aythya_hybrid
real name Jonathan Dean
I have gotten to know Portugal and its birds reasonably well in recent years, largely because my partner is Portuguese. This trip was largely intended to show my regular birding partner in crime, Sean Nixon from Colchester, the delights of Portuguese birding, and to try to catch up on one or two things I missed on previous visits. The trip was an unmitigated success on both fronts. We stayed in the Residencial Beira Rio in Mertola in Baixo Alentejo, not far from the Spanish border. With Lesser Kestrels, Blue Rock Thrush, Spotless Starling, RR Swallow and other such things viewable from the hotel, it is a cornucopia of delights for the visiting birder!
The birding was superb from start to finish, due, I think, to a combination of weather, the favourable time of year, sheer good luck, and the simple fact that Southern Portugal is outstanding for birding. It was my third visit to the Baixo Alentejo region, having previously been on two separate day trips from the Algarve with "Algarve Birdman" Simon Wates, whose services I unreservedly recommend. This time, I thought I would try staying actually in Baixo Alentejo, rather than day tripping from the Algarve. This meant the birding was fairly leisurely. Although birding was good throughout the day, there was a definite upsurge of activity late afternoon/early evening, and the most rewarding birding was often in the lovely early evening light.
A further point is that all the birds we saw were from public roads: there have been problems in the past with birders entering the out of bounds LPN (Liga para protecção da Natureza) land south of the main road between Castro Verde/Mertola. Such activity is clearly not necessary for seeing the area’s specialities.
Finally, in the info below I’ve tried to strike a balance between providing a decent amount of detail about productive areas, but not giving away locations for sensitive species.
Anyway, here's an account of what we saw:
6th April:
Vasco de Gama Bridge: 2 Greater Flamingo in pools west of the south side of the bridge as we approached the south side
Barocca d'Alva, late morning:
A productive visit to this site near Alocochete, on the south side of the Tejo Estuary, which I had previously visited in January. We saw:
2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Great White Egret, c30 White Stork, c50 Cattle Egret, c40 Glossy Ibis, 2 female Yellow-crowned Bishop (rather underwhelming), c10 Black-headed Weaver (including several nice males), c10 Common Waxbill, 4 Iberian Yellow Wagtail, several Red-rumped Swallow, several of each Common and Pallid Swift, a few Buzzard, 1 Black Kite seen well, Grey Heron, Zitting Cisticola, lots of Spotless Starlings, a few Crested Lark, several Cetti's Warbler, 2 Purple Heron seen well in flight just north of the village.
The undoubted highlight was a male Little Bittern flushed from a ditch just north of the village but, alas, it landed out of view and didn't resurface. At least 2 Squacco Heron were seen well in flight and one seen slightly less well on the ground. Also 1 Hoopoe, several Reed Warbler singing, loads of Black-winged Stilt and Black-tailed Godwit, several Ruff, 3 Green Sandpiper, c30 Spoonbill, lots of Little Egret, a few Kestrel, one female Merlin seen briefly, several Mallard and one first-winter Med Gull.
We stopped very briefly at Ribeira das Enguais, the nearby site which has played host to at least one Red-knobbed Coot recently, but almost all the Coots had dispersed and there was no sign here or anywhere else of Black-shouldered Kite, so we decided to head south towards Castro Verde in Baixo Alentejo.
Lisbon to Castro Verde:
Whilst heading south we saw several White Stork, 2 Booted Eagle, 1 Black Kite, a few Red-rumped Swallows, but not a whole lot else.
Centro de Educação Ambiental de Vale Gonçalinho, north of Castro Verde, late afternoon:
We spent a superb few hours at the LPN educational centre just off the Beja Road a few kms north of Castro Verde, where we walked around the trails through the grassland. This site affords excellent opportunities for seeing several of the area's key species. On approach we saw Woodchat Shrike and several distant Kestrels, which were presumably Lessers. We also saw a Little Bustard in flight briefly from the car on approach to the centre.
Walking around the trails around the centre we saw:
Several of each Crested and Thekla Lark
Loads of Lesser Kestrel - a long overdue lifer, affording great views in and around the obvious nesting tower close to the visitor centre. In general, they were not as distinctive as I expected, perhaps because most of the males seemed to be first summers, and the females are very subtle, although the lack of a moustachial stripe was a reasonably prominent feature.
5 Little Bustard - all in flight and so not seen spectacularly well
c30 Black-bellied Sandgrouse - very active and visible from the farm buildings in the middle of the reserve, and calling lots but, as usual, rarely settling for very long, but views were still good.
34 Great Bustard - a superb flock seen in fields from the main area of farm buildings. Great scope views and one lone bird landed for a while close by.
2+ Montagu's Harrier, showing nicely.
15 or so Calandra Lark, becoming very vocal and active later on, giving excellent scope views.
Also 1 Booted Eagle, Buzzard, Zitting Cisticola, 1 Hoopoe, 2 Woodchat Shrike, Spotless Starling, several Stonechat, loads of Corn Bunting
N123 Castro Verde to Mertola:
Driving along the main road from Castro Verde to Mertola we saw:
C40 Bee-eater, c12 Iberian Grey Shrike, many White Stork, several Black Kite, Hoopoe. The highlight was a superb flock of 43 Great Bustard seen very well from the car on the north side of the road just west of São Marcos da Ataboeira, with a further five seen flying across the road.
Mertola, late pm:
We arrived at our accommodation, the Hotel Residencial Beira Rio which overlooks the Rio Guadania towards the south side of the river. A great place, especially so for birders, as it afforded great views of 10-15 Lesser Kestrels on the abbey to the south, which were present throughout. Also present in and around our hotel throughout were White Stork, numerous Spotless Starlings, lots of Swallows, House Martins and 2 or 3 Red-rumped Swallow, Cetti's Warbler.
7th April
We spent all of today driving around Baixo Alentejo in the area roughly between Castro Verde and Mertola, which was hugely productive.
Birds seen and heard regularly at lots of places throughout the day included Stonechat, Corn Bunting, Thekla Lark, Buzzard, Montagu's Harrier, Black Kite, Iberian Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Hoopoe, Cattle Egret, Red-legged Partridge, White Stork, Zitting Cisticola, Spotless Starling and Collared Dove.
Mertola, am:
After breakfast we walked up to the abbey in Mertola and enjoyed fantastic views of the Lesser Kestrels, and also spied a lovely male Blue Rock Thrush, singing and display flighting, which we saw several times thereafter, including from our hotel balcony. Common Cuckoo heard.
From Mertola we took the road towards São João dos Caldeireiros. A brief stop off this road outside Mertola produced Hoopoe, Quail, Crested Lark, a flyby Stone Curlew, and then from the car a little further west we were astonished to spot a juvenile male Goshawk on a telegraph wire, although it soon took flight and disappeared.
Continuing west, by the village of Namorados, we saw our first big flock of Azure-winged Magpies, and enjoyed a huge colony of Spanish Sparrow in the eucalyptus trees. Spanish Sparrow proved to be common, despite me having failed to see them on previous visits.
The area between São João dos Caldeireiros and Penilhos was very productive. In this general area we saw 8 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, flighty as ever, 2 Great Bustard distant in flight, 3 Great Spotted Cuckoo (a charismatic and long overdue Portugal tick), 1 Short-toed Lark briefly on the track, several Bee-eater, Dartford Warbler heard, several Calandra Lark, 4 Gadwall, Sardinian Warbler heard.
Further north, the area around Aipo and João Serra was also great. We saw 4 more Great Spotted Cuckoo, including one amazingly showy bird at Aipo. Also 3 or 4 Little Bustard heard giving their rasping call, but often proving difficult to see, 3 Crag Martin, loads of Montagu's Harrier, numerous parties of Spanish Sparrow in Stork's nests, 1 Great Bustard seen distantly, and we also saw 2 distant Eurasian Black Vulture (my second ever, and first in this region of Portugal), and no fewer than 7 Montagu's Harrier put on a fantastic display in nearby fields. Also 5 Griffon Vulture, several Lesser Kestrel (and a few unidentified Kestrel sp) Turtle Dove and usuals such as IG Shrike, Thekla Lark etc were also seen in this area.
Back in Penilhos we headed west and stopped just east of the village of Tacões. Here we got great scope views of a Black Vulture in flight (presumably one of the ones seen earlier), and I looked up after hearing an unfamiliar call above me and was delighted to spot c10 Collared Pratincole hawking insects, another very welcome Portugal tick. Several Bee-eater also joined in the feeding frenzy. Driving around we saw a number of Storks’ nests brimming with Spanish Sparrows.
At a further location Sean spotted a superb adult Spanish Imperial Eagle which took flight behind some conifers, eventually gaining height and disappearing, allowing great scope views. Rock and roll. The bird was striking with obvious white shoulders and leading edge to the forewing, and a conspicuous white tail with black terminal band reminiscent of juv Golden Eagle.
Nearby we also saw Short-toed Eagle and 3 Collared Pratincole.
Later on, we ended up heading towards Ourique and turned left down a dirt track leading south from the IP2 between Castro Verde and Ourique. Bad move. The car got stuck in the muddy tracks and we had to summon help. Fortunately this was over within an hour and a bit, despite the pessimistic initial assessment of the Castro Verde car rescue man who came to our aid. Adding Blue Tit and Woodlark to the trip list was pretty scant consolation!
However, it was now late afternoon and despite our mishap there were still a few hours of birding time. Driving along the main road from Castro Verde to São Marcos da Ataboeira a Roller on roadside wires was a delightful Portugal tick, but we were unable to stop and admire it.
We ended the day with another visit to area around Alvares, where saw a further 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, a great display from no fewer than 4 Great Spotted Cuckoos, 5 Little Bustard including 1 calling male at medium distance in a field, one distantly in flight and 3 much closer in flight. The "evening chorus" of Thekla Lark, Calandra Lark, Quail and Hoopoe was a delight, as indeed were 6 Stone Curlew and 5 Spoonbill.
Back in Mertola Lesser Kestrel and Blue Rock Thrush remained visible as it got dark.
8th April
Castro Marim
We spent most of the day at this site at the eastern end of the Algarve which I had first visited in December.
We began by doing some birding in the vicinity of the large, but sadly seemingly disused, visitor centre on the east side of the reserve not far from the big bridge across to Spain, which overlooks an expansive area of saltmarsh. In December I was able to walk out across the saltmarsh (which earned me Lesser Short-toed Lark), but the track was cordoned off this time, presumably because of the presence of breeding Little Bustards and other such things.
In any case, viewing across the lagoons and saltmarsh from near the visitor centre we saw:
1 Caspian Tern – fairly distant in flight
An assortment of waders including 2 Curlew Sandpiper, several Little Stint, a few Kentish Plover and Black-winged Stilt, several Grey Plover and at least one of each Greenshank and Spotted Redshank. Also Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Red-rumped Swallow, at least one Sardinian Warbler, House Martin, Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Marsh Harrier, 1 Booted Eagle, 6 Spoonbill, several Avocet, several Shelduck, Turnstone, Sanderling, several Pochard.
A lovely assortment of flava wagtails included 2 or 3 lovely male Iberian Yellow Wagtails and one male Blue-headed Wagtail (the latter of which pass through but don’t, as far as I’m aware, breed in Portugal).
After drawing a blank at first we eventually encountered probably 4 Lesser Short-toed Larks, including at least two showing reasonably well whilst singing and doing a display flight. We did see one on the ground distantly after it landed on a muddy embankment in one of the lagoons, but getting them on the ground in the saltmarsh proved impossible. Still, good scope views were possible in flight, and were much appreciated after having only seen one, badly, back in December. This is the only site in the country where the species occurs, despite the Collins’ distribution map suggesting otherwise!
On some lagoons just south of Castro Marim village we got excellent, indeed point blank, views of a range of waders including Curlew Sand, Little Stint, Dunlin and Kentish Plover.
After lunch we drove round to the Cerro do Bufo lagoon which forms the western part of the reserve. The car park by the salt works looked unpromising, with the exception of one distant Collared Pratincole in flight (you can’t go into the saltworks, even if the Gosney Guide says you can!). Instead, we drove back into Castro Marim village and headed south towards Vila Real de Santo Antonio, and parked by the road about 3km south of Castro Marim. From here, we walked along the well marked track that leads west along the river, and soon takes you along the north side of the Cerro do Bufo saltpans. The only problem here is that you are a bit low down, and so it’s not always easy to see the birds above the large muddy embankments separating the different saltpans. Nonetheless, we saw:
About 6 Whimbrel and a few Curlew, several Bar-tailed Godwit, loads of Greater Flamingo, Great Spotted Cuckoo heard, 2 Hoopoe, 1 Sandwich Tern, several Turnstone, several Little Egret and Spoonbill, several Yellow-legged and BH Gull, Spotless Starling, 1 Montagu’s Harrier. The highlight, however, were 2 lovely adult Slender-billed Gulls, which Sean spotted on the lagoon in front of us whilst I was scanning through distant BHGs! These afforded superb close views, and were a much appreciated lifer after I dipped them at the same place in December. As with LST Lark, this is the only regular site in Portugal. Brilliant.
After our SBG triumph we had another look at the photogenic waders outside Castro Marim and headed north towards Mertola, seeing loads of Azure-winged Magpies in the process.
There was still a fair bit of daylight left, so we decided to pop back into the Baixo Alentejo for some more light birding.
Approaching Namorados from the east we jammed in on a superb Black-shouldered Kite on a telegraph pole by the side of the road, which gave us fantastic close views. At the same spot we heard Little Bustard and Quail, and saw 2 Little Grebe.
From there we continued west and once again explored some productive spots from yesterday. In one spot we saw all the following:
We heard and saw 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouse and at least one Little Bustard in flight. 1 Little Owl on some roadside rocks was a trip tick, and we heard – but didn’t see – a few Great Spotted Cuckoos. The Thekla and Calandra Larks were out in force, and we also saw 2 Raven.
The highlight, though, were the raptors. Several Montagu’s Harrier were knocking around. Two large aquila eagles eventually gave themselves up as Golden Eagles. One of them – a first winter – flew towards us and drifted fairly low over our heads, allowing fantastic close views. The first definite Golden Eagles I’ve seen in Portugal, after seeing one aquila eagle probably of this species back in 2009. One aquila eagle, probably one of the Goldens, flew past us to the south, but I couldn’t entirely rule out a subadult Spanish Imperial Eagle.
Then, one Short-toed Eagle appeared above the skyline and continued to show well for an extended period, soon followed by a fantastic subadult Bonelli’s Eagle, which afforded excellent scope views as it gradually drifted away from us. Generally quite a distinctive bird, perhaps a little featureless in relation to plumage, but with a distinctive wing shape, and showing a prominent white patch on the mantle. Underparts fairly pale, but dusky red-brown rather than white, and thus not an adult. A little later, however, one of the original Golden Eagles reappeared nearby and was joined in the same thermal by a lovely adult Bonelli’s, looking very smart in the evening light despite being a little further away, the gleaming white underparts contrasting with the dark underwing, and the white mantle patch also very conspicuous.
Finally, as the sun was setting, an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle appeared and gave us outstanding scope views for an extended period, at times interacting with the Short-toed Eagle. We also briefly saw it alighted on a rock. What a sensational birding moment!
Mertola, late pm:
Arriving back into Mertola late on, as it was getting dark, we checked the Oeiras gorge, but saw very little. However, we did encounter a lovely pair of Black-eared Wheatears in a car park on the outskirts of the town, the male in particular a really smart bird, and the first ones I had seen since 2009. From the same spot we saw several Lesser Kestrel, Serin and one male Blue Rock Thrush.
9th April
Early am Lesser Kestrels, White Stork, Spotless Starling and Red-rumped Swallow were all seen from the hotel, and then en route to Faro airport we saw loads of Azure-winged Magpies, as well as Crested Lark, Hoopoe and Iberian Grey Shrike.
The birding was superb from start to finish, due, I think, to a combination of weather, the favourable time of year, sheer good luck, and the simple fact that Southern Portugal is outstanding for birding. It was my third visit to the Baixo Alentejo region, having previously been on two separate day trips from the Algarve with "Algarve Birdman" Simon Wates, whose services I unreservedly recommend. This time, I thought I would try staying actually in Baixo Alentejo, rather than day tripping from the Algarve. This meant the birding was fairly leisurely. Although birding was good throughout the day, there was a definite upsurge of activity late afternoon/early evening, and the most rewarding birding was often in the lovely early evening light.
A further point is that all the birds we saw were from public roads: there have been problems in the past with birders entering the out of bounds LPN (Liga para protecção da Natureza) land south of the main road between Castro Verde/Mertola. Such activity is clearly not necessary for seeing the area’s specialities.
Finally, in the info below I’ve tried to strike a balance between providing a decent amount of detail about productive areas, but not giving away locations for sensitive species.
Anyway, here's an account of what we saw:
6th April:
Vasco de Gama Bridge: 2 Greater Flamingo in pools west of the south side of the bridge as we approached the south side
Barocca d'Alva, late morning:
A productive visit to this site near Alocochete, on the south side of the Tejo Estuary, which I had previously visited in January. We saw:
2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Great White Egret, c30 White Stork, c50 Cattle Egret, c40 Glossy Ibis, 2 female Yellow-crowned Bishop (rather underwhelming), c10 Black-headed Weaver (including several nice males), c10 Common Waxbill, 4 Iberian Yellow Wagtail, several Red-rumped Swallow, several of each Common and Pallid Swift, a few Buzzard, 1 Black Kite seen well, Grey Heron, Zitting Cisticola, lots of Spotless Starlings, a few Crested Lark, several Cetti's Warbler, 2 Purple Heron seen well in flight just north of the village.
The undoubted highlight was a male Little Bittern flushed from a ditch just north of the village but, alas, it landed out of view and didn't resurface. At least 2 Squacco Heron were seen well in flight and one seen slightly less well on the ground. Also 1 Hoopoe, several Reed Warbler singing, loads of Black-winged Stilt and Black-tailed Godwit, several Ruff, 3 Green Sandpiper, c30 Spoonbill, lots of Little Egret, a few Kestrel, one female Merlin seen briefly, several Mallard and one first-winter Med Gull.
We stopped very briefly at Ribeira das Enguais, the nearby site which has played host to at least one Red-knobbed Coot recently, but almost all the Coots had dispersed and there was no sign here or anywhere else of Black-shouldered Kite, so we decided to head south towards Castro Verde in Baixo Alentejo.
Lisbon to Castro Verde:
Whilst heading south we saw several White Stork, 2 Booted Eagle, 1 Black Kite, a few Red-rumped Swallows, but not a whole lot else.
Centro de Educação Ambiental de Vale Gonçalinho, north of Castro Verde, late afternoon:
We spent a superb few hours at the LPN educational centre just off the Beja Road a few kms north of Castro Verde, where we walked around the trails through the grassland. This site affords excellent opportunities for seeing several of the area's key species. On approach we saw Woodchat Shrike and several distant Kestrels, which were presumably Lessers. We also saw a Little Bustard in flight briefly from the car on approach to the centre.
Walking around the trails around the centre we saw:
Several of each Crested and Thekla Lark
Loads of Lesser Kestrel - a long overdue lifer, affording great views in and around the obvious nesting tower close to the visitor centre. In general, they were not as distinctive as I expected, perhaps because most of the males seemed to be first summers, and the females are very subtle, although the lack of a moustachial stripe was a reasonably prominent feature.
5 Little Bustard - all in flight and so not seen spectacularly well
c30 Black-bellied Sandgrouse - very active and visible from the farm buildings in the middle of the reserve, and calling lots but, as usual, rarely settling for very long, but views were still good.
34 Great Bustard - a superb flock seen in fields from the main area of farm buildings. Great scope views and one lone bird landed for a while close by.
2+ Montagu's Harrier, showing nicely.
15 or so Calandra Lark, becoming very vocal and active later on, giving excellent scope views.
Also 1 Booted Eagle, Buzzard, Zitting Cisticola, 1 Hoopoe, 2 Woodchat Shrike, Spotless Starling, several Stonechat, loads of Corn Bunting
N123 Castro Verde to Mertola:
Driving along the main road from Castro Verde to Mertola we saw:
C40 Bee-eater, c12 Iberian Grey Shrike, many White Stork, several Black Kite, Hoopoe. The highlight was a superb flock of 43 Great Bustard seen very well from the car on the north side of the road just west of São Marcos da Ataboeira, with a further five seen flying across the road.
Mertola, late pm:
We arrived at our accommodation, the Hotel Residencial Beira Rio which overlooks the Rio Guadania towards the south side of the river. A great place, especially so for birders, as it afforded great views of 10-15 Lesser Kestrels on the abbey to the south, which were present throughout. Also present in and around our hotel throughout were White Stork, numerous Spotless Starlings, lots of Swallows, House Martins and 2 or 3 Red-rumped Swallow, Cetti's Warbler.
7th April
We spent all of today driving around Baixo Alentejo in the area roughly between Castro Verde and Mertola, which was hugely productive.
Birds seen and heard regularly at lots of places throughout the day included Stonechat, Corn Bunting, Thekla Lark, Buzzard, Montagu's Harrier, Black Kite, Iberian Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Hoopoe, Cattle Egret, Red-legged Partridge, White Stork, Zitting Cisticola, Spotless Starling and Collared Dove.
Mertola, am:
After breakfast we walked up to the abbey in Mertola and enjoyed fantastic views of the Lesser Kestrels, and also spied a lovely male Blue Rock Thrush, singing and display flighting, which we saw several times thereafter, including from our hotel balcony. Common Cuckoo heard.
From Mertola we took the road towards São João dos Caldeireiros. A brief stop off this road outside Mertola produced Hoopoe, Quail, Crested Lark, a flyby Stone Curlew, and then from the car a little further west we were astonished to spot a juvenile male Goshawk on a telegraph wire, although it soon took flight and disappeared.
Continuing west, by the village of Namorados, we saw our first big flock of Azure-winged Magpies, and enjoyed a huge colony of Spanish Sparrow in the eucalyptus trees. Spanish Sparrow proved to be common, despite me having failed to see them on previous visits.
The area between São João dos Caldeireiros and Penilhos was very productive. In this general area we saw 8 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, flighty as ever, 2 Great Bustard distant in flight, 3 Great Spotted Cuckoo (a charismatic and long overdue Portugal tick), 1 Short-toed Lark briefly on the track, several Bee-eater, Dartford Warbler heard, several Calandra Lark, 4 Gadwall, Sardinian Warbler heard.
Further north, the area around Aipo and João Serra was also great. We saw 4 more Great Spotted Cuckoo, including one amazingly showy bird at Aipo. Also 3 or 4 Little Bustard heard giving their rasping call, but often proving difficult to see, 3 Crag Martin, loads of Montagu's Harrier, numerous parties of Spanish Sparrow in Stork's nests, 1 Great Bustard seen distantly, and we also saw 2 distant Eurasian Black Vulture (my second ever, and first in this region of Portugal), and no fewer than 7 Montagu's Harrier put on a fantastic display in nearby fields. Also 5 Griffon Vulture, several Lesser Kestrel (and a few unidentified Kestrel sp) Turtle Dove and usuals such as IG Shrike, Thekla Lark etc were also seen in this area.
Back in Penilhos we headed west and stopped just east of the village of Tacões. Here we got great scope views of a Black Vulture in flight (presumably one of the ones seen earlier), and I looked up after hearing an unfamiliar call above me and was delighted to spot c10 Collared Pratincole hawking insects, another very welcome Portugal tick. Several Bee-eater also joined in the feeding frenzy. Driving around we saw a number of Storks’ nests brimming with Spanish Sparrows.
At a further location Sean spotted a superb adult Spanish Imperial Eagle which took flight behind some conifers, eventually gaining height and disappearing, allowing great scope views. Rock and roll. The bird was striking with obvious white shoulders and leading edge to the forewing, and a conspicuous white tail with black terminal band reminiscent of juv Golden Eagle.
Nearby we also saw Short-toed Eagle and 3 Collared Pratincole.
Later on, we ended up heading towards Ourique and turned left down a dirt track leading south from the IP2 between Castro Verde and Ourique. Bad move. The car got stuck in the muddy tracks and we had to summon help. Fortunately this was over within an hour and a bit, despite the pessimistic initial assessment of the Castro Verde car rescue man who came to our aid. Adding Blue Tit and Woodlark to the trip list was pretty scant consolation!
However, it was now late afternoon and despite our mishap there were still a few hours of birding time. Driving along the main road from Castro Verde to São Marcos da Ataboeira a Roller on roadside wires was a delightful Portugal tick, but we were unable to stop and admire it.
We ended the day with another visit to area around Alvares, where saw a further 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, a great display from no fewer than 4 Great Spotted Cuckoos, 5 Little Bustard including 1 calling male at medium distance in a field, one distantly in flight and 3 much closer in flight. The "evening chorus" of Thekla Lark, Calandra Lark, Quail and Hoopoe was a delight, as indeed were 6 Stone Curlew and 5 Spoonbill.
Back in Mertola Lesser Kestrel and Blue Rock Thrush remained visible as it got dark.
8th April
Castro Marim
We spent most of the day at this site at the eastern end of the Algarve which I had first visited in December.
We began by doing some birding in the vicinity of the large, but sadly seemingly disused, visitor centre on the east side of the reserve not far from the big bridge across to Spain, which overlooks an expansive area of saltmarsh. In December I was able to walk out across the saltmarsh (which earned me Lesser Short-toed Lark), but the track was cordoned off this time, presumably because of the presence of breeding Little Bustards and other such things.
In any case, viewing across the lagoons and saltmarsh from near the visitor centre we saw:
1 Caspian Tern – fairly distant in flight
An assortment of waders including 2 Curlew Sandpiper, several Little Stint, a few Kentish Plover and Black-winged Stilt, several Grey Plover and at least one of each Greenshank and Spotted Redshank. Also Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Red-rumped Swallow, at least one Sardinian Warbler, House Martin, Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Marsh Harrier, 1 Booted Eagle, 6 Spoonbill, several Avocet, several Shelduck, Turnstone, Sanderling, several Pochard.
A lovely assortment of flava wagtails included 2 or 3 lovely male Iberian Yellow Wagtails and one male Blue-headed Wagtail (the latter of which pass through but don’t, as far as I’m aware, breed in Portugal).
After drawing a blank at first we eventually encountered probably 4 Lesser Short-toed Larks, including at least two showing reasonably well whilst singing and doing a display flight. We did see one on the ground distantly after it landed on a muddy embankment in one of the lagoons, but getting them on the ground in the saltmarsh proved impossible. Still, good scope views were possible in flight, and were much appreciated after having only seen one, badly, back in December. This is the only site in the country where the species occurs, despite the Collins’ distribution map suggesting otherwise!
On some lagoons just south of Castro Marim village we got excellent, indeed point blank, views of a range of waders including Curlew Sand, Little Stint, Dunlin and Kentish Plover.
After lunch we drove round to the Cerro do Bufo lagoon which forms the western part of the reserve. The car park by the salt works looked unpromising, with the exception of one distant Collared Pratincole in flight (you can’t go into the saltworks, even if the Gosney Guide says you can!). Instead, we drove back into Castro Marim village and headed south towards Vila Real de Santo Antonio, and parked by the road about 3km south of Castro Marim. From here, we walked along the well marked track that leads west along the river, and soon takes you along the north side of the Cerro do Bufo saltpans. The only problem here is that you are a bit low down, and so it’s not always easy to see the birds above the large muddy embankments separating the different saltpans. Nonetheless, we saw:
About 6 Whimbrel and a few Curlew, several Bar-tailed Godwit, loads of Greater Flamingo, Great Spotted Cuckoo heard, 2 Hoopoe, 1 Sandwich Tern, several Turnstone, several Little Egret and Spoonbill, several Yellow-legged and BH Gull, Spotless Starling, 1 Montagu’s Harrier. The highlight, however, were 2 lovely adult Slender-billed Gulls, which Sean spotted on the lagoon in front of us whilst I was scanning through distant BHGs! These afforded superb close views, and were a much appreciated lifer after I dipped them at the same place in December. As with LST Lark, this is the only regular site in Portugal. Brilliant.
After our SBG triumph we had another look at the photogenic waders outside Castro Marim and headed north towards Mertola, seeing loads of Azure-winged Magpies in the process.
There was still a fair bit of daylight left, so we decided to pop back into the Baixo Alentejo for some more light birding.
Approaching Namorados from the east we jammed in on a superb Black-shouldered Kite on a telegraph pole by the side of the road, which gave us fantastic close views. At the same spot we heard Little Bustard and Quail, and saw 2 Little Grebe.
From there we continued west and once again explored some productive spots from yesterday. In one spot we saw all the following:
We heard and saw 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouse and at least one Little Bustard in flight. 1 Little Owl on some roadside rocks was a trip tick, and we heard – but didn’t see – a few Great Spotted Cuckoos. The Thekla and Calandra Larks were out in force, and we also saw 2 Raven.
The highlight, though, were the raptors. Several Montagu’s Harrier were knocking around. Two large aquila eagles eventually gave themselves up as Golden Eagles. One of them – a first winter – flew towards us and drifted fairly low over our heads, allowing fantastic close views. The first definite Golden Eagles I’ve seen in Portugal, after seeing one aquila eagle probably of this species back in 2009. One aquila eagle, probably one of the Goldens, flew past us to the south, but I couldn’t entirely rule out a subadult Spanish Imperial Eagle.
Then, one Short-toed Eagle appeared above the skyline and continued to show well for an extended period, soon followed by a fantastic subadult Bonelli’s Eagle, which afforded excellent scope views as it gradually drifted away from us. Generally quite a distinctive bird, perhaps a little featureless in relation to plumage, but with a distinctive wing shape, and showing a prominent white patch on the mantle. Underparts fairly pale, but dusky red-brown rather than white, and thus not an adult. A little later, however, one of the original Golden Eagles reappeared nearby and was joined in the same thermal by a lovely adult Bonelli’s, looking very smart in the evening light despite being a little further away, the gleaming white underparts contrasting with the dark underwing, and the white mantle patch also very conspicuous.
Finally, as the sun was setting, an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle appeared and gave us outstanding scope views for an extended period, at times interacting with the Short-toed Eagle. We also briefly saw it alighted on a rock. What a sensational birding moment!
Mertola, late pm:
Arriving back into Mertola late on, as it was getting dark, we checked the Oeiras gorge, but saw very little. However, we did encounter a lovely pair of Black-eared Wheatears in a car park on the outskirts of the town, the male in particular a really smart bird, and the first ones I had seen since 2009. From the same spot we saw several Lesser Kestrel, Serin and one male Blue Rock Thrush.
9th April
Early am Lesser Kestrels, White Stork, Spotless Starling and Red-rumped Swallow were all seen from the hotel, and then en route to Faro airport we saw loads of Azure-winged Magpies, as well as Crested Lark, Hoopoe and Iberian Grey Shrike.
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