No visit to Cabranosa and a change from raptor watching. A leisurely day on the beach at Boco do Rio was today's plan but first, my early visit to Atalaia had me looking at a super example of a 1st winter Spectacled Warbler. This is a bird I'm not too familiar with and struggle to separate them from Whitethroat at times. This individual was extremely colourful, more so than illustrated in some field guides and hence my difficulty. The sides which can be buff in colour were more extensive and deeper in colour. Most of the time I was observing the bird, it maintained a 'cocked' tail attitude. A little later, we were in the beautiful location of Boco do Rio. 'Ellie the dog' loves this beach and before long, we were treated to some passing dolphins moving along the coast. On the cliffs behind the beach, Blue Rock Thrushes were moving about and frequently in song, even late in the Summer. A male Redstart was found in the lower bushes. A leisurely morning was followed by a lunch in nearby Salema, then back to the apartment in time to see four Egyptian Vultures going through!
Yesterday on Atalaia headland near Sagres, a burst of new small migrants appeared in the hedge. Around ten Common Whitethroats were an increase in this species compared to previous days. Common Redstarts were showing well including this one feeding on the ground. It was good to see Pied Flycatchers appearing once more. A Spotted Flycatcher catches a dragonfly for a morning meal. This morning in Port de Baleeira (harbour in Sagres), many young Yellow-legged Gulls were taking advantage of the by-catch from the recently arrived fishing vessels. I became aware of a sudden panic among the gulls as they left the surrounding cliffs and fled from the water also. It wasn't long before the cause became very apparent. An Osprey casually patrolled the sky above the harbour. A busier day at Cabranosa followed, with some interesting raptors arriving as well as this Black Stork flying with four Egyptian Vultures. Sparrowhawks were very much the small raptor showing, with at least six seen. Our day total amounted to - 1 Osprey, 4 Egyptian Vulture, 2 Honey Buzzard, 4 Short-toed Eagle, 8 Booted Eagle, 1 Black Kite, 1 Eleonora's Falcon,1 Peregrine, 2 Kestrel, 6 Sparrowhawk and this near adult Bonelli's Eagle.
Only five minutes from Sagres this morning and I encountered a new addition to my Algarve List. A juvenile Squacco Heron, presumably on migration and stopping over on the Algarve coast. A delightful small heron species which I have seen roosting at Coto Donana in Spain and very pleased to include this one on my List. In this location, at least ten Wheatears were seen together with this Reed Warbler. A well marked juvenile Yellow Wagtail. At Cabranosa, raptors were still few but noticeably more Sparrowhawks today, sometimes five in small groups flying very high. Other raptors included - 6 Booted Eagles, 1 Black Kite, 2 Honey Buzzard, 1 Hen Harrier and this quite pale juvenile Bonelli's Eagle. As we were 'closing' for the day, Chris and I were searching bushes when I noticed a small brown warbler fly low and straight, landing a short distance away in undergrowth. It was seen again in flight and briefly on the ground, without any doubt in my mind - Grasshopper Warbler. This became the second addition to my List today.
The title sums up my first impression, as I set out this morning with hardly a bird to be found in my surroundings. With not even a flycatcher in the nearby pinewood, I was a little stumped as to where we would enjoy today's birding. I decided we would visit my friend Bubo (latin for Eagle Owl!) in the location I have known for some years. With a little searching we found our 'Resident' high up in his secret lair. We continued our walk until we reached the coast and 'Ellie the dog' enjoyed a run on the beach, along with a few Sanderlings doing the same. Two or three Blue Rock Thrushes were seen on the cliffs along with a fine Peregrine, perched on the skyline. Later this afternoon, I was determined to find a new migrant and chose the farm at Vale Santo for a search. The bare soil in the foreground had around twenty Short-toed Larks and three Yellow Wagtails feeding.
My 'Migrant' appeared after a long search of the fields here and what better example of a migratory wader than a superb Dotterel. A scarce but regular visitor to these fields on its migration route to Africa. This bird was always distant and the heat haze over the ground made watching it a little difficult, however I was pleased with this find today. A lovely encounter with some Egyptian Vultures this morning. A flock of six birds came in to Cabranosa with a further ten at high level this afternoon.
As vultures are usually silent, I think the open mouth is more likely 'gaping' - attempting to let in cool air. Hopefully today is the last day of blustery Northerlies which has not only suppressed the raptors but has cleared out many of the small migrants on the headland. On yesterday's early visit to wake up the Willow Warblers, I found only half the number of birds compared to the previous day's total. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of new birds in the hedge, including two Wrynecks which were also warming up in the early sunlight. Further species began to emerge including this Common Nightingale, one of two seen in the hedge, or under it mostly! Birds were beginning to move around now, a Turtle Dove was one of the first to leave the bushes. 3 Whinchats and 2 Wheatears were sitting on top of bushes in the open field. Thekla Larks began flying, a Pallid Swift came through and at least 10 Yellow Wagtails flew around the Headland. A smart Subalpine Warbler showed fairly well for a time, .... as did one of three Reed Warblers. Simon Wates arrived and quickly pointed out a Western Bonelli's Warbler high in the furthest bushes to the West end. It was a very active bird and I managed a photo from where we stood, being unable to relocate it closer up. I was very pleased with this sighting, making two records of this species in two days. This morning there were even less birds on the Headland however, two highlights were a female Hen Harrier and a skulking Ortolon Bunting. With no decrease in the wind, we later moved on to Boco do Rio fields where, in the absence of anything, I made do with a few Red-rumped Swallows passing through. The small beach at Boco do Rio is one of my favourites, purely for the setting and views. It is also 'Ellie the Dog's' favourite, not for the beach which can shelve considerably into the sea but for the small lagoon behind the beach. Checking first for any feeding Common Sandpipers, I let her go for a cool off! The area behind the beach and the high cliff had a good number of Northern Wheatears moving around. Between 15 and 20 Wheatears at a rough estimate. The wind is forecast to ease tonight. With luck the Sagres peninsula will see new birds in tomorrow and hopefully, a busy day at our 'office on the hill' with some counting to be done.
It is early days with the raptors, numbers being low however the variety is showing already. In the last two days we have seen the arrival of Booted, Short-toed and one Bonelli's Eagle. Black Kites and Honey Buzzards trickling in small numbers and the occasional Goshawk, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine have passed through. After yesterday's first Black Stork, this afternoon five arrived, making hard work of the fresh wind blowing at the moment. A dark Honey Buzzard. The small migrant birds are keeping us nicely busy, with the Pied and Spotted Flycatchers showing very well in all locations. Early this morning at Atalaia, there had been a good 'fall' of Willow Warblers, five or six birds in every bush. Several Willow Warblers kept closing their eyes, even as the sun rose. I was quite surprised to see a juvenile Yellow Wagtail roosting in the bushes here. More birds were picked out as it became lighter - 3 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat and more Spotted Flycatchers. The scene was much the same as I checked the pottery pinewood (pinhal ceramica). Large numbers of Willow Warblers and in a tree containing five of them, I saw a warbler having very white underparts. This was a Western Bonelli's Warbler looking nice and green on the wings and well marked altogether. I alerted Chris and Sue who came down and also found the bird, thankfully in the same place. In the same pinewood, I am finding many more Turtle Doves than in previous years. I can't imagine the recent ban on hunting in some countries is effective yet but, there are flocks of ten to twelve birds here most mornings and we are seeing them at Cabranosa too. Up at Cabranosa it is hot out of the wind. 'Ellie the dog' enjoys her walks here and when too hot, rests under a bush where she can see us!! On Carl's pond, this individual had us puzzling for a while. We decided on a very young Cirl Bunting in the end. This afternoon's raptors comprised 5 Black Kites, 2 Honey Buzzards, 1 Booted Eagle, 1 Hen Harrier and a Peregrine.
Delighted to be back in Portugal, we landed at Faro brandishing our newly acquired visas and set off on the now familiar route to Sagres. We are settling in at the Sagres Time apartments, recommended to us by friends Steve and Alyson and yesterday afternoon I had a couple of hours on the Atalaia headland after collecting 'Ellie the dog' from her long road journey. The rain which had fallen in the morning was clearing away nicely and blue skies returned once more. Bird migration is getting underway and this headland is always a good indicator of what species are on passage. Pied and Spotted Flycatchers are early arrivals, around six of each species soon found in the bushes. 1w Pied Flycatcher. Pied Flycatcher leaving its perch to catch food. I was expecting Willow Warblers to be seen quickly but instead it was a Melodious Warbler which became my first warbler sighting. The flat crown and sloping forehead of the Melodious Warbler shows well. More expected warblers - Sardinian, Fan-tailed and Common Whitethroat were found along with a Reed Warbler, below. The sky was quiet birdwise after the rain, with no raptors moving yet. Only four Red-rumped Swallows and a Common Swift passed over the headland. This morning I visited the headland again, shortly after sunrise and in time to watch the fog roll in from the sea!! Looking for birds was very limited in the poor visibility, I almost tripped on this juvenile Woodchat Shrike feeding on the ground in front of me. I found a single Nightingale and this Whinchat in the gloom before heading home for breakfast. The fog lasted less than an hour and we were soon on our way to our first day at Cabranosa, with Chris and Sue. The recent rain meant that raptors would be very few if any but, it provided a great opportunity to concentrate on all the small migrants, of which there were plenty to see. Flycatchers made up the majority of migrants seen while Chris and I set about locating a Western Orphean Warbler, present for some days around the watchpoint. We did find the Orphean Warbler before lunch, seeing it well but only briefly before becoming very elusive again. Only the second sighting for both Chris and myself so we were both pleased. Among the Common Whitethroats, we did find more than one 1w Spectacled Warbler, looking much brighter and uniform in colour. Two or three Common Redstarts were seen including a nice male, moulting its black head. In the pines we separated Linnets, Greenfinches and came across two superb Ortolon Buntings. Close to where the Orphean Warbler was found, a group of four Garden Warblers made an interesting sighting. I mentioned earlier that raptors would be few and the only arrivals seen were - a Black Stork, the first of Autumn accompanied for a while by a Honey Buzzard and, two Booted Eagles with a single one just before we left for the day.
An excellent start today, as the rain clears in the North we can expect many more birds arriving. |
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