Bird watching Algarve Portugal CASA ROSA  Villa Apartment Holidays

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We flew to Faro from London Heathrow Saturday morning 1^st October on a scheduled TAP flight, arriving in 2.5 hours spot on time at 9 am. At the airport we picked up the hire car arranged by Hanny and Roger, and thanks to their excellent directions arrived at Casa Rosa before 10.30am.

We came on strong recommendation, and were very impressed with Casa Rosa, and the warm reception we received. All are treated as friends, and it helps enormously that Hanny and Roger seem to have numerous guests who have been before. Our apartment next-door neighbours, David and Jean, had been five times, and are keen birders. With their help and Roger’s enthusiastic suggestions we were pointed to some of the best birding sites on the Algarve, and all within an easy drive of Casa Rosa. ---Not to mention a number of excellent restaurants.

Olheo, morning fish and produce market is definitely not to be missed, neither is the sparrow roost site in a stand of trees alongside it. At sunset some 10,000 house sparrows settle down in the trees for the night. The noise is deafening. An amazing sight, but don’t stand underneath the trees.

October is normally a good time for birds in Southern Europe as the south bound migration gets under way. This year unfortunately, many of the land birds seem to have left early or not stopped over as a consequence of the severe drought effecting the Algarve and Southern Spain. However, the coast was largely unaffected, and excellent, with some superb birds such as the Caspian Tern and Gull billed Terns we watched fishing in front of us on Faro beach.

We enjoyed lovely weather, not too hot for being out, but warm enough to use the pool even in the early morning and evening. We definitely want to come back again.