With practically no wind again today and still hot, a drive up into the Monchique hills seemed a good way to keep cool. At the summit Foia, there are a collection of radio masts and various rocky outcrops. It's a good place to bird anyway, for passing raptors, Blue Rock Thrush and, in winter I usually find a few Alpine Accentors here.
After seeing two Rock Buntings and then two Blue Rock Thrush, I was really chuffed when this Rock Thrush flew across in front of me. As the humans were preoccupied crawling all over the rocks as usual, the Rock Thrush took advantage of the various transmitter buildings to perch out in the open. This is only my 3rd recorded sighting, my first was a female at yes, Spurn Point, East Yorkshire. My second was a smart male I found in the French Pyrenees. 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
A walk in the pines below Cabranosa showed many of the small migrants had cleared out. One each of Pied and Spotted Flycatcher showed after a short time. My attention was drawn to a dark raptor moving through the tree canopy. It looked too large for a Booted Eagle, but I didn't expect to see a young Egyptian Vulture. It landed in a large dead pine tree. Taking to the air, it joined two other juveniles and the three circled the tree tops several times before moving towards Sagres town. At the watchpoint, a Southern Grey Shrike flew close to where we were standing, my third this week around here. Booted Eagles were already in the air, I had 13 in the morning, all light form birds except two. Other counts made were 6 Sparrowhawk, 4 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine, 1 Hen Harrier, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Common Buzzard and this single Black Kite. A single Black Kite was unusual as they usually appear in good numbers. This lonely Black Stork arrived at lunch-time, in company with another Egyptian Vulture, giving a total of four. Juvenile Short-toed Eagles amounted to 15 during the morning, always smart looking raptors and a favourite of mine. More interesting sightings included 5 Ravens together, 1 Goshawk arguing with a Sparrowhawk and finally, this Woodlark was still singing in September even with a crossed mandible!!
My first visit to Cabranosa of the Autumn proved to have some quite outstanding sightings today. A check on the Vale Santo area before Cabranosa revealed the resident Little Owls are still occupying the old farm buildings. Around the farm were the usual Linnets, a few Spotless Starlings, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Corn Bunting flew through. The local Red-billed Chough flock appeared, very vocal as usual and numbering around 40 birds. The pines below Cabranosa were busier with small migrants than I remember last year. The trees held plenty of flycatchers, both Pied and Spotted. Subalpine Warblers were noticeable too. 1st w Pied Flycatcher Spotted Flycatchers I joined two of the Portuguese watchers at the Watchpoint and learned that a good number of raptors had already shown up including, 2 Spanish Imperial Eagles, 8 Honey Buzzards, 2 Ospreys and several other species. For some reason, the raptors today were extremely high up, many of them, mere specks in the sky and regrettably my photos will reflect that. My first encounter was a young Egyptian Vulture which seemed to attract other birds to it. Sometimes in company with Booted Eagles, then a couple of Short-toed Eagles. juv Egyptian Vulture I counted 17 Booted Eagle and 7 Short-toed Eagle during my stay, together with 4 Osprey, 2 Common Buzzard and a Peregrine. A good sighting was a thermal of around 40 Black Kite with Booted Eagles, 1 Osprey and 2 juvenile Black Storks. Osprey followed by juv Bonelli's Eagle. juv Bonelli's Eagle, possibly 2nd year bird with dark carpal patches. Same bird. This image shows the juv Bonelli's Eagle (top) and a pale Booted Eagle (below right). An adult Bonelli's Eagle is approaching from the left and what happened next was quite astounding. The adult Bonelli's struck the Booted Eagle and tangled with it for a while until, securely captured, it carried its prey down to the forest ahead of us and was lost in the trees. The juvenile watches as the adult Bonelli's strikes the Booted Eagle. Joined by a second juvenile, the adult (bottom) begins to fly off with the Booted Eagle in its talons. As I said earlier, all this was going on at a considerable height but it was clear to see what was happening. I haven't witnessed anything like it in large raptors, but it clearly happens!
Migration among mainly juveniles will continue here at Sagres for the next couple of months. The Sagres Bird Festival runs from 4th to 8th Oct this year, during which time, there will be seawatching from boats and shore, raptor watching here, and ringing demonstrations at various sites. Conveniently near the apartment, a breath-taking walk along the cliffs in the direction of Luz will take around an hour. It's a good idea to keep one eye on the path as you go - we don't do fences, notice-boards, wardens and entry times out here. The Atlantic stretches from East to West and passing Gannets are frequently offshore. Looking towards Luz. Along the cliff edge, there are many House Martins and Red-rumped Swallows in the air, probably breeding here, judging by the number of juveniles. One Alpine Swift literally whizzed past me on the path and as I turned around, he was almost gone and not seen again. Alpine Swift. The bare, stony track was beginning to show signs of Autumn migration with 1st winter Northern Wheatears found along the way in small numbers. The House Martins and swallows took to a frantic flight as this female Sparrowhawk hunted the clifftop. It had a strangely uniform grey head, maybe just a variation. Away from the cliff, tracks run here and there through an area scattered with myrtle bushes, tamarisk trees and small pines. In the bushes I soon found a few Chiffchaffs and a nice Whinchat. I must have seen at least three Hoopoes pass through the bushes. Best find was probably this Sub-alpine Warbler as a change to all the Sardinian Warblers flitting about. Back on the cliff top, a Common Buzzard was seen out at sea and remained there for some time before returning to land.
Arrived in temperatures just over 30 degrees and a little time was required settling in to the Algarve climate, which has been hot and completely without rain for months now. The familiar countryside is now a golden brown throughout, after relentless high temperatures. This morning was much fresher, still with cloudless sky. A 'cold' Northerly wind was given as a weather warning and in fact, through the night the strength had increased to near gale-force. The first point of call was the harbour at Sagres as I thought there could be some sheltering seabirds. It proved not to be the case, around 100 Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed and a Common Sandpiper accounted for the birds braving the wind. Sagres harbour during lunch! After lunch, the temperature was 22C and the wind still blowing hard. The Peninsula was going to be difficult and probably unproductive in these conditions but, I decided to start around the farm fields at Vale Santo. Previous experience told me to find a field with the shortest vegetation and start looking for a Tawny Pipit. I was lucky, as there wasn't a bird flying, I found this Tawny Pipit keeping well down after a short search. Only Linnets, Goldfinches and two Yellow Wagtails showed on the ground, even the farm's Little Owls had their heads down today. Two Booted Eagles remained stationary in the wind, towards Cabranosa in the East. Another piece of luck was encountering this Short-toed Eagle perched by the roadside. The images clearly show the feathers being battered in the wind, as it held on to the pylon. It looks like an adult, judging by the heavy barring on the breast. Hope the wind drops tomorrow and I get to grips with the super bright conditions!!
In the coming days, I'm getting ready for my Winter birding in the Algarve once more. In September and October I hope to spend much of my time on the Sagres peninsula, down to Cape St. Vincent. Together with the Portuguese recorders, I hope to document much of the raptor migration during this period and, hopefully find a much sought after Ruppell's Vulture.
Once the migration is over, it's time to relax and take in the unspoilt expanse of Southern Portugal. Until I get set up there, I'll leave a few images of last Winter. |
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