A short note as we've moved down to Sagres this afternoon, for a month closer to the 'action'. This morning we had a further seabird trip which unfortunately, didn't bring any new species in to view. The 'skipper' decided to sail due West from Cape St. Vincent to an area of very deep water where, in recent days there have been excellent sightings of several shearwater and skua species. Despite the skipper's best efforts to locate birds for us, we found a handful of European Storm Petrels and a single Wilson's Petrel. The further West we went, the livelier the sea became and we really had no option than to look elsewhere, on our way back. Gannets were the most frequently seen bird. A couple of Sandwich Terns flew South and around six Balearic Shearwaters passed quickly. Occasionally, a Cory's Shearwater would give us good views, passing close to the boat. The main highlight this week has been the early arrival of juvenile Griffon Vultures. By previous years, these birds are a month early, usually arriving in the first week of November. Random flocks of up to 100 birds have been occurring over a wide area. 71 Griffons passed over Figueira yesterday morning. I'm sure we will see many more of these huge raptors in the coming weeks.
I am going out on my evening 'Owl' walk now, always hopeful for a Scops Owl!! It was very much a team effort as six of our friends joined Angela, Ellie and myself, for a day's birding around Salgados. The water level was incredibly low, leaving large areas of mud for a great variety of water birds to feed and rest on. From the larger White Storks, Grey Herons, Spoonbills and Flamingos. to the small Dunlins, Kentish and Ringed Plovers, there was a wonderful array of species to observe. I personally achieved a satisfying 57 species through the day. One of our target species was obviously going to be the Red-knobbed Coot, a rare visitor here and present for a week now. We found the Coot at the Eastern end of the wetland, in the channel close to the footbridge where it seems to favour. The two small red 'blips' above the bill are barely noticeable, even at short distance. However, we found the easiest way to locate this particular bird was by the steel grey bill, which was very noticeable when compared to the other Coots. A great bird to see and a further addition to my Algarve List! In the same area near the bridge were two Bar-tailed Godwits. On our way to the bridge, we had the most amazing views of a Black-shouldered Kite feeding close to the boardwalk. We had seen it earlier, working its way around the wetland until it came closer. After watching the Red-knobbed Coot, we returned to the car park, accumulating more species along the way. It was time for lunch and Ellie kept herself cool after the walk. One of the more surprising waders, a Wood Sandpiper.
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