We were back to three Great White Egrets this morning, all showing really well - probably due to their size among the many other Little Egrets. Early on, I found around ten Scaly-breasted Munias. I can only think that some of them were trying to warm up! The bushes along the track were busy with birds - Chiffchaffs are starting to sing now, Bluethroats were singing too. Wrens were heard and an Iberian Woodpecker called noisily. Waxbills were whizzing along, with Cetti's Warbler spluttering in the reeds. A close Reed Bunting was nice to see, one of several about today. Bluethroats are becoming very active and were seen in good numbers around the fields. A Common Snipe, one of four seen, flying overhead.
Another walk on the breakwater which is a great place for some photographic opportunities. The wintering Rock Pipit was very elusive and gave just two brief views before slipping over a rock and disappearing for long periods. Other species found here tend to be much more obliging, as with this Whimbrel. Two Purple Sandpipers were found among the feeding Turnstones. One of two Grey Wagtails moving along the breakwater.
Still reeling slightly from the realisation of a Baillon's Crake yesterday, this morning we were on the road to the Parque Ambiental in search of a Bittern. The Bittern has been reported off and on since around 9th December last year. On arriving at the first hide, Peter and June Dedicoat had already spent a couple of hours, watching for the Bittern. We stayed a short while before having a walk around some of the park tracks and taking in the other hide. We returned to the first hide and found the Bittern was now on view (or most of it was). It was found climbing the reeds on the far reedbed where it remained virtually motionless, apart from a little preening. Now full camouflage mode, for a passing Marsh Harrier. A great addition to my Algarve birding life. A quick look in the ETAR showed the female Ring-necked Duck was still present. No Ferruginous Ducks were nearby but many Shovelers and Pochards were around. A small flock of Black-headed Weavers were seen along the way. A young male?? A tail-dipping Stonechat. A young Cormorant drying off at Vilamoura Parque.
It was only a few days ago that I was praising this site on the rice fields, for its diverse range of bird species and the wintering home of some quite rare visitors. A post on social media late morning indicated that a rare Baillon's Crake had been seen on these very fields.
I was having lunch and at the same time, going over the information in front of me regarding the Baillon's Crake. It's not far from Alvor and within half an hour I was arriving in Estombar and making my way down to the wetland. Thanks to some very precise information on where the Crake had been seen, I was able to find a place on the edge of the reeds where I hoped it may emerge, and commence the wait. I managed a two to three second look at the Baillon's Crake as it jumped into the air, only a few metres away and landed not far away but in the same thick reeds. The time was long enough to see the short, stout bill which ruled out Jack Snipe or Water Rail straightaway. Random white marks showed over its back and there was little to show regarding a tail. The size and attitude in flight was typical of a Crake and I was happy that it was the same bird as found by Tiago Guerreiro. A problem was quickly developing in that, because of a New Moon and therefore spring tides, the water level was rising quickly across the entire area. The track I had been standing on was becoming submerged and I had to retreat back a fair distance. The high water level was pushing birds out, with both Purple Swamphens and Little Bittern on view at times. I hoped this rise in level would make the Crake look for another piece of ground, but it didn't happen. I stayed until the water was beginning to cover the access road and then unfortunately had to leave. For a couple of weeks now, there have been up to three Ospreys fishing in the lagoons and estuary at Alvor. This morning two arrived in fairly quick succession and gave good views as they commenced their fishing sorties. No fish were caught by either Osprey after several 'runs' over the lagoon and they appeared to leave the area in opposite directions. This location had another nice surprise when I found two Shelduck, which I knew were around somewhere, by ongoing reports on eBird. A Shelduck is not a common duck here and are only found in a few Algarve locations. These two look very much like a pair. A large black cloud was closing in at an alarming rate and as we made our way back to the car, I was staggered to see one of the Ospreys sitting in a tree, 50 metres from the car! You can see that this young Osprey has a metal ring on the right leg and a colour ring on the left. Although it's not possible to make out all the characters on the plastic ring, the black colour with white lettering denotes the Osprey is probably of German origin.
The other Osprey seen was an unringed bird. A change of scene today with a short drive West to Boco do Rio. I haven't been here for a couple of months and there was certainly plenty of water lying in the fields now, which is quite typical of Winter. It was the tree covered hillsides in close proximity which brought me here - in search of Ring Ouzels. They seem to like this place and, with the water being reasonably 'fresh', are sometimes seen drinking at the water's edge. It wasn't long before I heard the 'chatter' of at least one Ring Ouzel in the bushes. Close to where I took the above photo from the roadside, I watched six Ouzels fly across the wetland in the space of half a minute. At least four of the birds were definitely males with one certain female too. A couple of the males were 'alpestris' race which is the Southern Europe race, showing much more scaly underparts and back too, giving the entire bird a paler appearance than those seen in Northern Europe eg the UK. Waders were in short supply in spite of all the shallow water. I didn't put up one Snipe and waders comprised two Common Sandpipers and two Black-winged Stilts. What did surprise me this morning was my first sighting of a Great White Egret at Boco do Rio. It spent most of the morning preening and remained in one position with several Little Egrets and Cormorants. The Great White Egret left in the early afternoon. A few pipits were moving around the fields though all appeared to be Meadow Pipits on this visit. Rather nice looking ones though! There were many other birds around here today from common warblers, Song Thrushes, Stonechats and White Wagtails.
30 Mallard were on the wetland and 2 Common Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk and Raven flew over. Many Crag Martins were flying for most of the morning, with a single House Martin among them. The little secretive Water Rail is not a bird I have difficulty with in the UK but here, it has been a very different story. I haven't seen one in the Algarve for some years now, despite spending considerable amounts of time on the various wetlands where I have heard occasional 'squeals'. Today I had the upper hand slightly as I found this Water Rail in a high-sided ditch. Unable to scuttle away into the reeds as they usually do, the only option was to swim for it! This made an interesting sighting, as the Rail doesn't have webbed feet to any degree but managed a few metres of water, before finding a suitable exit up the bank. More images from the Weekend. Crested Lark at Alvor. Southern Grey Shrike at Salgados. Pintails at Salgados.
I made an early start this morning to a location I have come to like very much, offering excellent birding in a range of habitats. This area, known as Arrozal do Nossa Senhora do Rosario comprises mainly ricefields but has extensive marshland, reedbeds, small lagoons and waterways. The River Arade runs along the Northern edge and to the South, parallel to the access road is a small hillside, covered with trees and thick scrubby bushes. A wide range of species can be found here with many birds feeding on the ricefields and in the case of smaller passerines, the surrounding bushes and hedgerows afford good cover and resting places. This results in large flocks of Corn Buntings, House Sparrows (with some Spanish), Goldfinches, Linnets and several pipit species. This particular location on the Algarve has been a traditional hotspot for two winter rarities - Red-throated Pipit and Little Bunting. In the winter of 2017, I saw a Little Bunting here and this morning I was rewarded again with the briefest of sightings of this small winter visitor. I found the Bunting sitting in the hedgerow among various other species, including Waxbills, Corn Buntings, Linnets, House Sparrows, Sardinian Warblers, Stonechats and Chaffinches. Approaching any bird around the ricefields is difficult as you stand out too easily, so I was watching these birds from a considerable distance. This one bird looked quite different and at first, I thought it was probably a female Yellow-crowned Bishop. The head looked unlike a Bishop, particularly with a central stripe on it and the tail looked long too. I was tied between continuing to watch or, get some photos taken quickly. It turned out that I had less than a few seconds before it took off, flying into the ricefield even further away. Only one Great White Egret was visible this morning though others may have been nearby. The reedbeds had squealing Water Rail and a single Reed Bunting was seen in flight. The Purple Swamphen is thriving here and have been seen on every visit, sometimes in excess of twenty birds. On the ricefields, Meadow Pipits and Water Pipits were seen. I counted 3 Water Pipits feeding in one small area. The paths around the ricefields were busy with feeding Chiffchaffs and smart-looking Bluethroats popped out regularly. Overhead, Crag Martins were in good numbers, joined by two Swallows all morning. The Marsh Harriers were slow to appear but once the air warmed up, four Common Buzzards and a pale Booted Eagle were seen along with White Storks circling high.
A very pleasant day at Salgados and a very social one too, meeting with at least three groups of birding friends I haven't seen for a while. A check on the 2nd year Ring-billed Gull revealed it on the beach this morning, with its usual entourage of Black-headed Gulls. As bits of food were hurled from the bridge by passing visitors, the Ring-billed Gull flew onto the lagoon where it is normally found and tried out an apple core, for a change! One of the Black-headed Gull flock appeared to have adopted for summer plumage already. The spring tide had washed over into the lagoon, making for very high water levels. This Cattle Egret was looking for food by climbing over the reeds and bushes. The high water was pushing Bluethroats out of the reeds, with a female showing nicely here, having just eaten a caterpillar. Around the viewing screen area, the flamingos were quite close today with some brightly coloured individuals. I heard a single 'wheeze' from a Penduline Tit in the tamarisks but didn't find it. We had more luck when two cracking male Spanish Sparrows flew into a nearby bush. It's not always obvious that sparrows have a summer and winter plumage. These two are winter plumaged as, the crown which is slightly spreckly, will turn a rich chestnut colour in summer. Also, these males have a small black bib which will get larger and merge into the streaked breast markings. Even in winter plumage, a very colourful bird. A few metres away from this bush, a single Glossy Ibis flew in revealing its multi-coloured feathering which shows really well in bright sunlight. The high water level was unsuitable for waders with only Golden Plovers accompanying some Lapwings managing to find space on one of the islands.
The lagoons were more suited to the wildfowl with Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall and a count of 26 Pintail on the lagoon. |
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