Day in the Baia Alentejo

I met Simon, my guide, at 6am in Lagos and after transferring to his 4 wheel drive we headed off to Castro Verde which is a small town with the same name as the protected park.

After a quick coffee stop at the cafe at the local bus station we started birding.

As always with Simon, he rarely stays on the main roads and our first port of call was a farm where the SPA had provided nest boxes for Rollers.

A first for Portugal and decent views was an excellent start to the day!

We carried on along these tracks and had Calandra Lark (first lifer of the day), closely followed by distant Great Bustards (2nd lifer)

There was some heat haze and with birds so distant photos were nigh on impossible - spot the Great Bustard below!

Our first raptors of the day in Black Kite, March Harrier and Montagus Harrier (which were surprisingly prolific) were soon added to the list along with a female Golden Oriole.

When I booked Simon I mentioned that I was really keen to see Rufous Bush Robin so we headed to a small river so see if we could find them.

No sooner had we arrived when a distant bird was found and I had secured my bird of the day before 9am!

Next stop was a coffee in a local village and even driving along the road we briefly glimpsed Vultures but Simon assured me we would see more later so we drove on to a local reservoir which is unusual in that it has muddy banks so attracts a few waders.

Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Gadwall, Little Ringed Plover and Black Winged Stilt were all added but the reason Simon brought me here was the small group of nesting Collared Pratincole.

We could not get too near due to nesting but I did get reasonable record shots of another tremendous bird and my fourth lifer of the day!

The edge of the lagoon had wires and small bushes and both Iberian Grey Shrike and Woodchat Shrike were seen.

Lunch was arranged at a small village cafe. I was expecting a light snack but chorizo, cheese, salad, fries, rice and local speciality Black Pig pork succulently cooked over a BBQ was the main draw. With 2 beers and a coffee along with ice cream, the bill was 9 Euros each - amazing!

I must say that at this point a nap would have been in order but Simon was keen for us to get on to a high point for some raptor watching.

The first of these hills gave tremendous vies over the surrounding area but we actually saw very few raptors though added Thekla and Crested Lark and Dartford Warbler to the list.

Ironically, it was on the way down that we got distant but excellent views of a Short Toed Eagle perching. Lifer number 5!

The next hill was chosen by Simon as Golden Eagle were often seen. This was the only target bird we dipped out on but I did get some lovely views of Black Eared Wheatear - Lifer number 6!

On our way to the next site we saw a mass of Vultures circling. We pulled over and had decent views of Griffon and Black Vultures along with a loan Egyptian Vulture - lifers 7, 8 and 9!

Just as I returned to the car I got a brief view of a Spanish Sparrow on the phone line

In normal Simon style, we then headed off road along an anonymous track which gave us Little Bustard though fleeting and flying. However, looking in the distance we saw a Black Vulture perching on a rock next to a sheep. Quickly taking more tracks we got closer to see this huge raptor - as large as the sheep!

Our final site was another farm where the SPA had allowed abandoned stone farm buildings to be left as a breeding site for Lesser Kestrels. We had great though distant views of a number of birds. Only a record shot but lifer number 10!

Our day was completed by a Spanish Imperial Eagle and a small cover of Black Bellied Sandgrouse - lifers 11 and 12!

In addition to the above we had a number of sightings of Red Legged Partridge, Spotless and normal Starlings, Corn Bunting, Nightingale, Magpie, Azure Winged Magpie, Carrion Crow, Turtle Dove, Cettis Warbler, Willow Warbler, Quail, Common Buzzard, Hoopoe and even a Black Winged Kite on our drive home.

Back home by 9pm was a long but fantastic days birding

If you go to the Algarve, hire Simon and have a spectacular day out!

Holiday to the Algarve

Jen, Sophie and I had previously stayed at the Martinhal which is just outside Sagres in October a couple of years ago.

It is set in a national park and the birding was fantastic with many migrants on passage.

I knew that spring was less profitable but as we enjoyed it so much decided to go in May just to see the difference.

We hired a car this time so I decided that I would restrict my birding to the general local area with the exception of one day out which I had prebooked.

This was with local guide Simon Waites who I had previously used and had subsequently recommended to Jono who used him for a trip to Baja Alentejo.

I had never been to this part of Portugal and it promised a lot of birds which i would be unlikely to see in the Algarve and actually in many other areas of Europe.

I will dedicate a new page to this but for the moment will condense the rest of my local birding to this page.

Outside our house we had scrub an bush leading to a small rocky beach. Outside I regularly saw Sardinian Warbler, Serin. Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Blackbird and House Sparrow.

There were a number of flyover birds including Kestrel, White Stork, Cattle Egret, Little Egret and numerous Yellow Legged Gulls.

I also had a family of  Stonechat nesting nearby.

On my previous visit I had a lot of joy at a small salt water lagoon near the beach at the resort but this time it was much smaller and only gave Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black Winged Stilt and Grey Heron.

However, the surrounding bushes gave me Corn Bunting and my first ever European Bee Eaters - a bird which has somehow eluded me on previous visits to Europe.

The general area around Sagres is stunning with cliffs, barren headlands and flora found in very few or in some instances in no other places.

I was keen to go walking with Jen and she agreed that I could take my camera and binos. I had seen Chough on my previous visit but wanted to get better views along with Blue Rock Thrush which I had only seen at distance briefly on my previous visit. In fact, if truth be known, it was only Simon telling me that this was what it was as the view was so poor.

Ironically, the best views I had on my walk with Jen was none of these but a pair of Black Redstarts which was a first in the Algarve for me.

I went out on my own most days for an hour or two. I had been told by Simon that Short Toed Lark, Tawny Pipit and highly prized Spectacled Warbler were all possibilities so along with my other target birds these became the focus for my attentions.

Having spent a day in resort I told Jen I was getting stir crazy so she said I should nip out for an hour one evening. I headed for Cape St Vincent as it was 10 minutes drive and was always busy with tourists during the day. Within 2 minutes of arriving I had excellent views of Blue Rock Thrush so promply took photos and returned home well within the hour happy!

Next morning I was out by 6.30 to try and find Spectacled Warbler and again struck lucky very quickly. Photos were very difficult as they two birds flitted from one bush to another so quickly but I did get a record shot plus a less timid Zitting Cisticola.

My final day was probably best in that a walk to a lonely headland farm gave me Short Toed Lark, Tawny Pipit and my best views of Chough. An obliging Little Owl on a farm building was another new Algarve bird and a lone Alpine Swift gave another lifer.

Nearing the car gave me excellent views of Thekla Lark and even a Red Legged Partridge.

My final birds of the trip was a male Linnet and Raven.

Throughout, hirundines were numerous with House Martin, Sand Martin, Swallow, Red Rumped Swallow and Swift around the resort with Crag Martin closer to the cliffs.

Lovely birding but my Alentajo day is special so make sure you read the next installment!