I had a late afternoon walk with birding friends Roger and Cheryl on this picturesque headland, overlooking Sagres and towards Cape St. Vincent. A visit earlier in the day had revealed a Richard's Pipit and within a short time, not one but two birds were picked up, flying and giving their short 'shreep' calls. One flew off and out of sight, the other perched for a while and we were able to get some reasonable views of it. Atalaia is a favoured wintering ground for the Richard's Pipit and it was good to see them return once more. Two Choughs were seen on the headland, along with a male Kestrel, several Black Redstarts, two Thekla's Larks and a White Wagtail. As dusk approached, a number of Starlings came in to roost. We found not only the resident Spotless Starling which is found in S.W. Europe, but mixed in with them were the Common Starling which arrive in large numbers from the North in winter. Top three birds are Spotless Starling.
Yet another American vagrant has shown up in Portugal, with this fine Wilson's Phalarope settling in at the ricefields of Lagoa. Since the remnants of the hurricane were felt on the West coast of Portugal, there have been - a Red-eyed Vireo, two Green Herons and now this rare wader, to keep the birders on their toes. When I arrived at Lagoa early this morning, I was treated to the sight of a huge number of White Storks arriving to rest on the wet fields. Some juvenile Flamingos were already wading about and the scan of smaller waders began. Black-winged Stilts, Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Avocets and 10 Ruff were the most obvious birds feeding, with a small number of Lapwings rising and falling in flight over the fields. Common Snipe were jumping about on the grassy banks and were to be found all over the wetland. There were Redshank, a single Greenshank dropped in, but it was a good half hour before the Phalarope eventually showed itself, at the right hand end of the wet field. Viewed from the road, it can be difficult at times if it disappears behind banks of grass or other obstructions. The Wilson's Phalarope is slightly different to other 'phals' in that, as well as swimming for long periods, it will also wade in shallow water and stand on open ground quite often. When feeding, it showed very nicely for quite some time on the open water. Not the easiest bird to photograph I found, but I was very pleased to see a rare spectacle such as this Wilson's Phalarope, during my stay in the Algarve.
On the subject of spectacles, the Glossy Ibis flock must have numbered around 1000 birds this morning and is something which really has to be appreciated. Raptors were certainly not in the forefront today. With a cloudy sky, low temperatures and not a breath of wind, a single White Stork drifted around for a while and the resident Kestrels hovered over the fields. With no wind rustling in the pines, the smaller birds became much more obvious. There was a good passage of Chaffinches and Greenfinches, Song Thrushes were around the trees including one in full song! I'm pretty sure I heard the 'seep' call of a Redwing. Below the trees, the bushes were filled with Robins and Blackcaps. Occasional Sardinian Warblers popped up and Black Redstarts flitted through the woodland. It wasn't long before a nice surprise showed itself, landing on a myrtle bush not far away - a Wryneck. A fairly late passage migrant I would have thought, but a nice reward for checking the flying Song Thrushes for Redwings. The Wryneck settled in a pine tree for a preening session, before moving further on.
Crested Tits were seen on the ground again today, in a different location to yesterday but in the same woodland. All day in the fields at Vale Santo farm, 36 Golden Plover were present. Rain and strong winds from the North over the last few days, has hampered my birding efforts and put a stop to the promising vulture build-up which had been going well. With the flycatchers, wheatears and many of the warblers all but gone, things are seemingly quiet. Continuing to visit the Sagres area, this morning was much calmer and brighter. Chaffinch numbers were clearly higher with many small flocks in the air. Serins were much more noticeable and Song Thrushes are building too. Around Vale Santo farm, Corn Buntings were in large flocks with the usual Thekla's Larks, but none of the scarcer larks were seen. Corn Bunting. Six Golden Plover were in the roadside field at the farm, together with five Red-legged Partridge. The resident Little Owls at the farm were enjoying some early morning sunshine. The Farm at Vale Santo with the Golden Plover field to the left of the road. At Cape St. Vincent, very few sea-birds were on the move. A Great Skua turned the lighthouse corner and occasional small numbers of Cory's Shearwaters were evident from this high vantage point. At Cabranosa, the only significant raptors I saw were a Merlin and this single juvenile Egyptian Vulture which arrived in the afternoon. I went on a lengthy walk through the woodland, checking the finch flocks and in doing so, came across a juvenile Cirl Bunting, Black Redstarts, Stonechats and Sardinian Warblers were encountered regularly along with numerous Robins and Song Thrushes.
I was fortunate to come across a pair of Crested Tits which were feeding on seeds, on the ground, which made for an interesting encounter as I had not seen them do this before. |
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