After the previous visit was called off due to fog, a sudden decision on a beautiful clear morning meant a return to one of my favourite regions of Portugal. The moment you arrive in Castro Verde, you are aware of the sheer expanse of grassland much of it farmed and home to some superb bird species. On the outskirts of Castro Verde, Red Kites were wheeling in the air, a couple of Ravens were perched on an old building and having stopped the car engine, the only sounds were numerous larks and jangling Corn Buntings. An initial scan of the nearest hilltops produced a nice start in the form of a Stone Curlew, standing out against the background sky. The Stone Curlew was miles away but worth a record shot, being the only one I have seen this winter. Before long, a peculiar call which was quite unfamiliar resulted in a Great Spotted Cuckoo, flying across the same field as the Stone Curlew I had been watching. Today, I was determined to find some Common Cranes which winter here in large numbers and feed in the cork oak woodlands. After taking a wrong road I came into a small town I had visited before, the one with a resident Long-eared Owl. Although my mind was on finding Cranes, I thought I'd check out the 'owl tree' as I was passing through anyway. Sure enough a male Long-eared Owl was sitting in the tree watching the town go about its business. He's a beautiful owl and so much obscured by foliage, he goes completely unnoticed. After taking the above images I moved to one side and in doing so, got the surprise of my life. Sitting behind him was a slightly darker, female owl - he had found a mate! The female Long-eared Owl. On to the cork oak woodlands and three isolated Common Cranes were found along the IP2 road. Even in February, heat haze was causing a problem for me with these very wary cranes. I didn't find any large flocks of cranes after travelling along miles of cork woodland. Four more were found near a small lake later on in the afternoon, flying off to join a further fifteen under the trees. A trip to the Alentejo wouldn't be complete without a lookout for Great Bustards. A good flock of 42 individuals were roaming the LPN's estate, seen from the N123 road. Great Bustard compared to size of Lapwing. Several 'whiskered' males in the flock.
Another great day in this area, no eagles present at all and the sandgrouse still elude me! Comments are closed.
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