apbarr
Well-known member
My wife and I stayed in a hotel at Olhos D’Aqua between Albufeira and Vilamoura. I had arranged two days guided birding with fellow Birdforum member Simon Wates during our stay. The weather was generally fairly hot and sunny but we did have a couple of days with rain. Birding around the hotel area produced my first lifer of the trip Azure-winged Magpie which proved to be common in most areas we visited. Other birds of note seen locally were Hoopoe, breeding on a villa near the hotel, Yellow-legged Gull, Bee-eater, Pallid Swift and Red-rumped Swallow. Simon picked us up at 7am on Saturday 28th and we headed north to the Baixo Alentejo region looking for the speciality species of the area. We arrived back at the hotel at nearly 11pm having had a long and varied day. I saw 10 lifers starting with Black Kite seen from the motorway and again later giving better views, the first of several Iberian Grey Shrikes, calling Little Bustard, Short-toed Eagle, Red-knobbed Coot, a pair of Rufous Bush Robins, two Black-eared Wheatears at different locations. A visit to a raptor watch point gave great views of Griffon Vulture and late in the day two male and one female Black-bellied Sandgrouse were seen in flight and good views of Calandra Lark completed the tally.
Other birds of note seen in no particular order were Great Bustards in flight and on the ground, Stone Curlew, Lesser Kestrels, Golden and Booted Eagles, Black Vulture, Roller, Woodchat Shrike and several Montagu’s Harriers. White Storks were present in large numbers with nests dotted along the roadside at regular intervals in some areas. Spanish Sparrows took advantage of the Storks nests to build their own within the base.
The second day with Simon was on Monday 30th when we headed for Castro Marim and the area near the Spanish border. I managed to see eight and a half lifers during the day with the half being a Pratincole seen in flight briefly as we were driving between sites. Given that Collared is the only Pratincole present in Portugal I’ve ticked it in pencil until I get better views in the future. The other lifers for the day were Crested Lark seen well in a Motorway service area and in other various locations later, Spectacled Warbler which gave good but brief scope views, Greater Flamingo which were present in fairly large numbers and in the same area Slender-billed Gulls including two very pink breasted adults. These gave fairly distant views but were surprisingly easy to pick out from the Black-headed gulls which were also present. Later in the day we visited a nesting site for White-rumped Swifts which gave great views on several occasions, we were also fortunate to see a second pair at another site during our drive home. A stop at a location known to Simon produced Melodious Warblers singing and another site Short-toed Treecreeper feeding on Cork Oaks. A small diversion gave views of a Woodlark perched on a power line.
There were several other birds noted during the day including at least 5 Short-toed Eagles, Gull-billed Tern, Kentish Plovers, Audouin’s Gull, Spoonbill, Black-winged Stilt, Nightingale Red-rumped Swallows and Crag Martins.
I agreed an extra “half-day" with Simon to try and target some species missed during the first two days and Simon picked me up at the hotel at 3pm on our last day and this time headed west. We had several more Short-toed Eagles, a party of Woodlarks and Alpine Swift for the trip but failed to positively ID any Bonelli’s Eagles although two possibles were sighted in the distance. We were luckier with Rock Bunting however and had good views of an adult with a juvenile. We then moved to another location and had views of Blue Rock Thrush and Choughs before hearing a male Eagle Owl hooting. Both birds of the pair gave us great scope views in the fading light before we headed off to try and see Red-necked Nightjar which proved elusive although we did hear one bird calling. We arrived back at the hotel around midnight. I would highly recommend Simon’s services if you are visiting the Algarve, his rates are highly competitive and I would have struggled for most of the species seen without his help. Overall this was a great trip with 22 lifers including the Collared Pratincole and I can highly recommend the Algarve as a base for a birding holiday.
Pictures to follow
Other birds of note seen in no particular order were Great Bustards in flight and on the ground, Stone Curlew, Lesser Kestrels, Golden and Booted Eagles, Black Vulture, Roller, Woodchat Shrike and several Montagu’s Harriers. White Storks were present in large numbers with nests dotted along the roadside at regular intervals in some areas. Spanish Sparrows took advantage of the Storks nests to build their own within the base.
The second day with Simon was on Monday 30th when we headed for Castro Marim and the area near the Spanish border. I managed to see eight and a half lifers during the day with the half being a Pratincole seen in flight briefly as we were driving between sites. Given that Collared is the only Pratincole present in Portugal I’ve ticked it in pencil until I get better views in the future. The other lifers for the day were Crested Lark seen well in a Motorway service area and in other various locations later, Spectacled Warbler which gave good but brief scope views, Greater Flamingo which were present in fairly large numbers and in the same area Slender-billed Gulls including two very pink breasted adults. These gave fairly distant views but were surprisingly easy to pick out from the Black-headed gulls which were also present. Later in the day we visited a nesting site for White-rumped Swifts which gave great views on several occasions, we were also fortunate to see a second pair at another site during our drive home. A stop at a location known to Simon produced Melodious Warblers singing and another site Short-toed Treecreeper feeding on Cork Oaks. A small diversion gave views of a Woodlark perched on a power line.
There were several other birds noted during the day including at least 5 Short-toed Eagles, Gull-billed Tern, Kentish Plovers, Audouin’s Gull, Spoonbill, Black-winged Stilt, Nightingale Red-rumped Swallows and Crag Martins.
I agreed an extra “half-day" with Simon to try and target some species missed during the first two days and Simon picked me up at the hotel at 3pm on our last day and this time headed west. We had several more Short-toed Eagles, a party of Woodlarks and Alpine Swift for the trip but failed to positively ID any Bonelli’s Eagles although two possibles were sighted in the distance. We were luckier with Rock Bunting however and had good views of an adult with a juvenile. We then moved to another location and had views of Blue Rock Thrush and Choughs before hearing a male Eagle Owl hooting. Both birds of the pair gave us great scope views in the fading light before we headed off to try and see Red-necked Nightjar which proved elusive although we did hear one bird calling. We arrived back at the hotel around midnight. I would highly recommend Simon’s services if you are visiting the Algarve, his rates are highly competitive and I would have struggled for most of the species seen without his help. Overall this was a great trip with 22 lifers including the Collared Pratincole and I can highly recommend the Algarve as a base for a birding holiday.
Pictures to follow
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