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!