Mar 05: Lagoa de Aldeia Nova, VRSA
I've been a bit out of sorts over the past couple of days, unsure whether I'd perhaps caught Covid on the plane over (top tip: don't check in late in order to score a free extra legroom seat as I did, they might give you 1C - you end up getting coughed over and sneezed on as people board). A negative test this morning confirmed it was just man flu, so I decided a spot of fresh air and an actual twitch was in order.
The lake was a little quieter than last time I visited, both in terms of birds and people - for example common pochard presumably departed by now. I've never studied coots so carefully before, and got round about three quarters of the site before spotting my target, which must've been out of site close to the fringing reeds when I walked past. Doubled back on myself to get some better pictures, although the light wasn't doing me any favours - results below, after messing about with shadows and curves on the RAW files.
Iberian green woodpecker must remain heard-only, but I got a good although brief view of a short-toed treecreeper, able to take in its buffy flanks as it ascended a pine trunk. Just as I was leaving, with the car engine running and about to pull away, I heard an unfamiliar call of something pursued by 2 magpies. Got out to investigate but it had been comprehensively chased off...checked later with Aves Vox / Xeno canto, and I'm pretty sure it was a great spotted cuckoo, also recorded recently at this site.
Photos show the lake - although fenced off, you can walk round and get decent views of most of its extent - the beach café (closed in January) where I celebrated with a coffee, and the café owner's dog who decided she'd like to sit on my lap...
142. Red-knobbed Coot
143. Short-toed Treecreeper *
Iberian Green Woodpecker (heard-only)
Great Spotted Cuckoo (heard-only)