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.
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