The newspapers are buzzing with excitement, following the announcement by the ICNF (Forestry and Nature) towards giving Salgados protected status as a National Nature Reserve. The major wetland of Lagoa dos Salgados (or Pera Marsh as it is known to many) has faced the threat of huge development for years. What is important now, is a 'period of public consultation' beginning on December 7th will appear on a on-line portal shortly. This is the opportunity for the public at large to offer their opinions as to classifying the area as a protected nature reserve. When the 'portal' is made known, I will put the details on a blog. While this is promising news for Salgados, I spend much of my winters around the Alvor estuaries and wonder how long this area will be left undisturbed. The tidal flows in and out of these rivers are so important for the Storks, Herons, Gulls, Terns and numerous wader species which depend on the marine food supply found here. Just outside the town of Alvor this week, the American wader - Lesser Yellowlegs has delighted many for around four days. The large area of water above the dam is home to Flamingos and Spoonbills. Caspian Terns, Osprey and Marsh Harriers fly over regularly. Other smart residents live here too - The long-staying Great Black-backed Gull can usually be found on this estuary. On the other estuary at Quinta da Rocha, repairs were completed to the breached walls and we now wait to see how the lagoons recover, in terms of wildlife. Certainly towards the fish farm, herons, egrets and storks are found in large numbers. Presumably an adequate supply of fish, shrimps and frogs. At least two Great White Egrets have been seen this week. This afternoon at the small lagoon in Alvor, I checked on the Lesser Yellowlegs once more. After a feeding session, a bath followed and a lengthy preening took place. Without warning, the Yellowlegs left the lagoon, flying out of sight. Perhaps the relentless harassment by one Redshank in particular had got too much! A Water Pipit is now regular on this lagoon. A young Black-winged Stilt, one of two young with adult pair.
A very nice surprise on the small lagoon (Caminho Maria Pires) this morning was a Lesser Yellowlegs, showing extremely well. After heavy rain and thunderstorms in the early hours, I was lucky to see this bird in a still overcast sky. The Lesser Yellowlegs was feeding in the shallow water, though frequently chased by a Redshank. There are plenty of other waders attracted to this lagoon including Common Snipe, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Dunlin and Common Sandpiper. Flamingos arriving on the estuary.
Once more this location has produced another great rarity so we arrived early, for some much needed revision on Dusky Warblers! After a considerable time spent in the likely area, the only bird giving anything like a 'teck' call was a nice Bluethroat. We sifted through the many Chiffchaffs, flitting between the reeds and the trees, coming to the conclusion the Dusky Warbler may have moved on. There was some consolation however, as the Red-knobbed Coot which previously has been elusive at times, now favours the very same spot where the Dusky Warbler was seen. A Garganey here was an additional bonus in November, together with two Little Bitterns leaving the reed bed. Some of the lakes more regular birds. Beginning our walk on the Ludo estate, a Water Rail was a nice find while watching a perched Kingfisher. Hundreds of Wigeon were 'whistling' on the next lake where, we began to see flocks of Flamingos, Grey Herons, Spoonbills and many other species in the air. The large Caspian Terns fed constantly over the lakes. Occasional raptors passed through - 3 Ospreys at one time and Marsh Harriers were constantly flying over the saltpans. All the common wader species were seen and only a couple of Little Stints were added to the list. After a great day walking the saltpans, late afternoon saw the Booted Eagles returning to their evening roost in the distant trees. This afternoon I spent an hour or so by the river above Alvor, again watching some nice common waders. Moving around to the pumping station, I encountered a Griffon Vulture flying along the street by the aerodrome - as you do!!! The Griffon had clearly flown enough today and was looking for somewhere to touchdown as soon as possible. I parked the car and checked some of the nearby properties but couldn't locate it. At the pumping station, I found the ground I remember as having bushes was now cleared. Thinking this was just another sign of the times, a local man I spoke with said, the local Council (Camera) are to erect a birdwatching hide here, for people to observe the estuary wildlife - how good is that!!
At this point, the estuary bird life took to the air and the Griffon Vulture lazily flew towards Penina, to roost. Spending our last few days now around Cabranosa, before moving to Alvor for the rest of the Winter. Once again this area has provided some superb birding days, not only with the migrating raptors but also exceptional finds in the Pin-tailed Whyder and Red-breasted Flycatcher. Yesterday morning started well, being able to locate the two Richard's Pipits on Atalaia for Chris and Sue before going up to Cabranosa. Both Chris and myself have been keen to get a look at Redwings, as the Winter thrushes are arriving now in large numbers. A bird so easily seen in the UK each Winter feeding on the ground or in hedgerows, it can be a little more difficult here. The Redwings accompany the Song Thrushes sitting in the pine trees, remaining unseen until flushed by the slightest disturbance. The 'seep' call as they fly helps to separate them from the Song Thrush when the red underwing is not clearly visible. We were very pleased to see the Redwings as clearly as the one above and a good number were in a large thrush flock close by. A single Ring Ouzel called and flew out also. The last few days has seen a small trickle of raptors including Red and Black Kite, Short-toed and Booted Eagle, Common Buzzards, Hen Harriers and a juvenile Bonelli's Eagle showed distantly, two days ago. One of six Short-toed Eagles lingering for two days. An occasional Black Stork still showing up. Yesterday afternoon, a timely shout from Sergio and Carlos on the watching team gave us incredible views of a further Black Vulture sighting at Cabranosa. Flying quite low, this vulture showed well, remaining in view for a good while and not showing any sign of moving out. It was by this time quite late in the afternoon, the Black Vulture began to circle an area about a kilometre away, losing height and looking for somewhere to roost. The approaching Black Vulture with a Common Buzzard following slightly behind and above. A great close fly around performed two or three times. A short while later I located the Black Vulture, making itself fairly obvious on the crest off a hill! What a character with its feathery neck collar and a much browner bird than I had anticipated.
** We cannot leave Sagres without mentioning our stay at 'Sagres Time Apartments'. We have been extremely comfortable in a first floor apartment with views to the hills and Cape St. Vincent directly in front of us. I think I have watched the sun set every evening for the whole two months. The manager and his staff are very welcoming, any request is treated with immediate action and nothing is trouble for them at all. The cleaning staff performed an excellent job on each visit. 'Sagres Time' has excellent accommodation and ideally situated for the town, market, the harbour and walking. ** We were on our way to Raposeira to meet Chris and Sue when we found the vulture flocks already in the air. As I've seen on previous occasions, the lead bird was a magnificent Black Vulture. Why they take up this position may be chance, another Black Vulture was in the same flock but maybe sometimes they assume the 'top species' role. The juvenile Black Vulture presents all sorts of problems to photograph because, well it's just black, or almost!! Behind the Black Vulture came hundreds of Griffons. The sky was blue, the sun wasn't too high and the griffons showed well, enabling us to separate out any different birds - Egyptian Vultures, Black Storks etc. By the time we reached Raposeira, some of these Griffons were making their way towards us. We found them flying very high at first and sometimes splitting into smaller flocks, which makes keeping track of their movements more difficult. We expected them to pass either on the seaward side or, further inland towards the hills and in any case at a safe height. What happened next was a surprise as they suddenly lost height and approached the wind farm. Those turbines which can be shut down were stopped, but the vultures flew through the rotating turbines (100 metres tall with 50 metre rotating blades) which was a heart-stopping few minutes. Having done that, they gained height once more but failed to continue on their expected route out of the area.
There is so much to learn on the behaviour of these young Griffons. Most of the present number were on their third day here. Yesterday they had left their roost, flown all day and then returned to more or less the same place for the night. Why would they do this? We make half-hearted remarks about their ability - they don't know where to go, they follow each other like sheep. There must be more to it. They become airborne at the first opportunity, as soon as the air is warm enough. Why don't some spend another hour or two on the ground? Perhaps the possibility of predators. There is danger on the ground but in the air they are safe, that's where they belong and movement seems effortless. Was there a reason for their long stay around Sagres on this occasion? At the wind farm, we noticed the wind direction change three times in the course of the day. This afternoon, a light north-easterly saw the vast majority flying high over us and towards the distant hills. Perhaps this was the air current they were going to ride, moving at speed (into the wind) and taking them out of view in very little time at all. I have no doubt, these magnificent birds not yet adults, are far more advanced than we may give them credit for and, I think they are awesome in every way. The weather has settled once again and fortunately there are many vultures, making their way South-West and into our watching area. Early yesterday, I went into the hills to where I believed a large number of Griffon Vultures had rested for the night. You would think that an estimated 600 vultures standing on the ground would be easy to locate, given their size and the space they would occupy. Scanning the hillsides, it can take a considerable time and between locations, I watched other birds starting their day. A colourful Great Spotted Woodpecker was on display early. On a further power line was an Iberian Shrike, singing for long periods. Many birds were on the move including small Siskin flocks, 4 Bullfinches flew over, 2 Short-toed Eagles were up early and, large flocks of Woodpigeons (hundreds) must have been new arrivals. I travelled a little further and noticed a large brown patch in a field which looked suspiciously like standing Griffons. I walked a short distance to a stand of stone pines where I hoped to be inobtrusive. In doing so, I inadvertently aroused a Common Buzzard which flew away quickly. With the camera lens, the Griffons looked more obvious although distant. Processing the images revealed a Black Vulture is standing near the right hand end, with its back to us. I noticed a small number of Griffons roosting in a pine tree. I remained under the trees waiting for the flock to alight when a sudden "whoosh whoosh" over my head showed some were already lifting off and I was in fact, surrounded by several flocks. Within a couple of minutes there were hundreds of vultures in the air. The nearby wind turbines always a constant threat to low flying birds. Fortunately, on this occasion the vultures gained height rapidly. An ever-growing collection of vultures climbed high in the sky, moving off towards the coast.
Today, a large number of vultures (around 1000) are still present in the area. We had started to appreciate the Vulture migration and numbers were increasing daily when the weather changed. The wind strengthened in a direction adverse for the vultures and then rain showers set in. A strong wind from mid-Atlantic began moving seabirds in large quantities. Gannet numbers were reaching 2000 per hour at peak times, passing Cape St. Vincent in a Southerly direction. I have never been a serious sea-watcher, probably not having the patience for some long uneventful sessions. When birds are moving ahead of weather fronts for example, then I may perch on a cliff top and give it my best shot. Given the height of the cliffs at the Cape and the obvious distance to reach the passing birds, my photos go some way to illustrate what can be seen with typical birding equipment. Great Skuas showed regularly, fifteen passed in my first session yesterday. Cory's Shearwater is the most numerous and some are always present around the Cape. This was a great moment when a Cory's Shearwater was followed by a Sooty Shearwater and then a Balearic Shearwater - nice comparisons. Not always easy to pick out among the waves but small gulls pass through, such as these adult and first winter Mediterranean Gulls. Two more 'close' Sooty Shearwaters. You will have to take my word for it on this record shot. Seen well through the scope, this was my first Algarve Pomarine Skua, an adult with spoon tail. I went on to see a further two Pomarines today and several Arctic (Parasitic) Skuas. This Pomarine Skua represents my 300th bird species seen in The Algarve.
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