Just back from 2 weeks at the Riu Palace in Santa Maria on Sal. Not a birding holiday but I had a look round most days after breakfast.
Thanks to Stephen Dunstan's earlier report I had an idea of what was about and where to look.
The weather was cloudy and windy at times, but the sun was very strong.
The local sewerage works is just across the road although there is no open water as all the grey water is recycled to water the hotel gardens.
First birds were Cattle Egret around the hotel lawns, peaking at 15, also Iago Sparrow and Collared Dove (darker than ours).
Walking to the sewerage works first morning there were Bar Tailed Desert Lark in the dunes and singing Quail everywhere. Around the buildings House Martin and the small Cape Verde Swift. Brown Necked Raven on the rubbish dump.
Later I met local bird photographer Ewe who showed me a pair of Night Heron well hidden in the shrubs and put me onto a Pallid Swift. He tried to explain about a bird with red underwings (he's German and his English better than my German !!) I thought he meant Red Rumped Swallow, but eventually he found it sitting on the floor, Collared Pratincole !!!!! If you see a man with 3 dogs and a camera, that'll be Ewe, go and talk to him he's brilliant.
We took a round the island trip with Tui and added Cream Coloured Courser, Hoopoe Lark and Black Crowned Sparrow Lark around Terra Boa north of the capital Escargos.
I tried sea watching but saw nothing in an hour except a flyby Slender Billed Gull and every day at 4 o'clock a fishing Osprey.
We took a taxi to the isle of Rabo de Junco to look for Tropicbirds (4 pairs apparently nest there), what a ride !! mostly off road over desert tracks until we came to Mount Leone where we had to help move boulders off the track to get through !!! the driver was brilliant. No Tropicbirds, but 4 Osprey fishing in the bay and Hoopoe Lark, Alexander Kestrel and Desert Lark on the way.
I found the old salt workings in Santa Maria and the freshwater pools had Kentish Plover (which you could find just about anywhere), Black Winged Stilt and one Grey Plover.
Sal's not a place to go birding !! But it's good to search things out and a bit of a challenge. 22 species spotted is hardly exciting but probably out of 25/30 possible is ok for me.
Thanks to Stephen Dunstan's earlier report I had an idea of what was about and where to look.
The weather was cloudy and windy at times, but the sun was very strong.
The local sewerage works is just across the road although there is no open water as all the grey water is recycled to water the hotel gardens.
First birds were Cattle Egret around the hotel lawns, peaking at 15, also Iago Sparrow and Collared Dove (darker than ours).
Walking to the sewerage works first morning there were Bar Tailed Desert Lark in the dunes and singing Quail everywhere. Around the buildings House Martin and the small Cape Verde Swift. Brown Necked Raven on the rubbish dump.
Later I met local bird photographer Ewe who showed me a pair of Night Heron well hidden in the shrubs and put me onto a Pallid Swift. He tried to explain about a bird with red underwings (he's German and his English better than my German !!) I thought he meant Red Rumped Swallow, but eventually he found it sitting on the floor, Collared Pratincole !!!!! If you see a man with 3 dogs and a camera, that'll be Ewe, go and talk to him he's brilliant.
We took a round the island trip with Tui and added Cream Coloured Courser, Hoopoe Lark and Black Crowned Sparrow Lark around Terra Boa north of the capital Escargos.
I tried sea watching but saw nothing in an hour except a flyby Slender Billed Gull and every day at 4 o'clock a fishing Osprey.
We took a taxi to the isle of Rabo de Junco to look for Tropicbirds (4 pairs apparently nest there), what a ride !! mostly off road over desert tracks until we came to Mount Leone where we had to help move boulders off the track to get through !!! the driver was brilliant. No Tropicbirds, but 4 Osprey fishing in the bay and Hoopoe Lark, Alexander Kestrel and Desert Lark on the way.
I found the old salt workings in Santa Maria and the freshwater pools had Kentish Plover (which you could find just about anywhere), Black Winged Stilt and one Grey Plover.
Sal's not a place to go birding !! But it's good to search things out and a bit of a challenge. 22 species spotted is hardly exciting but probably out of 25/30 possible is ok for me.
