The title sums up my first impression, as I set out this morning with hardly a bird to be found in my surroundings. With not even a flycatcher in the nearby pinewood, I was a little stumped as to where we would enjoy today's birding. I decided we would visit my friend Bubo (latin for Eagle Owl!) in the location I have known for some years. With a little searching we found our 'Resident' high up in his secret lair. We continued our walk until we reached the coast and 'Ellie the dog' enjoyed a run on the beach, along with a few Sanderlings doing the same. Two or three Blue Rock Thrushes were seen on the cliffs along with a fine Peregrine, perched on the skyline. Later this afternoon, I was determined to find a new migrant and chose the farm at Vale Santo for a search. The bare soil in the foreground had around twenty Short-toed Larks and three Yellow Wagtails feeding.
My 'Migrant' appeared after a long search of the fields here and what better example of a migratory wader than a superb Dotterel. A scarce but regular visitor to these fields on its migration route to Africa. This bird was always distant and the heat haze over the ground made watching it a little difficult, however I was pleased with this find today. Comments are closed.
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