The sea looked quiet at Cape St. Vincent first thing this morning. A few Gannets were passing, nothing like the numbers over the last few days. I watched for a while, seeing one Great Skua and two Balearic Shearwaters of note. My friends from Ecosativa - Jorge, Fer, Ana and Paulo continued the seawatch and they recorded a Puffin, a real rarity for the Algarve! I moved on to Atalaia where flocks of finches were everywhere. They could be heard passing over, going as far as the sea cliffs then turning around to land in the bushes on the headland. The most frequent calls were those of Siskins, a short-distance migrant and wintering here in good numbers. Female Siskin. Juvenile Siskin. Male Siskin. The call of a Wryneck led me to this individual, sitting out in the open for a change. Following a morning visit to the supermarket, we returned to the apartment in time to see a large vulture, already flying away to the North. I took a rather pointless photo and later found out this was actually a Black Vulture, seen by Ecosativa flying in and out of Sagres. After lunch, it was off to Cabranosa and another poor shot of a lovely male Hen Harrier, flying over the North end of 'the hedge', as I was driving to the site. All the previous sightings I've had of Hen Harriers have been females, so this was quite a special sighting for me at Cabranosa. There weren't too many raptors up - 2 Short-toed Eagles, 3 Booted Eagles and 9 Common Buzzards over the afternoon. A juvenile Black Stork came and departed on its own.
Together with 3 of the Common Buzzards, I noticed a harrier flying extremely high and we formed the opinion it was a female Hen Harrier. On closer inspection of my pictures, I believe this bird to be a juvenile Pallid Harrier. It shows four 'fingers' on the 'hands', pointed wing 'tips'. Traces of the white neck collar can be seen on the second image. A flat plain surrounded by hills and leading to the sea on its Southern edge, Boco do Rio is a picturesque walk, often revealing the most interesting bird sightings. This morning was no exception as we were treated to a visiting Osprey. This was a juvenile Osprey judging by the white fringes to all the feathers on the upperparts. It appeared to have fed recently and having rested on the ground, took a short flight before returning to roughly the same piece of land. The area behind the beach carpark which can become a complete wetland, is still very dry. Only a small channel of water exists, allowing sandpipers and wagtails to feed close by. Four Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper were seen, along with a Grey Heron, Little Egret and Cattle Egret. More White Wagtails and Meadow Pipits are beginning to arrive and Chiffchaffs also feed along the water's edge. Cattle Egret. Common Sandpiper. Green Sandpiper. White Wagtail (Motacilla Alba). A good find this morning was a Southern Grey Shrike, perching up on several of the bushes from which it was feeding. One of two Hoopoes seen passing along the hillside.
Bird sightings have been low over the last couple of days due to the weather. On a peninsula known for its wind, lingering fog, drizzle and low cloud is quite unusual. It was never so bad as to not get out though walking on a foggy November 1st in shorts and sandals felt a little strange, the temperature still up at 20C. We have a rare bird in the area at the moment which has very few previous records. A Pink-footed Goose has been found and seems to be feeding well in a bare field. Very few geese occur in the Algarve and along with one record of a Brent Goose, this is only my second. I was having a quiet time on Atalaia this morning until I noticed a few gulls pursuing what looked like a large owl, along the cliff tops. I identified it quickly as a Short-eared Owl and, having shaken off the gulls, the short-eared began hunting very low over the headland. A regular winter visitor but surely 'scarce' in terms of actual sightings. The Short-eared Owl was beautifully marked and a pleasure to watch in its silent glides over the field. With the weather not being brilliant and little walking done, a long beach walk was well overdue so the morning was spent on Praia do Cordoama, a spectacular West coast beach. I'm no geologist but the rock formations on the cliffs here are fascinating. You can hardly imagine the compression forces going on here, millions of years ago. Where's 'Ellie the dog.' The sky brightened around lunchtime and I thought some raptors might be up at Cabranosa. Unfortunately, the brightness was short-lived and the only raptor seen at Cabranosa (by me) was a handsome juvenile Peregrine which flew into a nearby tree.
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