BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emma" data-source="post: 1668524" data-attributes="member: 20257">Quinta do Lago 01.12.09We have always done quite well bird wise (and weather wise!) whenever we have visited Quinta Do Lago and today wasn’t going to be any different!! We first headed towards the small lake (take the right path at the board walk!) along the path, we managed to see Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler, House Sparrow, Azure Winged Magpie, Hoopoe and Stonechat! The tide was coming in so it was fairly quiet wader wise, we did manage to see Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Turnstone, Dunlin, Redshank, Little Egret and Curlew, the B H and LBB Gulls took to the air when their islands became flooded and headed off to more dry ground! The small lake was very productive with Shoveler, Black Winged Stilt, Redshank, Greater Flamingo and Coot being seen, the highlight however was first hearing and then seeing a Serin quite happily singing away in one of the trees alongside the lake! This was a first for all of us!  After a nice lunch sat near the boardwalk in the sunshine we then headed off to the lagoon via the path to the left of the boardwalk, the tide had come in by now so we had to walk along the edge of the golf course, luckily there weren’t too many golfers out and about today so we were quite safe! There were very few waders about due to the high tide and at the first hide there was just a Little Egret to be seen together with B H Gulls. The walk to the lagoon was really pleasant, this was the first time that I had been to this part of Quinta Do Lago and was quite surprised with all the sightings that we managed! The Purple Gallinule were quite happy to stay out in the open mooching around the fallen reeds for food, I had never had such good views of them before! Also on the lagoon were Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Wigeon, Little Grebe, Pochard, Common Snipe, Cormorant,  Grey Wagtail,  and a nice surprise was a Glossy Ibis that was perched high up on a mound of reeds in the lagoon, this was a lifer for me!! Once in the hide we also managed good views of a Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail, the Glossy Ibis also flew in closer to the hide for even better views! From the hide it is easy to see why this is a really productive lagoon bird wise, there are so many small channels cut in to the reed beds over such a large area!When we left the hide we had a slow walk back along the lagoon and a Cetti’s Warbler was first heard and then seen singing away in the reeds! My Dad then spotted a ‘new’ bird perched on the cut down reeds in the lagoon….it was a Squacco Heron!! We managed to get to within 15 feet of it and it didn’t budge, it even posed quite happily for the numerous photographs I took of it….I think it was more interested in catching a fish than me!! This was a lifer for all of us and we couldn’t believe how confiding it was to be out in the open with the Purple Gallinule and Mallards, after about 20 minutes it decided that the area was devoid of fish so flew off to the other side of the lagoon…..I think this was one of those ‘right time, right place’ moments for us!! This topped off a super day of birding at Quinta Do Lago!!</blockquote>

Verification