Last year I came across a pair of Black-shouldered Kites in an area which appeared to be a suitable breeding site. I spent quite a few hours watching them on several occasions, as they perched in their favourite trees and hunted the surrounding fields. The food supply seemed adequate as the birds returned to the trees with small rodents after a short hunt. When I arrived this time, I saw two Kites in the trees but they looked different, very different. Both these birds were juveniles and it may be that the pair I watched last year, have in fact bred nearby. Today's watch taught me a little more about these beautiful small raptors. One of the adults was soon seen hunting a nearby field and performed its classic hover as it searched the ground below. The piercing red eyes and the yellow feet show well on the adult birds. The underside is white with black primaries. Into the hover and watching for prey. I turned my attention back to one of the juvenile Kites. The back is grey as in the adult but the feathers are tipped white, which gives a scaly appearance to the back. The second thing I noticed was the eye which was yellow as opposed to the adult's red eye. What followed next was a real surprise for a raptor, this Kite performs a tail-flicking gesture. Given that the undertail is all white, the flash is really visible at a distance and I assume it is done to attract the parent. The tail-flicking was performed regularly until the parent flew closer and a shrill 'begging' call followed. Note the trace of an ochre collar on the breast. Juvenile preparing to land. The second juvenile Kite. Yesterday near Lagoa. Visiting an area of reedbed, I came across a flock of Waxbills and took the opportunity to photograph this Waxbill. Where is the bright red bill that gives the bird its name? Well, it's a juvenile Waxbill and the bill is a dark brown colour, slowly changing to red. One of five Marsh Harriers in the area together. A long way off, a Peregrine unsuccessfully annoying an adult Bonelli's Eagle.
I couldn't ignore this beautiful Monarch butterfly! Birding around Alvor wouldn't be complete without searching out the White-spotted Bluethroats. These colourful little birds thrive in the saltmarsh around the estuaries. I found six along the boardwalk this morning and later this afternoon, found another four on the Abicada marsh.
Some of the males are giving short bursts of song, others give a short 'cherr' sound and the alarm 'tack' can also be heard. The Bluethroats seen along the boardwalk were extremely showy (when I didn't have my camera) and took a little longer this afternoon at Abicada. Today was my first look at the fire-ravaged hillsides covering a huge area around the town of Monchique and surrounding small settlements. During the heat of Summer, the fire raged for weeks engulfing eucalyptus forests and threatening the lives of those living in the hillside communities. Ceaseless hard work in terrible conditions by the volunteer firefighters and the villagers themselves, led to no lives being lost but at enormous cost to their smallholdings and livestock. I was no sooner in the foothills when signs of the fire became apparent. When I reached the lower village of Caldas de Monchique, it was clear to see how the fire-fighting efforts had preserved many of the buildings, including a prestige health spa. The fire damage can be seen all the way up the Monchique hills. The road continues up through Monchique itself and on toward the summit at Foia, where I invariably find a few special birds such as the Alpine Accentor and Rock Bunting. I was staggered by the change in the beautiful landscape and can only hope that recovery takes place quickly. Whether eucalyptus will continue to be grown here is a matter for the government and the large timber companies which operate in these areas. More views on the way up to Foia. Once at the summit and it's only a small hill, I'd forgotten how cold it could be and with a Northerly wind, the temperature was only 7C! The search for some birds became rather urgent and my first impressions were, whether post-fire or not, I wasn't finding a single bird. In time, around one of the transmitter stations, I saw what I thought would be a Blue Rock Thrush and walked over for a closer look. The bird looked in every way a Ring Ouzel but was lacking any white crescent on the breast. I concluded it must be a first winter Ring Ouzel which I haven't seen in this plumage before. It was a while before another bird appeared,this time two Common Buzzards soaring across the summit. A single Stonechat was huddled behind a rock and three Meadow Pipits were in the grass surrounding a transmitter site. Eventually I picked up a Blue Rock Thrush and it was a nice looking male too. It was very mobile, moving from rock to rock and sometimes flying to perch on overhead wires. I also managed to locate one of my favourite warblers that frequents the gorse scrub up here on the summit. The Dartford Warbler has stunning colours, this one just wasn't going to turn round but still showed really well for me. It's short rattling call was given quite often. So, no Alpine Accentor apparently and surprisingly I didn't see a Rock Bunting anywhere towards the summit.
Another visit to one of my favourite wetland haunts along the Algarve coast. The water level has been increased and waders were in short supply due to this. A flock of Lapwings has gathered here for the winter and three Golden Plover were seen with them. Black-winged Stilts accounted for the majority of waders but there were plenty of Spoonbills, Glossy Ibis and a few Flamingos to watch too. Passing White Storks often drop in here. I spent a good while assessing all the gulls in the roost which were mainly Yellow-legged, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls. There was no sign of any Audouin's Gulls today but a nice adult Mediterranean Gull dropped in. In the course of counting the gulls, six Sandwich Terns were noted and two Caspian Terns. The Caspian Tern is a beautiful large tern with its stout crimson bill. At the Northern end of the marsh, around 60 Crag Martins were feeding over the reedbeds and I studied them for a while, in case a Little Swift or similar was with them - unfortunately not! Most of the wildfowl prefer this end of the wetland and there were numbers of Mallard, Teal, Gadwall and Shoveler. I only saw two pair of Pintails but more will arrive before too long. Drake Pintail with Gadwall pair in front. In the fields around the wetland, White Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were plentiful with no sign of a Richard's Pipit here yet. The odd Hoopoe and a Eurasian Magpie were seen, along with a male Marsh Harrier and a pale Booted Eagle. A Bluethroat was heard in part song and Fan-tailed Warblers were flitting about in the reeds, A fairly quiet few hours spent on this precious wetland today.
It's great to be back in where I regard as my second home and settled in for the Winter months now. This morning, Ellie the dog and I went for a walk on the saltmarsh behind Alvor, an area known as Abicada. It is a huge area of tidal wetland and holds a good variety of bird species. Walking the top bank, I found all along the bushes - Chiffchaffs, Fan-tailed Warblers, Corn Buntings, Sardinian Warblers and a couple of Bluethroats. Two Kingfishers whizzed past me along the adjacent channel. I wasn't quite ready for a surprise Stone Curlew which jumped up in front of me and I made an effort to record it flying away! Scanning around through a flock of 32 Flamingos, 48 White Storks, numerous Spoonbills, I noticed the Osprey flying in to collect his breakfast. He was only about ten minutes before flying back over my head with his catch, which he took off to distant field. In winter, Caspian Terns frequent this water and this morning was no exception with two birds present. In the saltmarsh, various birds are feeding and resting. There were Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank and Redshank, along with Mallard and Teal. At least 14 Grey Herons here this morning. Sanderlings along the tide line.
It was by pure chance that I encountered a magnificent pair of Bonelli's Eagles this morning. I wasn't at Cabranosa and the precise location is not being revealed as, speaking later with local raptor expert Sergio Correia, I had unknowingly wandered into a Bonelli's territory. With the recent fires in the Monchique hills, it is possible that previous Bonelli's territories may be lost now and their ability to find new ones must be fairly limited in the Western Algarve. I was firstly aware of a huge female bird soaring in the valley. Look at the attentive concentration on the face of this female as it surveys its territory. I think I become the object of concentration at this point! The female flies past showing a heavily streaked breast The male Bonelli's appears briefly before soaring over a hill. This bird is not so streaked on the breast. The female makes another circuit passed me. Several left wing primaries have moulted at the moment. A wonderful end to my raptor watching in the South-West of Portugal.
A short and perhaps final write up from this spectacular raptor viewpoint at Cabranosa. In a couple of days, I move to Alvor for the rest of the Winter and then, birding is mostly concentrated around the estuaries at Alvor, Portimao and the countryside of Silves county. This Autumn's raptor movement has been different to previous years in terms of lower numbers and in some cases, the absence of several species altogether. Nevertheless, it is always immensely satisfying to observe these graceful birds of prey in the sky over Sagres. The good news was that yesterday's tired Griffon Vulture was pacing around the field this morning. There had just been a rain shower and he was not seen to fly over Cabranosa during my visit today. The bad news was that I missed out on a Common Crane and juv Spanish Imperial Eagle whilst chasing thrushes! Also the 407 (!) Griffons to the North yesterday, failed to materialise and have left the area altogether.` A menacing look from the Short-toed Eagle. For my records really, a very distant adult Bonelli's Eagle being harassed by Crag Martins. ...with a very full crop. A top view (for a change) of a dark form Booted Eagle - with 'headlights' on.
It was an interesting start to the day in this part of the World, as not everyday, huge flocks of Woodpigeons make an appearance in the Algarve. Numbers do increase in Winter and this flock contained around 150 birds. The next hour belonged to the Crows as I first found a flock of 38 Jackdaws around a farm, on the way towards Cabranosa Surprisingly, mixed in with them was an equally large number of Choughs. At Vale Santo, the ever-present Ravens made up the rest of the 'likely' Crow members, a Carrion Crow here would be most unusual! Initially, I walked the wooded area of Cabranosa where thrushes were in good numbers. I was really pleased to see my first Redwing flying with a Mistle Thrush and showing its bright red undersides, in the morning sun. I began to photograph any flying thrushes and only now, it appears I may have caught an early Fieldfare, although I thought I heard a brief chack call on one occasion. On the raptor watch, a small number of Short-toed Eagles were about and a couple of Booted Eagles also. This adult Peregrine overflew me in spectacular fashion. I picked up a large raptor to the North which I soon assessed as a single Griffon Vulture. It was circling and losing height from time to time, a Booted Eagle annoyed it a couple of times before flying away. The Griffon continued to circle over the Northern edge of the woods, I had a feeling it was looking to land somewhere. The Griffon disappeared from view for some time and I felt it must be on the ground now. I had a strong feeling, I knew fairly well where the vulture would be and jumped in the car. Ten minutes drive and I found the Griffon in a farmyard by the roadside! A magnificent Vulture. Although this Griffon looks so powerful, it is separated from its flock, it is lost and it is exhausted. Within minutes of watching it, its eyes were closing and it began bowing its head as if unable to stay awake. I moved my car away for a while, so I wasn't attracting any unwanted attention towards the Griffon. After ten minutes or so, it lifted off just enough to cross the road and settled in thicker vegetation, more out of sight. I'm sure it is going to rest there, it has almost made a nest by the look of it. I will check on it in the morning, I hope it has gone - taken to the air again where it belongs.
It will have a few residents to put up with though! (Photographed while I was watching the Griffon). Here we are, rarity chasing again, this time at the prestigious resort of Vilamoura. To be more accurate, I'm at the waterworks on the edge of the Parque Ambiental, as you won't come across nine species of duck on a sunbed by the marina! Recently, further American visitors have arrived namely, two Ring-necked Ducks. My efforts to locate either of these visitors were unsuccessful in the time I was there, though it is not possible (permissible) to view all the reservoirs. This did not prevent some excellent birding from happening as, one of the first ducks seen was the Greater Scaup (female) which has also recently arrived. This was a welcome addition to my Algarve birding list and not a bird I would have been out looking for. Female Scaup. My search for the Ring-necked Ducks only came as close as three Tufted Ducks, which are still an uncommon duck species in the Algarve. What made my visit a little more special was the sightings of Ferruginous Ducks, which I haven't seen for many years and, only once in Portugal. First, not good views, of Ferruginous Ducks. Male Ferruginous Duck (with white eye), following a Shoveler. Another male and the black nail on the bill can be seen. Pretty sure that's a Herring Gull behind the Ferruginous Duck. Left hand Ferruginous Duck showing its characteristic white rear. Male left, Female right. A quick look in the Parque showed the usual array of water birds including the once rare Purple Swamphen, now numerous but an amazing looking bird! Little Egret (above) and juv Little Grebe (below).
After a few quiet days on the Sagres peninsula with variable weather and little change in bird activity, I was definitely in the mood for finding something interesting as the day began. When only just light, I was pleased to find another Wryneck and some ten minutes later, a Southern Grey Shrike called hoarsely from a bush top. Most of the morning was spent around Boca do Rio where the wetland is completely full of water again. Grey Herons and Little Egrets are increasing and wildfowl comprised both Mallard and two Teal. A Green Sandpiper was seen along with two Common Sandpipers but there didn't seem to be any Snipe showing at all. Two White Storks flew over the wetland and then moved on. It was later in the afternoon when, sitting in the supermarket carpark at Budens, I realised a flock of vultures was swirling in the sky above me. With a little intuitive forecasting (guesswork!), I took the road up to Raposeira windfarm where I thought the vultures would make for on their way to roost for the night. I arrived at the windfarm simultaneously with the vultures and witnessed an amazing sight. I have mentioned previously, the organisation STRIX, who study the effect of windfarms in relation to raptors and aim to minimise any casualties by controlling the turbines. As far as I could see initially, around 100 Griffons were in the vicinity of the turbines and flying very low. It was almost as if they were attracted to the turbines and I actually saw one Griffon touch its wing against a turbine blade. All the nearby turbines were shut down and the vultures were able to fly around in complete safety. A BLACK VULTURE among the Griffons. Watching all the Griffons, I picked out a single Black Vulture. On my photos, I have been able to make out a yellow ring on the left leg, but no numerical details. Black Vulture behind two Griffons. My second Black Vulture record in the Algarve
.......and more Griffon Vultures. |
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