Tagus Estuary (1 Viewer)

[John In Ireland]

Does anyone know where to stay in this area to be in the thick of the action? Looking at January/February but haven't a clue where to base myself, probably without a car.

 

[Simon Wates]

John, the Tagus estuary (Estuário do Tejo) won't be practical for basing yourself for walking birding I don't think - its a massive fragmented and confusing area and to have a complete day out there you will need a car I believe. I don't know the area so deeply - but I know the better areas from when I lived in Lisbon 6 months inc a whole winter.

Maybe a Lisbon area birder could go out with you - or maybe worth considering a guide for a day - there are a number in the wider Lisbon area. I think it would be really worth it for this area.

For staying close to good coastal wetland and adjacent inland birding the Sado Estuary, not so far south of Lisbon, is maybe a more practical experience - you could maybe stay somewhere in the (very pleasant) countryside and have nice areas close.

I just imagine someone based in Lisbon getting frustrated having to walk long distances through uninteresting or built up areas to get to only a little part of the wetland areas.

There well may be somewhere to stay close to one of the better birding areas - its not a tourist area so it would be the odd hotel or a "residencial", which can be very good value and very decent and modern - its where travelling workers and tradesmen etc stay - they are all over the country.

I hope one of the BF members from the area will come on here and tell you something more positive!:t::t:

 

[John In Ireland]

Thanks for that Simon. Just been reading about the Sados Estuary and it looks a really good base. I just thought I would try somewhere a bit different to the Algarve but have a good base where I don't have to travel far to see a good array of birds. Now I need to find somewhere to stay!!!

 

[Pedro Ramalho]

Hi,

Sado estuary in my opinion is worst to work if you don’t have a car. Tagus is hard, but if you base yourself in Alcochete, you can go to several nice places that are at walking distances or you can use public transportation to go a little bit further afield.

Alcochete: 38°45'15.8"N 8°57'38.8"W
Tha salt pans Salinas do Brito: 38°44'40.0"N 8°58'34.0"W
Sitio das Hortas: 38°45'38.0"N 8°56'17.2"W
Ribeira das Enguias: 38°44'54.6"N 8°55'24.9"W
Road to Pancas: 38°45'34.8"N 8°54'53.9"W
Barroca de Alva: 38°43'46.0"N 8°54'10.4"W

Quinta da atalaia: 38°44'19.3"N 8°55'10.3"W it’s a private place, but they usually let birders in, just be careful it the dogs

All of this places are on walking distance but some are quite far from the center of Alcochete, so public transport or even a taxi may be necessary to get to the most distant.

Barroca de Alva in particular is quite far, but you can easily get more than 50 species in two hours birding the place

 

[John In Ireland]

Thank you Pedro, that sounds like a plan. Thank you also for the venues! Much appreciated. :t:

 

[Simon Wates]

Thanks also Pedro - I had a feeling I had given an inaccurate impression. When I used to visit the area back in 1997-8 I used to drive from central Lisbon and mainly visit the Pancas area and Ponta da Erva - I tried further round towards Alcochete a few times but I usually got a bit lost and wasted time :-O

Nowadays the area is much better known and worked by more birders.

Alcochete is also handy for easy visits to the historical part of Lisbon - with the regular river ferry...

 

[Pedro Ramalho]

Alcochete is also handy for easy visits to the historical part of Lisbon - with the regular river ferry...

True, actually if one really wanted, it’s possibly to go to ponta da erva from alcochete, you just have to cross the river, and them catch the train to Vila Franca de Xira, cross the bridge on foot, and enter at Cardal gate, it’s a bit crazy, but it can been done. Or you can go to Porto Alto by Bus and the go to Ponta da Erva on foot.

The problem is that Ponta da Erva is HUGE, sure one can do all the area on foot, but a short circuit means something like 15 km walking, to do the area is more like 30 km…

No, a car is the way to go if you want to really explore the area.

You can use eBird to get a perspective of the different places.

And if you use google translator you can use the site aves de Portugal

http://avesdeportugal.info/sitestutejo.html