Portugal Birding Trip Report (14th February – 16th February 2016) - Species List and Locations

Day 1 – Faro to Aljezur

Iberian Magpie – 14th February – North of Aljezur on the N120, Rua 25 de Abril. (40+ travelling flock moving through the trees. Common and numerous throughout.)

Spanish Sparrow – 14th February – Ria de Alvor, small dirt track (Caminho da Espargueira). (A small number of males interspersed with House Sparrows. Only ones of the trip.)

Day 2 – Aljezur, Monchique and Lagos

Bonelli’s Eagle – 15th February – East of Maria Vinagre off the M1002 Estrada do Carrascalinho. (Two seen in total, soaring high)

Black-shouldered Kite – 15th February – South of Mexilhoeira Grande on the Rua 25 de Abril (north of the N125). (Seen well hovering and hunting. Only one of the trip)

Day 3 – Castro Verde to Faro

Great Bustard – 16th February – Castro Verde, west of Gueirero and east of Alcaria do Coelho, in fields north of the road. (Three individuals seen, though distant. Only birds of the trip.)

Black-headed Weaver – 16th February – Pools at Quinta do Lago at the San Lorenzo Golf Club (off Rua Douro). (Male and several females seen well in the reeds. Male paired up and singing. Only birds of the trip.)

Also of note: Probable Spanish Imperial Eagle - Castro Verde, south of Corte Pequena. Too distant to confirm but pale underside, apparent white rump and dark tips to the wings.

Notable Species:

Cattle Egret - Frequent all over and very common
White Stork - At many sites and common throughout
Greater Flamingo - Several individuals at Ria de Alvor
Purple Swamphen - Numerous on the golf course at Quinta do Lago
Little Bustard - Large flock seen at Castro Verde, south of Corte Pequena. 
Black-winged Stilt - One seen at Ria de Alvor
Kentish Plover - Three seen on the salt marsh at Quinta do Lago
Audouin’s Gull - One seen on the pool at Quinta do Lago
Black-bellied Sandgrouse - A handful seen in the fields at Castro Verde, north of Sao Marcos da Ataboeira
Pallid Swift - Several individuals flying around the pools at Quinta do Lago
Hoopoe - Several seen throughout the trip
Crested Lark - Numerous and several seen throughout the trip
Crag Martin - Numerous and several seen throughout the trip
Red-rumped Swallow - A couple seen at Castro Verde, north of Navarro
Sardinian Warbler - One seen in the scrub surrounding the fields at Ribeira de Aljezur 
Fan-tailed Warbler - A handful seen throughout the trip. More often heard
Iberian Grey Shrike - Numerous throughout the trip
Spotless Starling - Several seen throughout the trip
Serin - Several seen throughout the trip

Additional species:

Mallard
Gadwall
Shoveler
Teal
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Red-legged Partridge
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Spoonbill
Red Kite
Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Common  Buzzard
Kestrel
Peregrine
Moorhen
Coot
Ringed Plover
Golden Plover
Lapwing
Turnstone
Dunlin
Redshank
Greenshank
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Rock Dove
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Common Swift
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Barn Swallow
House Martin
Water Pipit
Meadow Pipit
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Robin
Black Redstart
Stonechat
Song Thrush
Blackbird
Blackcap
Dartford Warbler
Cetti’s Warbler
Chiffchaff
Firecrest
Wren
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie
Jay
Raven
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Corn Bunting

2015 Birding Round up!

2015 turned out to be a stonker of a year, with a number of fantastic birds not seen for decades successfully unblocked while several others that were only previously recorded on distant and far away islands finally made it to the mainland. It was also a year that included the inevitable misses, with the one day first for Britain Acadian Flycatcher a particular stinger, while the out of the way Isle of Lewis Wilson’s Warbler, the Scilly Great Blue Heron and the Orkney Chestnut Bunting all proved to be just a touch too far to travel. 

Both the Harlequin Duck and Hudsonian Godwit in the first half of the year were the first truly twitchable birds for 19 and 32 years respectively, both fantastic birds to see and with hopefully a nice healthy gap between the next records! 

Harlequin Duck on the River Don, Aberdeenshire (11th January 2015)

Hudsonian Godwit at Meare Heath, Somerset (25th April 2015)

I also managed to see several notoriously hard to get birds during the course of the year, achieving great views of Serin, Penduline Tit, Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Red-throated Pipit. The latter in particular was a stunning male demonstrating the beautiful ‘red throated’ plumage, and while even though Blyth’s Reed can appear to be a dull brown job at the best of times, the excellent if brief views we got after working so hard to get just a glimpse of this elusive warbler over the course of two days in Norfolk transformed it in to something wonderful, proving that effort really does pay off.

Serin at Gunners Park, Essex (7th March 2015)

Penduline Tit at Darts Farm RSPB, Devon (21st March 2015)

Red-throated Pipit at Ludworth Moor in Derbyshire (3rd May 2015)

Not quite making it in to the top ten either were several species that showed amazingly well and exceptionally closely, with the Little Bunting and Ptarmigan especially coming to mind. The masses of Storm Petrels congregating around the boat at close quarters during the Scilly pelagics was also something not to be forgotten!

And so to the ten best birds of 2015….

Little Bustard kicks off the New Year!

As my computer physically set on fire over Christmas, I’ve been unable to post very much! However, along with the rest of the country (it seemed) me and Alex made our way up to Yorkshire for the amazing Little Bustard twitch on New Year’s Day. Found flying on two separate occasions then remarkably pinned down to a kale field near to Auburn Farm, this was a brilliant find, coming just a day after one was seen briefly in East Sussex!

With just 25 records since 1950 (the majority of which have been found dead) this has turned in to a real mega, with the last twitchable birds of Cornwall 1996 and Dorset/Hampshire 1987/88 both before my birding time (being just 5 years old for the last one!).

Rare Bird Alert's map of previous Little Bustard records in the UK - (www.rarebirdalert.co.uk)

The records for Little Bustard over the last 50  years - (www.rarebirdalert.co.uk)

This was therefore a must-see bird, so we made the journey up on New Year’s Eve and after a quick Chinese take-away in the car were checking in to small hotel in Bridlington, just ten minutes away ready for one of those hated “crack of dawn starts”.

Arriving in the pitch black, we quickly made the walk down to the field in question and joined the birders already assembled (God knows what time they must have got there!) and started scanning amongst the kale the bird was last seen in the day before.  There was a magnificent turn out (nearly as many as the Short-toed Eagle twitch the previous summer) with hundreds sacrificing their New Year celebrations for a glimpse of this rare vagrant. As Little Bustards are diurnal migrants and the bird was still observed in the field at dusk and not seen to leave, the chances were that unless it had died overnight then it would still be there.  A hunting Barn Owl in the adjacent field was a nice distraction as the gloom slowly lifted and dawn broke, and at around 8:30am a guy just a few people down the line from us exclaimed he had it! Triumphant, we all managed to get on the bird in quick time, crouched low amongst the kale and hard to see unless it popped its head up. Throughout the morning, the bird shuffled in to a more open patch to provide better views, sometimes nibbling small insects off the kale to feed.

This bird was sporting its less elaborate winter plumage making it harder to spot, with none of the splendid black and white feathers commonly seen in the breeding season. Looking like a juv Pheasant to the untrained eye, Little Bustards are a tad larger with gorgeous brown speckled feather patterns and an almost Stone Curlew-like face. It was great to see the bird at such close range – having failed to see any individuals on my two trips to Spain in the summer.

The bird rarely moved throughout the morning however, and it seemed unlikely that it would fly to reveal the gorgeous black and white markings on the open wings, so we left it in peace and  (cheekily) headed back to the B+B to take advantage of our free cooked breakfast!

With 3 different sightings of Little Bustards in the UK over the past 2 months, it is unclear as to whether these birds are one and the same or part of a small influx. Whilst it is possible that the West Bexington bird in Dorset seen on the 18^th November could be the same as the East Guldeford bird in East Sussex found on the 30^th December, it is highly unlikely that the Fraisthorpe bird is the same. Found just a day later on the 31^st and seen flying close to the sea at 8:30am, it is far more likely this individual is a new bird fresh from the continent. Remarkable that two birds were found just days apart!

Whilst there has been a little speculation as to whether the southern birds may have come from the French reintroduction project (actually unlikely in my opinion due to the poor survival rates of the juveniles) it is more likely this individual has perhaps arrived from the East (where the species can be found in Russia) coinciding with the onset of the cold weather. Interestingly there have been several records in Eastern Europe that could quite possibly be the same well twitched and well-travelled individual. Touring the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Germany and last seen on the 27^th October 2014 at Dingdener Heide, there could even be an outside chance that this is the same bird relocating.

A map showing the locations of reported Little Bustard from parts of Europe during 2014

With no sign the following morning leaving hundreds of birders who were unable to connect on the first two days disappointed, it is unclear if the bird sadly perished in the night (it was looking a little peeky in my opinion – although this could have just been due to the strong winds and cold temperatures) or if it may have been flushed during the night, but ether way this was an absolutely cracking find and an amazing way to see in the New Year!