New book: Birding hotspots in the Algarve - Castro Marim and Vila Real de S. António (1 Viewer)

[Gonçalo Elias]

The second volume of the series "Birding hotspots in the Algarve" has just been released.

This volume is dedicated to the region of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António and contains a description of the most interesting places for watching birds in the Castro Marim nature reserve and in the surrounding areas.

The first volume, covering the Lagos area, was published in 2016.

 

[Steve Lister]

My first two visits to Portugal way back in the early 80s were both package holidays to Monte Gordo without a car, so I spent most of my time wandering around Castro Marim and a bit looking at the sea. I wonder how much it has changed in thirty years.

Steve

 

[Gonçalo Elias]

Hi Steve,

Many things have changed. On one hand, tourism has expanded and this means more construction, especially along the coast. This had some impact in habitats, particularly close to the beaches and on some smaller wetlands.

The Castro Marim nature reserve, which was declared to 1975 (it was the first nature reserve in Portugal) is still quite well preserved, but there are more access restrictions nowadays than in the past.

As to the bird life, some species such as Lesser Kestrel and Calandra Lark have vanished from the area, but others which were very rare or did not occur 30 years ago are now regular and, in some cases, fairly common: Shelduck, Audouin's and Slender-billed Gulls, Purple Swamp-hen, White-rumped Swift, Red-rumped Swallow and of course Collared Dove.

 

[Steve Lister]

Thanks - interesting. Friends of mine visit most years and I might look to come with them sometime soon.

Steve

 

[trw]

My first two visits to Portugal way back in the early 80s were both package holidays to Monte Gordo without a car, so I spent most of my time wandering around Castro Marim and a bit looking at the sea. I wonder how much it has changed in thirty years.

Steve

We stayed slap bang in the middle of Monte Gordo and Tavira at Robinsons Hotel.
Looking east to Monte Gordo it looked horrendous with huge hotels looming on the horizon.
Surprisingly though the area between Monte Gorde and Tavira was relatively unspoilt with large tracts of land still rural and undeveloped.
There are lots of great walks along the coast or inland and a good variety of birds.
Lets hope it stays that way for the next 30 years.
Castro Marim looks in good nick from the distance.We stay in Ayamonte,Spain just acroos the water.As there are enough birds to see around there we haven't ventured across.
if you want details of hotels in Ayamonte or Robinsons let me know.

 

[Gonçalo Elias]

I am pleased to announce that the second edition of this book is now available (the first edition was in June 2017).

This new edition contains the most updated and complete information for anyone wishing to discover the birds of the southeastern corner of the Algarve (Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António). Contents have been fully revised, new hotspots have been added and GPS coordinates have been included in the text.