cheshirebirder
Well-known member
Just returned from a trip to Boavista ,which I can recommend for some winter sun with ( a few ) interesting birds to see.
This was not really a trip targetting birds ( I was with the wife,for a start !) but it's easy to see what's there just by pootling about for a few walks within a mile or two of the resort.
We stayed at the Riu Karamboa ( Thomson package hol) which was a very comfortable and enjoyable all-inclusive hotel. Around the hotel, the habitat inland is dunes and desert -like scrub with some greener areas of bushes.There is a brackish lagoon (river outlet) about 400 yards north along the beach,which was ok for waders.
Birds seen along the beach and at the lagoon;
Brown booby - up to 5 at a time, on and off every day,
Kentish plover
Ringed plover
Turnstone
Greenshank
Grey plover
Whimbrel
Sanderling
Osprey
Little tern- 2 birds ,single day
Sandwich tern - 1 bird
Little egret
Grey heron
Around the hotel;
Spanish sparrow and Iago sparrows in abundance
Brown-necked raven - 2 birds on and off , most days
Inland within a mile of the hotel;
Spectacled warbler - most days, several birds
Black-crowned sparrow-lark , many ,birds singing in flight
Bar-tailed desert lark, singing birds seen every day
Alexander's kestrel - seen only 3 times
Both sparrows much in evidence here too, plus occasional brown-necked ravens.
I took a taxi one day to north of the local town, Sal rei to view the cliffs at Vigla where red-billed tropicbird breeds and saw 2 birds.
I also did a longer walk on the last day ,having so far failed on hoopoe lark ! I walked to the airport and then south and up onto the nearby ridge which put me into a more stony desert habitat (about a 3 mile walk) where I immediately connected with a singing/displaying hoopoe lark.On the way there ,near the end of the runway,an Alexander's kestrel gave very good views.
So, I basically saw all my target birds, and I can recommend Boavista if you are looking for winter sun with a non-birding partner, but with the chance of some easy birding and interesting species.
This was not really a trip targetting birds ( I was with the wife,for a start !) but it's easy to see what's there just by pootling about for a few walks within a mile or two of the resort.
We stayed at the Riu Karamboa ( Thomson package hol) which was a very comfortable and enjoyable all-inclusive hotel. Around the hotel, the habitat inland is dunes and desert -like scrub with some greener areas of bushes.There is a brackish lagoon (river outlet) about 400 yards north along the beach,which was ok for waders.
Birds seen along the beach and at the lagoon;
Brown booby - up to 5 at a time, on and off every day,
Kentish plover
Ringed plover
Turnstone
Greenshank
Grey plover
Whimbrel
Sanderling
Osprey
Little tern- 2 birds ,single day
Sandwich tern - 1 bird
Little egret
Grey heron
Around the hotel;
Spanish sparrow and Iago sparrows in abundance
Brown-necked raven - 2 birds on and off , most days
Inland within a mile of the hotel;
Spectacled warbler - most days, several birds
Black-crowned sparrow-lark , many ,birds singing in flight
Bar-tailed desert lark, singing birds seen every day
Alexander's kestrel - seen only 3 times
Both sparrows much in evidence here too, plus occasional brown-necked ravens.
I took a taxi one day to north of the local town, Sal rei to view the cliffs at Vigla where red-billed tropicbird breeds and saw 2 birds.
I also did a longer walk on the last day ,having so far failed on hoopoe lark ! I walked to the airport and then south and up onto the nearby ridge which put me into a more stony desert habitat (about a 3 mile walk) where I immediately connected with a singing/displaying hoopoe lark.On the way there ,near the end of the runway,an Alexander's kestrel gave very good views.
So, I basically saw all my target birds, and I can recommend Boavista if you are looking for winter sun with a non-birding partner, but with the chance of some easy birding and interesting species.
