This Hoopoe caught my eye this morning. Not only was he standing ornately on a rooftop, but was in full 'poe-poe' song also. Along the dam-controlled section of estuary, the water level was lower than usual. This had the effect of bringing the Greater Flamingo flock close up to the approach road. As they scratched about at the water's edge, Redshanks, Greenshanks and Dunlin were intermingled between the long legs of the flamingos. Anyone lost a Flamingo? Several of these birds were ringed and are all of Spanish origin. Grey Herons, Spoonbills and Little Egrets were all getting in on the shallower water available. Dunlins leaving the upper reach of the estuary. On the road to Quinta da Rocha, a stop was made among the trees as I have before except that today, I was successful in finding the tiny Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. I heard the light 'drumming' on a branch, a mini version of the Great Spotted's hammering and eventually caught sight of this male, in a bird's nest of a tree! Red cap in the middle? Keeping one eye on the sky as I do, I was pleased to see this raptor moving North. An adult Short-toed Eagle was very unusual at this time, was it an early migrant? It was flying very high and some quality was lost making an identifiable record.
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