Birdwatching Trip Report from Southern Portugal

Weather

The weather throughout the 2 weeks was very poor for the time of year with average temperatures of 15-17 degrees but usually feeling much cooler due to cold winds.

It rained nearly every day - sometimes heavy and prolonged with thunder, lightening and hail. It was mostly overcast with occasional bright periods. We had a couple of days with clear skies but these were accompanied by bitingly cold winds. Three layers of clothing were needed on many occasions. We only sat by the pool once but we needed fleeces! The bottom line is we did more birding and covered many more miles than we had planned.

Itinerary

We planned no more than 24-hours in advance due to poor weather.

30th April 2004 - Barragem do Arade

Visit to Silves - Barragem do Arade - return via St Bartolomeu de Messines - Algoz A22 to Lagoa - Rocha Brava

We had a quick look around Silves - the river Arade runs past the front of the town but the river looks a bit overgrown and neglected with not much bird life.

Birds seen in Silves: Grey Wagtail - Moorhen - lots of House Sparrows.

We then drove up to the Barragem do Arade. There were forest fires throughout the region in August and September 2003 and many thousands of hectares of forest were damaged or destroyed and the area around the Barragem (reservoir) was badly affected. There was not much to see here so we moved on to the Vale of Fuzeiros this is just off the Silves to Amorosa/St Bartolomeu do Messines road. We then returned to Rocha Brava and walked around the "local patch."

Birds seen Vale of Fuzeiros: Little Owl(1) Jay(1) Azure Winged Magpie(1), Sardinian Warbler(1), Barn Swallows,(20+) House Martin(20+) Little Egret,(1) Collared Dove(2) Goldfinch(20+), Blackbird(10+), Cuckoo (1 heard only).

Local patch Rocha Brava area: Hoopoe(1), Crested Lark(1), Sardinian Warbler(5), Yellow-legged Gull(50+), Rock Dove(20+), Greenfinch(10+), Goldfinch(10+),Blackbird(10+)Alpine Swift(2), Turtle Dove,(1) Kestrel(1), Corn Bunting (1)

1st May 2004 - Alvor Estuary - Burgau - Luz

We visited the Alvor Estuary, specifically, Quinto da Rocha in the morning. The directions given in Dave Gosney's guide are still good. The best time to visit is a couple of hours before high tide. Low tide is not so good as there are too many shell fish diggers, dog walkers and kite surfers (not sure if that is the correct term for them) so hence you won't see many birds at low tide. It was about half tide when we arrived. There were lots of Quail heard calling "Wet My Lips" but we did not see any.

Birds seen Cattle Egret (20+) Blackwinged Stilt (4) Common Swift (10+) House Martin (5) Barn Swallows (20+) Quail (10+) (heard only) Crested Lark (1) Woodchat Shrike (1) Mallard (4) Bee-eaters(2) Spotless Starling (2) Goldfinch (10+) Azure-Winged Magpie (3) Sparrowhawk (1) Little Owl (1) Little Ringed Plover(6)

Greater Flamingo (1) by the bridge at Portamao.

We then drove to Burgau and had a walk around the village, and went down to the beach, the only bird here was a Herring Gull trying to swallow an oversized sardine!

We moved on to Luz for lunch and had a wander along the promenade. On the rocks along the front of the promenade we saw Turnstones, Common Sandpiper and Yellow legged Gulls - some Common Terns/Arctic Terns flew past.

Birds seen: Turnstone(4) Common Sandpiper(1) Common Tern/Arctic Tern (5) Yellow Legged Gulls (50+)

Local Patch: Rocha Brava to Golf Course 2 mile walk but no new birds to add.

2nd May 2004 Alvor Estuary - Cassais - Monchique - Foia

We returned to Quinto do Rocha but it was a wet and miserable day so we used the car as a hide with occasional dashes out with the scope when the rain stopped. There were more waders out on the sandspit today. A local birder told us that the sandspit is a good place to see Audouin's Gull but most of the individuals will be juveniles and hence a bit tricky to identify at long distance.

A large group of very wet German walkers trudged around the marshes - we later saw the same group in Monchique - and it was raining again by then!

Birds seen on the sandspit : Curlew(3) Black Tailed Godwits(3) Knot(6) Dunlin(12) Little Stint(6) Little ringed Plover(6)

Around the marshes: Red Rumped Swallow(2) House Martin(20+) Common Swift(6) Little Egret(4) Cattle Egret(10+) Black-winged Stilt(6) Stonechat(1) Linnet(6) Crested Lark(3) Serin(1) Bee-eater(1) Sardinian Warbler(3) Woodchat Shrike(1) Quail everywhere with "Wet My Lips" calls but not seen!

We drove on to Monchique and decided while we were here to pop up to Foia before lunch. Big mistake. The top of Foia was like Dartmoor on a bad day in winter (we live near Dartmoor - trust me), poor visibility and very cold and probably dangerous with only 2 layers of clothing - I'm afraid we were eternal optimists with the weather, being convinced that it - "would brighten up later". We beat a retreat birdless and hungry to Monchique for lunch.

We parked the car in the main square and were just walking across to a likely looking restaurant when a coach pulled in front of us offloading the aforementioned damp German walkers who piled into the restaurant in front of us! So we found another small place full of Portuguese having Sunday lunch and had an excellent extended 3 course Roast for not very many Euros. Returned to Rocha Bravo via Portimao and Lagoa.

3rd May 2004 - Pera Marshes

We were told by a local birder that the Pera marshes were drained at some point last year (2003) but the resulting smell was so bad that they were re-flooded. We also spoke to some birders at Pera who had been staying in the area for the last 3 months and had visited many times before - they confirmed that the marshes were about half their previous size. I mentioned the apparent lack of raptors and they told us that they had not seen the usual Marsh Harriers at this site during their extended January- May visit.

Despite what we heard this is still a good birding site with plenty to see. Also check out the Beach area and the dunes. You can drive right up to the "hide" - this is really a large open viewing platform with 2 tiers with a precarious vertical ladder to reach the upper tier. So it's not really a "hide" at all - the birds seemed to be used to it and completely ignored us.

We had clear skies but a biting cold wind requiring 3-layers of clothing, long trousers and boots. Needless to say there were not many people on the beach!

Birds seen: Purple Gallinule (Swamp Hen) (20+) Avocet (12) Dunlin (50+) Blackwinged Stilt (100+) Mallard (50+) Moorhen (20+) Coot (20+) Little Grebe (12) Crested Lark (10+) Cattle Egret (10+) Pochard (1) Curlew (3) Little Tern (10) White Stork (4) Grey Heron (1) Purple Heron (4) Spoonbill (4) Redshank (4) Grey Plover (1) Bee-eater (1) Hoopoe (1) Yellow-legged Gull (10+) Bar-tailed Godwit (4) Turnstone (2) House Martin (10+) Barn Swallows (10+) Buzzard-sized raptor too distant to identify.

On the adjacent Praia Grande (Beach): Kentish Plover (6)

4th May 2004 - Castro Verde

The quickest route from the Algarve to Castro Verde is via the A2 - 1P1 motorway. This is a toll road although there are as yet no signs to tell you this. It costs just under 5 euros from the Algarve to the Castro Verde exit and it's worth every cent - a good fast road with very little traffic and great views of the countryside.

The roundabouts in Castro Verde have various concrete artworks in the middle of each - the 3rd has some concrete sheep on in - turn left and follow signs Mertola. From this point on we used Dave Gosney's guide book and various other trip reports and made a slow tour of the area.

Between Castro Verde and Giraldes: Quail (heard calling) Montagues Harrier, Great Grey Shrike, White Stork.

Just past the Giraldes turning Bee-eaters, Corn Buntings, Kestrel and our only Lesser Kestrel.

By the first bridge: Cettis Warbler(2) Kingfisher(1) Bee-eaters(4) Marsh Harrier(1) Red Rumped Swallows(2) Kestrel(1) Stonechat(1) Great Grey Shrike(1)

By the second bridge: Spanish Sparrows(2) Fan Tailed Warbler(2)

By the next farm on the left: Red legged Partridge(1) Azure winged Magpie(10) Hoopoe(1) Spotless Starling (6)

Just past Roleo: Little Bustard(4)

Past Roleo you come to a T-Junction turn left here signed Guerriero further along this road there is a building on the left with a sign to Alcarias to the right. There is a track on the left that leads to some farm buildings and then bears right and eventually ends on a plateau with great views over the countryside. There was an abandoned vehicle to the left of this "viewpoint" with a few wild looking dogs around it, but they did not bother us.

This track is not in a good state of repair and a small hire car will only just about get through. I would not try this again without a four-wheel drive vehicle. We had clear skies here but a very cold wind. We saw Calandra larks, a Hoopoe, a Red Kite and a Montagues Harrier in the area. Overall it was a bit disappointing - very cold and too much driving effort - and you are a bit out of the way if something happens your car!

We returned (very slowly) to the road and continued on to Penilhos then Mertola stopping at a couple of bridges along the way we saw Crag Martins.

After lunch at Mertola we left on the N122 and stopped several times along this route. There is a large lake on the left hand side on this road and we saw Little Bittern here and heard a Great Spotted Cuckoo calling. Along the road were Red Kite(4) Raven(1) and many White Storks nesting on the top of telegraph poles.

5th May 2004 - Silves Castle - Parque Municipal Sitio das Fontes

We decided to have a quieter day with a minimum of driving after the 350k round trip to Castro Verde yesterday.

The Parque is near Fontes on the Estombar to Silves road. It looks like a newly laid out park with gardens, a restaurant and walks along the lagoon down to the banks of the Rio Arade Estuary. There is mixed shrubland by the pathways and some likely looking habitat. As usual a heavy downpour forced us back to the car for cover but we did manage to have a look around - it was near low tide and we thought high tide would be better. We returned later in the day when it was approaching high tide - we managed a quick look around the spring and gardens but it started to rain again so we called it a day and returned to Rocha Brava. In the holiday season I think this will be very busy with kids and dogs and may not have much birding potential - but probably worth a look on the off chance.

Birds Seen: Great Tit(1) Goldfinch(6) Sardinian Warbler(2) Little Stint(1) Little Egret(2)

White Stork (10) Mallard(2) Moorhen(2) Curlew(1) Bee-eater (2) Fan tailed Warber (10)

We decided to have lunch in Silves and afterwards visit to the castle. The castle has good views of the town and surrounding countryside as you would expect of a medieval castle, with good views of gardens in the town - quite a good vantage point for birding. In the gardens at the centre of the castle we spotted a flock of Tree Sparrows - the only ones seen during the entire trip.

Birds seen: Tree Sparrows(6) and from the battlements Hoopoe(1) Serin(1) House Martins and Common Swifts (10+) Alpine Swifts(2)

6th May 2004 - Sagres - Cape St Vincent - West coast to Aljezur via Vila do Bispo - Amado beach Carrapaleira then the 267 to Marmelete, Cassais - Odeluca Valley - Silves - Lagoa to Rocha Brava.

We arrived in Sagres just as the rain started and drove down to the harbour - lots of Yellow Legged Gull 150+ but nothing else - so drove on to the cape.

We stopped at Fort Beliche first and here we saw Chough(2) Redstart(1) Linnet(2) Crested Lark(1).

We parked at the cape by the street vendors and spent a couple of hours here. The sun had come out by now and it turned into a very pleasant day - the best of the fortnight.

We saw Black Redstarts (6) Northern Gannets (20) Jackdaw (12 - mostly tame) Stonechat(4) the stonechats were a very dark variety and at first glance we thought they were Black Redstarts! Yellow Legged Gulls(30+)

We then moved on up the coast to Praia Amado and followed the coastal track. Along here we saw Linnets(6) Cormorant(1) Stonechats(2) (the dark variety again) Yellow Legged Gulls(20+) Blue Rock Thrush(1) - the first of the trip.

Just outside Bordeira on the road to Aljezur there is a small picnic area with a BBQ, We stopped here and found Nightingales calling all around us - we heard about 10 and saw 2. One was in the open singing from the top of a bush - this was at 3pm!

Birds seen Nightingales(2) Sardinian Warbler(2) Fan Tailed Warbler (10+)

We stopped at several places along the Odeluca valley and saw Kingfisher(2) Cettis Warbler(2) Nightingale (4 heard only) Pied Wagtail(4) Little Egret(4) Turtle Dove(1) Collared Dove(10+) Kestrel(2) Hoopoe(1)

Our next stop was past Porto do Lagos on the Silves road by an old water trough on the right handside of the road. The woods behind this produced Long Tailed Tits(6) (a dark headed variety) Blue Tit(2) and Chiffchaff(1) three new birds for the trip!

7th May 2004 - Alvor Estuary (Quinto do Rocha) - Odeluca Valley, Alferce - Monchique - Foia return via N266 - A22 - Lagoa to Rocha Brava.

We arrived at Quinto do Rocha at low tide. We noticed the water level in the marshes was much higher than on our previous visit - maybe as much as half a metre - so there even fewer birds than before, we suspected that nesting birds may have been affected by this.

Birds seen: Hoopoe(2) Bee eater(15+) Quail many heard calling Alpine Swift(2) House Martin(10+) Crested Lark(2) Fan Tailed Warblers(10+) Azure Winged Magpie(5) Great tit(2) Cattle Egret(10) Black Winged Stilt(4)

Still no Waxbills to be seen!

We decided to return to Foia via the Odeluca Valley.

On the road from Porto do Lagos towards Silves take the second turning left to Alferce - this is just after a small Café on the left just before a bridge over the river. Stop about 200 yards on the right for good views of the river and sandbank.

Birds seen: Azure Winged Magpie((4) Jay(1) Fan Tailed Warbler(10+) Cettis Warbler (2) many more heard Reed Warbler(1) White Stork (2) Kingfisher(2) Common Sandpiper(1) Grey Wagtail (1) Grey Heron(1) Little Egret(1) Cattle Egret(1) Little Ringed Plover(2)

Our next stop was just outside Alferce by a LIDL sign with a small white building and a pull-in just before it. Here there are burnt cork trees with new undergrowth - we heard a most unusual call, very loud and like nothing we had ever heard before. In the undergrowth we saw what looked like 2 large guinea fowl about the size of a domestic hen. Collins bird guide identified them as "Helmeted Guinea Fowl" only found in Morocco! We stopped several times along this road and saw 2 more Helmeted Guinea Fowl about a mile down the road - assume these must be escaped domestic birds.

Birds seen: Helmeted Guinea Fowl(4) Cirl Bunting(1) Serin(2) Blue Tit(2) Great Tit(2) Jay(1) Chaffinch(1) Common Buzzard(1) Great Spotted Woodpecker(1) Green Woodpecker( heard only) Goldfinch(2) Short Toed Treecreeper(1) Long Tailed Tits(6) Greenfinches(2)

At Foia it was a very clear day with great views but there was also a very very cold wind and we only had jeans and 2 layers of clothing - you really needed 3 layers a hat and gloves! Several tourist coaches arrived and disgorged many passengers wearing only shorts and t-shirts. The souvenir shop filled up very quickly!

We could only stick the temperature for about 40 minutes but in that time we saw

Linnet(4) Stonechat(3) Blackbird(1) Blue Rock Thrush(1) Short Toed Eagle(1) Wren (1) by the red and white tower and several more calling. This area looks and feels like Dartmoor so you need to dress accordingly if you wish to spend any length of time here.

On the way back to Monchique we pulled in by some fir trees by a lay-by. Hear we saw a Firecrest with 4 more heard calling. We also heard Green Woodpecker and Cuckoo calling.

We stopped for a picnic at the top of the Odeluca Valley just before Fornalha there is an abandoned lorry and some broken down farm machinery. One track leads down to a farm and the other to a farm machinery graveyard, but there is lots of good habitat in these surroundings.

We saw: Azure Winged Magpies, Chiffchaff, Goldfinches. Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blue Tit, Linnets, Corn Buntings, but had the feeling that anything could have turned up. This spot is worth a quick look if you are passing.

8th May - Pera Marsh and long walk on Local Patch

Another day with clear skies but very cold winds but Pera marsh was worth the visit:

Birds seen:

Purple Heron(4) Grey Heron(1) Grey Plover(1) Dunlin(200+) Avocet (25) Shoveller(4) Mallard (100+) Black winged Stilt (150+) Turnstone(75) Ringed Plovers(20+) Moorhen(20+) White Stork(4) Little Egret(6) Spoonbill(1) Redshank(1) Gadwall(1) Little Grebe(4)

Local patch Rocha Brava to Club Atlantico to Benagil to Carvoeiro road back to Rocha Brava about 4 miles. Saw our first Waxbills by Chicken George's Restaurant on the Benagil to Carvoeiro road.

Birds Seen: Bee eater(6) Collared Dove(1) Sardinian Warbler(4) YL Gulls(100+) Blackbird(4) Azure Winged Magpie(4) Goldfinch(30+) Greenfinch(4) House Sparrows(30+) Hoopoe(1) Rock Doves(10) Jackdaw(2) Waxbills(4)

9th May 2004 - Barragem do Arade area - Vale Fuzeiros

Not much to see in the Barragem area - along the Vale Fuzeiros we made frequent stops in this area and occasionally pulled off the road and tried a few tracks. There is one spot by a large house with a dome on the roof with gardens and lakes either side of it. This area turned up Nightingale, Woodchat Shrike and a Kingfisher.

Birds seen in the area: Nightingale(1) (many heard) Corn Bunting(1) Red Rumped Swallow(3) Alpine Swift(4) Crested Lark(2) Common Swift(4) Sardinian Warbler(2) Woodchat Shrike(1) Collared Dove(10+) House Sparrow(10+) Wood Pigeon and Cuckoo were heard calling but not seen.

Local patch: Black Redstart by the left hand side of the lighthouse near Rocha Brava

10th May - Vale do Lobo Praia Garrao Dunas Douradas - Quinto do Lago

The Dunas Douradas are quite easy to find - from Almancil follow the signs for Vale do Lobo and look for signs to Dunas Douradas and the Praia Garrao. At Praia Garrao there is an area with a row of restaurants and cafes and a very bumpy parking area. Park here and walk to the lake via the pine wooded area.

The bad news is that there is a great deal of development going on in this area and the ground on one side of the lake has been grubbed up and a road is under construction. Here's hoping that the developers are sympathetic to the wildlife and make a feature of the lake.

Birds Seen: Crested Lark(4) Red Legged Partridge(2) Coot(8) Moorhen(8) Sardinian Warbler(1) Mallards(6) Gadwall(2) Hoopoe(2) Jay(1) Little Bittern(1) Azure Winged Magpies(2) Barn Swallows(10+) House Martins(10+) Purple Heron(1) Cettis Warblers and Turtle Doves heard but not seen.

We then drove on to Quinto do Lago - just follow signs until you come to a series of 6 numbered roundabouts, keep going through all of these until you come to the Hotel Quinto do Lago and then go straight on into the covered car park area. At the entrance is a parking attendant who will charge you 5 Euros to park all day - the money goes towards funding the cultural association - well that what is says on the ticket anyway. It also says "We are all the best vigilants of this public patrimony," something lost in the translation there I'm sure.

Dave Gosney's guide covers this area very well but unfortunately the weather turned bad on us again and wind and heavy rain did not enable us to explore the whole area.

We took the nature trail and followed it for a mile or so along the Ria Formosa. There were plenty of waders along here.

We saw: Dunlin(75+) Avocet(25) Bar Tailed Godwit(6) Knot(6) Turnstone(10) Little Egret(5) Black Winged Stilt(15+) Little Terns(4) Crested Lark(4) Serin(2) Grey Plover(1) Gadwall(2) Grey Wagtail(1) Blue Headed Grey Wagtail(2) White Stork(10+) Kentish Plover(6) Ringed Plover(6) Grey Heron(10 Sardinian Warbler(2) Great Crested Grebe(1) Common Tern/Arctic Tern((6) Caspian Tern(2) Spoonbill(21) Woodchat Shrike(1) Cettis Warbler(2)

From the hide overlooking the Golf Course Lake:

Little Bittern(1) Red Crested Pochard(10+) Coot(50+) Purple Gallinule(4) + chicks Reed Bunting(1) Little Tern(2) Pochard(10) Little Grebe(10+) Greenfinch(2) Goldfinch(2) and in the nearby conifers a Woodchat Shrike eating a Goldfinch!

On the return journey just outside Lagoa were 2 Hen Harriers.

We would have liked to have spent more time here but we were beaten back by cold winds, heavy rain and not enough clothes - we often made the mistake of assuming it will "brighten up later" or "summer will arrive today" but it never did.

11th May 2004 - Salt Pans by Restaurant Mira Rio - Odeluca Valley - Cassais Cork Woods - Alvor Estuary Quinto da Rocha

We were surprised that this location has not been mentioned in any previous trip report.

Take the Silves to Porto de Lagos road and just pass the village of Falacho look for a Restaurant Miro Rio on the left hand side and just past this there is a bridge with tracks on either side. The left track leads to the "saltpans" (actually I'm not sure what they are) there is a concrete viaduct running across to the restaurant and to the right of this is a concrete relief channel and this is an excellent place to site a scope for extensive views over the pans. The track on the right hand side of the road leads into woodland.

This is the only place we saw Greenshanks and Black Headed Gulls.

Birds seen: Greenshank(3) Black Headed Gulls(50+) YL Gulls(15) Waxbill(2) Little Egret(2) Grey Heron(1) Azure Winged Magpie(1) Great Tit(1) Kestrel(1) Turtle Doves(4) Hoopoe(1) Goldfinch(3) lots of Barn Swallow Alpine Swallow House Martin and Common Swift several Cettis Warbler and Quail heard calling.

There are several other places along this road that are worth pulling in for a look that give views of the river. The best spot was the one described above.

Just past Odeluca we had good close up views of Short Toed Eagles and several Hoopoes.

We followed our previous route up through the Odeluca valley stopping at the usual places and saw plenty of birds but nothing new.

We decided to try and find the Casais Cork Woods site mentioned in the Gruff Dodd, Richard Wesley and David and Nancy Massie's reports.

About 2 Kms past the village of Casais on the road to Rua Nova you will come across a white bus stop. Pull in and park just before this. We stopped here and got out of the car but did not really think it would produce anything at all. The whole area was badly burnt in the forest fires of 2003 and it did not look very promising.

Within 50 feet of the bus shelter we saw our first Crested Tit - a lifer! Unbelievable. There were several Crested and Blue Tits in pretty much the first tree we looked at!

We continued along the track until we came to a large burnt cork tree that looks like it is in the middle of a mini roundabout and beyond that a electricity pylon, bear left here and walk through the woods until you come to a rocky rise topped by burnt out conifers.

In this area within a few minutes we saw: Blue Tit (3)Crested Tit (3) Nuthatch(2), a Sparrowhawk flew over and we heard Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Short Toed Treecreepers.

We also followed the sandy track, that leads down a steep hill, for about half a mile or so but saw no birds here at all.

12th May 2004 - Carvoeiro - Silves - Rocha Brava

We had a quick trip to Carvoeiro for a few souvenirs. Carvoeiro is a small fishing village that has been ruined by over development like so many others in the region. Nothing to see here birdwise but it was hot and sunny for a change!

Drove up to Silves for lunch at Restaurant "Tasca do Bene" our favourite local Portuguese eatery - it's at the top of one of the side streets opposite a video shop. Get there before 1300 or the local office workers fill the place. The menu of the day is always excellent and very cheap.

We checked out the river Arade all along the front of the town but did not see anything noteworthy just lots of House Sparrows and one or two Moorhens.

In the afternoon we decided to do the final walk around the local patch to see if anything new would turn up but suspect we have reached saturation point.

Well we were the ones saturated - half way around a thunderstorm broke above us delivering hail and very heavy rain. We sheltered under overhanging rocks on the beach along with a group of Canadians. We could not leave the beach for some time as the concrete staircase had turned into a waterfall!

Needless to say no new birds here - we flew home the following day.

Conclusions:

We were surprised not to see more Raptors and Warblers - maybe the poor weather and previous year's forest fire damage was a factor.

The weather was very poor and we would not come at this time of year again - also there is a lot of driving to do to get around all the good birding sites. We prefer the laid-back lifestyle of the Greek Islands in particularly Lesvos and Crete. We are visiting Thassos later in the year - hoping for a bit more sunshine then!

Final list

1) Alpine Swift (Apus melba)

2) Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyana)

3) Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

4) Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

5) Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)

6) Blackbird (Turdus merula)

7) Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

8) Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)

9) Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

10) Blue headed yellow Wagtail (motacilla flava iberiae)

11) Blue Rock-thrush (Monticola solitarius)

12) Blue Tit (Parus caerulescens)

13) Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra)

14) Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)

15) Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

16) Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti

17) Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

18) Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)

19) Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)

20) Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirius)

21) Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

22) Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

23) Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

24) Common Kingfisher (Alcedo athis)

25) Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

26) Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

27) Common Tern/Arctic Tern (Sterna hirundo/paradisea)

28) Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild)

29) Coot (Fulica atra)

30) Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

31) Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

32) Crag Martin (Ptonoprogne rupestris)

33) Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)

34) Crested Tit (Parus cristatus)

35) Curlew (Numenius arquata)

36) Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

37) Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

38) Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europea)

39) European Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

40) Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus)

41) Gadwall (Anas strepera)

42) Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis

43) Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)

44) Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

45) Great Tit (Parus major)

46) Greater Flamingo (Phaenicopterus falcinellus)

47) Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)

48) Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

49) Greenshank (Tringa nebulari).

50) Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

51) Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

52) Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

53) Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)

54) House Martin (Delichon urbica)

55) House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

56) Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)

57) Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

58) Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

59) Knot (Calidris canutus)

60) Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)

61) Linnet (Carduelis cannabina.

62) Little Bittern (Botaurus Lentiginosus)

63) Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax)

64) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

65) Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

66) Little Owl (Athene noctua)

67) Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

68) Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

69) Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)

70) Long-tailed Tit (Aeithalos caudatus)

71) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

72) Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

73) Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus)

74) Moorhen (gallinulus chloropus)

75) Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

76) Northern Gannet (Sula bassana)

77) Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

78) Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

79) Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

80) Pochard (Aythya ferina)

81) Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio porphyri

82) Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)

83) Raven (Corvus corax)

84) Red Kite (Milvus milvus)

85) Red-crested Pochard (Aythya

86) Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

87) Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo dauric).

88) Redshank (Tringa totanus)

89) Redstart ((Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

90) Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

91) Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)

92) Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

93) Rock Dove (Columbia livia)

94) Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

95) Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

96) Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaetus)

97) Serin (Serinus serinus)

98) Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)

99) Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactlya)

100) Shoveler (anas clypeata)

101) Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)

102) Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

103) Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor)

104) Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

105) Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)

106) White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

107) Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

108) Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

109) Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava iberiae)

110) Yellow-legged Gull (Larus cachinnans)

111) Zitting Cisticola (Fan-Tailed Warbler) (Cisticola juncidis)

Heard Only

112) Common Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)

113) Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

114) Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius)

115) Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix)

Others

Brown Hare (Lepus capensis) 1 seen on the sand dunes at Pera marsh

European Genet (Genetta genetta) 1 ran across the road near Lagos.

Helmeted Guinea Fowl (numida maleagris) (These must be escaped domestics as they only occur in the wild in Morocco!)

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