This holiday was mainly a family one with some birding thrown in when I was able to get my pass stamped. It was nice to be back in Carvoeiro again ; my usual base these days. The great thing with Carvoeiro is that Salgados Marsh is just 15 minutes away by car as is Alvor Marsh too. Both of these are great birding spots. And you are only 10 minutes away from the A22 motorway if you want to explore further west towards Sagres or east towards the Spanish border. This time as we were staying for just short than 3 weeks we decided to get a car for just 5 days in the middle of the holiday – and as my back is still not brilliant any long distance walks are out for now. So it was a matter of exploring the local sites thoroughly and concentrating on some good shots of local birds such as Alpine Swift!!
One bird you cannot miss when visiting the Algarve because they are so big is a White Stork. It was great to see so many Storks, and as it was June a lot of the nests I saw had well grown chicks. Usually one bird would be sitting on the nest and then the other parent would fly in with some food, meanwhile the bird that had been sitting flew off for some well earned exercise. White Storks are certainly impressive birds, they look quite ungainly on the ground but in flight they are so graceful.
Close to the hotel is a brilliant boardwalk which was an excellent place to get some good shots of Audouin’s Gull as they cruised past often at eye level along the cliffs. Thanks to major conservation work in Spain and a very successful breeding programme Audouin Gull numbers have soared in the last 20 years or so. Once regarded as one of Europe’s rarest gulls Audouin’s Gulls are now seen on a regular basis along Portugal’s Algarve coast. It was really great to see adult birds so close with their blood red beaks shining in the Spring sunshine.
Another bird so characteristic of this rocky coastline is Black Redstart and their scratchy type warbles were quite easy to pick up especially during calm conditions. Often easily spooked by human presence you would get a shot lined up and then they would would flick off the cliff edge if voices were too loud from passing tourists or dog walkers. So the secret was to find a quiet spot and keep fingers crossed.
The boardwalk became a daily stomp for me especially in the morning and late afternoon – this was when the light was at its best anything coming from an easterly direction was bathed in gorgeous sunlight. Also in the afternoon it was a good time to pick up Gannets often these were adult birds or 3rd year birds .
One of my ideas before going on this trip was to try and get some decent shots of Alpine Swift…it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip!! So fast forward … I am not really a beach person as such, but a few days earlier we were going out for dinner and I had seen a tremendous number of Alpine Swifts over Centiane’s Beach which is close to our hotel. Anyways the conversation drifted onto what folks wanted to do the next day….. and a beach day was mentioned and you’ve guessed it – yep a visit to Centianes Beach!!!! Well, I was most agreeable to that idea!!! Centiane’s beach is only a small horseshoe shaped beach backed by sheer cliffs about 200ft in height – anyways cutting to the chase …it was superb!!! Alpine Swifts were nesting in the cliffs and all day family parties were screaming over head in a constant stream of breathtaking dives and stoops and noise too!! It was frustrating, exhilarating all at the same time trying to focus and pan all at the same time, birds zooming in at all different angles- just brilliant!! In fact it was that good I went back twice and didn’t sit on the beach once!!
Like all warblers, Sardinians are no exception often singing from the thickest part of some spiney bush … but getting to photograph them is another story. However, in early Spring when the males are proclaiming their territories they will often sing from a prominent perch and out in full view and this is the best time to catch them…they are beautiful little birds and that red eye is gorgeous with sunlight on it!!
One of the biggest surprises I had for the trip was Red Necked Nightjar. As our hotel was just on the outskirts of town by a busy main road a nightjar was the last bird I expected to find. I was sitting outside having a drink when the nightjar started to call from the gardens at the side of the hotel .. the time was about 11:30pm: Ku Tock Ku Tok Ku Tok …It was calling for about 10 Minutes …. Brilliant. One of the birds of the trip!! But unfortunately, I did not get any photos due to really bad light. What a way to end the holiday.. listening to nightjars with a cold beer.
I have been visiting the Algarve now since 1985 and it still surprises me … I hope it does just that for many years to come.
