Andy Parkin
New member
BIRDING WEEK IN THE ALGARVE – 2.1.06 to 6.1.06
My wife and I just returned from a few days in Portugal and had a wonderful time birding. Being a little inexperienced I wondered if anyone could help me with one or two identification problems:
•At Cape St Vincent we saw many Crested Larks – or were they Thekla Larks? We couldn’t tell. Any idea what they may have been or could we have possibly seen both?
•At a large reservoir near Bensafrim (Barragem da Bravura) we had 2 brief sightings of a very green bird – almost like a parrot. About blackbird size and seen from above had a uniform, totally green appearance, very striking, pea-green not iridescent. They flew across the water and into bushes only a few feet from the ground.
•What looked like an eagle at the reserve at Castro Marim near the Spanish border. Seen fleetingly in flight from above, very dark brown with leading white wing edges. It landed on a vacant stork’s perch and stayed for about an hour (about half mile away – we only had binoculars!). It took off and landed on the ground where it appeared to be very black with a white breast. Any suggestions would be welcome!
In addition to the above, we visited the Rio Formosa national park near Olhao and the mud flats near Alvor. Our full list is as follows:
Willow Warbler
Greater Black Backed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Thekla/Crested Lark
Hoopoe
Serin
Greenfinch
Kestrel
Jackdaw
Sardinian Warbler
Stonechat
Black Redstart
Buzzard
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Blue Rock Thrush
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Blackcap
Spotted Flycatcher
Azure Winged Magpies
Grey Heron
White Stork
(Little?) Ringed Plover
Black Winged Stilt
Flamingo
Little Owl (x2)
Lapwing
Redshank
Greenshank
Turnstone
Marsh Harrier
Avocet
Kentish Plover
Black Tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Shag
Cormorant
Oystercatcher
My wife and I just returned from a few days in Portugal and had a wonderful time birding. Being a little inexperienced I wondered if anyone could help me with one or two identification problems:
•At Cape St Vincent we saw many Crested Larks – or were they Thekla Larks? We couldn’t tell. Any idea what they may have been or could we have possibly seen both?
•At a large reservoir near Bensafrim (Barragem da Bravura) we had 2 brief sightings of a very green bird – almost like a parrot. About blackbird size and seen from above had a uniform, totally green appearance, very striking, pea-green not iridescent. They flew across the water and into bushes only a few feet from the ground.
•What looked like an eagle at the reserve at Castro Marim near the Spanish border. Seen fleetingly in flight from above, very dark brown with leading white wing edges. It landed on a vacant stork’s perch and stayed for about an hour (about half mile away – we only had binoculars!). It took off and landed on the ground where it appeared to be very black with a white breast. Any suggestions would be welcome!
In addition to the above, we visited the Rio Formosa national park near Olhao and the mud flats near Alvor. Our full list is as follows:
Willow Warbler
Greater Black Backed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Thekla/Crested Lark
Hoopoe
Serin
Greenfinch
Kestrel
Jackdaw
Sardinian Warbler
Stonechat
Black Redstart
Buzzard
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Blue Rock Thrush
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Blackcap
Spotted Flycatcher
Azure Winged Magpies
Grey Heron
White Stork
(Little?) Ringed Plover
Black Winged Stilt
Flamingo
Little Owl (x2)
Lapwing
Redshank
Greenshank
Turnstone
Marsh Harrier
Avocet
Kentish Plover
Black Tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Shag
Cormorant
Oystercatcher