Our birding week

There's been some fairly mixed weather this week but that’s what we expect at this time of the year.  We’ve had warm sunshine, we’ve had storms with strong winds and torrential rain and one morning we had to change our plans because of thick fog.  At least it hasn’t been too cold.

We helped out with the monthly count of wetland birds at Castro Marim on Monday.  In addition to the Cerro do Bufo area and Sinexpral, we also covered the Esteiro da Carrasqueira with the whole count taking four of us almost four hours.  Cerro do Bufo is a huge area which held close to 3,000 birds.  Counting them without disturbing them is a challenge and on this occasion we weren’t help by the presence of a couple of Marsh Harriers, an Osprey and a Peregrine Falcon that caused panic among the ducks and waders whenever they appeared.  The Shelducks were particularly flighty and we have to admit that our total count of 364 might not be the most accurate.

Osprey

Greater Flamingos (700) were the most numerous species; there were 18 wader species, seven duck species; 112 Cormorants and 70 Black-necked Grebes.  A single Great Egret was the nearest we came to seeing anything unusual.

Black-necked Grebes

At Sinexpral we found around 1,300 birds more than half of which were Dunlins; there were about a dozen Curlew Sandpipers amongst them.  In fact there were more than ten times more Dunlin here than there had been at Cerro do Bufo and lots more Ringed & Kentish Plovers, a pattern we have seen before.

Easily the most numerous species of the day were the Eurasian Coots on the Carrasqueira, about 900 of them.  On another day we might have searched through them for a Red-knobbed bird but we have to be in the right mood for that sort of thing and this wasn’t the time.  About a dozen each of Great Crested & Little Grebes were with them plus just a handful of ducks and gulls.

Great Crested Grebe

As well as Marsh Harriers and Peregrine Falcon we saw an Osprey, a Sparrowhawk, a Common Buzzard and a Common Kestrel – a six raptor day!  The following day at Quinta do Ludo we beat this with seven raptor species.  These included a Black-winged Kite, a Hen Harrier and no fewer than ten Booted Eagles.

Black-winged Kite

We always enjoy Ludo but for some reason on Tuesday it wasn’t at its best.  There was a marked lack of waders on the saltpans and an almost complete lack of ducks on the Ribeira de São Lourenço.

Thankfully, when we reached the lagoa de São Lourenço it was a different story - there were lots of birds to sort through and to photograph in the really nice afternoon light.   On the way there, we saw a Water Pipit, which wasn’t unexpected and a Woodcock, a species we see only rarely which was certainly a surprise!  Unfortunately, the Woodcock was dead by the roadside, probably hit by a car.

Eurasian Wigeon

Lagoa de São Lourenço is well-known as a place to see Little Bitterns and although this is a species that is considered to be a trans-Saharan migrant, it’s usually possible to find them here through the winter.  Today we saw three different birds.
 
Of course, this is one of the best sites in the Algarve to get close to and to photograph various common duck species and also Western Swamp-hens (a name, incidentally, we are still struggling to get used to).  Glossy Ibis and Black-headed Weaver are species that we expect to find here and in recent times we have regularly seen Water Rails.

Western Swamp-hen

Hoopoes are fewer here in winter but can usually be found on the neighbouring golf course, which is also the favoured feeding area for Mistle Thrushes.

 Hoopoe

Mistle Thrush

We got our required wader fix first of all in the Ria Formosa at Praia de Faro and later, on the way home, at saltpans near Olhão.  We often find a few Knots here and on this occasion were able to more or less walk up to one for a photograph.  This is also a regular place to find Slender-billed Gulls and we weren’t disappointed.

 Olhão saltpans

Red Knot

We finished the week with a trip west to Sagres and this turned out to be another six raptor day with Short-toed Eagle and Red Kite amongst them bringing the total of raptor species for the week up to eleven.

Short-toed Eagle

This was planned to be mainly a photography day and we hoped to find Alpine Accentors, Rock Pipits, Ring Ouzels and Purple Sandpipers.  As it was we had to settle for Cormorants, Black Redstarts, Thekla Larks and other more common species but had an enjoyable day in spite of that.

 Great Cormorant

Black Redstart

In fact we had a very pleasant week, dodging the worst of the weather and enjoying a great variety of birds.

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

Colourful Quartet

Our recent visit to the Castro Verde area produced most but not all of the regular species that visitors ask to see.  We didn’t miss many but unfortunately, as the season progresses some species become more difficult to find.  Birds that only a few weeks ago were singing and displaying, defending a territory or trying to attract a mate are now feeding young and trying hard not to draw attention to themselves or their offspring.  At the same time, the grass and other vegetation has grown taller and there are plenty of places to hide away.  It makes our task much harder!

Fortunately, in the same area where those uncooperative Little Bustards are lurking and where the Black-winged Kites have taken their young out of sight, there are four much more easily seen, brightly coloured species that will, at least for a few minutes, brighten anyone’s day.

Our experience is that Hoopoe, European Roller, European Bee-eater and Common Kingfisher are among the most popular birds that we find for our visitors.  Maybe it’s because of their flashy plumage or perhaps simply because they’re all instantly recognisable!

Each of these four species is the only representative of its family to occur in Western Europe other than as a vagrant but they are clearly related to each other and have much in common.  Have you noticed how they always appear bunched together in your checklist between the swifts and the woodpeckers?  And it’s not unusual to see them sharing a page in a field guide!

A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (Peterson, Mountfort & Hollom) 1954

All four of them nest in cavities; Hoopoes and Rollers like to nest in holes in trees but most of the Rollers we see nest in artificially provided sites and Hoopoes also will occasionally take to nest boxes; Bee-eaters and Kingfishers on the other hand usually excavate a hole in a vertical bank and Bee-eaters will also use a hole in sloping or even flat ground.

We tend to think of Rollers and Bee-eaters as migrants and Hoopoes and Kingfishers as resident species but that really isn’t the whole story.  It’s true that Rollers and Bee-eaters do spend only the few months of the breeding season in Portugal before heading south to winter in Africa but Hoopoes and Kingfishers also make seasonal movements.  Of course, these movements are less obvious as they don’t involve the whole population; many Hoopoes do leave us during the winter but always some remain.  On the other hand, the number of Kingfishers in the Algarve increases in the autumn as birds arrive from further north and they are commonly seen from September through to February.  

If you would like to see all four of these birds during one visit to the Algarve, make sure to plan your trip between late April and August.  Also bear in mind that although Rollers can sometimes be seen as migrants in the Algarve, mainly in the west and in August, they do not breed here and a trip to the Alentejo will usually be necessary to be sure of finding them.

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...

The Week in Pictures

We've been busy around Tavira this week where there has been plenty to keep us occupied:

Eurasian Griffons passed over Tavira this week, presumably heading for Tarifa. About 150 were counted on Sunday.

At least three Water Pipits have been regular at Pedras d'el Rei.

Meadow Pipits are now very numerous - but still smart little birds and quite variable in plumage.

Always popular and, in spite of what some of the books say, still quite vocal in November.

Greater Flamingos - hard to ignore.

Bar-tailed Godwit - one of at least 21 wader species currently around Tavira.

Sometimes even long-legged Flamingos get out of their depth!

Common Greenshank - always one of our favourites!

When not chasing off Little Egrets, this hybrid Western Reef x Little Egret regularly poses for photographs - tight-rope walking a speciality!

Stone-curlews are not too hard to see - if you know where to look!

Six gull species are here now and can sometimes be seen all in one place. Just two on this photograph.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - one of the most common species around here in winter.

Onomatopoeia

In the UK and elsewhere in Northern Europe one of the first signs of the approach of spring is the return in early March of Chiffchaffs to the woodlands in which they will breed. Here in the Algarve, Chiffchaffs are one of the most numerous species during the winter months, occupying any habitat where they can find insect food, particularly the low, scrub vegetation that surrounds so many of the saltpans in the Ria Formosa and elsewhere. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny and warm day here and at Ludo quite a number of birds were encouraged to sing, including several Chiffchaffs. If I had closed my eyes I could have imagined being in the Reservoir Plantation at Belvide or perhaps Brocton Coppice! As the days get longer and the temperature rises, these birds are starting to think about migration or, more likely, about raising a family.

Chiffchaff

It’s interesting that the English name for this bird is derived from its song, as is the German name, Zilpzalp, and the Dutch name, Tjiftjaf, but the Portuguese call it Felosinha-comum which seems to translate as ‘common small warbler’. Obviously the locals here haven’t been listening!

I remember, more than 30 years ago, finding a Hoopoe in Trench Wood in Worcestershire. What a thrill that was! Now, when we are in Portugal, we see them most days but they are birds that you could never get tired of. On Friday at Pedras d'el Rei I sat in the car for half an hour or more watching one feeding on an area of short mown grass. It wandered around with no apparent plan, just looking for food - insects and insect larvae. When it was occasionally disturbed by passers-by there was no panic, it just headed off briefly in a different direction hardly distracted from its quest for a juicy meal. Like the Chiffchaff, it's a species with an onomatopoeic name. Birds of the Western Palearctic describes them as ‘largely silent outside the breeding season’ but that isn’t true here and they can be heard at almost any time of the year. The Portuguese name is Poupa - the song really is that difficult to miss!

Hoopoe

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