Portugal in August (1 Viewer)

[exley]

Two of us will be in Portugal during the second week of august with one or two days to spare for birding. unfortunately, we will have to rely heavily on public transport to get around since we are not driving. we understand this limits what we can see and get to, but if anyone has suggestions about sites we could get to, or places we could stay at that have easy birding around them or even on site- that would be very helpful.- bird guides for a day is an option too.

it doesnt matter where in the country it is, and we know we will not be able to chase every special in the place- but solid local birding, with some of the more accessible birds would be well rewarding.

thanks in advance

E.S

 

[g8ina]

There is another thread which may prove useful, see below. Others have already provided a LOT of info.

Portugal/Algarve thread

Sorry, but the bird guide to Portugal/Algarve has just been passed on to another prospective visitor to the area.

HTH

 

[exley]

thank you very much
i will spend some time checking it out
in belgium at the moment with the regular magpies
thanks again
e

 

[john-henry]

Two of us will be in Portugal during the second week of august with one or two days to spare for birding. unfortunately, we will have to rely heavily on public transport to get around since we are not driving. we understand this limits what we can see and get to, but if anyone has suggestions about sites we could get to, or places we could stay at that have easy birding around them or even on site- that would be very helpful.- bird guides for a day is an option too.

it doesnt matter where in the country it is, and we know we will not be able to chase every special in the place- but solid local birding, with some of the more accessible birds would be well rewarding.

thanks in advance

E.S

For a good cross-section of birds I would suggest staying in Altura - possibly the Eurotel Altura - in the eastern side of the Algarve, about 5km from the Spanish border. The area immediately to the left of the hotel, on the seaward side, holds a good variety of passerines and a visit to the Castro Marim nature reserve, about 3km away, is good for waders, wildfowl, herons etc. Taxis are fairly cheap as are buses.

This is the less touristy side of the Algarve with some nice towns and villages and a bit more character than the central Algarve.

Have a good holiday.

John

 

[exley]

thank you

 

[Alf King]

Two of us will be in Portugal during the second week of august with one or two days to spare for birding. unfortunately, we will have to rely heavily on public transport to get around since we are not driving. we understand this limits what we can see and get to, but if anyone has suggestions about sites we could get to, or places we could stay at that have easy birding around them or even on site- that would be very helpful.- bird guides for a day is an option too.

it doesnt matter where in the country it is, and we know we will not be able to chase every special in the place- but solid local birding, with some of the more accessible birds would be well rewarding.

thanks in advance

E.S

You don't say where in Portugal you will be - if it is Lisbon or Porto then the Algarve will be quite difficult for you to access. Can you be more specific where you will be during that week?

 

[exley]

You don't say where in Portugal you will be - if it is Lisbon or Porto then the Algarve will be quite difficult for you to access. Can you be more specific where you will be during that week?

sorry about the late reply- no access of late
we will be staying in the coimbra region for the first few days and then we have a few days to spare- i understand that most birders fly to faro or elsewher- but i also thought that there is a good bus sytem that reaxhes most major points of the country- so we figure to take a bus to somewhere in the antalejo or algarve regions before going back up to lisbon

 

[Alf King]

Public transport in Portugal isn't the greatest in the world so I would research this if I was you. It's also worth noting that there are only three airports - Lisbon, Faro and Porto. Trains are reasonable but can be painfully slow and a car might be necessary wherever you go birding - essential in the Alantejo for example. All things considered car hire might be your best option for all of your transport.

HTH.

 

[Benderloch]

Algarve reports

There are 2 useful reports on the Algarve area (and others for elsewhere in Europe) on:
http://www.somersetbirder.fsnet.co.uk/page2.html

 

[Andrew]

Sadly public transport is not too hot in the Algarve. I only ever saw two or three buses on the roads during the whole of my two week holiday. I think the best bet will be to research the sites in advance and try to get somewhere within sight of them to make for cheap taxi journeys as well as at least one good site within walking distance.