Photo Session

We’re always on the lookout for photo opportunities and very often they are provided by birds being attracted to water.  A little over a week ago we came across several puddles that looked promising with dozens of birds coming to drink and bathe.  Song Thrushes and Redwings seemed to be the most numerous and we saw Blackbird, Robin, Blackcap and several Greenfinches but unfortunately there wasn’t time to stop and see what else there might be.  We knew though that we would soon have to go back and find out!

It wasn’t until yesterday that the opportunity arose.  The weather was ideal and thankfully there was still plenty of water and lots of birds.  As many as 21 species were seen coming to one puddle!  It was good that some of them also perched on nearby bushes while awaiting their turn at the water.

It was impossible to estimate numbers but Greenfinches, Song Thrushes and Redwings were the most numerous until a flock of European Starlings arrived.  Ring Ouzel is a species that we haven’t photographed before and there were at least three different individuals.

Here’s just a few of the day’s many images, all taken from the car.

Pratincoles; no Water Rails

This morning we were at Castro Marim. It was a beautiful, warm morning with barely a cloud to be seen. And there were plenty of birds!

Particularly pleasing to see were our first Collared Pratincoles of the year; there was a good selection of waders that included Spotted Redshank and several Ruff; Bee-eaters were numerous; several Spectacled Warblers were singing; we saw at least three Marsh Harriers and, of course, there are still a few Spoonbills around and hundreds of Greater Flamingos. Less expected species were a Whiskered Tern and a Jackdaw (only our second record at Castro Marim); totally unexpected was an Orphean Warbler.

Collared Pratincole

This afternoon we came back to Tavira and spent two hours baking in the car in the hope of seeing the Water Rail family that performed so well yesterday. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them! Instead we had to make do with a Stonechat, a Crested Lark, a couple of Barn Swallows and a Little Ringed Plover, all of which came to the water and at least provided some entertainment. Maybe we'll try again if we can find time.

Crested Lark

Little Ringed Plover

Common Stonechat

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

As everyone knows, one swallow doesn’t make a summer. However, there are hundreds here now and we’re still less than half way through February.

There is a wealth of ringing-recovery data to demonstrate that Barn Swallows from Northern Europe migrate to winter quarters in South Africa. Coincidentally, the first such recovery in South Africa was of a bird that had been ringed in our home county, Staffordshire - that was in 1912!

Mount Moreland reedbed near Durban, holds a roost of more than three million Swallows, a spectacular sight that I was lucky enough to witness some years ago when leading a tour for Avian Adventures. You may recall that this reedbed was threatened by an airport development associated with the forthcoming FIFA World Cup.


We have seen Barn Swallows here in the Algarve in every month of the year so clearly not all the population makes that long journey south. The photograph was taken this morning at Castro Marim. I wonder how far south this bird has been, whether it has returned to the Algarve to breed or whether it is just on its way north.

We know people in the UK who are still resistant to the ‘new’ name Barn Swallow, preferring instead to refer just to the Swallow and as a result failing to differentiate it from 50 or more other swallow species. In fact Barn Swallow isn’t a new name at all. It seems likely to have been a direct translation of the Swedish Ladusvala and is referred to by the Rev. Gilbert White in his Natural History of Selbourne, published as long ago as 1789. It does seem to be a wholly appropriate name and there really doesn't seem to be any reason to object to it.