There were literally hundreds of gulls in the harbour today as the fishing boats busily unloaded their catches onto the quayside. I've never seen so many and it seemed a good opportunity to look for an early Iceland or Glaucous Gull among the swirling masses. It was a case of working through the birds on the water, those resting on the quays and, not forgetting the many birds sitting atop the roofs of all the fish warehouses. I thought this was an interesting Gull and reckon it to be a 3w Lesser Black-backed Gull. Most of the Gulls were Yellow-legged or Lesser Black-backs of various ages and I checked hundreds of them. There was no sign of the rare Common or Mew Gull which had been seen yesterday. Having exhausted myself with gulls, I went on to the breakwater at the seaward end of Portimao harbour (Praia do Mohle side). The tide was receding slowly and I began picking out waders among the rocks. Turnstones were the first waders I came across - 14 along the length of the breakwater. Sanderlings were present too - 12 in all. One bird is ringed and I am hoping to get the ring details from my photos. At the very end of the breakwater I found the small wader I was looking for - Purple Sandpiper, an Algarve rarity. A Whimbrel flew in and landed nearby. The Great Northern Diver remains in the outer harbour but was quite elusive, diving and moving long distances. A Grey Wagtail and a flyover Kingfisher were unusual also.
A return visit to this super birding area along the San Lourenco golf course at Quinta do Lago. The walk begins at the car park on Avenue Ayrton Senna. In the pine trees to the right, I have seen Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper and Iberian Green Woodpecker. Continuing the path, the lake viewed from the opposite side to the car park. The object of today's visit was to revisit the Green Heron which arrived after the hurricane in America and, became the first record for Portugal. It has remained here for several weeks however despite being on site for two and a half hours, the heron did not show at all in its favoured areas. During my watch for the Green Heron, I was able to see many of the wildfowl wintering on the lakes for instance, these superb Pintails. Unlike in the U.K, the Tufted Duck is uncommon in this part of Portugal and only two pairs were here today. It was the first time I had seen Wigeon on this lake though many are often on the lakes to the East. A handsome male Shoveler. A few Glossy Ibis in winter plumage were mobile around the lake. Little Grebe and Purple Gallinule. It was not only the Green Heron which proved absent today, I didn't see Little Bittern and not even a single Kingfisher which was most unusual.
Just for the record really, a distant shot of a Little Gull which coincided nicely with my visit this afternoon. A scarce but fairly regular visitor to this wetland, the gull remained at the far side of the marsh, feeding constantly over the water. Golden Plovers put to flight by a Marsh Harrier. Sheep and goats are driven over the surrounding fields with accompanying Cattle Egrets.
As the weather continues to be warm and sunny, I'm probably spending more time walking the quiet beaches than anything else at the moment. In Alvor, you are never far from the picturesque estuaries and surrounding saltmarshes and it only takes a few minutes to deviate from the beach into good birding areas. From Alvor Dunes looking towards Quinta da Rocha. Among the gulls seen on the estuary, Mediterranean Gulls appear quite often, here an adult with a 1st winter (right). Another adult winter Med Gull. The saltmarsh holds a variety of waders with both Whimbrel and Curlew, Greenshank and Redshank, smaller waders are usually Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed and Kentish Plover. A smart little Kentish Plover. I found a single Golden Plover a couple of days ago, but more likely are the wintering Grey Plovers. Among the smaller birds frequenting the saltmarsh, the Stonechat and Fan-tailed Warbler pop up everywhere and, this morning there was a mixed flock of Linnets and Serins feeding together. This morning I found a Water Pipit while watching one of perhaps six Bluethroats seen. At the North end of Abicada marsh, around 80 White Storks were taking to the air in small groups. You cannot fail to be impressed when they soar effortlessly towards your direction. Most surprisingly, a juvenile Black Stork had roosted with these White Storks and was seen flying away in the distance. One of two Marsh Harriers hunting the marsh.
A December visit to Salgados this afternoon. The Little Gull which has been seen here recently did not appear during my visit, despite keeping a constant eye on the gulls coming and going. Mediterranean Gulls and a single Audouin's Gull were present together with six juvenile Sandwich Terns and two Caspian Terns. The water levels are high and any waders are distant at the Northern end. A large Lapwing flock had six Golden Plover with them. A flock of around twenty Common Snipe took to the air and small numbers of Greenshank, Redshank and Godwits could be made out. Wildfowl numbers are increasing. I counted at least 16 drake Pintail apart from the females and, Shoveler, Gadwall and Teal are in good numbers. The Little Fan-tailed Warblers were everywhere. Three Bluethroats were found along the boardwalk. Still no sign of a Richard's Pipit but plenty of Meadow Pipits and White/Pied Wagtails. 9 Stonechats were seen along with Linnets, a Corn Bunting and 2 Eurasian Magpies. Two Marsh Harriers were in the air frequently and a pale Booted Eagle stayed for a while over the marsh.
It's strange how quickly your luck can change on a quiet Sunday afternoon. After a morning spent around the Lagoa ricefields and a pleasant lunch in Ferragudo, there only remained the fish quay to check out, to complete the day's birding. There was a marked shortage of gulls around the dock, possibly due to it being Sunday and not much fish landing going on. I was on the point of calling it a day and checked the Cormorants on the estuary as I have many times. There, sitting far out was a Great Northern Diver - my second ever in the Algarve. This juvenile Great Northern spent a good time diving, coming up with an assortment of small fish and I spent an hour at least waiting for it to come closer. Each time it came close a boat would pass, driving it further out again. Eventually, it came in quite close and I took some photos just before a large fishing vessel berthed, sending it out to mid-river once more. Great Northern Divers are not seen here very often, my first record was in Lagos harbour and it's always worth checking in Winter.
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