Holiday Villa Apartment Hotel Algarve Portugal Casa Rosa

Birdwatching in and around Casa Rosa

Birding Reports.

The following links give you excellent reports:

John Callion; Peter Blinco; Pete Davies November 22^nd- 26^th 2004

Monday 22 November.

Traveled from Cumbria down to East Midlands airport for 9.15am flight to Faro airport. Journey gave no problems-flight on time, collected hire car from airport Ok.

Birds seen on arrival at Airport and Montenegro where we stopped to pick up lunch:

White wagtail. House sparrow. Robin Chaffinch. Collared dove. Starling. Black redstart. Feral pigeons. Chiffchaffs.

Our first ‘proper’ bird watching venue was the waterworks and salinas area adjacent to Faro airport

Coot-- numerous. Grey heron. Little egret. Gadwall. Common sandpiper. Snipe. Yellow legged gull. Black winged stilts. Stonechat. Serin. Meadow pipit. Teal. Shoveler. Kingfisher. Crested lark. Moorhen. Cormorant. Greenfinch. Sardinian warbler. Osprey x 1 Goldfinch. Black headed gull. Mallard. White stork. Kentish plover. Zitting cisticola. Redshank. Little grebe. Grey plover. Golden plover. Dunlin. Ringed plover. Kestrel. Blackbird.

We then moved on to Quinta de Lago. The tide was in and we walked past the hide and along to the salinas.

Azure winged magpie. Hoopoe. Cettis warbler. Zitting cisticola. Stonechat. Gadwall. Coot. Moorhen. Pochard. Tufted duck. Purple gallinule. Lesser black backed gull. Great tit. Waxbill. Water pipit. Pintail. Wigeon. Avocet. Greater flamingo. Great crested grebe. Blackcap. Marsh harrier. Black shouldered kite (superb views-1 being mobbed repeatedly by kestrel) Sanderling. Little stint. Ruff. Black tailed godwit. Greenshank. Spotted redshank. Lapwing. Buzzard. Curlew sandpiper. Spoonbills. Grey wagtail. Cattle egret. Turnstone. Bar tailed godwit. Whimbrel. Curlew. Shoveler- numerous. Serin. Osprey eating fish. Kestrel. Little egret. Grey heron—60+. Coot. Gadwall-numerous.

Leaving Q de Lago our next stop was our accommodation at Casa Rosa

Willow warbler—singing! Nightjar x 2. Little owl. Blackcap. Chiffchaff. Black redstart. House sparrow. Blackbird.

Tuesday 23^rd November. Song thrush at Casa Rosa before we left

Our destination today was Cap de Vicente. However we stopped on the way towards the Cap as we spotted many raptors in the sky.

Spotless starling. Corn bunting. Great grey shrike. Hoopoe at Casa Rosa. Stonechat. Osprey. Buzzard. Kestrel. Short toed eagle (24 seen at one location along with 2 booted-still crossing to Africa?) Booted eagle. Jackdaw. Linnet. Lesser short toed lark. Black Wheatear x 1. Rock dove. Crag martin. Thekla lark. Red rumped swallow x 1. Blue rock thrush. Subalpine warbler x 1. Shag x 2. Calandra lark. Gannets - numerous. Black redstart. Jackdaw. Sardinian warbler. Chiffchaff. Red rumped swallow. Black redstart. Rock dove. Kestrel. Marsh harrier. Buzzard.

Moved North of Cap de Vicente and motored to Aljezur and on to Monchique

A few new species when we stopped in woodland area near to Monchique

Blue tit. Jay. Short toed tree creeper. Nuthatch. Great spotted woodpecker. Lapwing. Larks. Starling. Cattle egret. Kestrel. Stonechat. White wagtails.

Wednesday 24^th November

Destination today was Donana. On the way we stopped at Castro Marim

Reed bunting Swallow x 1. Yellow legged gulls. White wagtail. Kestrel. House sparrow. Redshank. Snipe. Grey heron. Crag martins. Egrets. Goldfinch. Stonechat. Black winged stilt. Chiffchaff. Spoonbill x 3. Godwits. Little grebes. Avocet. Gadwall. White stork. Cormorants. Shrike. Corn bunting x 50+. Caspian tern x 1 as we crossed the Border bridge.

Visited the rice fields and Valverde first.

Red kite. Black stork x 8. Hen harrier x 1 (male). Greyleg geese – numerous. Night heron x 1. Red knobbed coot at Valverde. Green sandpiper x 1. Imperial eagle x 1 . Collared dove. Serins. Buzzard. Grey heron. Cattle egrets. Corn bunting. Larks. Booted eagle x 2. Marsh harriers. Purple gallinule. White stork. Snipe. Lapwing. Black redstart. Kestrel.

Moved to El Rocio and La Rocina

Glossy ibis x 3. Magpie. Red legged partridge. Coal tit. Red kites. Greater flamingos-numerous. Black shouldered Kite x 1. Marsh harriers. Teal. Night heron. Grey heron. Mallard. Pochard. Godwits. Greylag geese. Little grebe. Coot. Moorhen. Cettis warbler. Chiffchaff. Robin. Azure winged magpies. Shoveler. Gadwall.

Unfortunately the paths past the hides at La Rocina were closed off due to repair works to boardwalks so we were unable to catch up with the lesser spotted eagle reported to be on site

We drove on towards Huelva and Odiel. On the way we stopped at Palos y Madres where the only new species was

Squacco heron. Wigeon. Pochard. Coot. Buzzard. Gadwall. Mallard. Grey heron. Yellow l gull. Lesser b b gull. Chiffchaff. Little grebe. Shoveler. Purple gallinule.

Thursday 25^th November

Today’s trip was Northwards to Castro Verde and then east to Mertola. In between the 2 we visited Pulo de Lobo, as we hadn’t seen this site on previous visits, although we knew it is a site during the breeding season.

Peregrine x 1. Crow. Raven. Little bustard x 8 & then a further 120 seen in one flock. Stone curlew x 8. Great bustards x 5 and then a further 19 seen. Red kites-numerous. Buzzard. Lapwing. Golden plover. Corn bunting. Swallow. Azure winged magpies. Stonechats. Snipe. Little grebe. Little owl. Shrikes. Blue rock thrush. Stonechats. Black redstart. Egret. Chiffchaff. Robin. Sardinian warbler. Buzzard. Grey wagtail. Linnet. Red legged partridges.

Long tailed tit at Pulo de Lobo.

1 Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 71 Yellow legged gull Larus cachinnans

2 Great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus 72 Caspian tern Sterna caspia

3 Black necked grebe Podiceps nigricollis 73 Rock dove Columbia livia

4 Northern Gannet Morus bassanus 74 Feral pigeon Columbia livia (domest)

5 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 75 Collared dove Streptopelia decaocta

6 European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis 76 Little owl Athene noctua

7 Night heron Nycticorax nycticorax 77 European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

8 Squacco heron Ardeola ralloides 78 Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis

9 Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis 79 Hoopoe Upopa epops

10 Little egret Egretta garzetta 80 Great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major

11 Grey heron Ardea cinerea 81 Calandra lark Melanocorypha calandra

12 Black stork Ciconia nigra 82 Lesser short toed lark Calandrella rufescens

13 White stork Ciconia ciconia 83 Crested lark Galerida cristata

14 Glossy ibis Plegadis falcinellus 84 Thekla lark Galerida theklae

15 Eurasian spoonbill Platalea leucoradia 85 Crag martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris

16 Greater flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus 86 Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

17 Greylag goose Anser anser 87 Red rumped swallow Hirundo daurica

18 Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 88 Meadow pipit Anthus pratensis

19 Gadwall Anas strepera 89 Water pipit Anthus spinoletta

20 Eurasian teal Anas crecca 90 Grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea

21 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 91 White/pied wagtail Motacilla alba

22 Pintail Anas acuta 92 Robin Erithracus rubecula

23 Shoveler Anas clypeata 93 Black redstart Phoenicurus ochruros

24 Common Pochard Aythya ferina 94 Common stonechat Saxicola torquatus

25 Tufted duck Aythya fuligula 95 Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura

26 Black winged kite Elanus caeruleus 96 Blue rock thrush Monticola solitarius

27 Red kite Milvus milvus 97 Blackbird Turdus merula

28 Short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus 98 Song thrush Turdus philomelos

29 Marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus 99 Cetti’s warbler Cettia cetti

30 Hen harrier Circus cyaneus 100 Zitting cisticola Cisticola juncidis

31 Common buzzard Buteo buteo 101 Subalpine warbler Sylvia cantillans

32 Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti 102 Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala

33 Booted eagle Hieraaetus pennatus 103 Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla

34 Osprey Pandion haliaetus 104 Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita

35 Common kestrel Falco tinnunculus 105 Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus

36 Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus 106 Long tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus

37 Red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa 107 Coal tit Parus ater

38 Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 108 Blue tit Parus caeruleus

39 Purple gallinule Porphyrio porphyrio 109 Great tit Parus major

40 Common coot Fulica atra 110 Eurasian nuthatch Sitta europaea

41 Red knobbed coot Fulica cristata 111 Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla

42 Little bustard Tetrax tetrax 112 Great grey shrike Lanius excubitor

43 Great bustard Otis tarda 113 Eurasian jay Garrulus glandarius

44 Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus 114 Azure winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus

45 Black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus 115 Magpie Pica pica

46 Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta 116 Western jackdaw Corvus monedula

47 Stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus 117 Carrion crow Corvus corone

48 Ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula 118 Common raven Corvus corax

49 Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus 119 Common starling Sturnus vulgaris

50 European golden plover Pluvialis apricaria 120 Spotless starling Sturnus unicolor

51 Grey plover Pluvialis squatarola 121 House sparrow Passer domesticus

52 Northern lapwing Vanellus vanellus 122 Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild

53 Sanderling Calidris canutus 123 Common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs

54 Little stint Calidris minuta 124 European Serin Serinus serinus

55 Curlew sandpiper Calidris ferruginea 125 Greenfinch Carduelis chloris

56 Dunlin Calidris alpina 126 Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis

57 Ruff Philomachus pugnax 127 Linnet Carduelis cannabina

58 Common snipe Gallinago gallinago 128 Reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus

59 Bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica 129 Corn bunting Emberiza calandra

60 Black tailed godwit Limosa limosa 130

61 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 131

62 Curlew Numenius arquata 132

63 Spotted redshank Tringa erythropus 133

64 Redshank Tringa totanus 134

65 Greenshank Tringa nebularia 135

66 Green sandpiper Tringa ochropus 136

67 Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 137

68 Turnstone Arenaria interpres 138

69 Black headed gull Larus ridibundus 139

70 Lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus 140

^{Birding report, September 2003 courtesy of
Dave and Jean Hammocks, who were a nice sight relaxing in our hammock watching
melodious warblers in the carob tree above them,
it's not often that you see a Hammocks in a hammock! (With very many
thanks)}

We have stayed at Casa Rosa for the past three years and each year I promise Roger that I would do him a Birding Report. I had it all set out, clicked onto Roger's excellent Birding Pages and lo and behold, I find that Neil and Renate Barker, who stayed at Casa Rosa at the same time as I did last year, had already done an excellent report, location guide and listing of their sightings from September 2003. Such is their report that there is little I can add to it other than add a couple of places I visited and add any different birds I saw in 2003. I did not see Red-Legged Partridge, Short-Toed Treecreeper, Red-Necked Nightjar Black Tern or Arctic Skua, all seen by Neil and Renate, but I managed a Crested Tit just outside the kitchen window. One place I visited, Quinta do Lago, yielded a fine assortment, especially as the tide was out on the estuary. 500 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 3000+ Greater Black Blacked Gulls, Purple Gallinule, Ringed, Little Ringed, Kentish and Grey Plovers, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Turnstone, Little Stint, Redchank, Greenshank, Sanderling, Great White Egret, Red Crested Pochard, Little Bittern, 97 Greater Flamingos with close views, Cettis Warbler, Kingfisher, AND FLYING GOLF BALLS. Do beware when taking the beach path from the hotel car park out to the hide, as the golfers may be wearing all things Nike but they still manage to spend more time looking for lost golf balls than actually hitting them. I know where they are, they have just whizzed past my head into the sea. Back to birds, All manner of commoner tits and finches can be found in the trees near the hide, but anything can turn up in this area, as did last year when a BLACK HEADED BUNTING dropped onto a fence and sat there in full view for a good 5 minutes at a range of 20 yards. Roger has good directions to Quinta on his "Birding Location" link. A whole day was spent travelling from Casa Rosa, motorway to Faro, up to Castro Verde, along to Mertola, down to Castro Marim then back to Casa Rosa in time for one of Hanny's superb dinners. I kid you not, they are brilliant. The area Castro Verde to Mertola has, according to all the books, Great and Little Bustards waving at you as you drive by. I have never seen one in about 14 visits to the Algarve until 2003 when I finally nailed a Great Bustard, but still after the Little one. Not many outstanding birds on this trip but quality made up for quantity as also had Pintail Sandgrouse, Grag Martin, Thekla and Calandra Larks and Isabelline Wheatear. A call in at Cacela Velha brought Rock Sparrow and Purple Heron. Then a day was spent in Spain at Cota Donana which was somewhat disappointing due to lack of water (no rain for months), but it must be briilaitn in the Spring when water levels are up. However did manage to see amongst others, Raven, 37 White Stork circling, Griffon and Black Vultures, Marsh Harrier, Imperial Eagle, Chiffchaff and Alpine Swift. With the exception of Cota Donana and the Castro Verde to Mertola route, all the other reserves and best birding spots are within very easy reach of the Casa Rosa base, which makes it such a fine central location to stay. The following is a list of birds seen at the Algarve, which is additional to those listed in Neil and Renate's listing and additional to those listed above.

Black Cap, Willow Warbler, Subalpine, Dartford, Wood, Bonnellis Warblers, Rufous Warbler, Mistle Thrush, Woodchat Shrike, Golden Oriole, Roller, Coal Tit, Rock Dove, Blue Rock Thrush, Linnet, Serin, Siskin, Greenfinch, Goldfinich, Reed and Corn Bunting, Rook, Carrion Crow, Bee Eater, Great Reed Warbler, Bonnelli Eagle, Short Toed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Black Shouldered Kite, Red Kite, Lesser Kestrel, Red Footed Falcon, Peregrine, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Crested Coot, Green Sandpiper, Black Necked Grebe, Wood Sandpiper, Spoonbill, Blue Headed and Yellow Wagtails, Black Stork, Chough, Jackdaw, Black Redstart, Black Eared Wheatear, Lesser Whitethroat, Pallid Swift, Gull Billed Tern, Turtle Dove, Wryneck. An Eagle Owl at Alvor was missed by 5 minutes and finally saw a strange black and white Kingfisher at Fuzeta fiah farm a couple of years ago. The only thing it looked like was a Pied Kingfisher, but if it was then it was miles from home. There will be birds that I have missed through lack of identification knowledge, especially warblers and waders, but this will give anyone venturing the the Algarve just what a variety of birds there are within very easy reach of your base at Casa Rosa. My thanks to Neil and Renate for inadvertently doing the report that I have been promising to do for so long, and I shall be back at Casa Rosa in September 2004 to see if I can add anything else to the list.

Birding reports Algarve Portugal Casa Rosa Apartments.

Birdwatching in and around Casa Rosa

Birding Reports.

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1	Little grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis	71	Yellow legged gull	Larus cachinnans
2	Great crested grebe	Podiceps cristatus	72	Caspian tern	Sterna caspia
3	Black necked grebe	Podiceps nigricollis	73	Rock dove	Columbia livia
4	Northern Gannet	Morus bassanus	74	Feral pigeon	Columbia livia (domest)
5	Great Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo	75	Collared dove	Streptopelia decaocta
6	European Shag	Phalacrocorax aristotelis	76	Little owl	Athene noctua
7	Night heron	Nycticorax nycticorax	77	European nightjar	Caprimulgus europaeus
8	Squacco heron	Ardeola ralloides	78	Common kingfisher	Alcedo atthis
9	Cattle egret	Bubulcus ibis	79	Hoopoe	Upopa epops
10	Little egret	Egretta garzetta	80	Great spotted woodpecker	Dendrocopos major
11	Grey heron	Ardea cinerea	81	Calandra lark	Melanocorypha calandra
12	Black stork	Ciconia nigra	82	Lesser short toed lark	Calandrella rufescens
13	White stork	Ciconia ciconia	83	Crested lark	Galerida cristata
14	Glossy ibis	Plegadis falcinellus	84	Thekla lark	Galerida theklae
15	Eurasian spoonbill	Platalea leucoradia	85	Crag martin	Ptyonoprogne rupestris
16	Greater flamingo	Phoenicopterus roseus	86	Barn swallow	Hirundo rustica
17	Greylag goose	Anser anser	87	Red rumped swallow	Hirundo daurica
18	Eurasian Wigeon	Anas penelope	88	Meadow pipit	Anthus pratensis
19	Gadwall	Anas strepera	89	Water pipit	Anthus spinoletta
20	Eurasian teal	Anas crecca	90	Grey wagtail	Motacilla cinerea
21	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos	91	White/pied wagtail	Motacilla alba
22	Pintail	Anas acuta	92	Robin	Erithracus rubecula
23	Shoveler	Anas clypeata	93	Black redstart	Phoenicurus ochruros
24	Common Pochard	Aythya ferina	94	Common stonechat	Saxicola torquatus
25	Tufted duck	Aythya fuligula	95	Black Wheatear	Oenanthe leucura
26	Black winged kite	Elanus caeruleus	96	Blue rock thrush	Monticola solitarius
27	Red kite	Milvus milvus	97	Blackbird	Turdus merula
28	Short-toed eagle	Circaetus gallicus	98	Song thrush	Turdus philomelos
29	Marsh harrier	Circus aeruginosus	99	Cetti’s warbler	Cettia cetti
30	Hen harrier	Circus cyaneus	100	Zitting cisticola	Cisticola juncidis
31	Common buzzard	Buteo buteo	101	Subalpine warbler	Sylvia cantillans
32	Spanish imperial eagle	Aquila adalberti	102	Sardinian warbler	Sylvia melanocephala
33	Booted eagle	Hieraaetus pennatus	103	Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla
34	Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	104	Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita
35	Common kestrel	Falco tinnunculus	105	Willow warbler	Phylloscopus trochilus
36	Peregrine falcon	Falco peregrinus	106	Long tailed tit	Aegithalos caudatus
37	Red-legged partridge	Alectoris rufa	107	Coal tit	Parus ater
38	Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus	108	Blue tit	Parus caeruleus
39	Purple gallinule	Porphyrio porphyrio	109	Great tit	Parus major
40	Common coot	Fulica atra	110	Eurasian nuthatch	Sitta europaea
41	Red knobbed coot	Fulica cristata	111	Short-toed Treecreeper	Certhia brachydactyla
42	Little bustard	Tetrax tetrax	112	Great grey shrike	Lanius excubitor
43	Great bustard	Otis tarda	113	Eurasian jay	Garrulus glandarius
44	Oystercatcher	Haematopus ostralegus	114	Azure winged magpie	Cyanopica cyanus
45	Black-winged stilt	Himantopus himantopus	115	Magpie	Pica pica
46	Avocet	Recurvirostra avosetta	116	Western jackdaw	Corvus monedula
47	Stone curlew	Burhinus oedicnemus	117	Carrion crow	Corvus corone
48	Ringed plover	Charadrius hiaticula	118	Common raven	Corvus corax
49	Kentish plover	Charadrius alexandrinus	119	Common starling	Sturnus vulgaris
50	European golden plover	Pluvialis apricaria	120	Spotless starling	Sturnus unicolor
51	Grey plover	Pluvialis squatarola	121	House sparrow	Passer domesticus
52	Northern lapwing	Vanellus vanellus	122	Common Waxbill	Estrilda astrild
53	Sanderling	Calidris canutus	123	Common chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs
54	Little stint	Calidris minuta	124	European Serin	Serinus serinus
55	Curlew sandpiper	Calidris ferruginea	125	Greenfinch	Carduelis chloris
56	Dunlin	Calidris alpina	126	Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
57	Ruff	Philomachus pugnax	127	Linnet	Carduelis cannabina
58	Common snipe	Gallinago gallinago	128	Reed bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus
59	Bar-tailed godwit	Limosa lapponica	129	Corn bunting	Emberiza calandra
60	Black tailed godwit	Limosa limosa	130
61	Whimbrel	Numenius phaeopus	131
62	Curlew	Numenius arquata	132
63	Spotted redshank	Tringa erythropus	133
64	Redshank	Tringa totanus	134
65	Greenshank	Tringa nebularia	135
66	Green sandpiper	Tringa ochropus	136
67	Common sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos	137
68	Turnstone	Arenaria interpres	138
69	Black headed gull	Larus ridibundus	139
70	Lesser black-backed gull	Larus fuscus	140