Andrea Collins
Well-known member
Having checked my photos can add Whimbrel as well.
Hello, here is the list of birds I saw from my balcony in Portugal since April 1st:
Common Shelduck
Gadwall
Mallard
Greater Flamingo
Feral pigeon
Common Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Pallid Swift
Black-winged Stilt
Great Skua
Mediterranean Gull
Audouin's Gull
yellow-legged Gull
Lesser Black-backed gull
Sandwich Tern
Balearic Shearwater
White Stork
Northern Gannet
Great Cormorant
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Glossy Ibis
Eusarian Spoonbill
Black-shouldered Kite
Booted Eagle
Common Buzzard
Hoopoe
Common Kestrel
Woodchat Shrike
Iberian Magpie
Common Magpie
Crested Lark
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
House Martin
Sardinian Warbler
Spotless Starling
Blackbird
House Sparrow
Greenfinch
Linnet
Serin
Can't recollect exactly when my previous earliest was, but certainly had them in mid to late April many times before; at a guess, somewhere around 15th. So today's is pretty spectacular for me. There are earlier published records; in recent years, one on 3 April 2017, and historically, the earliest ever 18 March 1968. But the bulk arrival of the majority of the breeding population is typically in the last week of April - I'd guess that would tie in well with your Gambia birds.
Wren still missing from combined list, I saw one on 4th.