Autumn is always a great time to visit the Algarve in Portugal: nice weather and some great birds to see!! As per usual we made our base in Carvoeiro midway between Albufeira and Lagos. As always Sardinian Warblers made their presence felt in and around the villa for the whole two weeks of our stay. Noisy flocks of Azure winged Magpies were ever present too!! If you are self catering one of the chores you have to perform is shopping and the inevitable visit to the supermarket. However, where we go shopping is a brilliant little flooded area and now I get a ‘pass’ while the Mrs does the shopping – perfect for catching up on the local birds and in no time at all Fantailed Warbler, Little Egret, Kingfisher and Stonechat had been added to the list!! And we’ve only been here a few days. Red jumped Swallow was another very common bird around the villa and during the late afternoon often in the company of Barn Swallows they would swoop low over the pool and catch a free drink …. brilliant to watch. In the evenings at the beginning of the holiday around 730pm hundreds of Alpine Swifts would gather up and it wasn’t long before 2-300 birds had gathered up screaming and wheeling through the sky before they went to roost on the nearby cliffs of Centianes. However, by the end of the holiday evening gatherings had sadly dwindled to only a few birds.I had a nice surprise on the 17th September when we went on a morning’s drive to Lagos and as we entered the Marina from the car park I immediately picked up some terns flying over the boats …. quite small with a very buoyant flight … but they disappeared onto the river. However, as I approached the bridge the two terns were heading downwards me and then another from behind me Black Terns !!! Altogether there were 6…. what a joy to watch …. if only I had my camera!!!
Whilst staying in Carvoeiro I always like visiting the lighthouse at the eastern end of town. The lighthouse is at the the top of the access road and running parallel to the access road is a great little wooded valley … the Lighthouse itself is surrounded by some nice little gardens. Especially in September and October the gardens and surrounded scrubby valleys can be a real attraction to some tired migrants. On this visit I picked up lots of Willow Warblers and a couple of very obliging Whinchats.
Sometimes in Birding the mantra ..’ Right place, right time’ echoes in your ears… none so than this morning: 18th September. Whilst enjoying my morning cuppa on the terraceI noticed two large raptors wheeling about above the Villa … panic set in – no bins!!! So I did the quickest run I could safely master and yes they were still there slowly drifting west…. OH YES !!! 2 Honey Buzzard !! But sadly pictures were terrible!!! However the Honey situation got even better the next day when I spotted another 4 over town: 6 HB’s in two days and the day was capped off by some excellent views of Black Redstart on the cliff boardwalk!!
Today, 20th September I visited one of my favourite sites on the Western Algarve: Salgados Marsh there were lots of waders to see including something rather special a self found American wader a very obligingPectoral Sandpiper… first one I have seen in Portugal, so I was well chuffed. Not every day you see an American wader!! The Pec’ was feeding very happily on the thousands of flies that were visiting the water puddles and proved to be quite confiding. What was really bizarre I was completely on my my own … not another soul to be seen!!! Other good birds on the visit included Marsh Harrier, Woodchat Shrike, some more Whinchat, Bluethroat, Hoopoe and some pristine Yellow Wagtail .. not bad for a 2 hour visit!!!
On Thursday 22nd September I reordered my first Hummingbird Hawk Moth in the garden- unfortunately I was to slow to catch any decent images – however I did manage to photograph a Lang’s Long Tailed Blue .. a beautifully marked species of ‘Blue’ butterfly… what a gorgeous little thing!!
This afternoon I recorded a Short-toed Treecreeper on a footpath bordering the local golf course. I was absolutely over the moon as I have not seen S.T treecreeper for quite a few years. There were also a few Pied Flycatchers feeding in the Olive trees which was a nice bonus.
Friday 23rd September was just bonkers; it got off to a great start with both Pied Flycatcher and Whinchat recorded in the Villa garden which was great and then it went surreal…. I heard a tit like call I vaguely recognised and then … YESS… Crested Tit in the garden only fleetingly as it disappeared into the crown of next doors Stone Pine !!! Only the third time I had recorded Crested Tit on the Algarve … Brilliant to see – what a crazy hour!! Then it was down to earth with a trip to the supermarket… However, what a trip that proved to be!! I managed to get a pass so whilst the family was shopping I did some birding!! As I mentioned earlier, there are some flooded fields opposite the supermarket and as I was scanning the area something caught my eye …. A smallish raptor was hovering in a field, like a kestrel but with no tail …. the alarm bells were ringing at this point …. YESSS I could not believe my luck a Black Shouldered Kite!! WOW!! Needless to say I was pretty amazed, but I remembered that some B.S.K winter on the Algarve so maybe this was an early arrival??Later that afternoon, I revisited the area the Kite had been seen in earlier that day, however it had moved further across the fields often spending its time perched on one of the telegraph poles for long periods .. the bird was further away, but it was still great to see!!
Another good today Saturday 24th September: with some stunning views of Glossy Ibis at Falesia beach near Vilamoura – although I have seen Glossy Ibis many times seeing them in such good light today was a real treat.
On Sunday 25th I travelled over to the Ria Formosa reserve at the back of the airport this is a fantastic area interspaced with tidal pools, salt marsh scrub and freshwater lagoons backing onto a pristine golf course. Highlights of this short visit included a good selection of waders, some distant waders … but the stars of the show were Caspian Tern and Slender-billed Gull.
Another site another day: today’s visit Monday 26th September was to Alvor Marsh. The habitat here is similar to the Ria Formosa but the salt mash and dunes are freely accessible by a continuous system of raised walkways that snake through some lovely habitat. If you visit this site from the end of September to March you can often get point blank views of Bluethroat; other regular birds include Osprey, Mediterranean Gull a wide selection of waders and good flocks of White Stork and Flamingo. Another visit to Lagos on Wednesday 28th September was my penultimate full day-this time with full camera kit. Sadly the Black Terns had gone, however, there were about 8 Med’ Gulls of various ages wheeling about above the harbour – brilliant to watch and photograph. What a great end to the holiday!!!
If you can come out to the Algarve in Autumn it is well worth a visit; cracking food, weather, wine and a bird list that could easily top 130.. not bad for an Autumn trip !!
