This small working in nothing more than a large sandy hole, created by a digger, is the home of eight Bee-eaters. All the nest holes shown are new and the birds are showing great interest in this site. The Bee-eater shows practically every colour imaginable and I had a wonderful opportunity to see them at close range. All the time, a Woodchat looked on, from an overhanging tree. Meanwhile in Vilamoura, good observations continue to be had from the first hide. To the right of the above picture, a male Little Bittern appeared so close, I wasn't sure who was the most surprised! The lake is visited by good numbers of Swallows and House Martins, a single Sand Martin accompanied the House Martins yesterday and Swifts were quite frequent. Three Purple Herons and three Little Bitterns showed over a period of time. The local Marsh Harriers performed flypasts at regular intervals. As dusk closed in, the Purple Swamphen brought its two chicks to the water's edge, where it fed them chewed up reed stems. The tiny chick appears to have almost adult-sized feet which must give it incredible stability, if not looking extremely ungainly! Early yesterday, Michael Tyden found a Black-faced Bunting at Ludo. He recorded the sighting with excellent photos and the bird is a first record for Portugal. Although we visited not long after the news broke, the Bunting was not seen again.
A nice Wryneck on our visit to Ludo. Comments are closed.
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