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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emma" data-source="post: 1668519" data-attributes="member: 20257">Silves 30.11.09For any birders going to the Algarve then I would definitely recommend a visit to Silves as there are absolutely masses of birds teeming around the River Arade in the town area! We parked on the new car park next to the new recreational area and there is a super spot there near to the river where the birds are literally ten a penny! The newly planted trees make super perches for the birds and as the trees are relatively young it is easy to see the birds that are in the reeds next to the river, it is a really good ‘open’ area for bird watching! Birds seen in this area included House Sparrow, Blackcap, Stonechat, Chiffchaff, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Mallard, Fan-tailed Warbler, Starling, Kestrel, Jackdaw and Grey Heron.The weather was changeable and we did have to dash back to the car at one point when the rain started to come down quite heavy, this is one of the blessings of having a good bird watching spot next to a car park! The rain was however to benefit us for our next sighting! I was scanning the trees and spotted something having a good preen following the heavy rain, I noticed that the bird was of a dark colour and then I suddenly had a flash of orange in my binoculars…it was a Black Redstart! This was a first for me and I was soooo pleased! I just about managed to point out to my Mum and Dad where it was in the tree…it would pick one of the biggest trees in the area to go in! We all ended up having super views of it, we then saw it on another 2 occasions when we returned to the same area later in the afternoon. This time it was out in the open and I managed a couple of record shots! Other highlights included a good size flock of Common Waxbill, a Common Sandpiper that was out and about on the public footpath and grassy area (never seen one in this setting before!), a Kingfisher was seen fishing near to the bridge together with a rather grumpy looking Little Egret! We also had some excellent views of the White Storks circling and ‘clacking’ over the town, it was really strange to see them on their nest on top of a building crane!! There was also a large number of Painted Lady butterflies feeding on the Lantana flowers along the river bank, we also spotted a large butterfly flitting around, the ID was to be later confirmed as a Monarch butterfly by Paula at A Rocha, Cruzinha.</blockquote>

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