LIMOSA HOLIDAYS, West End Farmhouse, Chapelfield, Stalham, Norfolk NR12 9EJ (UK)

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1 Portugal SOUTHERN PORTUGAL IN SPRING LIMOSA HOLIDAYS TOUR INFO PACK The Alentejo steppe holds important populations of Great Bustard, and we may see them displaying in April Pedro Marques 2016 Saturday 16th - Saturday 23rd April (8 days) Small group tour with João Jara Springtime in southern Portugal is hard to beat and this delightful April tour offers exceptional birding from three hand-picked hotels. It's a trip that will take you to the country's best birdwatching spots: from the Tagus and Sado estuaries, south to the wetlands of coastal Algarve and east to the fabulous Alentejo steppe. Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Kite, Black and Griffon Vultures, Bonelli s, Booted and Spanish Imperial Eagles, Great and Little Bustards, Purple Swamphen, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Roller, Bee-eater, Blue Rock Thrush and Azure-winged Magpie among a long list of Iberian specialities to look forward to. Discover Portugal s premier wetland reserves - and the fabulous Alentejo steppe Black-winged Kite, Purple Swamphen, Red-necked Nightjar, Azure-winged Magpie Boat trip on the River Tagus - visiting Portugal's most important heronry Great and Little Bustards, Lesser Kestrel, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Roller, Calandra Lark The coastal saltpans and Ria Formosa wetlands in eastern Algarve Greater Flamingo, Audouin s Gull, Caspian Tern, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Spectacled Warbler Small group tour led by our resident Portugal expert, João Jara What's Included? Limosa Tour Leader Flights London to Lisbon 7 nights accommodation at three hand-picked hotels - in Alcochete, Mertola and Tavira All meals included - with water provided during the day Tagus River boat trip All local travel, entry fees, tour based tips and taxes LIMOSA HOLIDAYS, West End Farmhouse, Chapelfield, Stalham, Norfolk NR12 9EJ (UK) TEL: +44 (0) info@limosaholidays.co.uk WEB: limosaholidays.co.uk

2 Outline Itinerary Days 1-2: Fly London-Lisbon. We discover the nearby Tagus estuary and enjoy a boat trip along the river to visit an active heronry. Alcochete (2 nts) Days 3-5: We move east to explore the superb Alentejo steppe grasslands and the Guadiana valley. Mertola (3 nts) Days 6-7: A short drive south to the eastern Algarve. Castro Marim and Ria Formosa wetlands. Tavira (2 nts) Day 8: Sado estuary and return to Lisbon. Fly Lisbon-London Tour Overview Portugal possesses a fantastic diversity of habitats and birds in a relatively small area, with many Iberian specialities and migratory species to enjoy - all without the need to travel long distances. Indeed, our first hotel and two of the country s best birding areas - the rivers Tagus and Sado - lie within half-an-hour of Lisbon international airport... so we won t have to wait long before enjoying our first good birds! And if you haven t visited this remarkable little corner of Europe before, then we think the wealth of quality species will surprise you! Spring comes early to southern Portugal. Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Squacco Heron and Purple Swamphen are all to be found breeding close to the capital, alongside an excellent selection of passage waders. In April, many migrants will be arriving too, with colourful Bee-eaters, Hoopoes and watchful Woodchat Shrikes to enjoy, whilst the region's delightful Cork Oak woodlands are filled with song of Nightingales. Although here we are of course on Europe's Atlantic coast, the patchwork of rice fields, pastures, reed beds, Cork Oak and pine woods that surround Lisbon s tidal flats are home to Mediterranean treats such as Black-winged Kite, Sardinian Warbler, Iberian Grey Shrike, Spotless Starling, Serin and Cirl Bunting. Rock Sparrows wheeze from the open woodlands and it s here we should also see our first exotic Azure-winged Magpies, an Iberian speciality. Another special highlight will be a boat trip on the River Tagus, where activity at Portugal's most important heronry will be in full swing. Pushing southeast, barely an hour's drive will carry us into the open landscape of Portugal's Alentejo steppe. The westernmost extension of Spain s more famous Extremadura province, the Alentejo's sweeping grasslands, wooded valleys and hills are equally outstanding for birds. From our hotel facing the river Guadiana at Mertola, we shall explore both the rolling plains of Castro Verde - home to Great and Little Bustards, Montagu's Harrier, Lesser Kestrel, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Roller, Calandra Lark, Black-eared Wheatear and Spanish Sparrow - and the bluffs and hills of the Guadiana Valley. Black and Griffon Vultures, Spanish Imperial, Golden and Bonelli's Eagles, Black Stork, Eagle Owl, Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Thekla Lark, Blue Rock Thrush and Rock Bunting all make their home in this beautiful natural park. For the final part of our Portugal tour, we head south. Under an hour's drive from Mertola, along the new road that follows the valley of the Rio Guadiana, will bring us to the eastern Algarve. Situated on a major flyway for migrants from Africa, the Algarve's protected coastal wetlands are an important stopover in spring for passage waders and passerines. We will visit the Ria Formosa wetlands and the saltpans at Castro Marim, where specialities to watch for in April include Little Bittern, Greater Flamingo, Purple Swamphen, Audouin s and Slender-billed Gulls, Lesser Short-toed Lark and Spectacled Warbler. Nearby coastal woodlands and scrub add the prospect of Great Spotted Cuckoo, Red-necked Nightjar and Iberian Green Woodpecker. Limosa has been operating bird tours to southern Portugal since 1996 and this April trip will be our 16th visit to the region. Our expert guide is the excellent João Jara, who was born in Lisbon. A leading light in bird conservation in Portugal, he has more than 30 years experience of birding and tour leading across the country. Join us for the very best of southern Portugal in spring! info@limosaholidays.co.uk

3 Daily Itinerary Days 1-2 FLY LISBON; TAGUS ESTUARY Our April birdwatching tour to Portugal begins with a morning flight from London to Lisbon, where João will be waiting to whisk us away into the peaceful Portuguese countryside. We travel the short distance (under 30 minutes) to our first hotel, the excellent Quinta da Praia das Fontes in Alcochete, where we spend the first two nights of the holiday. Alcochete is the perfect location from which to explore the bird-rich valley of the River Tagus. Within easy distance of our hotel, its patchwork of rice fields and pastures, saltpans and cork oak woodlands is home to many of Iberia's special birds. White Storks stride through meadows where the likes Black-winged Stilt, Hoopoe, Crested and Short-toed Larks, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, Iberian Grey Shrike and Spotless Starling should guarantee an exciting start to our birding! The Tagus is Portugal s most important wetland, a RAMSAR site protecting more than fourteen thousand hectares. We will visit key areas along its banks, including the saltpans of Ribeira das Enguias and Samouco. Enormous black bulls laze beneath the Cork Oak woodlands at Pancas, where the introduced Egyptian Mongoose is regularly seen, moving in playful family groups. We should also encounter our first wonderful Black-winged Kites, Booted Eagles, Marsh Harriers and Greater Flamingos here, as well as an array of passage waders and other migrants. A number of exotic bird species are nowadays well established around the estuary and we could well come across some of them today: Blackheaded Weaver, Common Waxbill and Yellowcrowned Bishop are possible. One special highlight of this tour will be a boat trip on the River Tagus, visiting Portugal's most important heronry. In April, good numbers of breeding Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Squacco, Night and Grey Herons, and Cattle and Little Egrets can be found, while colourful Bee-eaters nest in banks beside the river. Two nights Alcochete Days 3-5 ALENTEJO Leaving Alcochete, we travel inland to the magnificent Alentejo region. Within about an hour we shall find ourselves birding amidst Portugal's rolling steppe grasslands, watching for Great and Little Bustards in spring display, along with Montagu's Harrier, Lesser Kestrel, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Roller and Calandra Lark. Comprising a landscape of vast and undulating open fields (some cultivated, some fallow) dotted with small dams, the great plain of Castro Verde is the most important zone in Portugal for steppe bird conservation. During three days here we will explore a wide range of habitats that includes oak woodland, scrub and valley escarpments. Some spots - including the bluffs and hills of the Guadiana Nature Park - are designated zones of special protection. Both the birding and landscape are superb, and specialities to watch for in April include Black and Griffon Vultures, Spanish Imperial, Golden and Bonelli s Eagles, Black Stork, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Thekla Lark, Blue Rock Thrush and Rock Bunting. In spring, the rugged Guadiana Valley is a highway for migrants, with Nightingales singing from seemingly every clump. Sardinian and Cetti's Warblers are common, and the orange groves and Cistus-covered slopes are attractive to Black-eared Wheatears (the birds here being of the rich buff Iberian' form, hispanica). For our three nights in Portugal's beautiful Alentejo region, we stay at the new Hotel Museu in Mértola - a fortified hilltop town that's not only a delight from the historical perspective, but an excellent spot for Turtle Dove, Golden Oriole and especially Lesser Kestrel. These sociable small falcons spend the winter months in equatorial Africa, but they are early migrants and the first birds arrive back at favoured nest sites as early as February. Three nights Mertola Days 6-7 ALGRAVE We leave Mertola today and take a 45-minute drive south along the new road that follows the Rio Guadiana (which here forms the border with Spain), into the eastern Algarve info@limosaholidays.co.uk

4 Where the Guadiana River enters the Atlantic, we will explore a large area of saltpans centred on the small town of Castro Marim. From its castle perched high on a rocky outcrop, one gets a birds-eye view across the whole area - east towards the river and the information centre, where Lesser Short-toed Lark, Stone-curlew and sometimes Collared Pratincoles breed; and west across the saltpans, with Audouin's and Slenderbilled Gulls loafing on the banks and impressive Caspian Terns fishing along the channels. It is a large and lively area, with lots to see! Ospreys pass through and Spectacled Warblers dance in song flight over the saltmarsh scrub. Heading west along the Algarve coast, we will find that the Ria Formosa and Quinta do Lago wetlands are excellent spots for obtaining close views of more scarce species, including the pintsized Little Bittern and burly Purple Swamphen. The Algarve's coastal woodlands offer chances of Great Spotted Cuckoo, Red-necked Nightjar and Iberian Green Woodpecker, and we should encounter good numbers of Hoopoes, Bee-eaters and Azure-winged Magpies here, too. For our two nights in the coastal Algarve we stay at the attractive Hotel Vila Galé Albacora, a comfortable property facing the Formosa lagoon - and right in the centre of the region to explore. Two nights Tavira Day 8 RETURN TO LISBON, FLY LONDON Today we travel back north to the capital Lisbon, but with time to enjoy some more exciting birding and lunch along the way. Barely 30 minutes south of Lisbon, the Sado estuary is another of Portugal s finest nature reserves. Protecting a vast complex of intertidal mudflats, saltmarshes, saltpans, rice fields and reed beds, with Cork Oak and Umbrella Pine woodlands, this is an area João knows especially well. In the Sado's open woodlands, we can look for Woodchat Shrike, Woodlark, Crested Tit, Serin and Cirl Bunting, and nearby have further chances of seeing White Stork, Black-winged Stilt, Short-toed Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Iberian Grey Shrike and Spotless Starling. The Sado estuary is the only place in Portugal to hold a resident population of the threatened Bottlenose Dolphin. Although the Sado pod comprises fewer than 30 animals, individuals and small groups are frequently seen in the river. Bidding farewell to João on our return to Lisbon airport this afternoon, we check-in for our flight home. Early evening arrival in London, where our birding tour to southern Portugal concludes. Trip Information Group Limit 7 participants & 1 leader What To Expect An 8-day birdwatching tour to southern Portugal in spring, offering a superb diversity of birds and habitats without the need to travel long distances. Exceptional and easy birding based at three very comfortable hotels. Birds species Accommodation 7 nights accommodation at three hand-picked and very comfortable hotels - with two nights at the excellent Hotel Quinta da Praia das Fontes in Alcochete (near Lisbon); three nights at the attractive Hotel Museu in Mertola (Alentejo); and two nights at the Hotel Vila Galé Albacora in Tavira (eastern Algarve). All rooms are very well appointed and en suite. Meals All main meals are included in the tour price, commencing with lunch on Day 1 and concluding with lunch on Day 8. Breakfasts will be at our hotel. Lunches will usually be picnics or meals at cafes. Dinners will be at nearby local restaurants, carefully selected by our guide. Walking Easy. Short walks. Comfy walking shoes recommended. Weather Southern Portugal enjoys a Mediterranean-type climate, tempered by the Atlantic. April weather is typically warm and sunny, with temperatures ranging from 14-25C (57-78F) and averaging 19C (66F) with 9 hours of sunshine. It can sometimes be misty first thing, and occasionally cool and breezy, especially at the coast. Occasional showers are info@limosaholidays.co.uk

5 possible, but these rarely last for long at this time of the year. Flights We use the scheduled services of British Airways, TAP (the Portuguese national carrier) or similar, from London direct to Lisbon, chosen according to best schedule. Ground Transport By minibus. Boat Trip Our tour cost includes either a morning or afternoon boat trip on the River Tagus. The boat trip usually lasts about 2.5 hours. string of articles about birds, João has led numerous bird tours in Portugal and Madeira, as well as bird identification courses for SPEA. He lives in Lisbon, where he runs his own wildlife travel company. João is fluent in Portuguese and English (of course!), as well as Spanish and French, and you couldn't wish to find a more charming and personable guide. He led his first tour for Limosa in February 2010 and, in 2016, he will lead both our April and October tours to Portugal, as well as our June trip to Madeira. Our April tour to Portugal is a small group trip limited to just 7 participants plus João as guide. Tour Cost 2016 (8 days): 1795 (inc flights from London) Land only cost: 1680 Deposit: 300 Single Supp: 185 Cost includes Services of our expert guide; flights London- Lisbon; 7 nights accommodation; all main meals (with drinking water provided); all local travel including minibus transport and boat trip on the River Tagus; all entry fees, tour based tips and airport taxes; map and Limosa checklist of birds. Cost excludes Insurance, drinks & other items of a personal nature. About Your Guides João Jara João was born in Lisbon and studied biology at the Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa, from where he pursued a professional career in the pharmaceutical industry as a senior manager and ultimately director of various multinational companies. With 30 years field experience, he knows Portugal and its birds with an intimacy few can match. João was a member of the board of SPEA (Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves - BirdLife Portugal), a voting member of the Portuguese Rarities Committee from 2005 until 2011, and chairman of the Committee from 2007 until An author and co-author of a Financial Security Limosa Holidays is a fully bonded Tour Operator and a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO). We hold an ATOL (Air Tour Operators Licence) granted by the CAA, providing for your protection in the event of Limosa Holidays' insolvency. Our licence number is ATOL For tours not including the cost of a flight from the UK or for holidays booked by you as Land Only, all payments made to us are fully bonded through the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT). Our ABTOT membership number is For details please see our brochure or website: Limosa Loyalty Discount We are proud of the number of loyal customers who travel regularly with us. As our way of saying thank you, we offer a Frequent Travel Discount. Under the scheme, everyone who takes four trips with us is entitled to claim a 5% discount on their 5th trip *1. Remember to request your discount at time of booking! *1 Please note: This offer applies to the basic tour cost only and excludes certain commissionbased trips, extras such as additional flights, private extensions and cancellations. Discounts cannot be given in lieu of tour deposits or off the cost of single room supplements info@limosaholidays.co.uk

6 How To Book Check availability on our website or with our office. We are happy to hold Provisional Reservations for up to 7 days. After this, we do require a Booking Form and deposit to confirm your place on tour. Any unconfirmed space will be released. Book Online, by Phone or by Post You can book and pay the deposit simply and securely Online via our website, using the Book This Tour button on the relevant tour page or the Booking tab at the top of the page. Telephone bookings must be confirmed in writing by completion of a Booking Form (there's one tucked inside every brochure or as a PDF download from our website), which can be mailed to us in the time honoured way. Be sure to read our Booking Conditions and General Information (found at the back of our brochure, on our website or available from our office on request) prior to booking. When to Book Early booking is advised since flights and accommodation are much more easily secured well in advance. To encourage early booking, we are pleased to offer an Early Bird Discount - see our current brochure or website for details. Our tours are limited to small group sizes. So they can fill up quickly - sometimes even before our new brochure comes out! Single rooms in particular can often be in short supply and among the first to go, so do try to plan well ahead if you definitely require one of these. Last-minute Bookings: We inevitably receive a few unexpected cancellations over the course of a season so it is always worth enquiring about vacancies on any tour - even for those departing in just a few weeks! Payments The amount of booking deposit per person is shown alongside every tour. We accept deposit payments by debit card, cheque (payable to Limosa Holidays and drawn on a UK bank in GB Pounds Sterling) and BACS (please ask for our bank details). We also accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards, with no transaction charge on payment of tour deposits. Full payment of the balance is due not later than 12 weeks prior to departure (20 weeks in the case of certain tours such as cruises or those involving rail travel). We will send you an invoice before the balance is due. We accept payment for balances (and interim payments) by cheque, BACS or UK debit card. We also accept balances (and interim payments) by credit card or overseas debit card but with a charge of 2% of the transaction amount to help offset card company charges. [Note that we do not retain your card details, which are destroyed once used. This means we may need to phone you again for details for subsequent payments.] Payment by overseas customers must be in GB Pounds Sterling and may be made by transfer to our bank (please ask for our bank details), or by overseas debit or credit card with a 2% transaction charge. Please note we do not accept cheques on US Banks in US Dollars, or cheques in Euros or Eurocheques. Late Booking Payments: In order for us to guarantee your airline seats, hotels etc., full payment is required at time of booking for all late bookings (i.e. bookings made within 12 weeks of departure). Other Things You Need To Know Passports & Visas For UK passport holders, your passport must be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. No additional period of validity beyond this is required, but when travelling anywhere overseas we always recommend that your passport has a minimum of 6 months left to run after your intended date of return home in case of unforeseen delay info@limosaholidays.co.uk

7 VISA NOT REQUIRED by UK passport holders to enter Portugal. Holders of non-uk passports should contact the nearest Portuguese embassy or consulate to enquire whether or not they require a visa. If a visa is required, you need to apply locally. If the embassy or consulate requires you to provide a letter confirming that you are booked on an allinclusive tour, please contact our office and we will be happy to provide one. Health & Vaccinations Compulsory vaccinations: None. Recommended vaccinations: For travel everywhere (even within the UK), we recommend you check you are up-to-date with protection against tetanus, polio and hepatitis A. The above information, together with that contained within our Travel Information sheets (sent to everyone who books), outlines health requirements for this tour. Please note that these details are given for guidance only - and are only for certain diseases - and you must consult your doctor in good time prior to travel as to what immunisations (if any) are needed for your chosen holiday. For full and up-to-date health information we urge everyone to consult The National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) website prior to booking any overseas holiday. NaTHNaC is funded by the UK Government s Health Protection Agency and provides health information for both health professionals and travellers, with information compiled by its own clinical and scientific team. You can search for individual country requirements, which are updated regularly. Your Safety & Travel Advice An unavoidable aspect of travelling abroad nowadays is the threat it may pose to your safety and security. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) encourages British nationals to be better prepared for their overseas trips with a view to avoiding common travelling traumas, risks and dangers. In order for you to assess and protect against any risks in your chosen destination it is strongly recommended that you refer to the relevant FCO Travel Advice both prior to booking and regularly before you travel. It is standard Limosa policy for our office to send a copy of the relevant FCO Travel Advice about the tour to all participants along with their Final Letter (ca. 2-3 weeks prior to the trip). Know Before You Go - staying safe and healthy abroad - is a travel safety campaign run by the FCO, and another useful resource. Go to: Further useful information on visas, health, etc., can be found at the World Travel Guide website: Travel Insurance Good travel insurance is essential before setting off on any overseas trip. In common with all responsible tour operators, it is a condition of booking that all clients are fully and adequately insured before travelling overseas with us. Your travel insurance should cover against cancellation, curtailment, missed departure, delay, personal accident, death, loss of baggage and valuables (see note below), personal liability and legal expenses. Most importantly, your insurance must cover you fully in respect of medical care and repatriation should you become too ill to continue with the tour, including the cost of emergency evacuation by helicopter or air ambulance should this be necessary. Note that passenger liability insurance covering the transportation that we hire, particularly in Third World countries, may be inadequate; it is therefore important that your insurance cover includes sufficient provision for your dependents in the event of an accident. We recommend that you obtain travel insurance as soon as possible after booking your holiday to ensure you are protected right info@limosaholidays.co.uk

8 from the word go in the event of unexpected cancellation prior to departure due to accident or illness. You must inform your insurers of any pre-existing medical conditions (including those of persons not necessarily travelling but upon whom your holiday may depend) that may require treatment during a period of overseas travel or might cause you to cancel the trip. Once you have arranged your insurance, please be sure to send us the following essential details: name and contact details of your insurance provider, your policy number, expiry date and your insurers 24hr Emergency Assistance number. Important Things to Note about Insurance Travel Insurance does not normally provide sufficient cover for valuable optical equipment, which is often best protected under your own household insurance policy. If in doubt ask your insurers for advice prior to travel. Most travel insurance policies limit the amount of cover, typically up to a maximum tour cost of 5000 per person. If the tour you are booking exceeds this amount (as in this case), additional cover can usually be provided upon payment of additional premium. We recommend all travellers check their individual policy limit to ensure the full cost of their holiday is covered. Arranging Your Insurance: due to UK Government legislation, under Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations, we are not allowed to offer or recommend travel related insurance to customers. Premiums can vary widely according to your age, needs, health, choice of destination and other factors, while many people nowadays have Annual Travel Insurance cover. For these reasons, we leave you free to shop around and pick your own policy, one best suited to your own individual needs. Special Diets & Other Requests We pass on all such requests to the airlines, hotels and other suppliers, and do our best to ensure (but of course cannot guarantee) that your needs will be met. Please be sure to tell us about these (in as much detail as possible) at the time of booking, to allow good time to make the necessary arrangements. Smoking Almost all of our clients prefer a smoke-free environment. For the enjoyment and comfort of all, we ask that smokers refrain from smoking in proximity to the group and respect our NO SMOKING policy in the vehicle, at meal times and when watching wildlife. Any Questions? If you have any questions at any time, you ll find our office staff friendly, efficient, approachable - and just a phone call away, eager to assist you in every way. Our office is open hrs Mon-Fri, and can also be reached by fax and . In the event we are unable to take your call, please leave a message on our answerphone (24 hrs) and our office will contact you as soon as we can. Thank you for your interest in our tours. We do hope that you will be able to join us - and we look forward to hearing from you again! CK General Information Our website gives easy access to detailed tour itineraries (Tour Info Packs), trip reports, trip photos and the latest Limosa News info@limosaholidays.co.uk