Birding report for July 2006, courtesy of Gill and Phil Bailey.
Algarve 16 to 23 July 2006
A gentle week's birding based at Casa Rosa between 16th and 23rd July 2006.
Summer is not the best time of year to visit this area, but for those who have
commitments in the classroom there is often no alternative! Each day began with
Phil's early morning walk in the grounds of Casa Rosa and along the donkey track
between 6:30 and 8:00, followed by fresh croissant for breakfast. A full day's
birding then followed, mostly to locations that were accessible by car as Gill
had difficulty in walking any distance. Each day ended with a swim, sundowners
by the pool and then an excellent meal at Casa Rosa's Bistro, together with good
company from our hosts.
At this time of year, almost every day is warm and sunny with 36C a typical
temperature. This was certainly the case at 6pm each evening when I went for a
swim in the pool. We had one day of overcast conditions which felt rather humid
(and coincided with curry for dinner), but this was unusual. Inland, Castro
Verde area, it was somewhat hotter but bearable, though we were pleased to have
a car with air conditioning.
Casa Rosa and the donkey track produced Collared Dove, Sardinian Warbler,
Woodchat Shrike and Barn Swallow every day. There were also plenty of Common
Swift, although I did not manage to convince myself that any were Pallid Swift,
and House Sparrow. Blackbird, Greenfinch, House Martin and Red-rumped Swallow
each made several appearances. Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen once in the
grounds of Casa Rosa as was Short-toed Treecreeper, Little Owl, Great Tit, Grey
Heron, Hoopoe and, after being assured by Roger that it appeared at 9pm every
day, an appearance by Red-necked Nightjar on our fifth evening. I also saw Little Owl along the donkey track. A small flock of Bee-eaters graced us with
their presence on 20th July.
Several times we tried the minor roads that led South off the N125 between
Fuzeta and Tavira. Results were variable and the state of the tide probably
dictated what was likely to be seen. The best was probably the road at Livrapento. Sightings included Grey Heron, Little Egret, White Stork, Spoonbill,
Oystercatcher, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Black-tailed Godwit,
Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Crested Lark, Red-rumped Swallow, Goldfinch
and Whimbrel. We also went into Tavira and added Avocet, Greater Flamingo (but
only three here) and a (possible) Water Pipit.
Our first trip to Castro Verde failed to produce a convincing sighting of Great
Bustard, although we thought we saw two in a field beside the N2 just South of
Castro Verde as we sped past. Therefore, we repeated the trip four days later
and saw three Great Bustards in more a less the same spot, although paying more
attention this time. However, it was not really safe to stop here and this was
our only sighting. In the Castro Verde area (see "Finding Birds in Southern
Portugal" by Dave Gosney) White Stork was abundant as was Cattle Egret, and we
also found our first Azure-winged Magpie for the trip plus our only Roller. The
bridge over the Rio Cobres 5km East of Castro Verde yielded Kestrel and an audio Cetti's Warbler. On the N123 between Sao Marcos de Ataboeira and Mertola we
found White Stork nests on the utility poles with Spanish Sparrow sharing the
living space. The very pleasant return drive by the Rio Guadiana gave us our first view of Bee-eater and Short-toed Eagle. The single track road South from
Sao Marcos de Ataboeira produced our only Spotless Starling, plus excellent
views of Black kite and Montagu's Harrier. On both trips to this region we
visited Mertola but failed to find the Lesser Kestrels. However, we did have
another Short-toed Eagle, several Crag Martin and a flock of Jackdaw over the
very picturesque gorge.
We visited Quinta do Lago twice and were amazed at the liberal use of water on
golf courses and villas in this drought-stricken region. Yellow-legged and
Lesser Black-backed Gull were plentiful and we added Grey Plover, Turnstone,
Little Ringed Plover, Curlew and Common Sandpiper to our list of waders. Little
Terns were much in evidence and performed well at close range, particularly over
the ornamental lake. Turtle Dove and Yellow Wagtail also made an appearance
here. The golf course lake with its rickety tower hide was a revelation for this
time of year. The highlight was a Little Bittern which disappeared into the
reeds after allowing a few minutes viewing. There were also plenty of Little
Grebe, Pochard, Mallard, Gadwall, one Grey Heron, Coot, Moorhen and one
Red-crested Pochard. We also saw Hoopoe on the nature trail leading to this
lake.
At Castro Marim, virtually at the Spanish border, we added Little Stint,
Black-headed Gull, Fan-tailed Warbler and Southern Grey Shrike (although we may
have seen one earlier at Ria Formosa). This site also had a flock of 45 Greater
Flamingo as well as Spoonbill and Hoopoe.
Two other sites we visited were Cabo de Sao Vicente, which proved unproductive,
and the Alvor Estuary, which had similar birds to Ria Formosa.
A note for disabled birders: As Gill was unable to walk far (she was using
crutches), we managed to access all the above sites by car, except for the my
morning walk along the donkey track at Casa Rosa. She did walk a few hundred
meters at Quinta do Lago in the direction of the golf course lake and this would
probably be accessible by wheel-chair users.
Dave Gosney's "Finding Birds in Southern Portugal" proved very useful despite
being ten year's old. However, we did not make it to the small reservoir
mentioned on page 15 as it looked a bit dubious without a 4-wheel drive vehicle.
Phil and Gill Bailey, phil.bailey_birder@ntlworld.com
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Little Bittern
White Stork
Spoonbill
Greater Flamingo
Gadwall
Mallard
Red-crested Pochard
Pochard
Black Kite
Short-toed Eagle
Montagu's Harrier
Kestrel
Moorhen
Coot
Great Bustard
Oystercatcher
Black-winged Stilt
Avocet
Grey Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Black-tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Curlew
Redshank
Common Sandpiper
Turnstone
Little Stint
Dunlin
Yellow-legged Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black-headed Gull
Little Tern
Turtle Dove
Collared Dove
Little Owl
Red-necked Nightjar
Swift
Bee-eater
Roller
Hoopoe
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Crested Lark
Crag Martin
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
House Martin
Water Pipit
Blackbird
Fan-tailed Warbler
Cetti's Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Stonechat
Great Tit
Short-toed Treecreeper
Southern Grey Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Azure-winged Magpie
Jackdaw
Spotless Starling
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
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