PORTUGAL: Tour report 2. Bird List: Column A = number of days recorded Column B = greatest daily count H = heard only

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "PORTUGAL: Tour report 2. Bird List: Column A = number of days recorded Column B = greatest daily count H = heard only"

Dylan Golden
5 years ago
Views:

1 PORTUGAL in Spring Great diversity and a fantastic selection of species were squeezed into a few short days in a great birdwatching destination such as Southern Portugal. All this, with no need of lengthy travel. In fact, it was possible to travel from a Greater Flamingo habitat to a Great Bustard habitat in just one hour driving, which reflects the concentration of habitats in a relatively small territory. Twenty minutes after leaving Lisbon s airport we saw charismatic species like Greater Flamingo, Purple Heron, White Stork, Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Kite, Hoopoe, European Bee-eater and a great range of waders, wildfowl, gulls and terns. After exploring the Lisbon estuaries for two days, we drove for about 60 minutes to start to record stunning birds such as Great and Little Bustards, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Spanish Imperial and Bonelli s Eagles, Montagu s Harrier, Lesser Kestrel, Collared Pratincole, Roller, Calandra Lark, and everywhere, absolutely everywhere, Azurewinged (Iberian) Magpies. After two days exploring this very special Alentejo region, we drove for around another 60 minutes in order to visit beautiful spots in the Algarve, where we had great views of species like Squacco Heron, Purple Swamphen, Stone Curlew, Golden Oriole, Lesser Short-toed Lark and again, many other shorebirds. I believe none of us will forget those views of the first European Bee-eaters of the tour, the immature Spanish Imperial Eagle hunting at the end of the day, the fantastic views of both Great and Little Bustards displaying, the breathtaking views of the three male Golden Orioles calling in the same tree, the numerous noisy Great Spotted Cuckoos being harassed by other birds, the hundreds of White Storks nesting on the road poles, or the hundreds of Greater Flamingos in the salt pans at sunset! Other interesting species we also saw included hundreds of Curlew Sandpipers, Avocets, Ruffs, Little Stints, a colony of Collared Pratincoles, Audouin s, Slender-billed and Mediterranean Gulls, flocks of Eurasian Spoonbills and Cattle Egrets, a shy Black Stork, a few pairs of Red-crested Pochards, a spectacular flock of about 40 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, flocks of Griffon Vultures with a few Eurasian Black Vultures among, several Golden, Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Blackwinged, Red and Black Kites and more than a dozen Little Owls. There were plenty of passerines, including Iberian Grey and Woodchat Shrikes, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Sardinian Warbler, 6 species of lark, Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, European Serin, Iberian Green Woodpecker, and the list goes on. It really was a bird-filled few days, supported by some lovely wild scenery, full of open spaces, empty roads and delicious food. We sampled delicious fresh local seafood, Iberian black pork and several conventional desserts, all washed down with great wine. All in all a great trip, the perfect compliment to those who want to spent some time viewing the sites of Lisbon after the tour finish. João Jara.

2 PORTUGAL: Tour report 2 Bird List: Column A = number of days recorded Column B = greatest daily count H = heard only A B Great Crested Grebe 4 6 Podiceps cristatus Little Grebe 5 15 Tachybaptus ruficollis Northern Gannet 2 30 Morus bassanus Great Cormorant 5 10 Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis European Shag 1 2 Phalacrocorax aristotelis Black-crowned Night Heron 2 40 Nycticorax nycticorax Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Little Egret Egretta garzetta Grey Heron 7 20 Ardea cinerea Purple Heron 3 4 Ardea purpurea Great Egret 2 2 Casmerodius albus Squacco Heron 1 1 Ardeola ralloides White Stork Ciconia ciconia Black Stork 1 1 Ciconia nigra Spoonbill 6 60 Platalea leucorodia Glossy Ibis 4 30 Plegadis falcinellus Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber Common Shelduck 4 20 Tadorna tadorna Mallard 7 50 Anas platyrhynchos Gadwall 7 30 Anas strepera Shoveler 3 8 Anas clypeata Eurasian Wigeon 1 1 Anas penelope Red-crested Pochard 2 6 Netta rufina Pochard 3 20 Aythya ferina Red Kite 1 2 Milvus milvus Black Kite 5 15 Milvus migrans Black-shouldered Kite 4 6 Elanus caeruleus Eurasian Griffon Vulture 3 50 Gyps fulvus Eurasian Black Vulture 2 4 Aegypius monachus Short-toed Snake-Eagle 4 3 Circaetus gallicus Montagu's Harrier 4 20 Circus pygargus Marsh Harrier 4 10 Circus aeruginosus Sparrowhawk 1 1 Accipiter nisus Northern Goshawk 1 1 Accipiter gentilis Common Buzzard 6 8 Buteo buteo Golden Eagle 2 2 Aquila chrysaetos Spanish Imperial Eagle 2 3 Aquila adalberti Booted Eagle 4 8 Aquila pennata Bonelli's Eagle 2 3 Aquila fasciata Kestrel 6 5 Valco tinnunculus

3 PORTUGAL: Tour report 3 Lesser Kestrel 3 50 Falco naumanni Peregrine Falcon 1 1 Falco peregrinus Red-legged Partridge 6 20 Alectoris rufa Quail H Coturnix coturnix Moorhen 7 6 Gallinula chloropus Coot 7 70 Fulica atra Purple Gallinule 2 6 Porphyrio porphyrio Great Bustard 2 50 Otis tarda Little Bustard 3 8 Tetrax tetrax Stone-curlew 2 4 Burhinsus oedicnemus Collared Pratincole 3 15 Glareola pratincola Black-winged Stilt 7 40 Himantopus himantopus Oystercatcher 1 3 Haematopus ostralegus Avocet 4 30 Recurvirostra avosetta Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Little Ringed Plover 3 15 Charadrius dubius Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus Grey Plover 5 80 Pluvialis squatarola Turnstone 5 20 Arenaria interpres Sanderling 3 50 Calidris alba Knot 1 60 Calidris canutus Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea Dunlin Calidris ferruginea Little Stint 4 80 Calidris minuta Ruff 3 10 Philomachus pugnax Whimbrel 5 20 Numenius phaeopus Black-tailed Godwit 2 50 Limosa limosa Bar-tailed Godwit 1 1 Limosa lapponica Eurasian Curlew 1 1 Numenius arquata Redshank 5 50 Tringa totanus Spotted Redshank 1 5 Triinga erythropus Greenshank 5 10 Tringa nebularia Wood Sandpiper 2 3 Tringa glareola Common Sandpiper 6 10 Actitis hypoleucos Common Snipe 3 2 Gallinago gallinago Great Skua 1 2 Stercorarius skua Mediterranean Gull 3 12 Larus melanocephalus Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus Slender-billed Gull 1 6 Larus genei Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus Great Black-backed Gull 1 3 Larus marinus Audouin's Gull 3 6 Larus audouinii Sandwich Tern 2 20 Sterna sandvicensis Little Tern 4 60 Sterna albifrons Black-bellied Sandgrouse 1 40 Pterocles orientalis

4 PORTUGAL: Tour report 4 Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon 7 50 Columba livia Wood Pigeon 5 25 Columba palumbus Turtle Dove 2 2 Streptopelia turtur Collared Dove 7 50 Streptopelia decaocto Common Cuckoo 5 3 Cuculus canorus Great Spotted Cuckoo 4 4 Clamator glandarius Little Owl 4 5 Athene noctua Common Swift 4 50 Apus apus Pallid Swift Apus pallidus European Bee-eater 7 40 Merops apiaster Hoopoe 6 3 Alcedo athis European Roller 1 6 Coracias garrulus Iberian Green Woodpecker 4 3 Picus viridis sharpei Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 1 Dendrocopos major Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 2 2 Picoides minor Calandra Lark 3 80 Melanocorypha calandra Skylark 1 10 Alauda arvensis Crested Lark 7 50 Galerida cristata Thekla Lark 3 20 Galerida theklae Woodlark 2 2 Lullula arborea Short-toed Lark 1 1 Calandrella brachydactyla Lesser Short-toed Lark 1 4 Calandrella brachydactyla Crag Martin 3 60 Ptyonoprogne rupestris Sand Martin Riparia riparia Red-rumped Swallow 6 40 Hirundo daurica Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica House Martin Delichon urbica White Wagtail 5 6 Motacilla alba Yellow Wagtail 5 15 Motacilla flava Grey Wagtail 1 1 Motacilla cinerea Wren 2 2 Troglodytes troglodytes Nightingale 5 6 Luscinia megarhynchos Redstart 1 1 Phoenicurus phoenicurus Stonechat 7 30 Saxicola torquata Black-eared Wheatear 1 3 Oenanthe hispanica European Robin H Erithacus rubecula Blackbird 7 10 Turdus merula Blue Rock Thrush 3 3 Monticola solitarius Zitting Cisticola 6 30 Cisticola juncidis Cetti's Warbler 5 8 Cettia cetti Reed Warbler 2 4 Acrocephalus scirpaceus Great Reed Warbler 2 2 Acrocephalus arundinaceus Blackcap H Sylvia atricapilla Dartford Warbler 1 2 Sylvia undata Subalpine Warbler 1 1 Sylvia cantillans Sardinian Warbler 7 6 Sylvia melanocephala

5 PORTUGAL: Tour report 5 Crested Tit 1 1 Parus cristatus Blue Tit 3 20 Parus caeruleus Great Tit 3 10 Parus major Long-tailed Tit 2 8 Aegithalos caudatus Short-toed Treecreeper 3 4 Certhia brachydactyla Eurasian Nuthatch 1 2 Sitta europaea Southern Grey Shrike 4 20 Lanius meridionalis Woodchat Shrike 3 5 Lanius senator Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor Common Magpie 5 10 Pica pica Eurasian Jay 5 6 Garrulus glandarius Azure-winged Magpie 6 80 Cyanopica cyana Jackdaw 1 5 Corvus monedula Raven 3 55 Corvus corax Carrion Crow 6 30 Corvus corone Golden Oriole 4 3 Oriolus oriolus House Sparrow Passer domesticus Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis Tree Sparrow 1 5 Passer montanus Rock Sparrow 1 12 Petronia petronia Common Waxbill (I) 1 6 Estrilda astrild Black-headed Weaver (I) 2 5 Ploceus melanocephalus Serin 6 40 Serinus serinus Chaffinch 2 5 Frigilla coelebs Greenfinch 4 10 Carduelis chloris Goldfinch 7 50 Carduelis carduelis Linnet 3 5 Carduelis cannabina Cirl Bunting 1 2 Emberiza cirlus Corn Bunting Milaria calandra Rock Bunting 2 2 Emberiza cia Mammals: Iberian Hare 3 4 Lepus granatensis European Rabbit 4 10 Oryctolagus cuniculus Fallow Deer 2 20 Dama dama Wild Boar 1 10 Sus scrofa Amphibians and Reptiles: Perez's Frog 2 10 Pelophylax perezi Moorish Geeko 1 5 Tarentola mauritanica Iberian Wall Lizard 1 1 Podarcis hispanicus Viperine Water Snake 1 1 Natrix maura European Pond Terrapin 2 1 Emys orbicularis Mediterranean Terrapin 2 20 Mauremys leprosa Red-eared Slider 1 2 Trachemys scripta

Northern Spain Part 2 - Flamingos, Glossy Ibis and Purple Gallinule

Northern Spain Part 2 - Flamingos, Glossy Ibis and Purple Gallinule November 20 th November 24 th 2014 Travel /Hotel Details: Flights to Barcelona Budget Car hire Hotel Hotel L'Algadir del Delta Ronda