Confined to our municipality for a short while yet, our daily walks with Ellie continue to be around Alvor and its coastal environment. The wintering Great Black-backed Gull was sitting out on the estuary, in an area it seems to favour. It was good to see both Whimbrels and Curlews in several locations along the saltmarsh. Here, a Whimbrel is having a tasty crab for a meal. A Curlew in flight. A small flock of Cormorants hunting together. Common Redshanks are the most numerous wader, with good numbers of Dunlin also. Ringed and Kentish Plovers are in small numbers and Grey Plovers can be found in their winter plumage. A drop in water level above the dam has brought in Common Snipe, Green and Common Sandpiper. This Greenshank was feeding close by. Around 30 young Flamingos were feeding and groups of Spoonbills were resting on the islands. In the air, a Marsh Harrier and an Osprey flew up river. Crag Martins are becoming more numerous everywhere along the coast now. An unusual overcast sky appeared, making a mess of this Caspian Tern shot, as it tried to devour a sizeable fish.
I have refrained from making reference to Covid-19 until now, in an attempt to provide a distraction in these horrible times. Having had completely free movement around the Algarve since September which has been wonderful, restrictions have become necessary in some districts (municipalities), including the one in which we live. During the day, we will remain within the district which still provides all our needs and, contains good birding areas on the estuaries and marshes, as well as the coast. In line with the new restrictions, we took a beach walk into Alvor this morning for a coffee. In the harbour, we found this adult Great Black-backed Gull among some local gulls. The GBB Gull is a scarce/rare visitor on parts of the Algarve coast and I have a feeling I saw this bird last winter also. We have several returning winter birds showing up, including the same Rock Pipit at Praia do Mohle as last year. What else does lockdown mean? Well, with a complete absence of people, nature reclaims its environment and it didn't take these gulls long to give the swimming pool a good testing.
It was a beautiful clear morning as we set foot on the boardwalk at Alvor. It was almost high tide and the estuary was already covering most of the saltmarsh and silently creeping under the boardwalk. We counted seven Bluethroats along the walk, along with Fan-tailed and Sardinian Warblers. On the remaining vegetation in the estuary there were five Whimbrel, some Redshank, Sanderlings and a Ringed Plover. There were more Ringed and Kentish Plovers on the beach at the breakwater. After lunch, I took myself off to the ricefields near Estombar, one of my favourite sites whilst at Alvor. I hadn't been there long when a Great White Egret flew in, which I was pleased to see as it was my first this Autumn. The large egret settled on one of the fields and began feeding. There is a large flock of Waxbills, around one hundred birds moving along the reedbeds and showing very well. I also came across another introduced species, the Yellow-crowned Bishop, looking like female/juveniles. In this same reedy area there was much noise from the Purple Swamphens. I had already counted ten when I saw this young Swamphen, climbing high among the reeds. I expected to be finding Common Snipe by now but none appeared. Both Common and Green Sandpipers were seen flying over the ricefields along with two Kingfishers. A brief glimpse of a Little Bittern, too fast again for a nice photo! Out on the rice stubble I counted six Meadow Pipits and also found two Water Pipits, which remained closer than the Meadow Pipits would. Nothing called like a Red-throated Pipit but I'll keep trying! Along with two White Wagtails was this superb Grey Wagtail. The highlight of the afternoon walk was undoubtedly 'seeing' instead of just hearing, my first Quail. On one of the tracks, a Quail sprang up from the salicornia next to me and 'whirred' away for about fifty metres before dropping out of view. An unmistakable little bird which kept low as it flew away from me, with rapid wingbeats.
After a quick move across to Alvor, our home for the next four months, persistent rain has dampened our first day's birding in this area.
Surprisingly though, of the few birds we did see, this remarkable Cetti's Warbler came out between rain showers. More often than not, the Cetti's is heard easily near any wetland but can be difficult to see. A fleeting glimpse as it flies quickly or a part hidden view in a thick bush makes for studying its identification rather awkward. Occasionally, a bird will sit in the open and give great views, as this smart Cetti's Warbler did this morning. We've spent much of our time in locations around Sagres where once again, the Autumn migration has produced some great bird sightings in very pleasant weather conditions. With only one day's heavy rain, birds collect at any fresh water source remaining, which may provide some excellent sightings. An adult winter White Wagtail. Birds sit in surrounding bushes, awaiting their turn. Below, a Corn Bunting and a Serin. Occasionally, other vistors come through this area. A really nice surprise was this female Merlin which perched not far away for a minute or two. Flying off, it was joined by a second Merlin. Around the apartment, regular visitors are a Blue Rock Thrush and several Black Redstarts. Here is one of the spectacular male Redstarts. A walk around Martinhal this morning gave me my first sighting of a Purple Sandpiper this year. One or two of these rare winter visitors can be found along the harbour wall at Porto do Baleeira most years. Today there was a moderate wind blowing and a churning sea, off the harbour. I had the impression this Purple Sandpiper, maybe recently arrived, was sheltering behind vegetation along the lagoon at Martinhal and coming out to feed occasionally. This afternoon I set off to the hills, having received news of a Lesser Spotted Eagle moving around. It left in an Easterly direction well before I arrived and we can only try again tomorrow. On my return to Sagres, I noticed a distant 'lump' on the water tower, as I drove towards the town. I had a feeling I knew what it was, as we had watched a lone Griffon Vulture make a short flight yesterday, not far from here. The above image is taken from our apartment where, the young Griffon has endured the Raven, Gulls and Pigeons and has settled down to sleep (6pm). I parked up and watched the Griffon on the shady side of the tower where it was not being well received by a raven. This rude encounter caused the Griffon to fly around and settle on the opposite side of the tower where the view was exceptional. Note: The Griffon carries a metal ring on the right leg but none of my images show the detail.
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