ColinD
Well-known member
Phew! I've just returned from a "family" holiday to the Algarve, Portugal. We stayed at Olhos D'Agua, halfway between Vilamoura and Albufiera. The holiday was from 10th April to 17th April, and was my 5th visit to Portugal.
In between visiting the beach, water parks and walking around marinas, I managed to get in quite a bit of birding. All early morning stuff, or early evening, with just one full morning.
Loads of spectacular birds, where do I begin? At Vilamoura, fanastic views of up to 15 Purple Gallinules, lots of Azure-winged Magpies, at least 4 Black-shouldered Kites (3 togther in the same tree!), flocks of Cattle Egrets plus the usual Bee-eaters, Hoopoes and Woodchat Shrikes and the other birds you might expect in southern Europe.
Just down the road at Quinta do Lago,, more Gallinules, Booted Eagles, Black Kites, 100+ Black-winged Stilts, 50+ Avocets, Red-Crested Pochards and 3 Caspian Terns.
My morning out was to the plains of Alentejo, about 50 miles north of the coast. I took the road from Castro Verde to Mertola.
I saw 11 Great Bustards, including a spectacular male at reasonably close range displaying to 5 females, and at least 30 Little Bustards, which included displaying males. Another Black-shouldered Kite here as well. However, as with my previous two visits to Alentejo, it was not just one or two species which were the stars, it was the sheer number an variety of birds, with Stork nests on every telegraph pole, Montagu's Harriers or Black Kites around every corner, and Bee-eaters, Great Grey Shrikes and Red-rumped Swallows never far away.
Amongst all these (more-or-less) expected sights, I did have few surprises, and wondered if anybody here can shed any light on them, as follows:
1) Do Little Bustards have a courtship flight? I saw a party of 3 males and 1 female in what appeared to be a courtship flight. They flew past past me in a close knit, undulating flight, their wings whistling as they went, and then circled round and flew past again.
2) On the marsh at Vilamoura (at least a mile from any human habitation), I saw a Monarch butterfly. My book says that some have recently become established in Spain, and occasionally immigrants arrive from America in April. Anybody seen anything similar or got an opinion on this?
3) In the reed bed at Vilamoura, I saw a Moustached Warbler. No doubt about the identification, I've seen them before in Mallorca. Are they supposed to be in Portugal? They're meant to be resident I believe, so it's not a migrant.
4) Also near Vilamoura, again in a remote part of the marsh, 3 Slender-billed Weaver birds. Exotic species have become established in Portugal, such as the now common Waxbill, but anybody seen these weavers before?
These were my first Black-shouldered Kites, so they were just about the stars, with the Great Bustards a very close second. I'll post a full list of species I saw later. Can't wait for my next visit to this wonderful country,
Colin
In between visiting the beach, water parks and walking around marinas, I managed to get in quite a bit of birding. All early morning stuff, or early evening, with just one full morning.
Loads of spectacular birds, where do I begin? At Vilamoura, fanastic views of up to 15 Purple Gallinules, lots of Azure-winged Magpies, at least 4 Black-shouldered Kites (3 togther in the same tree!), flocks of Cattle Egrets plus the usual Bee-eaters, Hoopoes and Woodchat Shrikes and the other birds you might expect in southern Europe.
Just down the road at Quinta do Lago,, more Gallinules, Booted Eagles, Black Kites, 100+ Black-winged Stilts, 50+ Avocets, Red-Crested Pochards and 3 Caspian Terns.
My morning out was to the plains of Alentejo, about 50 miles north of the coast. I took the road from Castro Verde to Mertola.
I saw 11 Great Bustards, including a spectacular male at reasonably close range displaying to 5 females, and at least 30 Little Bustards, which included displaying males. Another Black-shouldered Kite here as well. However, as with my previous two visits to Alentejo, it was not just one or two species which were the stars, it was the sheer number an variety of birds, with Stork nests on every telegraph pole, Montagu's Harriers or Black Kites around every corner, and Bee-eaters, Great Grey Shrikes and Red-rumped Swallows never far away.
Amongst all these (more-or-less) expected sights, I did have few surprises, and wondered if anybody here can shed any light on them, as follows:
1) Do Little Bustards have a courtship flight? I saw a party of 3 males and 1 female in what appeared to be a courtship flight. They flew past past me in a close knit, undulating flight, their wings whistling as they went, and then circled round and flew past again.
2) On the marsh at Vilamoura (at least a mile from any human habitation), I saw a Monarch butterfly. My book says that some have recently become established in Spain, and occasionally immigrants arrive from America in April. Anybody seen anything similar or got an opinion on this?
3) In the reed bed at Vilamoura, I saw a Moustached Warbler. No doubt about the identification, I've seen them before in Mallorca. Are they supposed to be in Portugal? They're meant to be resident I believe, so it's not a migrant.
4) Also near Vilamoura, again in a remote part of the marsh, 3 Slender-billed Weaver birds. Exotic species have become established in Portugal, such as the now common Waxbill, but anybody seen these weavers before?
These were my first Black-shouldered Kites, so they were just about the stars, with the Great Bustards a very close second. I'll post a full list of species I saw later. Can't wait for my next visit to this wonderful country,
Colin
