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Message: <blockquote data-quote="john-henry" data-source="post: 1674187" data-attributes="member: 15559">Algarve, Portugal, 7th – 23rd November 2009. J H Johns.                     Part 1 I’m not sure that too many people are interested in Western European trip reports anymore, they seem to have been overtaken by more faraway places but I’ll stick this one on here anyway, might interest a few that want a cheapish winter break with plenty of birds.This trip turned out to be the best so far, weather was great, plenty of sunshine and apart from one small shower, dry!! I managed 143 species without trying to rattle up a great list and photographed about 80 of these. Total mileage for trip about 1200km.Accommodation – Booked via TravelRepublic.co.uk Still very cheap during the winter months especially as the price is per room not per person. One bedroom SC apartment at Bayside Apartments, Salgados, £85.20 for 6 nights.SC Studio at Pedras D’el Rei, near Tavira, £77.78 for 4 nights.SC Studio at Oasis Village, Vilamoura, £82.18 for 6 nights.All were kept clean and tidy, soap, towels etc were provided. The bonus of being able to cook your own meals suited me well. I’d recommend any of these for birders who want to spend most of their time in the field and then not have to find somewhere to eat in the evening. Car hire – booked with holidayautos.co.uk4-door Ford Fiesta £173.72 for 16 days. (Petrol expensive at 1.34 euros/litre).7th Nov… Up at 04.30 for 07.30 flight from Newquay to Bristol Airport then 16.55 flight to Faro Airport arriving there at 19.00, 25 minutes early. Today was the only downside of the trip, it meant a 9 hour wait between flights, boring as hell!! Picked up the hire car from Auto Jardim at Faro Airport and set off for my first 6 nights accommodation at Bayside Apartments, Salgados a few kilometers west of Albufeira. 8th Nov…Up about 07.45, already daylight. After a breakfast of sausage rolls left over from yesterday and several cups of tea got my gear together and left for Pera Marsh. A stop at the golf course at the end of the road got the day of to a good start with 2 Caspian Terns, Yellow-legged, Lesser black-backed and Black-headed Gulls. Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Coot and Moorhen, Common Sandpiper, Little Grebe, Shoveler, Mallard, Crested Lark, White Wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Robin, Jay, Collared Doves, Blackbird, House Sparrows, Chiffchaffs, Hoopoe and Kestrel, Arriving at Pera Marsh (Lagoa de Salgados) and finding it was completely drained was a bit of a downer, it was the lowest I’ve seen it, just a small area of water on the golf course side, the rest was barren!! However, as always, there were a few birds to be seen although distant.Big surprise was a Sacred Ibis wandering around, someone must be one short on their collection!! Spending a few hours here though revealed 10 Spoonbills, c.70 Grey Herons, sev. White Storks, Cormorants, a handful of waders including Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Redshank and Lapwing. Passerines included the first Bluethroat of the trip, sev. Fan-tailed and Sardinian Warblers, Chiffchaffs (but not in the usual numbers seen), Serin, Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting, Crested Lark, Skylarks, Stonechat, Crag Martins and a few Barn Swallows, Southern Grey Shrike, Marsh Harrier and a Siberian Hare racing across the dry marsh.The usual lake to the Salgados side of the marsh was a fraction of its normal size but still held at least 80 Little Grebes, one Black-necked Grebe, 6 Black-winged Stilts and a few Moorhen. So, even with the absence of many of the birds usually seen a few hours can be enjoyable and rewarding, 30+ species in one small area.By now it was mid-afternoon and a trip to the local supermarket was called for, food and drink was needed for the next few days. Last stop of the day was a return to the golf course seeing a few Cattle Egrets, Spoonbill, a juv. Purple Gallinule, Kingfisher, Snipe, Waxbills etc. and another Hare by the target range.Not a bad first day at all, worth a fry-up tonight and a few glasses of the rather good Portuguese red wine.</blockquote>

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