Southern Portugal Birding

Dawn and I made our eighth trip to Southern Portugal last week. We were hoping for some winter sun, but it was in short supply. The first few days weren't actually that bad, but after that strong to gale force winds were the order of the day.

Nevertheless we boosted our all time Portuguese list up to 226 species. The highlights were Red-knobbed Coot, Sociable Plover, Richard's and Water Pipits plus Alpine Accentor.

We visited most of the well known areas during our stay. The sites are shown using the yellow pins on the map below.

Alpine Accentor, Cape St Vincente, Near Sagres

We stay at Praia da Rocha, as it is a central location and close to the Portimao Fish Harbour. Although it is a tourist spot it can be quite good along the cliffs and even on the beach for birds; especially at migration time. The sea is generally very calm, but when the wind blows things alter very quickly and during winter storms birds like Great Skuas can be seen from the beach boardwalk. Sea Watching can be good in winter and I've seen Cory's and Balearic Shearwaters, Great and Arctic Skuas, Common Scoters and Razorbills. During our holiday the storm completely destroyed several beachside bars. A small group of Purple Sandpipers could be found near the mouth of the River Arade on the far end of the Praia da Rocha beach, but photography was impossible with large waves breaking close to them.

Praia da Rocha During a Winter Storm

A Sociable Plover had been present at Salgados Lagoons near to Pera since November, but it hadn't been seen for about a month so I thought it had gone. Just prior to leaving home it was reported again. It was hiding with a small Golden Plover flock and I got to see it twice in flight, but not on the ground as the vegetation was too tall where it was residing. It was on the same day at Salgados lagoons that I saw my first Richard's Pipit for Portugal.

Red-knobbed Coot is rare in The Algarve and it is also a species I had not seen before. I was really excited by the news that one was at Quinta do Lago near Faro, but luckily due to logistics I had to wait a few days before trying for it. Luckily it was still there and easily identifiable.

Short Video of the Red-knobbed Coot:

Quinta do Lago is an excellent place for birding, as around the freshwater lake are saltpans and also salt marsh. A large day list is easily achieved in this area. Western Swamphens are easy to see and photograph on and around the large freshwater lake by the golf course .

Western Swamphen

One of the highlights of the trip was watching nine Caspian Terns at the Portimao Fishing Harbour. The first two arrived just as it was getting dark. They landed about 3 metres away from where we were parked and settled amongst the roosting gulls. Amongst the nine was one that was colour ringed and it had been ringed in Finland. The photo below was taken when it was almost dark, but an ISO setting of 6400 makes things look much lighter. My car headlights helped illuminate the scene.

Caspian Tern, Portimao Fish Harbour

I only read 34 colour rings this time and the gulls although around in good numbers were very mobile due to the strong winds. I did spot a Herring Gull amongst the Yellow-legged Gulls, which was nice. Not quite the rarity it was but still a good bird in The Algarve.

Herring Gull, Portimao Fish Harbour

Juvenile Iceland Gull

During my protracted absence from Shawell I've missed some Iceland Gulls. On 21/02/18 Steve Nichols had an adult and second-winter and on 07/03/18 David Scott and Rod Baker had a juvenile and a second-winter.

Well hopefully things are back to normal for me and I've now managed a couple of visits. I spotted a juvenile Iceland Gull during both visits, but deciding whether they are the same bird or not isn't easy. I have a feeling that they might not be the same, but I can't see much difference in the video screen grabs. The first bird shows distinct spotting on its tertials, but they were not visible on the second bird. However, the second bird was distant, so they may just not have been visible.

I presume it or one of them is the same as the juvenile seen by David Scott and Rod Baker on 07/03/18.

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Shawell

Below is a short video:

A Russian ringed Herring Gull was a good sighting, only my second colour-ringed gull from Russia.

Russian Ringed Herring Gull KL47, Shawell

International Gull Meeting, Ruse, Bulgaria

Apologies, I have been neglecting my blog lately for one reason or another. Back in February I participated in the International Gull Meeting (IGM) that was held in Ruse, Bulgaria. Unfortunately I had picked up a very bad bug somewhere (work I think) and arrived back home feeling very unwell. I  lost over a week feeling very poorly.

The IGM, organised by Strahil Peev, was very good and I really enjoyed the talks. I did a presentation on the Horsvaer, Baltic Gulls that went well I hope, but I have to be honest and say I was very nervous.

It is a really good opportunity to meet with new friends and old ones who share the same passion for gulls. It was my second meeting, so I am becoming a veteran although some there had been to every IGM ever held. I had a really good time talking with the Spanish guys and sharing my photos of gulls from Portugal with them.

We made two visits to the local dump. The first was a complete failure, as the gulls would not come in, but luckily we got some action on the second visit.

Ruse Tip

Some of the Gulls

Some of the Yellow-legged Gulls had a different primary pattern to the typical L. m. michahellis we see further west. They are like birds described elsewhere as 'Eastern' Yellow-legged Gulls. Others were more typical of the ones I am used to seeing. The one below shows a pale tongue on the longest primary feather (P10). Generally there is more black on P10 of an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull, Ruse, Bulgaria

Yellow-legged Gull, Ruse, Bulgaria

The dominant species was Yellow-legged Gull, but some Caspian Gulls were present.

Caspian Gull, Ruse Bulgaria

Caspian Gull, Ruse, Bulgaria

We stayed in the Danube Plaza hotel, which of course was close to the River Danube. This great river was slightly disappointing as the best I could find was a few Coots and Mallards. I did see about 60 Hawfinches close to the river, so that was good.

Battle of the Giants

I managed to capture yesterday's Glaucous Gull at Shawell doing battle with two Great Black-backed Gulls.

Enjoy...

A New Glaucous Gull and Some More Caspian Gulls

First of all can I make a complaint - why does it have to rain every Saturday?

Despite the weather I was not put off and after arranging a passage through the massive plant machinery, operating by my access point, I was set for a good days gulling.

21 colour-ring readings today.

The highlight amongst the gulls was a new juvenile Glaucous. This one was a real beast of a bird and it got involved with a tug of war competition with a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls. It was every bit as massive as its two antagonists.

I thought I was going to be empty handed as far as Caspian Gulls today, but then in a ten minute flurry I saw three - two first-winters and a second-winter.

Below is a video of some recent sightings of Caspian Gulls.