After last week's exciting day with the seabirds at Carrapateira, this week has been much steadier and I'm presenting a few images which took my interest during my outings. I had watched the large flock of Scaly-breasted Munias at the ricefields last week. The birds weren't as numerous on my next visit however, I found both a male and female sitting together showing the clear differences between them. An adult male (upper) is a splendid looking bird and both sexes possess what appears to be a bill of steel, capable of splitting the hardest of seeds. The Waxbill flocks continue to amass around 100 birds in each flock. Now is the time when Monarch butterflies are emerging and though I know a couple of 'strongholds' for this very threatened species, I had not seen one on the ricefields before. It was searching out any 'yellow' coloured flowers to feed from. Along the northern footpath, Bluethroats are in good supply with at least six birds being found among the hedging or in the field itself. At times they will step out on the footpath giving their alarm - 'chack' call before disappearing in undergrowth. Sometimes they are just plain obliging! A short visit to an agricultural area outside Lagoa, Quinta do Vala I believe, was where I found these horses and an accompanying flock of Cattle Egrets. I felt it was one of those peaceful scenes that spells the true Algarve to me. A Common Buzzard in a nearby stand of trees. The marsh at Quinta da Rocha continues to do well, with four Ospreys seen on two occasions within a week. The Audouin's Gulls are back this week in larger numbers. As they leave for the sea, they cross one of the paths around the marsh which gives us the very best of views, as they pass overhead. Adult Audouin's Gull. 3rd year Audouin's Gull. Flamingos of various ages are feeding well on the marsh. Yesterday, Carl and Julie met with me outside Faro at the waterworks or ETAR. It is known that a couple of White-headed Ducks from Spain have been seen here recently and I was more than a little interested to see them. Having spoken with and kindly obtained permission of the landowners adjacent to the ETAR, we were able to see much of the reservoirs by walking a lane on their land. The reservoirs are not all that large but the quantity of wildfowl on them and the sound of 'whistling' Wigeon was staggering. Below is a sweep along one side. Let me know if you see a White-headed Duck!! All I can say is 'top marks' to the people who have found this bird(s). It is an incredible mass of Wigeon, Pintail, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal and Little Grebes. I did pick out one Black-necked Grebe on the far side with my 'bins, so there was plenty of effort put in by us all. There were also many resting places and banks where ducks were sleeping and a 'scope is a 'must have' at this location.
It is worth saying that we were impressed with the surrounding marshy area as, Common Snipe kept flying up, Glossy Ibis were in small flocks and Marsh Harriers and Ospreys frequented the fields and hidden water courses. Comments are closed.
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