Quinta do Lago area, Portugal, family holiday late May 2024 (1 Viewer)

[PJSharp]

Planning

As with holidays to Greece in April 2023 and Portugal in September 2019 this was a family holiday with my wife and our young son. Our requirements remain somewhere with a kids club, decent weather, a less than 3 hour flight from London, and the combination of suitable luxury for my wife and some nearby birding for me.

Work and school meant we would have to go during the late May English schools half term break, rather than Easter, and this shift to a more peak holiday period significantly increased prices. We baulked at paying 3 times as much as we had in 2023 to return to Sani in Greece, opting instead for the better value if less luxurious Martinhal Quinta, to the West of Faro in the county of Loule on the Portuguese Algarve.

Martinhal Quinta is part of the Quinta do Lago golf resort complex, adjacent to the Quinta do Lago section of the Ria Formosa Natural Park (PN Ria Formosa). This comprises beach, dunes, saltmarsh, salt pans, tidal river, a freshwater lake (Sao Lourenco) and reedbeds, and fringing riparian and pine woodland. There are a number of well reported eBird hotspots within PN Ria Formosa, the Quinta do Lago area is often mentioned in tour company and independent birder trip reports, and is covered in ‘The 100 best birding hotspots in the Algarve’ by Goncalo Elias.

From a timing perspective our visit (26 May to 2 June 2024) was too late for wintering and spring migrant birds, and my focus was on resident and summer breeding visitors. I hoped to see a reasonable range of typical South-West European birds I rarely see in the UK, and perhaps long term bogey bird and only likely life tick, Red-necked Nightjar. eBird indicated a list of 125 species which I had a greater than 1% chance of seeing in May/June in Loule county.

Logistics involved return British Airways flights from London Gatwick to Faro Portugal, rental car from Enterprise/Guerin, and a two bedroom townhouse at Martinhal Quinta.

 

[PJSharp]

Reality

Travelling over the school half-term periods Gatwick and Faro airports were predictably busy, with check-in at Gatwick, and passport control at Faro struggling with passenger numbers and causing us to spend considerable time queuing. Our British Airways flights were fine, but we were lucky. The day before our return our equivalent flight was cancelled due to a drunken passenger, and on the day of our flight, the flight after ours was diverted to Lisbon.

Enterprise/Guerin were fine, good value and helpful service at collection and drop off, and the car they provided was good too.

The Quinta do Lago golf resort complex was a bit too manicured and sanitised for my wife and me, at times it felt like we were in an Algarve version of Surrey, rather than Portugal. That said, every restaurant we ate in provided fantastic if expensive food, and the whole area felt safe with a young child.

The Martinhal Quinta resort is not comparable to Martinhal Sagres, it is smaller, with fewer options for eating and activities, and better suited for families with pre-school children than those with older kids. However, our son enjoyed staying there, using the swimming pool and going to the kids club. Our townhouse was perfectly adequate, if a bit worn and in need of refurbishment (we could have paid more for a recently refurbished townhouse had we wished). We did consider the Wyndham Grand hotel next door, and this might be a better option in this area for those without young children.

We enjoyed great weather, pleasantly hot and sunny throughout, though when birding I was usually out too late in the morning and back too early in the afternoon to be ideal.

 

[PJSharp]

Birds and Birding

As ever on a family holiday much of my birding time was spent in the morning looking out from our accommodation (whilst my wife and son were still in bed). Unfortunately the outlook from our accommodation wasn’t great, a small manicured garden and the tops of the front row of pine trees in an undeveloped block of land about 60m away behind a hedge and across a road. Over the week this produced 23 species of birds, comparing unfavourably with our stay in Martinhal Sagres (60+ species, September 2019) and Sani Resort in Halkidiki (39 species, April 2023). Highlights included regular views of Iberian Magpies (common throughout the area), fly-over Purple Heron and White Stork, Turtle Dove (heard more often than seen) and Hoopoe.

I managed a small amount of birding more widely around the resort, and on one evening around the adjacent undeveloped block of pine woods and golf courses. This produced the main birding highlight of my trip, good views, in flight and perched of Red-necked Nightjar. Otherwise the birds I saw were more commonly or better seen in the Quinta do Lago section of PN Ria Formosa.

Two ‘proper’ birdwatching visits were made to the Quinta do Lago section of PN Ria Formosa, comprising 2 hours mid-afternoon on the 27. May (35 species seen), and 3½ hours on the morning of the 29 May (53 species). Highlights included many typical Algarve birds; Greater Flamingo, Western Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Kentish Plover, Audouin’s & Yellow-legged Gulls, Little & Caspian Terns, White Storks, Little Bittern, Little & Cattle Egret, Purple Heron, Spoonbill, Black-winged Kite, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Red-rumped Swallow, Sardinian Warbler, Spotless Starling and Serin. Introduced Black-headed Weaver were also common in areas of suitable habitat (freshwater reedbed).

I squeezed in just over an hour late morning on the 1 June, at an eBird hotspot called ‘Pinhal de S. Joao da Venda’, seeing 17 species (and hearing more). Highlights here included brief views of Crested Tit and Short-toed Treecreeper, and better views of Bee-eaters. Introduced Common Waxbill were also seen, though I only heard Golden Oriole, Wryneck and Blue Tit.

I did do a little incidental birding whilst visiting the Praia Do Quinta Do Lago and Praia do Ancão beaches, though the only additional species this produced was a male Common Scoter on the sea off of the first of these on the 27 May.

Over the course of our week in Portugal I saw a total of 64 species, hearing another 6.

 

[PJSharp]

Red-necked Nightjar (Photo taken with my phone)

 

[PJSharp]

Quinta do Lago section of PN Ria Formosa / Sao Lourenco

This area includes the Sao Lourenco lake, where the eBird hotspot ‘PN Ria Formosa--Quinta do Lago--área geral’ is located (my sightings on the 27 and 29 May were added to this site). A scope would be useful here (I didn’t bring one, family holiday).

There is covered parking for about 100 cars at the southern end of Av. Andre Jordan (free until end of May), which provides access to this part of PN Ria Formosa and the Ponte da Quinta do Lago (foot bridge) over the tidal marsh to the Praia (beach) da Quinta do Lago.

From the parking area turn left (east) and follow a wooden boardwalk which initially follows the boundary of a golf course and the tidal marshes, watching out for cyclists and runners. The golf course is attractive to Red-rumped Swallow, Serin, Crested Larks, Spotless Starling, Hoopoe and Iberian Magpie. Audouin’s and Yellow-legged Gulls, Little Terns, Purple and Grey Herons and Little Egrets often pass over the walkway, moving along the marsh. About 600m from the parking area, and slightly to the right of the boardwalk is the first of two tower hides. This hide looks out over a shallow tidal lagoon, good for small waders.

To get to the second (Sao Lourenco) hide, walk as if to cross the golf course, but take the second right turn east before you do so, keeping the golf course to your left (the first right coming out of the tower hide, tracking along the left-hand side of the tidal lagoon, misses the second tower hide). Following the now sand and gravel track alongside the golf course leads to the Sao Lourenco lake, reed-beds and tower hide (c.250m from the first tower hide, on your left). This area of fresh water and marsh is worth an extended watch, holding good numbers of ducks, plus Western Swamphen, Little Bittern, and Black-headed Weaver (the most common small bird). Warblers are also present; I heard Reed & Cetti’s (and Nightingale), saw Zitting Cisticola, and on the opposite side of the track Sardinian Warblers are common.

Continuing along the sandy track east (left on exiting) from the Sao Lourenco hide, following the golf course slightly to the left for about 800m leads to a point at which access to the PN Ria Formosa salt pans is possible. A landowner has sought to block this entrance with boulders, a fence and signs, but these can be avoided with care, and were widely ignored at the time of my visit. The saltpans held good numbers of birds typical of this environment; Flamingos, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plovers, Shelduck etc.

After about 800m the gravel road through the saltpans reaches a farmhouse and junction. Continuing on and left another 250m leads to and crosses the main Ribiera Sao Lourenco. This is the ‘Ludo—salinas e ribeira de Sao Lourenco (precursor norte)’ eBird hotspot, and to the north a ‘Stork and Cormorant Rookery’ is marked on Google Maps.

The rookery held good numbers of nesting and feeding White Stork (but very few Cormorant). In addition I saw single Cattle Egret, Black-shouldered Kite and Osprey from here, and continuing further west, a few Stonechats and two Spoonbill overhead.

Returning to the farmhouse and junction, and turning left (South) provides for a circular walk back to the car park. After crossing the saltpans and again the main Ribiera Sao Lourenco, the gravel road reaches the tidal marshes after about 1km. At this point turning right (west) leads (after a further c.2km) back to the car park. There is subtle variation in these habitats, with slight changes appealing to different waders, herons, wagtails etc. On my return I heard distant Bee-eaters, and eventually picked out two flying along the sand dunes way over towards the sea, and also saw my only Caspian Tern flying along the tidal estuary.

The route outlined above took me 3 ½ hours (from 08:20), and covered 8.2km on the 29 May. I could easily have spent another couple of hours on this route, ideally starting earlier, and with a scope. There is very little shelter along much of the walk, and so plenty of sun-cream, a hat and lots of drinking water are recommended.

 

[Antik]

Thank you for the great report, I will get back to it when planning my next Portugal journey!

 

[PJSharp]

Pinhal de S. Joao da Venda

Located to the south-west of the small village of Sao Joao da Venda. I visited this area for just over an hour, late morning on the 1 June, it being the closest eBird hotspot to where my wife wanted to shop. The area comprises mostly pine woods, with some large blocks of more open heathland, and provided some variety from the Quinta do Lago area.

The birdiest area was more or less exactly where the eBird hotspot pin is, and it is possible to park here safely alongside the gravel track. I walked 2.8km, also taking in the area of heathland reached by walking south west from the hotspot pin, and then left (south east) at the crossroads.

The pines held Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper and heard only Golden Oriole. Common Waxbill were present alongside the tracks, and Crested Lark and Bee-eater evident over the heathland. I suspect a visit earlier in the day and year would have been more productive.