Our long Winter stay is almost over, as our return to the U.K. is scheduled for Friday. We spent today in the Parque at Vilamoura with our friends, listening to the Nightingales spaced every few metres along the lane. In the hide where I have spent a considerable time, the Purple Herons continued to show well along with a couple of Little Bitterns. Last night, the Bee-eaters came for a quick bath before alighting in nearby trees for the night. So much wildlife has been enjoyed throughout our stay. Not just the birds but Otter sightings for instance, have provided a wonderful view of their secretive lives. The excessive rain over the Winter has made luxurious vegetation everywhere which in turn, is providing a wealth of flowers and butterflies. Monarch Butterfly. Swallowtail Butterfly Marsh Fritillary Spanish Festoon. Ocellated Lizard.
This small working in nothing more than a large sandy hole, created by a digger, is the home of eight Bee-eaters. All the nest holes shown are new and the birds are showing great interest in this site. The Bee-eater shows practically every colour imaginable and I had a wonderful opportunity to see them at close range. All the time, a Woodchat looked on, from an overhanging tree. Meanwhile in Vilamoura, good observations continue to be had from the first hide. To the right of the above picture, a male Little Bittern appeared so close, I wasn't sure who was the most surprised! The lake is visited by good numbers of Swallows and House Martins, a single Sand Martin accompanied the House Martins yesterday and Swifts were quite frequent. Three Purple Herons and three Little Bitterns showed over a period of time. The local Marsh Harriers performed flypasts at regular intervals. As dusk closed in, the Purple Swamphen brought its two chicks to the water's edge, where it fed them chewed up reed stems. The tiny chick appears to have almost adult-sized feet which must give it incredible stability, if not looking extremely ungainly! Early yesterday, Michael Tyden found a Black-faced Bunting at Ludo. He recorded the sighting with excellent photos and the bird is a first record for Portugal. Although we visited not long after the news broke, the Bunting was not seen again.
A nice Wryneck on our visit to Ludo. I have very few records of seeing this unusual family of waders - the Pratincoles. My first record of Collared Pratincole was at Castro Marim in the late 1990's when two flew over me as I watched a Rufous Bush Robin. Today's sighting was of no less than twenty birds which were arriving as we watched. What was all the more remarkable from a viewing point was that all the birds were on a bare saltpan, with not a single piece of vegetation to obscure them. Returning from wintering in Africa, the pratincoles settled down to survey their new surroundings. The next image shows a possible courtship display, seen performed by one or two individuals. In flight,the Collared Pratincole appears rather tern-like with long slim wings and a markedly forked tail. In good light and at close range, the underwing coverts have a reddish colour, the trailing edge of the wing has white line. The face pattern is quite remarkable with a conspicuous red marking on the bill. A truly memorable encounter with these Collared Pratincoles. Continuing on the walk, more waders were found including various plover species, Black-winged Stilts, Greenshank and Avocets. Later in the afternoon, a harrier coming from the South looked interesting. Very slim wings and an orangey colour to the entire underparts. As the harrier soared a litte closer, the four fingers on the 'hand' indicated this was likely to be a young Montagu's Harrier, although there is some damage/loss of fingers on the left hand.
Wonderful sightings continue to occur in the Parque Ambiental at Vilamoura. The morning began with a shy Little Bittern attempting to freeze just outside the hide. Above the Little Bittern, the Black-headed Weaver I showed rebuilding its nest was well on with the construction. In the space of twenty four hours, the nest was almost complete! Hardly tidy by our standards but an amazing piece of work without a doubt, given only its bill to work with! Among many Reed Warblers now here, the single Sedge Warbler continues to move around the lower part of the reeds. A few wildfowl remain on the lake, mostly Gadwall and Mallard. A visit from a pair of Red-crested Pochards was of short duration, bothered by the aggressive Coot activity. Very smart Little Grebes are quite numerous, constantly diving all over the lake. I left the hide for a while and walked the tracks outside. A Short-toed Treecreeper was moving along the trunks of the fig trees and Nightingales were so plentiful, they were sitting on wires to sing and feeding on the ground. Even an Egyptian Mongoose paid me a visit! Quails had been calling all morning so far and one sounded particularly close to the road edge. As there were similar fields on both sides of the road, I thought there was a very slim chance they may cross to the other field. I propped myself against one of the olive trees and waited!! That was well worth the wait which wasn't more than five minutes. A return visit in the evening and I had Purple Herons in mind. I know there are at least three of these herons here now but, unlike the Grey Herons which stand about all day, the Purple Heron stays out of sight for long periods. They remain within the reed beds and only tend to appear on arriving or leaving the lake.
The images below show the marked difference in profile between the two heron species. The Purple Heron takes on a completely different shape when in flight. We are now settling in at Vilamoura, for what may be the last two weeks of our Winter stay. As the Spring migration continues to get underway, this is a great location for a variety of incoming species to occur. Around the apartment, we have already found Crested Tit, Wryneck, Green Woodpecker and Mistle Thrushes. Located two minutes from the Parque Ambiental, my first walk took me to a great venue for the Purple Heron where I was lucky to watch three of these colourful birds. A heavy rain shower passed through which didn't deter this Great-crested Grebe from continuing to feed in front of me. After the rain passed, a slightly damp looking Reed Warbler began singing from the reeds. There were at least three Reed Warbler that I could hear in the vicinity. This is a wonderful place to hear and perhaps see the Nightingale. I found six in around 100 metres of the ditches and surrounding bushes. The sound given out by these birds is incredible, so musical and unmistaken. With a little patience and close scanning, they can be located if not too deep in the bushes. Yesterday evening, I met with Carl for a first attempt at finding a Red-necked Nightjar. We didn't find one and perhaps it is still a little too early. Hopefully I may just get lucky before we have to leave. Waiting for dusk, we watched all the other birds around. A stunning Marsh Harrier made a final tour of the reed beds. That day's new migrant appeared in the form of our first Sedge Warbler, creeping very low in the reeds. As it began to get dark, we experienced many birds flying to roost. Cattle Egrets passed over in small flocks and three Night Herons were nice surprise. We heard Bee-eaters approaching and when we first saw them, it was a large flock numbering 45 birds. Easily the largest Bee-eater flock I have seen. They passed through continuing in a Southerly direction, no doubt coming down somewhere before the coast. Just before dark, a huge roost of Starlings appeared, before quickly settling in the reed bed. This morning in the same field, Quails were calling frequently. Below is the habitat the Quails are found in, the most colourful country meadows. Back at the lake, this Black-headed Weaver male has lost its previous nest, perhaps in the recent strong winds. Today, it set too making a new nest, without hesitation. Today's new migrant was a pair of Common Whitethroats, keeping close to each other and feeding often on the ground. There are many other species passing through all the time - Glossy Ibis, Black-shouldered Kite, White Storks and Booted Eagles have been seen on each visit.
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