whinchat, Subalpine Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Blackcap, Zitting Cisticola, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Common Waxbill and Yellow-backed Weaver.

Bluethroat

Bluethroat

Melodious Warbler

Hoopoe

Spanish Sparrow

Great Reed Warbler