My day began down at Port do Baleeira (Sagres harbour). The over-wintering Rock Pipit arrived recently and I wasn't long in locating it, on the seaward side of the outer harbour wall. It was just completing a preening session and looks in good condition. There are five Black Redstarts around the apartment, two males and three females. The plumage of the males is beautiful and they frequently sing from the roofs. At Cabranosa, I finally managed to photograph a bird I've searched for relentlessly in the Algarve. We did have some flocks in flight a few days ago and today, a single bird settled on the trig point for a good while. I mis-identified it at first until Steve called Rock Sparrow, then I realised what was staring me in the face. A juvenile sparrow judging by the white edged coverts. Yesterday's juvenile Golden Eagle took to the air late morning, remaining distant towards Sagres before drifting off East. It joined a Griffon Vulture for a short time, occasionally being lost in cloud. It later appeared to descend again in the distance and may still be in the greater area. There was very low cloud, almost fog, coming and going most of the day. This made raptor viewing difficult, however a small number of Booted and Short-toed Eagles were seen. An Egyptian Vulture, 2 Hen Harriers, 1 Peregrine and 1 Hobby accounted for most of the raptors noted. This single Black Kite arrived late afternoon. I found a Yellow-browed Warbler on a couple of occasions in the trees around the watchpoint. It was possibly the same bird as seen yesterday and fed in all the pine trees.
I met with Steve on Atalaia headland for an early walk and it was clear that thrushes were moving about in small numbers. We listened to the thin call of the Song Thrushes, in case a Redwing was among them. It wasn't long before two Ring Ouzels were found on the bushes. The light was poor but they looked like adult winter birds. A third Ouzel was seen flying towards the sea cliffs shortly afterwards. The bushes were rather short of birds with a few Blackbirds, Sardinian Warbler and the Stonechats, of course. A distinct call alerted us to a Brambling flying over. We picked it out in flight and luckily it chose to land a short distance away. A fairly scarce record in these parts so I was pleased to actually photograph one. Late yesterday, a flock of Griffon Vultures appeared to overnight somewhere in the Raposeira area. I told Steve I was going to try and see these birds lifting off as the morning warmed up, having roughed out a suitable location to watch from. I left Atalaia and found my well camouflaged Wryneck in a fig tree, behind the apartment. The watchpoint I selected was roughly halfway between Pedralva and Raposeira. My estimate worked out fairly well as I found Griffons lifting off within minutes of arriving. Twelve vultures were soon rising up, leaving another seven in a field, around 400 yards away. Behind these few Griffons I could see most of the 180 birds reported yesterday, circling far off and drifting away North. In this flock, not only was there a Ruppell's Vulture but also a much sought after Golden Eagle. I thought it worth remaining up here for a while in case of a return and turned my attention to the numerous Woodlarks, two flyover Bullfinches, a Firecrest and a possible Yellow-browed Warbler seen and heard very briefly. The sky remained clear of large raptors and we decided to return to Cabranosa. No sooner had we arrived when the twelve Griffons seen earlier, were seen coming towards us with two Bonelli's Eagles and two Booted Eagles. They were all flying very high but beneath them, a very large eagle on its own, flew directly towards us. To the amazement of all gathered at the watchpoint, this was a juvenile Golden Eagle. A very dark eagle, as juvenile Golden's are and still having dark upperparts and an extensive white tail, this looked like a 1st year eagle. White tail band with black edge. Almost unifomly dark upperparts. Large white patches visible on the underwings. This stunning Golden Eagle treated us to a magnificant fly around, over our heads for several minutes. It was difficult to take the eyes away from the Golden Eagle, though other raptors were coming and going. A Hen Harrier was seen at height, around 8 Short-toed Eagles and 4 Booted Eagles accompanied the Griffons. This little Hobby raced around the sky and snatched dragonflies regularly. To round off a superb day, I found another Yellow-browed Warbler in the trees at Cabranosa, while checking passing Chiffchaffs.
In a large flock of Griffons yesterday, two Black Vultures were present and one was seen to leave the flock and make its own way to the North East. This morning, without any Griffons at all, a Black Vulture appeared being escorted by two Egyptian Vultures. This individual circled a couple of times, just North of our watchpoint before leaving the area once again. An absolutely huge creature, it was a pity it didn't stay longer to have time to observe it better. There were frequent showings by Common Buzzards, with five together at one time. Before the large vulture arrived, a single Black Stork flew low over the wood at Cabranosa. Two more Black Storks were seen with the Black Vulture and a fourth appeared later in the afternoon. A late Honey Buzzard passed over us, other raptors included 10 Short-toed Eagles, 14 Booted Eagles, 1 Sparrowhawk. A large flock of Woodpigeons descended into the wood, numbering around fifty birds. On the ground, Chris did well to pick out a distant Wryneck, considering how well camouflaged these birds can be. There were no signs of Rock Sparrow flocks today, despite our constant listening. However, we did pick up a Brambling calling as it flew with a small number of Chaffinches. Chaffinch flocks are showing more often and Serins were visiting the pond also. Migrants in the form of Pied Flycatcher, Wheatear and this Common Redstart are still around the parking area. Two or three Woodlarks are present and Meadow Pipits are beginning to feed on the ground here.
Late in the afternoon, a Short-toed Eagle settled briefly in a tree before flying out again. An early start in Sagres and the quiet was shattered by a flock of six Ravens honking loudly and flying over the road to the Cape. Two Ravens have been seen around Vale Santo for a while though six is a significant increase. A Wryneck was found along the same road but it failed to show for long as it soon disappeared under bushes. The drive up to Cabranosa was fairly uneventful, until reaching the open ground below the hill. I noticed two large thrushes fly up from the ground, one was a Mistle Thrush and incredibly the other bird was a Fieldfare. Even though a good number of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes have come in recently, I was not expecting to see a Fieldfare just yet, if at all! Steve joined me at this time while the Fieldfare gave good views in a nearby tree. We continued looking for ground birds, checking finch flocks and still finding odd Willow Warblers and Redstarts. A further highlight for me occurred suddenly when a flock of around 40 Rock Sparrows flew noisily over the open ground. Rock Sparrow is a species on my life list, though I have never had more than a glimpse of one bird here at Cabranosa a couple of years ago and, a dubious sighting of one on Mallorca. The call, a 'vui' sound was certainly unfamiliar, heard repeatedly as the flock flew around before settling in a tree. Getting close to the flock proved difficult as they were quite mobile but stayed remarkably hidden when in the pines. The raptor watch was very slow today. The weather was beautiful and clear yet few birds showed up in the morning. Six Common Buzzards appeared together at one stage and two Egyptian Vultures were noted. In the afternoon, small numbers of very high flying birds came in. A good mix of Booted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, one Black Kite and four Red Kites (unusually high number) made up a single flock. We were on the point of calling it a day, late in the afternoon, when there was a large arrival of Griffon Vultures once more. A rough estimate would be approximately 450 birds and today's flocks contained a Bonelli's Eagle and two Black Vultures. A few of the Griffon Vultures trying to work out a suitable direction. One of the Black Vultures ahead of three Griffons.
Now the recent rain has passed, drinking water for the birds is only available in random places. There are no streams, natural ponds or wetlands on the Sagres peninsula. A deep rut on an isolated track which will hold rainwater for a while, becomes a busy watering hole as the surrounding land dries under the sun. At the rear of the apartment, the Wryneck I often hear calling, showed very briefly and not too well at that this morning. On the same ground were 5 Black Redstarts, White Wagtail, Willow Warbler and 2 Blackcaps. On Carl's pond at Cabranosa, the local Great Spotted Woodpecker made one of its daily visits. In the air, 3 Egyptian Vultures had passed through and 4 Short-toed Eagles were flying over the nearby wood. Our 'watchers' today were Ricardo and Tiago, recording everything that flys through Cabranosa. Ricardo was on top form when he heard the call of an Olive-backed Pipit flying over and landing in the wood ahead of us. After a short search through the pines, Ricardo refound the OBP and we were able to observe it for a short time, before it moved on. This was a 'life' bird for me finally, having missed enough of them over the years. The pipit was not easily seen in the pine trees and my attempt at a photo reflects this. Returning to the watchpoint from our successful OBP twitch, I picked up a Merlin chasing a Skylark over the trees. The chase was fast and lasted a considerable time before, I think, the Skylark got away and the chase broke off. One of a late arrival of five Booted Eagles this afternoon. Yesterday a large number of Griffon Vultures arrived. We saw them from Raposeira, a flock of several hundred.
Following a couple of quiet days due partly to passing rain showers, it was good to see more birds showing on the way up to Cabranosa. Around the hill, Redstarts and both common flycatchers had re-appeared, together with Garden Warblers, a Wryneck and Meadow Pipits flying over. Finch flocks, mainly Chaffinches were passing through in small but regular flocks. The air was warming up, now the sun was back and Common Buzzards were soon in the area. Our attention was constantly divided between a steady flow of passerines coming through and fresh raptors arriving. Several Common Whitethroats were seen and Woodlarks were singing over the trees. A flurry of hirundines included Barn Swallows, 3 Crag Martin and a single Sand Martin. A Golden Plover was heard then seen flying over. Short-toed Eagles came over, a group of five to begin with. Booted Eagles were next, mostly pale birds with one dark form. Two juvenile Egyptian Vultures passed through high up and, although I didn't see them , a group of four Black Storks showed for a time. We enjoyed a steady movement of raptors throughout the morning and around midday, out of nowhere appeared a juvenile Spanish Imperial Eagle. In comparison to what we have been watching, this is a very large eagle. The next image shows a distant encounter between a pale Booted Eagle and the much larger Spanish Imperial Eagle. This beautifully coloured juvenile eagle made two passes over us, as it surveyed the Sagres area from high up, eventually leaving us extremely pleased to have seen this rare eagle in these parts. It was whilst watching the Spanish Imperial Eagle, we then saw a large flock of Griffon Vultures heading in our direction. We estimated the number at around 500 birds, frequently thermalling and then moving forward again. The Griffons didn't approach close enough for a good inspection before turning away to the North and leaving us. Feeling the day had gone well, some of us reverted to checking small migrants around the hill. A very keen eye found a small warbler which was no less than a Yellow-browed Warbler. It was found in a small undergrowth and was happy feeding on open ground, which I haven't seen before but stayed there for a good while. This Yellow-browed Warbler is my second individual of the Autumn around Sagres.
No, not a problem with the weather at all but, the arrival of a splendid male Snow Bunting at Alvor in the Algarve has caused a stir. The bird was found near the breakwater by Paulo De Sousa Costa who, unsure of the identity, looked up the Snow Bunting in a field guide. Angela, 'Ellie the dog' and myself set off from Sagres, joined by Sue and Chris, Pam and Brian at Alvor harbour and the search for yesterday's sighting began. We searched a wide open area of beach, saltmarsh, dunes and paths for around an hour. We were unsuccessful and returned the one and a half miles back to Alvor. Almost back at Alvor, we met with Lars and Susana who were on their way to look for the Snow Bunting. We were being served a welcome coffee when news came that Lars had found the Snow Bunting - back at the breakwater! What became apparent was that the Snow Bunting seemed reluctant to expose itself to the direct sunshine and was found, under the pipelines which have been used for harbour dredging work. It stayed in this location all the time, feeding well on coarse grass seeds. A dog-walker with a large dog loose, passed close to the pipes and flushed the Snow Bunting on to the rocks of the breakwater. We were able to get exceptional views of this colourful Snow Bunting, before it quickly sought shelter in the shade of the pipes once more. Was the temperature in the sun something the Snow Bunting was unable to tolerate? There have been a few sightings of Snow Bunting in the Algarve over the years and it is difficult to speculate where this bird may have come from - North in Scandinavia or even the Arctic circle.
Another memorable day around Sagres began with a further trip to find seabirds far out at sea. It was a beautiful bright morning and the sea was as calm as the Atlantic can be expected to be with no wind. We had the great company of Brian, Chris and Sue and, with only one other passenger, we almost had the RIB to ourselves. Once out of Sagres harbour we set off at high speed and after twenty minutes or so, we encountered a large school of bottle nosed dolphins. With the RIB at standstill, the dolphins cruised around us. We could see them passing under the craft and sometimes they surfaced next to us - so close the lens wouldn't wind in enough. Many dolphins were seen over a large area, this mother had a calf of only a few weeks old. Surprisingly, the first seabirds other than Gannets we came across, were the European Storm-Petrels. We found them at regular intervals on our route and after checking a working trawler for following seabirds, returned to look at the Petrels. With the barrel of chum duly unloaded, the Storm-Petrels approached us closer. We were distracted from the petrels by a Great Skua flying in, circling us several times and having a really close look. Then it was back to the petrels, hoping for a Wilson's which failed to appear unfortunately. The Storm-Petrels though were now feeding on the oily surface of chum. On the trip, we saw five Balearic Shearwaters but not a single Cory's, even near the Cape. Two Mediterranean Gulls and an Audouin's Gull were seen along with many Gannets. A huge Thank You to 'marilimitado' for this brilliant experience. After leaving the RIB in Sagres, we all made our way up to Cabranosa just in time to witness the arrival of 400 Griffon Vultures. The Griffons were as high as the cumulus clouds when first seen in the distance. Eventually they untangled themselves from their spiralling and continued their flight towards us. It was at this time we learnt from the watchers that a Ruppell's Vulture had been seen among the Griffons. Finding the Ruppell's Vulture in the flock of Griffons may not be easy at this height. But having located it, keeping track of the dark, smaller vulture resulted in positive identification as it flew nearer.
The Ruppell's Vulture between two Griffons. I was on an airport run yesterday and had plenty of time to call in a few favourite places:- ETAR at Vilamoura. A view across one of the small reservoirs revealed the most Ferruginous Ducks I have seen here. A flock of sixteen were on the far side (as they often are!) A duck I rarely see in the U.K. and these put on a very active performance. This site has a tremendous number of Little Grebes, in the region of 140 birds swimming together. There were many Red-crested Pochards and Shovelers, a few Gadwall but no Tufted Duck were seen. A couple of 'exotics' in the trees here, a female Black-headed Weaver and Waxbill. Overhead, four White Storks had taken to the air. The nearby wetland and hide were not really visitable today. The hide and fencing were receiving a coat of paint, two more staff were cutting down reeds to make a larger viewing area. The Purple Swamphen didn't seem to mind, as they walked close to the workmen, picking up and chewing pieces of cut reed. Quinta do Lago. A Whimbrel on the estuary. The San Lourenco lake was quiet except for the usual wildfowl - Pochard, Gadwall and Mallard. Purple Swamphens showed well but no Little Bitterns emerged from the reeds while I was there. Glossy Ibis and a Cattle Egret on the water's edge. This afternoon, Chris and I searched the trees around Cabranosa for a Cirl Bunting. When he and Sue left and I had started the car engine, I noticed the Cirl Bunting fly into a nearby tree! My first two juvenile Griffon Vultures of the Autumn were observed at great height, some way off Cabranosa and didn't come any closer. We had a report of 400 Griffons to the North but they also turned back - maybe tomorrow!
The morning began quite foggy and I was hoping to meet with Chris and Sue for a walk around Boco do Rio at 9-30 a.m. Luckily it was only 8-00 a.m. and I had time to look for the reported Yellow-browed Warbler across the road from Beliche Fort (fog permitting). I joined up with Guillaume and the tiny warbler was seen for very brief moments as it searched out food in a dense pine bush. It showed once more before becoming very elusive and I left it, to start my planned day. Meeting Chris and Sue, Ellie the dog and I set off to walk the open fields and lanes in the valley behind Boco do Rio beach. There was a noticeable increase in Robins and Blackcaps which have arrived for winter in good numbers. Both species were calling, if not seen, throughout most of the route. Three Garden Warblers were found in one bush which was unusual. A Cetti's Warbler was seen and a Water Rail was heard squeaking in the reed bed. The fog lingered on the nearby hills for a while which deterred any raptors, other than three Kestrels flying lower down. Two Ravens were seen in the distance and a Common Snipe got up from the fresh water stream. Towards lunch-time, we all returned to Fort Beliche for a chance to get the Yellow-browed on Chris and Sue's list. The warbler had moved behind the restaurant, again in pines and equally difficult to see as before. Fortunately, it did show quite well on occasions. The afternoon was spent at Cabranosa where raptors were few and infrequent again. Two Egyptian Vultures passed over as I arrived and a small number of Booted Eagles toured the area. We were fortunate to see the male Ring Ouzel which arrived yesterday. It was seen in several trees around Cabranosa and visited Carl's pond on two occasions. We left around 4-00 p.m. and I made a last minute decision to follow Brian and Pam to the Fort, for one last crack at the Yellow-browed Warbler. We found it in the same bushes, together with a couple of Sardinian Warblers two Willow Warblers and this Nightingale made a surprise appearance, sitting out nicely on some dead branches. One more look at the Yellow-browed Warbler. Fascinating how this Siberian breeding warbler which winters in South-east Asia, finds its way to the most Western tip of Europe. (my second Algarve record for this species).
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