Vale Santo is the area of farmland which lies between Cabranosa and the West Coast at Cape St. Vincent. A frequently watched area with the resident Little Owls at the farm and a variety of larks and pipits to be found in the fields. Two Dotterel were here yesterday and this morning I was lucky to locate 3 Little Bustards. Heat haze was atrocious, so a couple of records only. I faired much better with Tawny Pipits, even finding one in the middle of the road as I drove along. Only yards away, this Kestrel was watching the small bird activity which consisted of Linnets, Corn Buntings, Goldfinches and Yellow Wagtails. Up at Cabranosa it was a hot morning and with no wind. That meant the raptors were all at great height again, making things difficult for observation. Fortunately, today we had the top two Portuguese raptor experts on site I picked out around 9 Booted Eagles, 2 Short-toed Eagles, a Hen Harrier and a Red Kite. An 'almost' adult Bonelli's appeared with a juvenile. It was one of the experts who managed to pick out a LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE flying very high with Booted's. As the raptors were flying too high for comfort, I went back to Figueira to follow up a reported Red-breasted Flycatcher. The bird had been present for two days, a rarity down here, but was not seen. I finished the day with some common migrants and the resident Waxbills! Willow Warbler Pied Flycatcher
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