Some more Lisbon birding
Amazing to have such diverse habitat within a stones throw - the marsh land, estuary, cork woods, sea watching, old woods and as Simon says on an id post 1 million chiffchaffs!
Decided to do the loop Porto-Alto, Alcochete, Punta Vasca de Gamma. Failed at the northern end because the reserve is closed. I was too nervous to 'walk it' as I have no idea how strict they are about this restricted access area. Found a dirt track with open gate and paddy fields - on a more determined day I would have snooped around here. Anyway, I got the feeling I could easily have explored here most of the day I think searching for bustards and harriers anything really but language and access were the main barrier.
So instead we headed to Pancas - in my where to watch birds in Spain and Portugal this is noted as the spot for Black Shouldered Kite - it was I should say it still is - my reference guide has to be nearly 30 years old as its pre-bridge! I also found a small party of Azure Winged Magpies here so great stop.
Round to the estuary and where we had visited before. The tide was out and the little brown blobs on the mudflats beyond my capability. In this wind and my travel scope and no tripod - I decided not to risk it at the eleventh hour on the plane! I could see plenty of Avocet, Grey plover, some spoonbills but didn't hang around other than to get some info from a reserve warden who was cleaning his car. He spoke very good english and was very helpful. He confirmed that the reserve/restricted area is closed on Mondays! But there was an information centre we could visit in Alcochete which we did - there was no where there so I took pictures of the maps for my next visit. He also directed us to some saltpans which would have been good had the tide been in and the birds taken refuge here...
Do you get the gist of my day? Ok I found a lifer! I'm not 100% sure whether I'm allowed to tick said lifer but a lifer none the less. A Crested Myna sat on a horse. These are an established population and I probably ticked dodgy-er birds so tick.
The Saltflats held a few bits and pieces like Shovelor, Black Winged Stilts, Avocet, Redshank, Common Sand and seaward three Sanderling. Looking forward to revisiting with a bit more time and not in a gale.
The main roads around the estuary are great but there were very few places to pull off and birdwatch and a fairly constant stream of lorries. We ended up eating in the freeport shopping area which was handy but Alcochete actually looked allright as another option. The supermarket was stocked with cheap wine and some great offers - 16€ reduced to 4.50! It was pretty decent.
Anyway back to the birds some pictures attached including a very white tummied Meadow pipit - Portugal is also home to a million of them at this time of year...
(hopefully haven't double posted them)