Casual Euro-birding in the Algarve, April 2010 (1 Viewer)

... with volcanic ash related extensions.

I thought I'd have a go at reviving the casual euro-birding traditions of BF with a laid back report on my relaxed break in the Algarve. The trip was only 'semi-birding'. I was mainly just staying somewhere nice to do a bit of work with a bit of pottering about to look for birds every day. I'll break down the report into the different sites I visited, mostly focusing on the area around where I stayed. The flight and accommodation were booked together through Expedia for around £380.

Transport
I flew from Gatwick to Faro on 10th April with Monarch. My original intention was to fly back on 18th April, but that was, of course, scuppered by Eyjafjallajokull or 'the volcano in Iceland' as the newsreaders prefer to call it. Eventually I returned on 22nd.

I hired a car via 'Enjoy Car Hire'. This actually meant that I was hiring from a company called 'International Car'. This was cheap but it took a while for me to find the stall in the airport car park where this company, and a few others, are based. The car was a Chevrolet Matiz, which was a bit rubbish. This was my first time driving on the right. I didn't hit anything, which I'm quite pleased about.

Accommodation
I stayed at Cabanas Park, a resort hotel in the fishing village of Cabanas just a few kilometres east of Tavira. This gets pretty positive reviews online and I certainly wouldn't wish to counter any of those. It's not exactly characterful but was clean and well-maintained. I had a spacious three room appartment, with double bedroom, bathroom and a combined kitchenette and living room. It also had a large balcony, which was nice for birding from when the weather wasn't too bad. The kitchenette meant that I could self-cater, which kept costs down and was very convenient. You could also pay for Internet access at Cabanas Park, although like most hotels this was of somewhat variable quality. The staff were very good I thought, particularly in responding to ash related changes of plan.

The most significant feature of Cabanas Park is that it's an excellent location for birding. Most of the birding I did was within a mile or so of the resort and I eventually managed to record 93 species here. As it's not such a well-known area, I'll go into a bit more detail about the birds and habitats here.

Weather
Well, it was actually very rainy and windy. The first day was fine, warm and sunny but after that it rained on each of the next seven days to at least some extent. Several inches must have fallen in this time and some days there were really torrential downpours. My impression is that this is a bit unusual for the Algarve at this time of year. The 'extension' period was relatively fine, although not that sunny. The bad weather didn't interfere too heavily with my fairly limited birding ambitions. In fact, it resulted in some interesting seawatching from my living room.

Cabanas

This was where I stayed. I'll break down the area into different habitats and say a bit about what I saw in each.

The Sea
Between the resort and the sea proper is Ilha de Cabanas, a thin sand island that forms part of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa. A boat runs from the village to the island, but I never actually got there (it was usually cancelled when the weather was bad, which, unlike everyone else, was when I wanted to go). Instead, I seawatched from my living room. This meant that birds were a bit distant but, as I was on the third floor, I was high enough to see over the island and get reasonable views of most birds that were passing.

Between 14th and 18th there were some quite strong southerly winds which brought with them numerous seabirds. The most abundant were Gannets but there quite good numbers of both Arctic and Great Skuas (around 30 of each on 14th). I managed a small number of Cory's and Balearic Shearwaters and a couple of flocks of Common Scoters. Sandwich Terns were common and Little Terns could regularly be seen flying along the lagoon behind the island. I also saw single Black Terns on a couple of occasions and once had a Caspian Tern drifting by close in. My only Hobby of the trip whipped past when I was seawatching. While it was windy large flocks of gulls moved westwards along the coast. Most were Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed Gulls but I regularly picked out Audouin's Gulls and on one occasion three Mediterranean Gulls. A strange bird I saw a couple of times was an almost completely white large gull - either a leucistic LBB or Yellow-legged Gull. It looked vaguely like an immature Iceland Gull but had some quite dark flecks on the mantle and wings, which gave the game away a bit. I also had one Diver fly through. I didn't see it well but it looked quite large - possibly a Great-northern.

The picture is the view from my balcony, on a nice day.

Some people are a bit impatient aren't they.

The lagoon and the saltpans

I'll cover these together as they shared similar birds. The resort lies at the conluence of the Ribeira do Almargem and Ria Formosa and so there are extensive areas of mud and saltmarsh nearby. These are good for waders, as are the saltpans, which lie on the opposite side of the Almargem from Cabanas Park. They can be reached via a footbridge along a cycle track adjacent to the railway line. The saltpans stretch all the way to Tavira.

The birds in this area are typical of what might be seen at various other sites in Ria Formosa. Waders were definitely to the fore and, although numbers weren't huge, variety was good. I eventually managed 22 species - in fact all of the species I saw on the trip. Black-winged Stilts, Avocets and Kentish Plovers were all easily seen and passage species included good numbers of Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper and Greenshank, with occasional sightings of Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint and Spotted Redshank. Stone Curlew could often be found in the dry banks between the salt pans, and I usually heard the mournful whistle of this species at dusk around the resort.

Bee-eaters seemed to be breeding around the salt pans, which added to the general air of pleasantness. Little Egrets and Spoonbills were both quite common, mostly along the river creeks and saltmarsh. White Storks sometimes flew over or fed on the mud. Raptors weren't too common, with just occasional Montagu's Harriers and Common Kestrels. A highlight, however, came on my first evening when I watched a Black-winged Kite fly into the marshy area north of the railway line to feed. A rather moribund Mediterranean Gull hung around for a few days and I was concerned to see a similarly dejected Audouin's Gull there after heavy weather. On my first morning, I saw two small groups of Gull-billed Terns flying inland.

Quail could sometimes be heard from nearby fields, and I regularly heard them elsewhere throughout the trip. The (very) common passerines of the wetter areas were Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler and Crested Lark. There were plentiful Spanish Wagtails along the tracks between the pans and I managed to find both Yellow and Blue-headed Wagtails in amongst them.

The first two shots show the salt marsh across to Ilha de Cabanas. The third is of the marshland north of the railway where I saw Black-winged Kite. The fourth is looking back to Cabanas Park from the saltpans and the fifth a view back to the saltpans from the other side of the river.

Sometimes I worry about this Whitehouse character. First he occupies my old local patch, now it turns out he was birding in the Algarve the same time as me. Wonder where he got that thread title from?

The scrub and orchards

There were some interesting birds to be found in the more terrestrial habitats around the resort. From my balcony I could often watch Hoopoes and Serins. Spotless Starlings and House Martins were breeding in good numbers on the resort buildings. To get to the saltpans I usually walked through an area of rough ground and scrub. Woodchat Shrike, Red-legged Partridge and Little Owl were often easily seen in this area and on a couple of occasions I had good views of Great-spotted Cuckoo. Cetti's and Reed Warblers could be heard singing in the wetter areas near the railway line. In various spots I bumped into small parties of Common Waxbills.

Migrants were a bit disappointing. The best day was my first, when the weather was at its best. I got the impression that the bad weather blocked birds coming in. On that first morning I had brief views of a female Subalpine Warbler in a citrus orchard and saw my only Golden Orioles of the trip - a dazzling pair that perched up beautifully in a small tree before flying onwards.

Here's a scrubby shot.

StuartReeves said:

Sometimes I worry about this Whitehouse character. First he occupies my old local patch, now it turns out he was birding in the Algarve the same time as me. Wonder where he got that thread title from?

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I'd have thought you'd be flattered .

Sound like a very nice trip, well done. You did quite well for someone doing casual Euro-birding.

Andrew Whitehouse said:

I'd have thought you'd be flattered .

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Fair enough, but it also prevents me from starting a thread with the same title!

Actually my notes from the trip are pretty ropey (though my photos are better!) so I might just hijack your thread instead. We can certainly compare volcano hardship stories.

Here are a few very high quality bird photos from around the salt pans. No record shots here.

These are even better. I like to get a bit of habitat in.

Stuart - feel free to join in the casual fun.

Joseph - I think the quality of birds I was seeing is a measure of how easy birding is in the Algarve (or at least this bit of it). I saw a lot without leaving my appartment.

We were staying in the middle of Faro, with grateful thanks to a Portuguese colleague whose apartment we were borrowing. The views from the apartment were really good, but the birds on the Ria Formosa were just a little too distant for us to build a big window list. We enjoyed the urban White Storks though.

Joseph N said:

Sound like a very nice trip, well done. You did quite well for someone doing casual Euro-birding.

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Yeah too right. Heaven help us if you do some serious birding Andrew

Castro Marim

Castro Marim is a pretty well known wetland site next to the Spanish border and the Rio Guadiana. I only managed to have a look around the north eastern end near the monumental park headquarters, although I did visit this area twice.

On my first visit in particular there were very large numbers of waders on the saltpans, particularly Dunlin, Sanderling, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint. I spent quite a bit of time in the area of low scrubby plain that's alongside the river (just beyond the hilltop viewpoint near the car park). Several Lesser Short-toed Larks were singing here - apparently the only place they breed in Portugal. Their mimicry was particularly impressive - if you think you can hear a Crested Lark in this area, then be sure to check it out!

On my second visit there were far fewer waders (perhaps because the water levels were much higher after heavy rain) but I did see several Greater Flamingos and Spotted Redshanks. Other interesting birds seen here over both visits included Marsh and Montagu's Harrier, Spoonbill, Caspian Tern, Stone Curlew and Great-spotted Cuckoo.

Picture 1 was taken on my first visit, showing the impressive Guadiana Bridge that crosses into Spain. Pictures 2 and 3 were taken five days later and after very heavy rain. The last two pictures are of some wader flocks on the first visit.

And here's a Montagu's Harrier, with Spain in the background.

Nice report Andrew- and the Monty's is wonderful!

Cheers
Mike

Nice to read about the 'other half' of the Algarve. I have always stayed west of Faro with occasional day trip to the east side. The birding is just so good and easy as you say. The road network is also easy.

Good report - it sounds like a pleasant trip,

Quinta do Lago/ Ludo Farm

Glad folks are enjoying the report. Andrew - maybe next time I go I'll get to the west of the Algarve. In the meantime, here's a bit about the furthest west site I visited: Quinta do Lago and Ludo Farm.

As mentioned at the beginning of the thread, this was a very casual birding trip. This site fitted in well with the casual approach to birding because it is, without doubt, the ponciest place for birding in the entire world. The whole Quinta do Lago area is fairly ridiculous, being full of huge villas, fancy hotels and big golf courses. At the end of the road, on which you pass through six numbered roundabouts, you reach a rather swish car park from where you can follow a nature trail around the edge of golf course. Soon you reach the Lago de San Laurenco, a small lake surrounded by golf courses and very, very poncy looking villas. The whole lake is overlooked by a large and wholly impractical hide. There are some good birds here, and, as you might expect, they're ridiculously easy to see. In some places Purple Swamphen and Little Bittern can be a bit tricky. Here they saunter up and down the fairways of the golf course. The lake is replete with poncy ducks, particularly Red-crested Pochards, which are always a bit poncy even in the most rugged of circumstances. Azure-winged Magpies, a lifer for me, were common and conspicuous in this area. I also saw a few Masked Weaver type things.

The Ludo Farm area lies to the east and is easily reached along various clear tracks. There don't seem to be any issues with accessing this area from the the Quinta do Lago end, contra Hardacre's guide. This is another area of salt pans and lagoons, with plenty of waders, Spoonbills etc. I didn't see too many raptors in this area except for Marsh Harrier and Black Kite.

Pictures:
1. Lago de San Laurenco - the ponciest place for birding in the entire world.
2&3. Little Bittern, being quite easy to see.
4. Red-crested Pochard
5. Gadwall

I know what you mean about Lago de San Laurenco Andrew, but those Little Bitterns and Purple Swamphens are great value! We also managed a Peregrine and a few Common Waxbills in that area. More interesting however was the cracking Pomarine Skua that dropped in for a brief visit while we were there. Further, possibly the best sighting of the trip was in a low pine behind that hide. See the photo below; clue: it's the one that's not a bird!