Work trip to Algarve

Once again I had to go and look at four hotels in the Algarve and left the UK on a freezing Sunday morning.

My first stop was the Holiday Inn in Armacao De Pera and arriving at 4pm meant I only had an hour before dark.

As I did not have to work until the following morning I dumped my bag and headed off along the beach to the river estuary which was about 20 minutes walk away.

I had no idea what to find here but it was the only place I could get to before dark.

I was pleasantly surprised!

There were Grey Herons, Little Egrets and Moorhens everywhere and these were interspersed by small flocks of Sanderling and Dunlin. The odd Redshank, Grey Plover and Turnstone were only eclipsed by a pretty Black Winged Stilt.

Huge amounts of gulls were present with the predominance being Yellow Legged and Med Gulls.

Around the reeds and thickets, Linnets and Willow Warbler were many and Zitting Cisticola and the odd Stonechat made up the numbers.

Light was fading fast and so a return to the hotel.

I had arranged the next day so that I did all my hotel inspections which meant for a very long day. However, I arrived at the new Conrad hotel in Quinta Do Lago where I was staying for the next two days, to find my 1pm appointment was postponed until 2pm.

I knew there were shops outside the hotel and decided to grab a coffee. Near the shops there was a golf course so I decided to have a quick 15 minute walk. However, I broke the golden rule about not taking my binos and camera! This was a mistake as in the first conifer I saw my first Firecrest and Crested Tits. Azure Winged Magpie were flying and there were Common Waxbills feeding. Only 50 feet away a Booted Eagle was sitting in a tree! Argh!

No time to dwell I went back for meetings which lasted well into the evening.

My last day was Tuesday and the hotel had agreed after a brief meeting first thing to drop me to Praia Do Quinta which is on the Rui Formosa National Park ( 10 minutes drive from the hotel).

On arrival (it was 9.15 in the morning) I was surprised by the fact that the beach was seperated from the mainland by the river estuary itself and a super wooden walkway linked the two.

The mudflats around were stuffed with waders and views from the edge and the bridge gave great views of many species.

On the edge near the beach a Black Redstart flitted to a post but it was too quick for me to photograph but Linnets and Willow Warblers and the odd Serin were everywhere.

The pathway either side of the bridge was well marked and to the left led to a large lagoon.

Along the way I saw loads of Azure Winged Magpies and Willow Warblers as well as Stonechat and Sardinian Warblers.

A quick glance to the left and I saw a Pipit on a private lawn but had to take a quick snap through chicken wire fencing. I am still undecided but suspect it is just a Meadow Pipit.

On the lagoon were numerous ducks, Little and Great Crested Grebe and yet more of the same Gulls.

I then walked back to the Sao Lorenco golf course which abuts the National Park.

They even have a hide over the lagoon and this gave me another local speciality - Purple Swamphen.

More Willow Warblers, particularly impressive Shovelers and more of the same ducks abounded.

At this point the path dissappeared as workers were chopping trees so I decided to take my own route - big mistake!

Within half an hour I was completely lost and found myself on the edge of another golf course.

However, it proved to be fruitful as I found a small pond with Terrapins, the odd Hoopoe, Crested Larks, Cattle Egret and even a distant view of White Storks on a nest!

I eventually found the way back and apart from an obliging photos or two saw much of the same.

I got back to the hotel with an hour to spare before dark so shot across the the nearby golf course to see if I could get a copule of photographs. Typically, there was little about apart from the Azure Winged Magpies and Common Waxbills.

A 7am flight from Faro the next morning meant an end to my birding. This was my second Algarve trip where I could do some birding and it has to be one of the best in Europe!