My intention this morning was to spend some time looking around the fields to the North of Morgado golf course. It was very overcast and frequent drizzle hampered any successful birding. On my return to the N266 and ultimately Portimao, I remembered seeing on the 'media', a Griffon Vulture sitting on a White Stork's nest along this road. Along the roadside near Rasmalho there are many White Storks' nests and the sky can be filled with wheeling Storks. They feed in the surrounding fields and perch on old buildings, trees and power poles. Driving slowly after the village toward the roadside nests, I soon saw the obvious silhouette of a Griffon Vulture occupying one of the nests. I was able to get the car off the road into a quiet lane, where I could see the Griffon across a field. I was no sooner out of the car when I noticed, among the flying White Storks was another Griffon Vulture. Both birds are juveniles and the airborne one has a metal ring on the right leg, perhaps from a Spanish breeding programme. A brief spell of brightness had the Storks lifting in to the air and with them, the first Griffon from the nest. Storks and Griffons circled closely, just over the road and no more than tree height at times. Gaining height, they flew away together in an Easterly direction. I followed their path through the sky until they disappeared from view. Within a couple of minutes, hundreds of gulls rose up from where I had last seen the Griffons. More and more gulls became visible and I concluded that the Storks and Griffons had gone down on the landfill site, off the Silves road. While the Griffons were away, there were some questions to wonder over. Why were they here, did they like the company of similar sized birds? The Storks were not alarmed by the Griffons flying with them and were generally getting on with what Storks do. The nest occupied by the Griffon was now re-occupied by a Stork pair. What would the Griffons do on their return, I think it's worth waiting? After half an hour or so the Storks returned and with them, I watched one of the Griffons. The Griffon ignored the nest he had been in and simply 'persuaded' another Stork to vacate its nest. This may be all very well at the moment, but things could be different when the Storks begin nesting seriously. I should add that at no time did the Griffons pay any attention to each other and sought out their own roosting arrangements.
An interesting experience and there maybe answers to my questions as time passes, if the Griffons remain here. A brisk wind over the lagoons was keeping many birds in the air. Noticeable this morning were the Glossy Ibises rising from the marsh, having a fly around before settling down again. Small flocks of eight to ten birds were mobile, across the Northern lagoon. A single Flamingo was feeding, several Spoonbills and Grey Herons were on the water's edge. Five White Storks flew over and rested in a nearby field. Nothing unusual was seen in the gull roost, as the numbers swelled into the afternoon. The Marsh Harriers continued tormenting the Teal flocks and other wildfowl driven out of the reeds included Mallard, Gadwall, Pochard, Pintail and Shoveler. A male Marsh Harrier saw off two Common Buzzards and an Osprey flew over, very high and without paying any attention to the lagoons below. It was difficult to find birds in the reeds due to the wind but, among the tamarisk bushes, the male Bluethroat was being very obliging and feeding in the open. A small number of House Sparrows are usually around the car park and nearby bushes. I saw two in the tamarisks near the Bluethroat but was surprised when the next one turned out to be a Spanish Sparrow. During the morning, I had watched the wintering Crag Martins and found two Swallows flying over the marsh. After 1pm, there was an influx of House Martins. Somewhere around sixty birds appeared from high level and dropped down to feed over the water. This was an interesting number of House Martins and I assumed they were incoming Spring migrants.
A brilliantly clear morning and the Atlantic Ocean looking like a sheet of glass from the headland at Ponta Piedade. This is a lovely walk on the high cliffs and a good starting place is around the working lighthouse. A boardwalk has been built to protect the fragile cliff edges and no doubt a few lives, taking you in the direction of Porto de Mos. It was encouraging to see that within the project costs, a fair amount of new tree planting has taken place. The cliffs here are a good place to observe what can be regarded as the true Rock Dove. With many feral pigeons seen in the Algarve, it is worth spending a little time looking at these doves which frequent the cliffs of Western Europe and the Mediterranean areas. The key features on Rock Dove are the two distinct black wing-bars and the white back (rump). It has a dark bill and reddish eye, distinguishing it from a Stock Dove which has a dark eye. On this section of the clifftop walk, a Blue Rock Thrush was seen, along with Black Redstarts, Stonechats and Sardinian Warblers. A small number of Blackbirds were in the larger bushes, with Robins here too. I was surprised not to see a Peregrine on the walk, the only raptor was a smart male Kestrel along the boardwalk which was quite approachable. Another bird which is fairly localised in this area is the Jackdaw, and two were seen flying over the approach road to the lighthouse. Just over this sheer cliff was a rather strange sight, a pair of Red-legged Partridges feeding on the sparse vegetation clinging to the cliff face. A lot of visitors walking the cliffs probably accounted for a fairly quiet birding visit. I'm sure migration times can be much more interesting and even different weather conditions.
A few days ago, Guillaume Rethore found a 1st winter Ring-billed Gull at Salgados lagoons. A further addition to the list of American birds visiting the Algarve this Winter.
I was interested in seeing this Gull as it represented my second record ever and first record in Portugal, bringing my Algarve List to 270 species. The Ring-billed was soon found among many Black-headed Gulls on the Northerly lagoon this morning, where it remained until late afternoon. I found it very difficult to photograph in a strong wind and tricky light, hopefully the head and bill features of a 1st winter show reasonably well. I had been unsuccessful in sighting the Common Crane on my last visit, in spite of it being a great day with other wonderful birds being present. With a little more information to hand, I was going to leave the Cranes until late afternoon and enjoy another day around Castro Verde. It was much windier today which meant a real chill in temperatures, but that didn't seem to affect the excellent birds I found at the Horta da Nora lake, outside Castro Verde town. Once again, this small lake had some great birds visiting, the most obvious being - my first adult Black Storks. Previously, I have seen only juvenile, migratory Black Stork but these were clearly adults, with the distinct red bills. They were in company with two White Storks which made for an unusual group. At the far end of the lake, a larger than usual egret left me in no doubt that a Great White Egret had dropped in and was feeding along a reedbed. This was the first time I have seen Great White Egret in the Alentejo and only my third in Portugal, so very pleased to see this one. Characteristic 'tucked in' neck on Great White Egret. Yes, those are House Martins! On my last trip, I found two Swallows here. They were still present and four House Martins were flying with them today. House Martins in January!!! On the far side of the lake, tucked in some long grass, I just made out four Stone Curlew. Carrion Crows were about and a Southern Grey Shrike sat on nearby wires. Two Red Kites and a Common Buzzard hunted the fields, taking advantage of the fresh wind. The next few hours touring the grasslands were fairly quiet, I thought perhaps the wind was getting a little too strong and birds weren't showing well at all. In one of the large flocks of Corn Buntings, I separated out a couple of Calandra Larks which I'd totally overlooked on my previous trip. Through Salto, a female Hen Harrier passed quickly over a hill. In the same area, six Great Bustards were seen distantly. It was time to climb the hill at Nossa Senhora de Arecelis and begin looking for the Cranes. From this very place, the view over the Alentejo is outstanding. The fields below revealed the birds I had been looking for. A group of sixteen Great Bustards were noticed first and then, in another field, a large number of Common Cranes were assembled. They were a considerable distance away and I made the decision to observe them from some farm buildings, within about 300 metres. A juvenile Crane in the foreground here. When the sun dropped away, the Cranes left these fields and went off to roost While the Cranes were in the field, in the first image, I counted out 100 birds. I estimated there was an equal amount still to count and reckon 200 would be a fairly accurate assessment.
Black-shouldered Kites were active today with one adult and two 1st winter birds over the Alvor fields. These images are of one of the 1st winter Kites. The Black-shouldered Kites' main competition is from the local Kestrel who antagonizes them at every opportunity.
Another visit to an area of ricefields bordering the Arade estuary, which goes by the rather long title of Arrozal da Nossa Senhora do Rosario. A drive down a short lane leads to the ricefields where today, there were more birds around than I have seen on any past visit. In particular, the last field now holds around 100 Glossy Ibis. Also in that field were Spoonbills, Grey Heron, Little Egret, White Storks, 20 Common Snipe and a Green Sandpiper. SCALY-BREASTED MUNIA. One reason I have visited this place on several occasions, has been in the hope of seeeing one of Portugal's introduced species - the Scaly-breasted Munia. Until a couple of years ago, I was unaware of this bird's existence in Portugal. More recently and thanks to the local Portuguese birders, I have finally tracked down this small finch in one of its isolated strongholds. Keeping an eye on the Waxbills moving around, I noticed a brown looking bird, perched on a reed stem, with a typical finch-like bill. I quickly concluded this was likely to be a female Munia. In the bushes to the side of the track, there was a flock of House Sparrows and it was with them that I found the male Munias, almost in company with the sparrows. The male bird is a typical bright finch with chestnut coloured head and the 'scaly' pattern to the breast feathers make it quite an impressive little find - I was really delighted! Two males together. View of the back and short rounded tail. One of the many Waxbills seen here. Purple Swamphen can be found here - 5 were seen or heard today. In all, I found five Scaly-breasted Munias and had the opportunity to see males, females and juvenile bird.
2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers were constantly hammering in the trees. Blackcaps, a Cetti's Warbler and 2 Bluethroats were in the margins. An excellent birding venue. Here's another small bird it has taken me a long time to find this Winter. At every wetland or reedy area, I've been listening for the thin, wheezy call of a Penduline Tit. Although I have heard it on two occasions, I was unable to locate the bird. I'm not sure as to how many Penduline Tits do occur during the Winter months, previously I haven't seen more than two or three birds together. While watching a cracking male Bluethroat at Salgados, I was aware of a small bird above it, in a tamarisk bush. There were at least six Chiffchaffs and four Meadow Pipits flitting here and there, but this small bird was chipping away at the thin stems of the bush and remaining quite well concealed. It came in to a more open space and was clearly a Penduline Tit. I have tended to check the large plumes of seeds in the reeds for Pendulines and hadn't considered, they could equally be found in trees where they make their hanging nests. Searching the nearby field for a Richard's Pipit, I came across this little chap! One of a small number of Corn Buntings passing through the fields. Male Marsh Harrier at Salgados.
I was back in the Monchique hills yesterday and looking for the Rock Buntings I had been unable to locate on my last visit. Confident I would find them, I returned to a small area of flat, stony ground that I know well and there they were, five of them. As Rock Buntings are not found in the U.K, I do like to spend some time observing them and they have some striking patterns to their plumage. All these birds were adults and showing the characteristic grey heads with thin black stripes. The back is heavily streaked, the belly a rust colour and having two white conspicuous wing bars. I wasn't sure whether the buntings were feeding on seeds or grit, the bill is typically strong looking as in many buntings. Whilst around Monchique, I came across this Nuthatch. ..........and a small group of Crag Martins.
From what I have read recently, the navigable channel in and out of Alvor is increasingly silting up and presenting a problem for the larger fishing vessels. At low tide, this certainly looks to be the case. The arrival of a small suction dredger in the harbour a few weeks ago, raised an amount of interest among passers-by as did the large number of pipes, dropped at strategic positions. Over the last weeks, the pipe lengths have been floated out into the estuary, flanged together and led from the estuary side, across the dunes and on to the beach. I understand that the dredging process will not only improve navigation but also, the removed sand will be deposited on the beach to preserve the depth of sand along its length. It was on our walk this morning that we noticed the dredger was now coupled up to the pipeline out in the estuary and, with engine running! Being interested in all things mechanical and more so, man's interference with nature, we made our way over to the beach. This may have been just a trial run, involving a deep pit dug out by a JCB to see how successful the pumping operation was going to be. After all, the distance involved is quite significant. However, it soon became apparent that far from bringing clean sand from the estuary, the river bottom was thick black sludge. The sludge duly filled the pit and overflowed down to the sea, which in turn became black! The pumping ceased and the pit was filled in again, restoring the beach pretty much as it was. An interesting experiment, I wonder where we go from here?
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