I've visited this location a couple of times already, this winter. The fields are water-logged and as well as holding many White Storks, Grey Herons (32 today), and Egrets, it is a feeding ground for around 600 Glossy Ibis. At the moment the Ibises are a long way off across the fields, but today I witnessed a spectacle resembling a Starling murmuration! It began with the local feral pigeon flock scattering far and wide. Then the White Storks took to the air and circled, gaining height all the time. I picked up a large raptor, high over the rice fields. I had seen a pale form Booted Eagle a short while earlier, but this bird seemed larger and paler. Too early for a Short-toed Eagle, it had to be a pale juvenile Bonelli's Eagle. I certainly didn't expect to see such a bird in this area of the Algarve, but did see them at Sagres in October, though in earlier plumage. The light underside in two tone grey showed the darker barring and the creamy/orange colour was beginning to show on the chest and underwings. It was also now apparent that this bird had an immensely full crop already, judging by the large bulge in its throat, (or a serious problem). By now, the entire Glossy Ibis flock was in the air and the Bonelli's set about causing havoc, for a while. The earlier pale Booted Eagle. Don't mean to rub it in but, heat haze was a problem this afternoon!
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