I've been having a bit of time off, but never too far away from the camera. Yesterday, Castelejo beach on the West coast was the setting for a lovely walk. The beach was fairly quiet and a number of surfers were enjoying what I suppose were good 'beginners' waves. The cliffs behind the beach have fascinating rock formations and a Blue Rock Thrush was seen calling from the highest point. Later I made a visit to Pinhal do Ceramica to see if the Red-breasted Flycatcher was showing as, it hadn't been seen for a day. I didn't find it but I understand it has been seen today. The wood appeared quiet apart from the ever present Spotted Flycatchers. Two Pied Flycatchers were there with two Blackcaps and a Subalpine Warbler. Continuing the lane after the wood, I heard a Bee-eater calling and soon saw two birds flying together. I lost them for a while but could still hear birds calling. Scanning further away, I was completely surprised to find eight Bee-eaters sitting together in a tree. At least six of them were showing the green juvenile plumage. Late afternoon and I took another walk on Ponta da Atalaia, a flat area of ground on the cliffs at Sagres. At the right time, this can be a superb migrant holding area. I wasn't long in finding a cracking Blue Rock Thrush which wasn't at all elusive, flitting from rock to rock. There are a number of smart Northern Wheatears in late summer plumage, distributed over a wide area. Stonechat occurs regularly on this ground. One reason for the late afternoon visit was for a quick seawatch and there is a most suitable viewing platform, overlooking the sea.
I found Gannets, both adult and juveniles were passing fairly regularly and a Great Skua made a nice sighting too. I soon became aware of shearwaters a little further out. With decent binoculars, it is quite easy to make out the key features of Cory's Shearwater, passing East to West at regular intervals. Two small shearwaters were also seen but further out and I couldn't find them with the camera either. It is certainly worth seawatching from here and I wouldn't mind having another try, in some wilder weather!! For now, I was happy to watch a good number of Cory's going through. Comments are closed.
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