A Rare Week

What a hectic week! In the last eight days we have been three times to the Castro Verde area, twice to Sagres and Cape St Vincent, we've been to Foia, the highest point in the Algarve, we've made four visits to the ringing team at Vilamoura, there were mornings at Castro Marim and Ludo and we've also spent a couple of hours looking for a Yellow-browed Warbler near Silves. Of course, we haven't both been to all those places, once or twice we've headed off in different directions, but we've certainly kept busy.

As we have remarked before, every trip to the Castro Verde area is different. Great Bustards, Little Bustards, Black-bellied Sandgrouse and various raptor species are the main targets but at this time of year some of them are quite difficult to find. We've been reasonably successful but two particular highlights stand out: the return of the first Common Cranes of the autumn, a party of 28 birds seen on Wednesday, and then, yesterday, one of the best views we've had of a perched Spanish Imperial Eagle, an adult on top of a small tree seen well through the 'scope. With flocks of larks, Meadow Pipits and Corn Buntings everywhere and increasing numbers of Northern Lapwings the change of season is very evident in the Alentejo.

Great Bustard - as many as 50 seen some days but never as near as you would want them.

At Cabranosa, the raptor watchpoint near Sagres, there have been reports of at least eighteen raptor species this week, amongst them Lesser Spotted Eagle (which we missed) and Rüppell's Griffon (which we did see). Red Kites have been in unusually high numbers but the main spectacle has been the gathering of Eurasian Griffons with more than 600 birds seen some days.

Eurasian Griffon

Eurasian Griffons - just a few of the 600 or more

Rüppell's Griffon - now seen annually in the Algarve

Red Kite - 50 or more were present on Monday

Short-toed Eagle

We also saw Griffons from the top of Foia, above Monchique, where Montagu's Harrier, Blue Rock Thrush, Ring Ouzel, Woodlark and Dartford Warbler were the main highlights. The views from up there at just over 900 metres are spectacular.

The ringing activity at Parque Ambiental has already had some coverage with the previously reported Common Yellowthroat being the obvious star of the show. However, it was followed by two Common Rosefinches, probably the seventh and eighth records for Portugal, both of which we managed to miss in spite of our four trips to Vilamoura! The whole place seemed to be full of birds and its importance as a staging post for migrants and a wintering site for quite a number of species can't be overstated. As well as the ringing we had multiple sightings of Booted Eagles, Black-winged Kites and Marsh Harriers and we also enjoyed seeing a tiny Soprano Pipistrelle in the hand. Thanks, once again, to Fergus Henderson and his team for sharing news of their remarkable captures.

Penduline Tit

Grasshopper Warbler

Both Castro Marim and Ludo provided the usual quality birding that we expect at these sites. Booted Eagles and Black-winged Kite are always popular at Ludo; Little Bustards continue to be much easier to find at Castro Marim than they are in the Alentejo!

Next week we're planning to be a bit more relaxed!

Contrasting Days!

We were at Sagres on Sunday for the Festival of Birdwatching, a three-day event organised to coincide with BirdLife International's EuroBirdwatch weekend.

The old primary school building was the location for lectures and workshops

One of the main attractions at Sagres in the autumn is the migration of raptors and we spent some time at Cabranosa, the raptor watch point located between Sagres and Cape St Vincent. There were an amazing number of people there but disappointingly it wasn't a great day for birds. It was a shame when there have been so many good days there recently that just when some birds were needed they were a bit of a let down. We were happy enough to see just an Eleanora's Falcon, but where were the Booted Eagles and Honey-buzzards that would have had more appeal to some of the novice birdwatchers who turned out?

Raptor watchers at Cabranosa

Yesterday we were in the Alentejo again with a familiar list of target species. The day's highlight was undoubtedly the short period of less than half an hour during which, just standing in one spot on the side of the road, we managed to see both Great and Little Bustards, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Stone-curlews and a Spanish Imperial Eagle! Also present were a supporting cast that included Subalpine Warbler, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Corn Buntings and Northern Lapwings.

Later, after seeing in the distance a number of vultures flying, including two Black Vultures that were probably the same birds that we saw last week, we managed to locate a group of 28 Griffons on the ground. There was no carcass, in fact they looked as though they might already have fed, but they allowed quite close approach.


It shouldn't be too long now before we see gatherings of these Eurasian Griffons at Cabranosa. Several hundred can be expected in the Sagres area by the end of the month. Wouldn't it have been nice if they had been there for people to see on Sunday!