Benderloch
Active member
I was there in late Feb/early March and the famous Pera Marsh just east of Armacao de Pera had just been drained again to reduce the pollution from sewage. All but a few Mallards had abandoned the exposed mud, but a small pond on the Pera side of the marsh could be seen through the telescope to hold water with a few Shoveller and Purple Swamp Hen. In the main basin, Avocets and Black Tailed Godwits were the main feature, with Moorhen, Black-winged Stilts and Redshank down at the eastern end at the edge of the sedges. Only two Flamingo were seen. A single Squacco Heron was spotted by a party of UK birders and a few Ruff , White Stork and Grey Heron were also there along with a Peregrine on another day. Zitting cisticolas buzzed about, Corn Buntings wheezed and a nice Hare was seen. Marsh Harrier appeared occasionally and put up a flock of Sanderling. We can only hope that the basin fills up again and more birds return.
The regular Thursday morning bird ringing at Cruzinha near Alvor (run by the A Rocha organisation) was well attended. Among the species ringed were Great Tit, Serin, Hoopoe, Waxbill, Goldfinch (prominent everywhere we went), Blackcap and Greenfinch. They have a zoology student from Cardiff University doing a placement there - lucky chap! The weather was almost unfailingly sunny with breezes onshore (pleasant) or offshore (stronger and cooler). I thought it a bit odd that the Godwits were well into summer plumage, while Spotted Redshank were still very much in winter coat. At Quinta do Lago, the lake by the San Lorenzo golf course offered the usual Gadwall, Coot, Shoveller, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Little and Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant and Moorhen. A few Purple Swamphen were grazing the golf course instead of stripping reeds. This could be a bad evolutionary move as they run the risk of 'death by golf ball impact'. Cetti's Warblers sang, Terrapins did very little and frogs croaked their mating calls. The adjacent estuary had Dunlin, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and a few Greenshank, plus the larger waders seen at Pera Marsh.
In the Ria Formosa Reserve at Quinta Marim (Olhau) a pair of White Stork is conveniently nesting in a pine. Kentish Plover were engaging in some behaviour that I assume related to breeding! Sadly, no Bluethroat seen this year. Some digiscoping was done with fair results, some of which might grace this website when slightly edited. It will seem a long time before next Feb comes around and we go back, but we have the arrival of migrants to look forward to here and, hopefully, a summer!
The regular Thursday morning bird ringing at Cruzinha near Alvor (run by the A Rocha organisation) was well attended. Among the species ringed were Great Tit, Serin, Hoopoe, Waxbill, Goldfinch (prominent everywhere we went), Blackcap and Greenfinch. They have a zoology student from Cardiff University doing a placement there - lucky chap! The weather was almost unfailingly sunny with breezes onshore (pleasant) or offshore (stronger and cooler). I thought it a bit odd that the Godwits were well into summer plumage, while Spotted Redshank were still very much in winter coat. At Quinta do Lago, the lake by the San Lorenzo golf course offered the usual Gadwall, Coot, Shoveller, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Little and Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant and Moorhen. A few Purple Swamphen were grazing the golf course instead of stripping reeds. This could be a bad evolutionary move as they run the risk of 'death by golf ball impact'. Cetti's Warblers sang, Terrapins did very little and frogs croaked their mating calls. The adjacent estuary had Dunlin, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and a few Greenshank, plus the larger waders seen at Pera Marsh.
In the Ria Formosa Reserve at Quinta Marim (Olhau) a pair of White Stork is conveniently nesting in a pine. Kentish Plover were engaging in some behaviour that I assume related to breeding! Sadly, no Bluethroat seen this year. Some digiscoping was done with fair results, some of which might grace this website when slightly edited. It will seem a long time before next Feb comes around and we go back, but we have the arrival of migrants to look forward to here and, hopefully, a summer!
