Wonderful sightings continue to occur in the Parque Ambiental at Vilamoura. The morning began with a shy Little Bittern attempting to freeze just outside the hide. Above the Little Bittern, the Black-headed Weaver I showed rebuilding its nest was well on with the construction. In the space of twenty four hours, the nest was almost complete! Hardly tidy by our standards but an amazing piece of work without a doubt, given only its bill to work with! Among many Reed Warblers now here, the single Sedge Warbler continues to move around the lower part of the reeds. A few wildfowl remain on the lake, mostly Gadwall and Mallard. A visit from a pair of Red-crested Pochards was of short duration, bothered by the aggressive Coot activity. Very smart Little Grebes are quite numerous, constantly diving all over the lake. I left the hide for a while and walked the tracks outside. A Short-toed Treecreeper was moving along the trunks of the fig trees and Nightingales were so plentiful, they were sitting on wires to sing and feeding on the ground. Even an Egyptian Mongoose paid me a visit! Quails had been calling all morning so far and one sounded particularly close to the road edge. As there were similar fields on both sides of the road, I thought there was a very slim chance they may cross to the other field. I propped myself against one of the olive trees and waited!! That was well worth the wait which wasn't more than five minutes. A return visit in the evening and I had Purple Herons in mind. I know there are at least three of these herons here now but, unlike the Grey Herons which stand about all day, the Purple Heron stays out of sight for long periods. They remain within the reed beds and only tend to appear on arriving or leaving the lake.
The images below show the marked difference in profile between the two heron species. The Purple Heron takes on a completely different shape when in flight. Comments are closed.
|
|