Most of today was spent on the Sagres Peninsula, taking my time and seeing what was about. A look on the sea off Cape St. Vincent gave my first views of passing Razorbills this winter. Plenty of Gannets moving South and a few Cory's Shearwaters were noted. Away from the Cape, two groups of four Brambling were seen and heard in flight. An irregular winter visitor, they were new to my Algarve list and a part of the large finch movement here at the moment. Siskins are occurring all over and the stunning male below was part of a flock of eight, in the trees below Cabranosa. This male Blackcap was one of several seen this morning, a common resident in the Algarve Very alert! An uncommon bird in these parts is the Lapwing and eight were found near Vale Santo farm. Around the farm were Spotless Starlings, Black Redstart, many Thekla Larks and four White Wagtails. The raptor migration has all but ended. The remaining vulture flocks moved away to the North and will no doubt find a new route South for the winter. Two female and one male Hen Harriers were seen, together with a male Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and this near adult Short-toed Eagle which hunted over the nearby fields. ....... and one of eight Common Buzzards in the area.
It was the Cabranosa site which performed again today. Not the raptor migration for a change which seems to be coming to an end, although 40 Griffon Vultures remained some distance away this morning. As it was quiet in the air apart from a Hen Harrier and Peregrine, I turned my attention to the surrounding pine trees. Without doubt, there has been a large influx of finches down here, in the last few days. My first bird this morning was a Hawfinch feeding on the ground with Greenfinches. I am aware of the numbers of Hawfinch being found in the U.K. and speaking to local birders, there are many more than usual here too. Similarly, Siskin flocks seem to be in the air in many places. Chiffchaffs are here in ever-increasing numbers as winter approaches and, whilst watching several of these feeding in the pines, I noticed another warbler not quite so large and possessing long and short wing-bars. Like the Chiffchaffs, this warbler was silent too and a better look at the yellowish wing-bars and yellow supercillium, confirmed my thoughts that this was a Yellow-browed Warbler. It looked so strange as I'm used to seeing them in sycamore trees and this one could hide just as well in the pines! This Yellow-browed was a first for me in the Algarve and I wasn't long in telling Lars and Phillipa, the Portuguese recorders on the watchpoint. I re-found it for them and to my delight, it was a new species for them altogether and they were able to get some photographic records too. More images from around today. Firecrests in the woods. Siskins feeding in the pines. Nuthatch. Grey Heron.
I spent the day at Quinta do Lago as a change from raptor watching, at this popular lakeside setting adjoining the golf course. Most of the species seen here were residents and little had changed from previous visits. It was still an interesting time photographing birds in close proximity. A male Red-crested Pochard. Together with Common Pochard, quite a few pairs were seen. One of two juvenile Spoonbills which finally woke up and made a good subject. The Purple Gallinule or Purple Swamphen is a bird easily seen at this sight now. Once rare, it breeds well and when the golfers' have finished for the day, they can be seen walking in the open on the golf course. This one swam directly towards me and into the reeds below the hide. Some strange looking Shovelers around at the moment, as they come out of their moult. One of six Glossy Ibis glinting in the sun, again two or three could be seen wandering on the golf course, feeding in the grass. I located a Common Snipe tucked away in some cut down reeds, it eventually came out to feed. A female Bluethroat, more elusive than the Snipe showed momentarily from the reeds. This Cormorant and Common Sandpiper were by my car when I returned. This is a great site for Azure-winged Magpie in good numbers. A little patience and they will come close.
Not much more to say really, except another afternoon in awe of these magnificent vultures. With a wingspan around 2.5 metres, it is difficult to take in the spectacle as this advancing army, a flock of about 300 birds slowly passes before your eyes. One bird makes a turn and the rest follow, creating this immense spiral or 'kettling'. The above images appear to make the vultures seem distant. I had retracted my lens, it was in fact going on right over me. There were no Ruppell's Vultures in this flock, just a single Egyptian Vulture, Black Stork and Booted Eagle.
Today had a good feel as I stepped outside and a Bee-eater flew up the road and disappeared over nearby roofs. Arriving at Cabranosa, there was again much evidence of passerine movements with 15 White Wagtail and 2 Meadow Pipit on the ground. High numbers of Chaffinches were passing over and Siskins were seen in two's and three's also. A Woodlark called as it flew North and Stock Doves were flying in small flocks. The Portuguese recorders told us that a large number (hundreds) of Griffon Vultures had roosted up in the hills to the North-East the night before and, it was with a feeling of great anticipation that we settled down to a waiting game! Around late morning, we had our first impression of what was to come - minute speckles all over the distant sky. It soon became clear that this was a very large movement of Vultures and we were going to be looking at near a thousand birds! In sight of 'lands end', the Vultures split into several groups, each group spiralling and working out the next direction. A 'lead' bird would then start them drifting off, in one direction or another, constantly changing the pattern of birds in the sky. What was interesting among all the Griffons were the other birds which were tagging along with the main movement. 7 Black Storks stayed high above the rest, a single White Stork was seen in one flock. An Egyptian Vulture was there with Short-toed Eagle and Booted Eagle too. Later I found a female Hen Harrier and adult plus juvenile Bonelli's Eagle, in a separate flock. The entire movement reached Sagres before turning and despite them being watchable from a distance, they didn't come in our direction for the next couple of hours. After lunch, I decided to try and get under the flock by heading through Sagres and found the birds along the coast, between Sagres and Xavial. As they were drifting slowly east, I made for Xavial, turning right in the village of Raposeira. As I made the right turn, the Vultures had beaten me to it and were actually flying over the village and heading back to the hills in the north. I stopped the car outside a shop(!) and watched as the Griffons, now in an endlessly long line, slowly flew over Raposeira. I watched every single bird, looking for a marked difference in any of them. I counted at least 200 birds by this time. Surely a Bonelli's Eagle isn't going to challenge a Griffon!! Then I picked out what I had been searching for - Ruppell's Vulture. The white bands along either wing make this bird unmistakable - ending my long search for some years!
Thought of more as an African vulture, they do frequent Griffon colonies in Spain, but are still considered a rarity. This Ruppell's has a fair amount of wear and moult to its juvenile feathers but was an absolute stunner, as far as I was concerned. The numbers of raptors on the move is way down on previous years. Some of us are wondering if the wildfires across central Portugal and Spain have re-routed many of the birds elsewhere. This morning, the most frequent bird seen was probably the Sparrowhawk. There was a large arrival of passerines, mostly Chaffinches, Meadow Pipits and even Siskins - a flyover Hawfinch was unexpected. This may have accounted for the Sparrowhawks being much in evidence. The local Peregrines may have had the same thought! Short-toed Eagles numbered around six while I was there and a single Black Kite flew through. Several Common Buzzards appeared from the surrounding woodlands. This female Hen Harrier passed quite close over the watchpoint. More images, on the way to and from Cabranosa. The Crag Martins settling in at Figueira. Meadow Pipit, Crested Lark and Common Sandpiper at Boca do Rio.
Boca do Rio. Vale Santo - simple farming. No bricks and tarmac for me! Crested Tit, Nuthatch and Warblers. Sunset near home. Outskirts of Alvor.
This morning I visited one of the coastal valleys off the road to Sagres. Only a week ago, I had watched Red-rumped Swallows and House Martins noisily preparing for their departure south. Now it is the turn of Crag Martins to take advantage of the isolated rock faces, found in these parts. The arrival of about forty Crag Martins was really noticeable, they were quick to find a place on the cliffs and began preening immediately. I'm sure they must have arrived this morning as short distance migrants, to winter here on the coast. There appeared to be some juvenile birds who were still 'begging' as the parents flew close by. The dark underwing patch shows nicely on this bird in flight. Also on the cliffs this morning were these two Red-billed Choughs. For a change, the light was in a favourable direction and produced some nice highlights on the Choughs plumage. Also seen on the cliffs were 2 Black Redstarts and a Blue Rock Thrush. Down on the beach were Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and this Osprey flew through.
With the first cloudy sky for five weeks and a brisk wind blowing from the South-East, I wasn't too optimistic for a good raptor day. In fact I was surprised to see this female Hen Harrier being buffeted as it hunted the fields around Sagres. It was a couple of hours before birds appeared at Cabranosa and we were all treated to the sight of Hobbies, performing their acrobatic pursuit of dragonflies. As I had just been tested, photographing the agile Hobbies, the brief appearance of a Pallid Swift proved even more difficult but I was quite lucky and pleased to get these results. After lunch, the Lesser Spotted Eagle appeared. This juvenile has shown up a couple of days in the last two weeks and I was keen to get some good views of this 'life tick' eagle. As it navigated the entire peninsula twice, we were all hoping for close views. The diagnostic white markings on both upper and underwing could be seen through scopes, but the bird didn't come close at all. I was fortunate to get some record shots and am delighted to have watched this individual as it spent time around the peninsula. Close views were an underestimate when our next raptor arrived - a massive Griffon Vulture, which literally came to see us, flying overhead at the watch point. A juvenile Egyptian Vulture joined the Griffon for a while, as did a Black Stork. At a nearby farm, a carcass has been providing food for a Black Kite flock, often accompanied by Ravens and Common Buzzards. It has provided a great opportunity to see Black Kites close up.
A day when Bonelli's Eagles made a lasting impression in the sky over Cabranosa. Although the vast majority of raptors seen here are juveniles, there are resident Bonelli's Eagles and adults appear from time to time. A pair of adults and two juveniles set about a Common Buzzard, resulting in one of the juveniles 'winning' the prize. (Regrettably, all this action took place at considerable distance, but had to be recorded). Adult Bonelli's Eagle. A vertical stoop by the adult. Three of the Bonelli's take on the Buzzard. One of the juveniles takes the Buzzard. juvenile Bonelli's Eagle. Today saw a good number of birds arriving at Cabranosa - 10 light and 2 dark Booted Eagle, 18 Short-toed Eagle, 8 Bonelli's Eagle, 2 Honey Buzzard. 8+ Common Buzzard, 12 Black Kite, 1 Red Kite, 1 Hen Harrier, 2 Goshawk, 2 Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrel. Later in the afternoon, 170 Griffon Vultures and 1 Egyptian Vulture arrived, but soon departed again (a Ruppell's Vulture was believed to be among them). The female Hen Harrier.
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