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Portugal 2009 (September 16th t0 the 25th) by John and Pauline Moore
Having arrived at Casa Rosa via Olhao (shopping)we settled in and had a short walk along the donkey track spotting Jay, Sardinian Warbler, Black Redstart and juvenile Pied Flycatcher.
The following day we decided to visit Castro Marim where we had so many birds on our last visit. It was quite windy and very hot and we were very disappointed with the birds we did see. A Stonechat was popping up in various places but no other passerines apart from Crested Larks.There were various waders in the pools along the road to the centre – Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Heron and Little Stint. There was a distant view of a Marsh Harrier.
On the Friday we called at the Ria Formosa centre in Olhao but once again the birds were not as numerous as on our first visit several years back. However we had excellent views of Waxbills, Little Egrets and various ducks, but no Purple Swamphen. We were unable to get as close to the salt pans as we had done previously so it was difficult to see any birds. A disappointing day.
The airport marshes and Ludo Farm were our next destinations. The mud flats were alive with waders including, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, White Stork, Little Stint, Little Egret, Grey Plover, Redshank, Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit. Taking the pathway past a no entry sign, but used by cyclists and walkers, we managed to see Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Crested Lark, whilst along the path leading towards Ludo Farm there were Zitting Cisticola, Kingfisher, Little Egret, Flamingo and White Stork.
Returning to the car we made our way to Ludo Farm, not realizing we had been only a few hundred yards away following our previous pathway.
We stopped at the freshwater lake just before the farm and were rewarded with, Coot, Moorhen, Pochard, Little Gull, Grey Heron but no Purple Heron or Little Bittern seen here on a previous visit.
Continuing along the road past the salt piles we had Azure-winged Magpie in a small copse and a flock of Goldfinches. This pathway was new to us, but as it seemed to be leading towards Quinta Do Lago we continued and eventually parked the car by the side of the golf course.
Taking the path alongside the golf course, avoiding the golf balls! we eventually arrived at the bird hide overlooking the lake, having seen a flock of Azure-winged Magpies feeding on the golf greens.
We were not disappointed with this first visit to the lake. There were close views of several Little Bitterns, Little Egrets, Red-crested Pochard and Little Gulls. We had a glimpse of a Purple Swamp Hen at the far end of the lake and then surprisingly a very good view of a Black-headed Weaver.
The next day was spent sunbathing and shopping!
On the Monday we again decided to visit Quinta do Lago to try and get a better view of the Purple Swamp Hen. Unfortunately, the ground maintenance people had decided this was the day they would cut the reeds in front of the hide with the result that most of the birds had decided it was too noisy to stay around. We had to make do with a few coot and moorhen and various ducks for the next hour. Once the workmen had moved away the birds gradually returned. Fist a Little Bittern appeared and then we had superb views of the Purple Swamp Hen which paraded in front of the hide for some considerable time. Overhead there were Little Gulls and Lesser Black-backed gulls. A Kingfisher showed itself on several occasions and also a Reed Warbler but no sign of the Black-headed Weaver although one was heard.
It was in the hide that another birder came and sat down with his scope and I realized that he was German and when I asked he cofirmed he was Georg Schrier who was to be our guide later in the week. He pointed out a Black Tern that was overhead, which we had missed, and also found a Bar-tailed Godwit on the far side of the lake. A Glossy Ibis was fairly close for good views and Georg identified a female Black-headed Weaver that was calling from some nearby bushes.
Wednesday was to be the highlight of our trip as we were due to have Georg as our guide for the whole day. An early rise saw us on our way by 7.15am making our way towards the Alentejo region. We wanted to see Great Bustard having missed them on our previous visit and sure enough Georg knew where they would be and we had excellent views of up to a dozen as they fed in a field about 100 yards away.
We then made our way to the other side of this area where Georg had seen raptors spiraling on his last visit. Whilst waiting for the thermals to start Georg heard a Black-bellied Sandgrouse calling as it flew by. Eventually we found several of them feeding in the grass and again with the help of the scope we had good views.
The raptors did eventually begin to appear but not in the numbers that had been hoped for. Bonelli’s Eagle was seen plus Red Kite and Kestrel with a probable Common Buzzard, but nothing else.
Georg was fairly sure he knew where we would get Black-shouldered Kite, and sure enough we were rewarded with one perched on a telegraph pole about a 100 yards away, but seen very well through the scope.
Now we made a fairly long car ride across to the West coast and Pera Marsh as our destination. This was to prove one of the best sites we have visited and certainly lived up to its reputation as one of Portugal’s most important sites.
Seaching around the lake we could see Avocets, Flamingos, various ducks but right under our noses, almost going unnoticed we had the rarity the Georg had said was around – a Buff-breasted Sandpiper a first for all of us! We were able to watch it for quite a while as it was not in the slightest disturbed by our presence although we maintained a good distance from it.
Moving to another part of the lake we saw a Curlew and Ringed Plovers.
Georg took us to a boardwalk along by the sand dunes in the hope of finding a Bluethroat and after producing a tape of the Bluethroat calling, sure enough one flew out from almost under our feet and was again seen as it responded to the tape.
There followed a long drive back to Casa Rosa in time for our dinner prepared by Kjersti. |
