The Hotel Vila Verde in Castro Verde town provided a comfortable rest and 'nice' breakfast, before our team set out for a full day's birding. With much excitement and a 'certain air of confidence', we headed North towards Entradas. A small river runs around one side of the small town of Entradas and at one point it runs across (literally) a minor road. The river is held back slightly by a small dam wall, providing a lake which has become a well watched area for birds. This White Stork looks over the lake and appears to have 'adjusted' the tree to its liking! Among the first birds to show at the lake were two Black-winged Kites which flew around for a while, with a little courtship display going on too. It is a very pleasant place to watch, small waders such as Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe feed at the water's edge and Swallows were drinking from the surface, while in flight. A further ten species went on the list here, including Cattle Egret, Kingfisher, House and Crag Martin and a Common Buzzard perched nearby for us. A flock of perhaps thirty or so Waxbills fed in the grass and occasionally popped up on the dam wall. After a coffee break, we continued on this minor road to a completely new site for us, which has the name of Acude da Aparica. This is a substantial area of water but is not actually seen from the minor road and requires a little back-tracking on a rather rough road. I'm not sure what the access requirements are here and there were plenty of signs relating to hunting or fishing rights. It was completely fenced from the track, as much of this area is and we decided to observe what we could from a raised vantage point. This was probably not a bad idea as, with a large number of wildfowl on the water, going much closer would have resulted in a mass departure of most of our species. On the subject of wildfowl and I'm not bragging about this, I found an Egyptian Goose! Not to everyone's liking but a first on my Portugal List and about time too!! There were several other wildfowl species - Teal, Mallard, good numbers of Shoveler and a single drake Wigeon (on a smaller nearby water). Of the more interesting birds, two Common Crane could be seen distantly, resting among Spoonbills. A single Great-crested Grebe swam on the lake and Snipe, Greenshank and a Dunlin made up the wader count. A peculiar drawn out call alerted us to a small number of birds flying across in front of us. They were straightaway confirmed as Black-bellied Sandgrouse. We had an idea we saw three earlier as three 'rear ends' disappeared over a hill Of all the times I have visited the Alentejo, I can think of perhaps two other when these sandgrouse have shot over a hill and out of sight. Today, we were in for a treat as several small flocks of Black-bellied Sandgrouse flew around the fields, circling and calling before dropping to the ground. Some of the ground here was particularly bare and reddish in colour. Although we couldn't quite see them, due to the rolling nature of the landscape, I'm sure they were liking this area. While still reeling from this superb viewing, three Great Bustards casually flew across the field to our right, continuing on towards Sao Marcos. How do we follow that, we all remarked? Well perhaps with a juvenile Spanish Imperial Eagle pursuing a Red Kite! At this time, around midday, another large raptor was not far from this juvenile imperial eagle and as all were flying rather too high, we logged it as another Golden Eagle. Now I am working on the images, it is clear to see the white leading edges on the wings. Coupled with the overall dark colouring, this bird must be an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle and the first record of one for me. ........ then more Black-bellied Sandgrouse Here we eventually see a pair of Sandgrouse much closer. The male (upper) shows a grey breast with an orange chin patch, while the female has a brown mottled breast pattern. Before leaving this amazing site, the 'presumed' adult Black Stork from Horta da Nora circled the lake for a while before dropping in. There was one other location we wished to visit on this day, the monastery at Nossa Senhora de Aracelis. We stopped firstly at Salto where we were greeted with another flock of Little Bustards. Also in the sky but a considerable distance away, we saw a huge raptor being mobbed by Red Kites. Looking like a black rectangle with head and tail at either side, there was no mistaking a Black Vulture. We saw the vulture fly away but strangely, met it again perched in a field, seen from the monastery at Aracelis. We commenced our drive back to Castro Verde and finished the day beautifully with a stunning male Hen Harrier and yes, more Great Bustards. Probably the best day's birding I have had in the Alentejo, but wait a minute - there's the climax tomorrow!!
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