Yesterday I went to the Vala area to check on the Sparrow species which had been so visible recently, together with the wintering finches. At times it was quite hot in the afternoon and there was a distinct heat haze as I found this Common Buzzard, resting near a conifer woodland. I was a while finding the finches feeding and they were not appearing in large numbers as before. However, in the first ten Chaffinches, I discovered a fine Brambling sitting in a tree top. The sparrows were proving even harder to locate, despite the fact I was hearing both House and Tree Sparrows as I tried not to disturb them along the tree lined road. It was the Tree Sparrows I found first in my most reliable location at this site (Also a Serin in this image) Tree Sparrow. I found both the House Sparrows and a few Rock Sparrows in the same place. The birds were very flighty and it wasn't possible to get near them at all. Chaffinch, two Rock Sparrows and a male House Sparrow. Today at Arrozal near Estombar, after an extensive search, I was unable to find the Little Bunting which I had found months ago and wanted to refresh my identification of this Winter rarity. The Marsh Harrier pairs were busy in the air. One pair was seen to be practising food passes, flying inverted underneath the partner bird. An adult Peregrine soared around the fields. Three Osprey appeared simultaneously over the Arade estuary, one of them passed over the ricefields. The ricefields had a few Corn Buntings and Meadow Pipits on the ground, a Water Pipit was seen too. The hedgerows had Song Thrushes, Cetti's Warbler, Robin, Goldfinches and Linnets. A Little Bittern flew from the roadside channel in front of me and into the nearest reeds across the road. A 'yaffling' Iberian Woodpecker eventually revealed itself in flight. In the car park at Sitio do Fontes, I came across this strange looking male Sardinian Warbler. It appears to have some white pigment on parts of the head and neck, giving it a very different appearance.
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