Birdwatching Trip Report from Eastern Algarve, Portugal

Summary

We were based at Santa Luzia, about 2 miles west of the historic town of Tavira. The other three in the group were not birdwatchers so it was by no means wall-to-wall birds and most of my spotting took place around the others and the usual holiday pursuits of sightseeing and relaxation.

Our accommodation in Santa Luzia was an apartment with a splendid roof-top terrace from which I could scan the marshes of the Rio Formosa national park. Santa Luzia is at the eastern end of this beautiful 40 mile stretch of protected coastline and adjacent lagoons and as it turned out, practically all my birdwatching was centred upon it.

To help me I had the latest edition of Gosney’s “Finding Birds in South Portugal” (absolutely indispensable), plus the Collins Bird Guide and the MacMillan Birder’s Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds (published 1996). Before leaving the UK I also purchased an excellent Marco Polo 1 : 150,000 map of the Algarve, which proved invaluable and bang up-to-date.

Travelling by Easyjet, their luggage restrictions and the need for my birdwatching to fit around the others meant that no telescope accompanied me, just binoculars. I probably missed a few species as a result but not many as most birds gave excellent views.

The weather was fabulous with temperatures varying between 29-34C and only one dull morning; no rain whatsoever. As a consequence, a drive inland to such places as Castro Verde and Mertola did not happen as the weather was just too good (and too hot) to spend hours in the car! So that’s for next time…

The week also coincided with a series of spring tides which meant that waders in particular, were pushed very close to the promenades and boardwalks. I saw 88 species, comfortably exceeding my target of 80.

Birdwatching Locations

Santa Luzia & Praia Barril – At each end of the Rio Formosa, the beaches are accessible by bridges, otherwise it is necessary to catch a river bus/taxi. The beach closest to Santa Luzia is called Praia Barril. One advantage of Praia Barril is that the walk to the beach takes you past lagoons, marshes, a line of pine trees and adjacent scrub, so migrants were possible. Every time I did this walk I saw something different. There is also a miniature train that can bring back the less energetic to their cars.

All the beaches are large and unspoilt. There are a few cafeterias and facilities, and they can get busy at the weekend, but walk a few minutes and the beach will be almost empty. Of course, most have some nude sunbathing too, but more discrete than at some other places we have been to. Santa Luzia is known as the ‘capital’ of the octopus and we had a couple of lovely meals in local restaurants. Otherwise it was self-catering and watching the sunset from the terrace.

Tavira Salt-pans – these were a revelation and one group of salt-pans were very close to the town centre. An excellent variety of waders were seen, a large flock of Audouin’s Gull on one evening, flamingos by the hundred and Black-winged Stilts everywhere. The main square in Tavira also had a rare sight in the UK these days; a roosting flock of several hundred House Sparrows!

Tavira itself is well worth strolling around, it’s picturesque and there is an excellent choice of restaurants.

To update Gosney, I struggled to find the track to ‘Quatro Aguas’ but found an alternative access point to the lagoons by going down the last road heading east to Santa Luzia (Rua Eng. Jorge Rao) and turning right at the track at the end. Single track at first, it widens later on and a normal hire car is fine. Bear in mind that the salt pans are being worked so I respected ‘no entry’ signs.

Fuzeta - for me this was the place to get great views of waders as the tide pushed them very close to the promenade. It was also where the four of us took a ‘birdwatching’ boat trip along the Rio Formosa west, to see marshes, lagoons and islands that would otherwise be inaccessible. The guide spoke perfect English and was knowledgeable about the traditions, history and wildlife. He was also prepared to adapt the trip to my requirements and comes highly recommended. Costing €25 each, it lasted about 2 hours.

Quinta do Lago – surrounded by some very impressive houses, the manicured golf course and the famous ‘ornamental’ pond delivered all the species I had hoped for (Little Bittern, Purple Swamphen, Azure-winged Magpie etc), plus several others to add to the holiday ‘list’. However, we all agreed we preferred Santa Luzia to stay at as Quinta is rather artificial and probably expensive. It is the other place where the beach is accessible by bridge and as with elsewhere, the beach was magnificent. If you are a birdwatching golfer, then this place would be perfect. Incidentally, you do also get excellent views of the aircraft landing into Faro from Quinta (I’m also a bit of a plane-spotter….).

The species

Mallard	A few seen here and there, but overall, this holiday was too early for good numbers of duck in the national park
Gadwall	Only seen on the boat trip from Fuzeta and at Quinta do Lago
Shoveler	Just a few seen
Teal	Only one bird seen on the Quinta do Lago lagoon
Pochard	No Red-crested’s at all!
Common Scoter	Just one seen close to the beach at Barril on our first day and was a bit of a surprise
Little Grebe	Several at Quinta do Lago, but nowhere else
Great Crested Grebe	Just one bird at Quinta do Lago
Cory’s Shearwater	Seen offshore on every visit to Praia Barril, but on the first visit they were plentiful and feeding close to the beach
Gannet	Regular off Praia Barril with at least 100 seen on our first visit
Cormorant	Regular in ones and twos throughout
Little Bittern	Seen from the hide at Quinta do Lago, a female slowly emerged from the reedbed and was seen extremely well
Cattle Egret	Regularly seen as the week went on, sometimes in small flocks
Little Egret	Everywhere in the salt pans and lagoons
Great Egret	Not common, just a few were seen
Grey Heron	Regular
White Stork	A few breed at Tavira and although not common (not at this time of year anyway), a number of individuals were seen very well. They are majestic to see
Glossy Ibis	Just a single bird at Quinta do Lago
Spoonbill	Seen at most locations, nicest were the evening flocks that flew past our terrace
Flamingo	Probably the bird of the holiday as I never imagined I would see so many. Some flocks were 100+ at Tavira and Quinta do Lago
Osprey	Two from the boat at Fuzeta. These were the first the guide had seen for the autumn
Booted Eagle	Impressive, despite being not much larger than a Buzzard. As it slowly gained height from some trees near Ludo Farm (adjacent to Quinta do Lago) the ‘landing lights’ were clearly visible
Marsh Harrier	Just one seen, at distance from our terrace as it flew across the marches the other side of Rio Formosa
Common Buzzard	On the last morning, two see soaring above the marshes from the terrace
Kestrel	Only seen twice at Tavira salt pans
Moorhen
Coot
Purple Swamphen	An astonishing bird; large and brightly coloured, they are definitely not shy either as several were seen very well at Quinta do Lago
Oystercatcher
Avocet	Quite common on the salt pans and commuting between them across the national park
Black-winged Stilt	Hundreds on the salt pans at Tavira, many seen at close range. Common on the boat trip too
Little Ringed Plover	Outnumbered by Ringed and Kentish; easily over-looked. Only seen at Santa Luzia and Fuzeta
Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover	Seen at all locations and in increasing numbers as the week went on
Grey Plover	Common throughout
Knot	Only two seen on separate visits to Fuzeta
Sanderling	Seen more or less everywhere
Turnstone
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper	A small passage was evident later in the week. Really close views at Fuzeta
Little Stint	Two on the salt pans at Tavira
Common Sandpiper	Increasingly seen as the week went on
Redshank
Spotted Redshank	One at Santa Luzia and one at Tavira
Greenshank	After a few seen from the boat, good numbers were evident on the salt pans later in the week
Black-tailed Godwit	Probably the most common wader and seen at all locations in large flocks
Bar-tailed Godwit	Another bird seen in the splendid flock of waders close to the promenade at Fuzeta on the rising tide
Curlew	Far less common than Whimbrel and only seen at Santa Luzia and on the boat trip
Whimbrel	Noisy and constantly heard from our terrace. Seen everywhere
Black-headed Gull
Mediterranean Gull	The commonest gull on the beaches, but out-numbered by the ever-present Lesser Black-backs and Yellow-legged on the lagoons and salt pans
Yellow-legged Gull
Audouin’s Gull	Having identified one in a flock of large gulls resting on a salt pan near Tavira, two evenings later there was a flock of 40+ in the same place (from the Rua Eng. Jorge Rao track)
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Little Tern	A couple of summer stragglers feeding above one of the salt pans near Tavira
Sandwich Tern	Not many seen, but the commonest tern remaining
Caspian Tern	Always impressive, single birds were seen on separate visits to Fuzeta , feeding in the main channel
Collared Dove
Little Owl	One bird was seen near the beach buildings at Praia Barril, the other by the Tavira salt pans
Swift	Unfortunately only a couple of ‘common’ Swifts were seen from the terrace
Hoopoe	One briefly seen on the walk from our apartment to Praia Barril, but the other was feeding on the golf course at Quinta do Lago, next to an Azure-winged Magpie!
Crested Lark	It took me a couple of days to work out what was making a distinctive call coming from some waste ground behind out apartment, but once learnt I saw them in most locations
Sand Martin	Surprisingly, just one seen from the boat near Fuzeta
Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow	Seen well from the terrace, they easily outnumbered ‘barn’ Swallows
House Martin
Yellow Wagtail	A few calling overhead
Wheatear	A few birds seen on fields near Santa Luzia and Tavira
Stonechat	A family seen every time on the walk to Praia Barril
Blackbird
Garden Warbler	In bushes adjacent to the golf course at Quinta do Lago
Sardinian Warbler	Seen everywhere
Zitting Cisticola	Another common and confiding bird. Once learnt, its call is distinctive
Willow Warbler	A small group near Ludo Farm (close to Quinta)
Chiffchaff	Several on the walk to Praia Barril after the one cloudy night we had when a small ‘fall’ of migrants was apparent the next morning
Spotted Flycatcher	As above, several were seen the following day and a couple remained for the rest of the week
Pied Flycatcher	As above, up to 10 were seen on the walk to Praia Barril and several remained thereafter
Iberian Grey Shrike	Surprisingly, just a single bird seen from the path to Praia Barril
Woodchat Shrike	An ever-present immature bird was half-way on the walk to Praia Barril, next to the miniature railway sheds; gave excellent views
Azure-winged Magpie	Only seen at Quinta do Lago, on the golf course and from the hide. They are beautiful birds and not at all shy
Magpie
Starling
House Sparrow
Linnet
Goldfinch
Serin	Adjacent to the golf course at Quinta do Lago
Black-headed Weaver	Unfortunately just brief flying views of these brightly-coloured birds from the hide at Quinta do Lago
Common Waxbill	An unexpected bonus as we stopped to watch Flamingos at the salt pans near Tavira. A pair were perched on a wire fence

This is an excellent area for birdwatching, not at all busy and certainly not as developed as I believe some other parts of the Algarve are. I will definitely return and this time will venture inland too.

nigel10webber@hotmail.co.uk

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