A short note as we've moved down to Sagres this afternoon, for a month closer to the 'action'. This morning we had a further seabird trip which unfortunately, didn't bring any new species in to view. The 'skipper' decided to sail due West from Cape St. Vincent to an area of very deep water where, in recent days there have been excellent sightings of several shearwater and skua species. Despite the skipper's best efforts to locate birds for us, we found a handful of European Storm Petrels and a single Wilson's Petrel. The further West we went, the livelier the sea became and we really had no option than to look elsewhere, on our way back. Gannets were the most frequently seen bird. A couple of Sandwich Terns flew South and around six Balearic Shearwaters passed quickly. Occasionally, a Cory's Shearwater would give us good views, passing close to the boat. The main highlight this week has been the early arrival of juvenile Griffon Vultures. By previous years, these birds are a month early, usually arriving in the first week of November. Random flocks of up to 100 birds have been occurring over a wide area. 71 Griffons passed over Figueira yesterday morning. I'm sure we will see many more of these huge raptors in the coming weeks.
I am going out on my evening 'Owl' walk now, always hopeful for a Scops Owl!! Comments are closed.
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