Back for the autumn migration

It’s great to be back in the Algarve!  The months of June, July and August in the UK didn’t seem to include summer but now at last we’re warm again.

It’s also good to be back in Tavira - nearly all of the guide books describe it as the most attractive town in the Algarve and we wouldn’t disagree with that.

The Gilão River in the centre of Tavira

Already we’ve spent a few hours checking out nearby areas of the Ria Formosa and it’s wonderful to have this huge wetland virtually on our doorstep.  Those saltpans around Tavira and Santa Luzia that aren’t being used to produce salt are currently attracting hundreds of birds: Greater Flamingos, Grey Herons, Little Egrets, Spoonbills, more than 20 wader species, at least five different gulls as well as various ducks. 

Santa Luzia saltpans

September and October are months when we can expect a few rarities to show up amongst the huge numbers of migrant birds that pour in here and already there have been a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers further west at Lagoa dos Salgados.  It can’t be denied that rarities add a bit of spice to our birding but there’s a great deal of interest and pleasure to be had from watching almost any birds especially those waders!

 We hope to share photographs here in the coming weeks of at least one or two rarities but in the meantime here are a few taken this week just down the road in the area we like to think of as “our office”.

 Juvenile Greater Flamingo

 Black-tailed Godwit

 Ruff

 First-winter Slender-billed Gull

 Common Redshank

Hoopoe

That was the week...

We’ve just spent a week with two friends from the UK who are keen and widely travelled birders but making their visit to Portugal.  It was a shame that their arrival coincided with a spell of unsettled weather, including a couple of days of rain, but we did our best to show them why it was that we decided to make our base here in lovely Tavira.

Sunday, 20th
Just a half day around the Tavira and Santa Luzia saltpans where the usual selection of waders included one or two Ruff but the highlight for us was seeing Common Redshank H19 for the first time this autumn.  We have written before here about this Dutch-ringed bird, which was back in its usual spot where it has been seen regularly through the last three winters.
There are lots of Audouin’s Gulls here still and we couldn’t resist jotting down a few ring numbers.

 

Monday, 21st
A full day in the Castro Verde area saw the best of the week’s weather - warm and sunny with just a gentle breeze.  With persistence and a little luck we were able to find most of the target species, including both Great Bustard and Little Bustard, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Griffon Vulture, Black Vulture, Stone-curlew and Calandra Lark.  A Hen Harrier was our first of the season, Red Kite numbers had increased from a week ago but the day’s only Black-winged Kite disappointed by quickly disappearing from view.

Tuesday, 22nd
A dark and dismal morning with persistent rain found us at Castro Marim birding just from the car.  We saw barely 30 species in the hour or so before we saw sense and headed back home!

Wednesday, 23rd
Most of the day was spent around Ludo and Quinta do Lago where early morning raptors included four Booted Eagles, an Osprey, a Marsh Harrier and a Black-winged Kite.  We saw what were probably three different Little Bitterns and as well as the usual Purple Swamp-hens it’s nice that a Water Rail has recently taken to appearing from time to time in front of the hide.  Several Red-crested Pochards, Glossy Ibises and Black-headed Weaver completed the area’s ‘must see’ species.  Two Cetti’s Warblers put on a memorable and uncharacteristic show for us, displaying and chasing about in open view, lots of White Storks were back on their nests, the wooded areas provided Crested Tits, Iberian Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker but for some reason not Short-toed Treecreeper.  Two Common Scoters off Praia de Faro at lunchtime were a bonus.
We rounded off the day back in Tavira where three Bluethroats in view simultaneously could hardly have been bettered.

Thursday, 24th
When the forecast shows wet and windy weather approaching from the west, it’s best to head east!  We went to Doñana for the day and although we didn’t see much sun we did stay dry.
At La Dehesa de Abajo there were fewer birds than we saw on our last visit there two weeks ago mainly because Glossy Ibises and White Storks were mostly absent.  There were still 1,000 or so Greater Flamingos and probably twice that number of Northern Shovelers.  Among the hundreds of Black-winged Stilts, one with a colour-ring obligingly walked past the hide two or three times.  Two Black Terns, two Pallid Swifts and several Red-knobbed Coots were also notable and there were large numbers of hirundines feeding over the water.  After all that we enjoyed an excellent lunch in the visitor centre.
In the afternoon, we headed off to explore other parts of Doñana where the numbers of Marsh Harriers, Great Egrets, Grey Herons and Common Kestrels were particularly impressive.  We saw Griffon Vultures and Calandra Larks, on several occasions we had good views of Black-winged Kites but the highlight was probably seeing four Black Storks at close range, birds that we don‘t often see on the ground in the Algarve.

Friday, 25th
Heavy overnight rain continued into the morning and we decided not to venture out birding until after lunch.  The afternoon was no better; we managed half an hour or so around Tavira, birding from the car but it was no fun and we did the only sensible thing, we packed up and went home.

Saturday, 26th
During a week’s birdwatching tour in the Algarve it would be unprofessional not to go to Sagres, particularly at this time of the year when there is a chance to see some raptors and other migrants.  The weather had improved and we enjoyed a mostly sunny day with very little wind.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great birding day - the birds just didn‘t turn up! 
We saw a few Cory’s Shearwaters, a tired-looking Garden Warbler and a Pied Flycatcher, Shags, Rock Doves and Crag Martins and a flock of what must have been 100 or more Red-billed Choughs but the only raptors were a Booted Eagle and a Common Buzzard.

On the way back to Tavira, we called in at Lagoa dos Salgados but it wasn’t a pretty sight.  Work is currently being carried out by Águas do Algarve, which it is said should provide enhanced nesting and feeding areas for birds, enable the water levels to be controlled and generally increase the lagoon's appeal to migrating birds to stop over, rest and feed.  If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!  We should remember that the head of  Águas do Algarve is that same person who was previously mayor of Silves council and was instrumental in granting permission to Finalgarve for the tourist development adjacent to the lagoon that has been the subject of an online petition and a complaint to the European Environment Commissioner.

So, that was the week - some very good days, one that was not so good and two that were washed out by the weather.

She's Back!

At 3.52 metres, yesterday afternoon’s high tide was one of the highest this month.  I couldn’t resist the temptation!  After a morning spent tapping away at the keyboard, I felt that I had earned a break.  I headed for Olhão, definitely one of the best places to see flocks of gulls and waders sitting out the period of high water.

As well as wanting to see flocks of roosting birds, I went with two other objectives:  I thought there would be a good chance to photograph Mediterranean Gulls and Caspian Terns; I also expected to find a few colour-ringed birds among the hundreds of gulls.

The afternoon was largely successful.  By the time I arrived thousands of birds had already gathered.  There was nothing unusual that I could find but the numbers were impressive.  Eventually I managed to get a few reasonable images of the two target species but I managed to find only one colour-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull.  Six colour-ringed Greater Flamingos were some consolation.

The Lesser Black-back had been ringed as an adult on 30th May 2011 at IJmuiden, Forteiland in The Netherlands.  Only a week ago it had been reported from the Marismas del Odiel in Spain.  Thank you, Kees Camphuysen for these details – if only we had such quick replies to all our ring reports!

As I was coming away I hesitated to drive past an area where several hundred gulls were resting even though they were much too far away for me to have read any rings that there might have been.  As I was looking at them through the ‘scope, a Portuguese guy rode past on a bike, a man probably in his sixties.  From the way he was dressed, I guessed he was going fishing.  We both said ‘boa tarde’, as is customary, but he went on his way with hardly a pause.

Minutes later, just as I was packing up and ready to go, I realised that the fisherman had returned.  He was standing about 30 metres away, waving to me, beckoning me to follow him.  He was holding his hands to his eyes making as though he had binoculars.  Had he found a Ring-billed Gull?  Did he need help identifying a Dowitcher?  Or did he just want to show me the flocks of birds that I had spent the last two hours looking at?  My guess was the last of these!  He had no English to tell me and I had no Portuguese to explain that I was already aware of the hundreds of birds that he had just happened upon.

What to do?  Should I ignore him and be on my way?  No, he was just so insistent and so enthusiastic, there was nothing for me to do but go with him, following behind as he encouraged me to go slowly and quietly!  Eventually, he had me sit on a low wall and from there we looked across to a saltpan that was crowded with honking Greater Flamingos.  Very soon he went on his way, leaving me to enjoy the birds but after a few minutes I could see him again, about 200 metres away this time and again beckoning me to join him for a different and better view.  There was no alternative!

There is a widely held believe that the interest that most older Portuguese have in birds extends only as far as wanting to know how to cook them.  However, I like to think that this fisherman was an exception.  My guess is that he has ridden his bike past all these birds on hundreds of occasions but that this day he was so lifted by the impressive sight and sounds of so many gulls, waders and Flamingos that he immediately wanted to share them with somebody.  I might have wished that it had been a Ring-billed Gull but I’m glad that I didn’t resist or reject his random act of kindness in wanting me to be that somebody and coming back to get me.

Eventually I did get away and on the way home I called in at Santa Luzia saltpans.  The subject “She’s Back” refers not to June (who remains in Colombia) but to Redshank H19.  Regular readers will perhaps remember that this Dutch-ringed Common Redshank has spent most of the last two winters (its only two winters) in the same corner of the same saltpan at Santa Luzia.  She has been back in The Netherlands during the summer but I hear from Wim Tijsen who ringed the bird that she has so far failed to find a mate there.  Now she is back here in the Algarve and it was only because I have been looking for her that I spotted her in amongst a flock of Black-tailed Godwits in water that was so deep I could hardly see the ring on her leg.  I wonder whether she will spend the next six months in the same saltpan – I bet she does!  

A Redshank's Story

We first saw this colour-ringed Common Redshank (ring no: H19) at Santa Luzia saltpans on 13th March 2011. We saw it on several further occasions over the next few weeks, the last time being on 5th April.

Subsequently we were able to find out that the bird had been ringed as a pullus in May 2010 at Westerland in the municipality of Wieringen in North Holland in the Netherlands. Later we also learned from the ringer, Wim Tijsen, that having left the Algarve it had returned to the area where it was raised, arriving there on 21st May. Apparently it is typical for young birds to arrive late on the breeding grounds like this; they are too late to breed but maybe they can find a mate for the following year. The site is a wet grassland, a set-aside meadow near the Waddensea that during the freezing winter was full of water and used for skating! Little wonder then that a Redshank wouldn’t want to stay there year round!

It is well known that many (most?) migrant waders, including Common Redshanks, return each year to spend the winter in the same area. We have records of colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits, for instance, that we have seen in successive winters in exactly the same saltpan here in Tavira. So it was only natural that we should expect H19 to show up here again. The first sighting was on 31st December and since then we have seen it (her?) on about half a dozen further occasions, always in the same saltpan and seldom far from what seems to be the favourite corner of that saltpan. It was there again yesterday and we will be keeping watch to see whether we can establish at least an approximate departure date, which we might expect to be earlier than last year if it is going to breed. We have been told that H19’s father (H16) was back on the breeding grounds by mid-March last year so H19 might soon be heading north. We will also hope for confirmation that H19 is indeed a female.

Black-tailed Godwit - they also show a tendency to return to regular wintering sites

It’s interesting that there is also a Spotted Redshank occupying the same saltpan. It doesn’t have a ring on it but we do wonder whether it is the same Spotted Redshank that spent much of last winter in the same place. What do you think?

Spotted Redshank - probably the same individual that was here last winter

Avian Adventures and more

We've been busy with a week-long Avian Adventures tour here in the Algarve and with other guiding that has resulted in multiple visits to the Castro Verde area and the coastal hotspots, Quinta do Lago, Lagoa dos Salgados, Tavira/Santa Luzia and Cabo de São Vicente.

The weather has been mixed with some thunderstorms and strong winds but now seems to have settled down and currently we have a cloudless sky and a comfortable 17° C.

Here are a few recent photographs:

We managed to see 11 species of raptors during the second of our days in the Baixo Alentejo, including lots of Lesser Kestrels. It was also a day that produced more than 100 Great Bustards and a nice flock of 40 Black-bellied Sandgrouse. On our earlier visit we saw the last three Common Cranes of the winter.

We are now seeing three races of Yellow Wagtails arriving: flava, flavissima and this one, iberiae.

Also creeping about in the grass, we found a couple of newly-arrived Greater Short-toed Larks.

On the local saltpans, Black-winged Stilts, Avocets and Kentish Plovers are now in pairs and preparing to nest.

Among the many Ringed Plovers on the saltpans, we are still seeing a few Little Ringed Plovers. 'Lurps', as we call them, are already occupying breeding sites inland.

Amongst the many Common Redshanks was this one, the first colour-ringed individual of this species we have seen in the Algarve. It was ringed in the Netherlands in May 2010. We have also seen a Dutch-ringed Spoonbill and a Spanish-ringed Greater Flamingo this week.

We have seldom seen more Red-crested Pochards at Quinta do Lago than there were yesterday. Red-billed Pochard would surely have been a more sensible name!

The Avian Adventures group included some keen botanists, so we have also been looking at orchids. This one is Sawfly Orchid, photographed near Sagres where we were entertained by a flock of 40 Red-billed Choughs, saw a few lingering Ring Ousels and found Spectacled Warblers.

Hoopoe - the Avian Adventures logo and, for photographers, hard to resist.

So many birds, so little time...

Dodging the Showers

A week of rather mixed weather has seen us staying mostly around the Tavira area, taking advantage of the sunny days (or more often half-days) to photograph some of the common birds. It's been exactly as forecast and we have been doing our best to dodge the showers.

Linnet - seldom more than a few seconds at the water.

Meadow Pipit - taking a bath.

European Goldfinch - content with just a drink.

Black Redstart - a spiffy male but a shame about the white wall!

Red Knot - well, more of a grey Knot really!

Bluethroat - this one scolding a cat that had intruded into its territory...

...and now looking pleased to have seen it off!

Common Sandpiper - also seemed to enjoy teasing the cat; hope it doesn't end in tears...

Common Redshank - waders often give the appearance of having only one leg; this bird does actually have only one, but seems to be managing OK.

Black-headed Gull - not only caught with its mouth open but also with its tongue sticking out!

Eurasian Spoonbill - one of the 'rare' unringed birds.

Common Stonechat - hard to resist when they perch like this one.

Slender-billed Gull - once considered a rarity in Portugal but can now be found here most days...

...their distictive feeding action makes them easy to pick out.

Last Week

A week of very mixed weather - some days warm and spring-like, others almost monsoon-like! Clive Viney's description, “gloriously unpredictable”, seems just about right!

Last Saturday I had a full day out, birding most of the daylight hours, visiting Ludo/Quinta do Lago and Castro Marim as well as several sites around Tavira. Although a long list wasn’t the object of the exercise, over 90 species were noted, including some, like Water Rail, that were only heard. Highlights at Ludo were six Booted Eagles, an Osprey, two Black-winged Kites and three Siskins, a species that we don’t see much in the Eastern Algarve. At Castro Marim, it was nice to see ten Ruff.

On Monday I went to Olhão and Fuseta and on Thursday to Castro Marim again, but otherwise activity has centred on Tavira where there are plenty of birds, particularly waders, to look at and photograph.

Common Greenshank

Grey Plover

Ringed Plover

Kentish Plover

Common Redshank

Eurasian Curlew

Sardinian Warbler

The number of gulls here has fallen significantly now. There are still lots of Lesser Black-backs and Black-headeds but nowhere near as many as there were a month ago. Most of the Meds seem to have gone, I’ve seen no more than ten Audouin’s all week and the single Slender-billed near Forte do Rato was the first I’d seen in a while. Amongst the Lesser Black-backs at Fuseta was another one that had been colour-ringed at Gloucester in the UK.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - with crab for lunch

Audouin's Gull

An Osprey was seen again at Santa Luzia saltpans; it was on the same post where we saw it three weeks ago. I wonder where else it gets to. A Black-winged Kite was at the edge of Tavira, not far in fact from the Gran-Plaza shopping centre (of which the least said the better). Barn Swallows and House Martins are quite numerous now, as of course are Crag Martins but Red-rumped Swallows don‘t seem to be back yet.

June is now about half way through her tour in Uganda. There has been little news other than confirmation that the 'must-see' species, Shoebill, has indeed been seen! That’s always a relief!