Tavira and beyond

The weather has been pretty discouraging this week and there was even a day when we didn't go birding! Really - that bad!

Mostly we have been enjoying the wonderful selection of birds on our doorstep here in Tavira but we've also been to Olhão, looking for unusual gulls at the 'docapesca', to Sagres, Cape St Vincent and Martinhal, to Altura, to Fuseta and to the 'top of the Algarve' at Fóia.

Radar, TV, radio and telephone installations on Fóia

In the Cape St Vincent/Sagres area we were pleased to find that there were still plenty of raptors; a Peregrine Falcon, lots of Common Kestrels and Common Buzzards but also ten or more Booted Eagles and at least one Short-toed Eagle. The whole area is full of birds: flocks of Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Skylarks, Corn Buntings, Spotless Starlings, Goldfinches, Linnets and Meadow Pipits; Jackdaws and Choughs; Thekla Larks, Black Redstarts, Blue Rock Thrushes and more.

Short-toed Eagle

We also found Blue Rock Thrush on Fóia but our main target there was its cousin the Ring Ouzel. There were at least half a dozen of them, birds apparently of the central and southern European race, Turdus torquatus alpestris. They were extremely active and difficult to count, chasing each other around from one berry-laden tree to another, as if there weren't enough berries to go around. It was fun to watch but frustrating that, even if there had been enough light, we weren't able to get close enough for a photograph.

Around Tavira and Santa Luzia, we have at least 24 wader species in the saltpans and tidal channels, plus Greater Flamingos, Spoonbills, White Storks and the usual six species of gulls. Among the ducks, we have seen up to seven Common Shelducks; Sandwich Terns are common and one or two Caspian Terns can usually be found. A single Black-necked Grebe seems to have settled in to one particular lagoon and the hybrid Western Reef x Little Egret continues, also very faithful to one favourite channel. Bluethroats and Kingfishers provide regular flashes of colour. Raptors here this week have included a Black-winged Kite and a smart-looking male Hen Harrier.

Little Stint

Common Kingfisher

White Stork

The forecast seems to be for a further period of mixed weather with heavy rain on several days next week. No doubt we'll be doing our best to dodge the showers as usual.

Where were we?

We had a great day out yesterday! Lots of sunshine and plenty of birds.

The day’s bird list included two Black Storks, 30-plus White Storks, a Great Egret, more than 300 Common Cranes, a Spanish Imperial Eagle, a Griffon Vulture, numerous Red Kites, 150 or so Great Cormorants and a nice selection of waders that included Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Snipe.


So, where do you think we were? It sounds a bit like Doñana, doesn’t it? But let’s add a few more species to the list: Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Black-bellied Sandgrouse and Bonelli’s Eagle.

Here's a clue!

Now what do you think?

Yes, that’s right, we were in the Baixo Alentejo. No need to go to Spain when Portugal offers so much!

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.

Flamingos in the news

Who would have thought that research into the behaviour of Greater Flamingos would be so widely reported in the news media? This week the BBC, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph were amongst those who joined Birdguides in featuring our favourite pink birds. How clever of Juan Amat and his co-authors to include a reference to make-up in the title of their paper on the use of uropygial secretions; it certainly grabbed the attention of the headline writers! You can read their full text on-line in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, a Springer journal.


Greater Flamingos occur here throughout the year. There was a failed breeding attempt this year at Lagoa dos Salgados and there have been reports of similar attempts in the past at Castro Marim, but it is as a wintering area that the Algarve is of prime importance.


Not surprisingly, the birds we see here are mostly from the major breeding colonies in France and Spain. Most stay with us through the winter months but some carry on south and we have seen birds in Djoudj National Park in Senegal and in The Gambia that probably came from the Camargue or perhaps from Laguna de Fuente de Piedra, near Malaga.



It used to be thought that Greater Flamingos paired for life – the Handbook of the Birds of the Western Palearctic says that – but the reality seems to be that many of them choose a new partner each year. Not only that but they may also choose to nest in a different colony from one year to the next.


This week we watched a group of 80 birds here in Tavira that included five colour-ringed individuals, birds that had started life in France, Spain and Italy. Seeing these birds courting and displaying, it wasn’t difficult to see how the interchange between breeding colonies comes about and presumably this must be good for genetic diversity and the health of the population. Amongst the displays, we saw some ‘neck-stretching’ and ‘head-flagging’ and even some ‘wing-saluting’ but it’s probably a little early in the season for the birds to be putting on their make-up. Rest assured, though, that we will be looking out for it!

A Quieter Week

Well, we've had the relaxed week we promised ourselves but have still seen plenty of birds during single visits to Castro Marim, Parque Ambiental de Vilamoura and Quinta do Lago and several local excursions around Tavira and Santa Luzia. The weather has remained mostly warm and sunny, although Friday was cloudy and we had our first rain for a while.

Two unusual views of the ETAR at Vilamoura - a hide here overlooking the water treatment works would be popular

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The very familiar view from the hide at Quinta do Lago.

After all last week’s excitement, a Common Gull reported from the Ria Formosa and a Pied Wagtail near Tavira have been the nearest we’ve had to rarities in the Algarve or at least that’s all we’ve heard about. However, remembering that November last year produced Whooper Swan, Red-breasted Flycatcher and White-rumped Sandpiper, there is still plenty of time to be looking for the unusual.

Meanwhile, we are seeing some of the scarcer wintering species settling in to familiar places. Black-necked Grebes, Squacco Heron, Little Bittern, a hybrid ‘Grey Egret’, Slender-billed Gulls, Glossy Ibis, Penduline Tit, Booted Eagles and Black-winged Kite have all been found in the last few days exactly where they were last winter. Some of the commoner winter species don’t yet seem to be here in the numbers we would expect, notably Song Thrushes and Chaffinches, and although we saw our first Bluethroat as long ago as 11th September, there still don’t seem to be many around Tavira at least. Late migrants in the last few days have included Turtle Dove, Pied Flycatcher, Yellow Wagtails and a Red-necked Nightjar.

Presumed garzetta x gularis hybrid egret.

Booted Eagle

Yellow Wagtail

Yesterday, we saw our first ‘kitchen window’ Eurasian Griffon of the autumn and no doubt there will be more during the coming weeks as the birds that have congregated at Sagres start to make their way east looking for a shorter crossing to North Africa.

It's heading straight for us!!

And, of course, we've been looking for a yellowlegs (or two?) around the local saltpans...

Common Greenshank

Pied Wagtail in Tavira

Okay, so it's not quite in the same league as Upland Sandpiper and Common Yellowthroat but a Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) isn't an everyday bird here by any means. This one has been hanging around for several days now on the outskirts of Tavira. This morning it was feeding in the company of a White Wagtail (M. a. alba), which from time to time it chased off.

Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail is generally regarded as the British race of White Wagtail but it does in fact also breed in small numbers on the neighbouring European mainland in France, Germany and Holland.

Pied Wagtail

Most Pied Wagtails are fairly sedentary but many spend the winter in the south of France and in Iberia with some going at least as far south as Morocco. No doubt many are overlooked here in the Algarve where birds of the nominate race are numerous in winter.

White Wagtail

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!