I managed to spend 3 hours or so on this super reserve which is a coastal lagoon a short bus ride from the hustle of Albufeira. It produced some great sightings for me including Greater Flamingo which was a new species personally. Most of the waders were in a shallow bay on the north side of the lagoon and a full list of species seen is:
Little Grebe, c20,
Gannet, c8 just off the coast,
Cormorant, 4 early birds as usually a winter visitor,
Cattle Egret, c12 on the lagoon and nearby golf course,
Little Egret, c20,
Grey Heron, c6,
White Stork, 3 were with the Flamingoes,
Spoonbill, c12,
Greater Flamingo, c250 inc many juvs,
Shelduck, c40,
Gadwall, c20,
Mallard, 3,
Ferruginous Duck, min 3, possibly 6,
Black Kite, a loose flock of 8 birds passed over,
Marsh Harrier, pair over the reeds / rough pasture,
Sparrowhawk, 1,
Kestrel, c4,
Moorhen, 4,
Coot, c80,
Purple Gallinule, 1 trampling through the rushes like a giant Moorhen!
Oystercatcher, 1,
Black Winged Stilt, c12,
Avocet, c60 inc many juvs,
Collared Pratincole, 1,
Little Ringed Plover, c12,
Turnstone, 1,
Sanderling, c20,
Curlew Sandpiper, 4,
Dunlin, c50,
Black Tailed Godwit, 7,
Redshank, 1,
Common Sandpiper, 2,
Green Sandpiper, 2,
Black Headed Gull, c30,
Audouin's Gull, 1,
Yellow Legged Gull, c200,
Leser Black Backed Gull, c200,
Collared Dove, c12,
Swift, c6,
Hoopoe, 3 on the golf course,
Crested Lark, c12, still in song!
Sand Martin, 4,
Red Rumped Swallow, c60,
Swallow, c80,
House Martin, c80,
Yellow Wagtail, c6
Fan Tailed Warbler, c12,
Cettis Warbler, c8, just 1 seen!
Spotless Starling, 2,
Magpie, 1,
Azure Winged Magpie, c40 in flocks up to 25 birds!
Nice list. I have never seen any species of Pratincole and never a Fan Tailed Warbler. I had no idea they were common there. All the rest I have been lucky to see. Things are put into perspective when you see 20 Gadwall and 3 Mallard!
-- Edited by sarfraz on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 11:22:17 PM
Zitting I mean where did they get that from.....Zit Zit Zit
David
I think it is named Pera marsh by some if I remember correctly. I always like to hear the local places as you have used for places like that as I find it can cause confusion....well for me at least.
We visited Portugal in Oct 11 and we were really surprised at what it had to offer. The real shocker was a great golfing complex at Quinto Do Lago. Immaculate greens covered in stunning birds including Bluethroats.
I think this pool is down for development sadly with a golfing hotel to be plonked there. It has caused a stir due to it's wildlife richness so I hope they do not succeed.
Thank for the post
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Griffon Vulture 1
Red Kite 3
Common Buzzard 3
Great Bustard 6 At distance in fields.
Southern Grey Shrike 3
European Stonechat 10
Northern Wheatear 10
Eurasian Blackbird 1
European Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 10
Castro Verde Farm Track (37.7915777,-8.061744)
Red Kite 1
Common Buzzard 2
Crested Lark 5
European Stonechat 5
Northern Wheatear 3
Corn Bunting 1
N123 Viewpoint (37.7001748,-8.067441)
White Stork 2
Griffon Vulture 5
Red Kite 1
Common Buzzard 2
Incidentally when we visited Salgados Lagoon we had