Spring in Southern Portugal
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Spring in Southern Portugal Naturetrek Tour Report 17 - 24 April 2018 Report compiled by Philip Thompson Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Spring in Southern Portugal Tour participants: Philip Thompson & Keith Buchanan (leaders) with 13 Naturetrek clients Day 1 Tuesday 17th April Having arrived safely and gathered the group together, it was then a thankfully quick process to arrange collection of our minibus and get under way. We headed north through the hills that fringe the Algarve. Here the traffic declined and we enjoyed a winding scenic transfer through these little-visited hills. The roadsides held an abundant and diverse range of flowers for the sharp-eyed to pick out. We stopped at a scenic viewpoint Mirador on a hilltop at the halfway point, to stretch our legs and take in a little of the botanical riches to be discovered. Birdlife was unfortunately rather thin for those interested, but the trip ahead would more than make up for it. The most notable plant found were a number of examples of Ornithogalum broteroi: a species confined to Iberia. Having spent rather too long ‘stretching our legs’, we headed on to complete our transfer to Mertola a little later than planned, where we were soon assigned our rooms and arrangements made to meet up later for our evening meal in town. Day 2 Wednesday 18th April Our day today was fully spent within the Castro Verde SPA, looking for the specialised and threatened steppe birds for which the area is renowned. After a short drive from Mertola, we soon stopped at a crossroads on the main road. Here we were able to disembark and pick up our first birding highlights. We concentrated our initial attentions on the numerous White Stork nests with their resident courting couples. Beneath the storks, within their substantial nests, we were able to enjoy some excellent comparison views of both Spanish and House Sparrows that had built their own nests tucked among the twigs and branches provided by the storks. A culvert beneath the road provided a suitable nest site for a pair of Red-rumped Swallows that swooped and settled on the nearby power lines, joined by leggy Zitting Cisticolas and Stonechats. Several interesting plants grew nearby that provided an introduction to some of the commoner species of the region. We then drove a short distance up the road to take a short walk to a low hilltop trig point. The arable crop alongside the farm track held both Great and Little Bustards that gave good but distant views. Singing from above us were several Calandra Larks that settled on the rough fallow slope on the opposite side of the track. In the centre of the track a Northern Wheatear was joined by a female Black-eared Wheatear that provided a tricky comparison. A final highlight was a Woodchat Shrike that perched prominently nearby on an isolated tree. A very unexpected sighting inland was a passing Whimbrel, more usually seen on passage on the coast. Next we moved on to pull up opposite the LPN reserve at Sao Marcos da Atoboeira. Scanning the open grassy slopes here, we found a couple more male Great Bustards resting on the ridgeline with an obvious lack of female presence to stir them into action. With this rather tepid display, we moved a little further down the road for another scan with a similar result, resting male Bustards! A further move was in order with a planned visit to a riverside for a walk. Approaching our destination we were diverted by the sighting of a Roller on the roadside wires. A rapid turnaround found two birds that had moved a © Naturetrek August 18 1 Spring in Southern Portugal Tour Report little off onto power lines. We drove up a farm track where we could stop and view what turned out to be two pairs of birds alongside their nesting boxes mounted on the pylons. Congratulating ourselves on this stroke of luck, our time had been exhausted before our next lunch stop at the LPN Visitor Centre. We completed the journey, passing through colourful open fields of wildflowers of Echium, Anthemis, Chamaemelum, Glebionis, Spergularia and Rumex all combining to make for a wonderful ever-changing tapestry. Arriving at the centre we were presented with a wonderful feast of various local dishes, meats and cheeses, followed by a medley of desserts in abundant quantities. Once we had devoured our fill without making a dent in the quantities available, we turned our attentions to the surrounding area. A Little Owl was perched obligingly in a nearby Olive to be admired through the scope. Various raptors put in distant appearances, mainly comprising the local breeding Lesser Kestrels, but also a couple of Montagu’s Harriers and Spanish Imperial Eagles. After saying farewell, we drove on to complete a circuit on a minor road back to Sao Marcos with a couple of stops along the way. The longest was spent at a river crossing where we picked out a number of interesting plants in the lush vegetation; the highlights were both Narcissus bulbocodium and N. jonquilla. Day 3 Thursday 19th April Today was spent within the Guadiana Natural Park with a journey north and visit to the impressive Pulo do Lobo. En route we passed through plentiful attractive habitat of Cistus- and Pine-covered slopes. We paused briefly to admire a small roadside colony of Ophrys tenthredinifera (Sawfly Orchid). Once through the gates to enter the public estate, we soon parked and walked the remainder of the way to the river cascade. This allowed time to pick out and admire several interesting plants and a few typical birds of the area. Arriving at the dramatic river gorge we were able to pick out Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Crag Martin and Serin in this distinctive habitat. After admiring the surging waters, we were then delighted to spot not one, but six Black Storks drifting overhead! Several local flowers were somewhat behind in their flowering, but we did see a couple of notable, if not showy, species of which Cleome violacea stood out. Most opted to walk back up the steep hill to the vehicle, where we then moved a short distance to take our picnic lunch on a pleasant hilltop with views all around. Once more food took precedence but once replete, we began to check out some of the interesting plants growing around us. Several species stood out with Scrophularia sambucifolia, Verbascum barnadesii, Campanula lusitanica, Linaria spartea and Halimium umbellatum subsp. viscosum making for an exciting collection. We then headed back to Mertola, where several of the group took the chance to spend the afternoon exploring the archaeological remains and historic old town. Those that remained with the vehicles travelled on to explore the country to the east of town. Our first stop was a small dam near Corvos in the hope of scarce breeding wildfowl. We were disappointed, with little of note on the water, but a few interesting birds in the surrounding area of which a pair of Black-eared Wheatears stood out. We amused ourselves with the flowers, butterflies and various insects seen during the walk. Our next stop was overlooking an area of open grassland with a Lesser Kestrel breeding tower on the skyline around which numerous birds were vying with Jackdaws and feral Rock Doves for occupation rights. Around us 2 © Naturetrek August 18 Spring in Southern Portugal Tour Report a constant soundscape of singing Calandra Larks was a pleasure. Distant vultures were resolved as mainly Griffons with a couple of Black mixed among them. After time spent enjoying the spectacle we headed back to freshen up before dinner. Day 4 Friday 20th April We were due to undertake our transfer today to our second base in Sagres, before which we had ample time and opportunities to explore further en route. We began with a circuit through the southern section of the Castro Verde SPA. Our first stop at a quiet crossroads to scan the area and enjoy the silence. We picked out a number of typical birds of the area before moving on and driving slowly along a gravel road. A couple of Little Bustard and Little Owls were seen from the vehicle before we reached a small irrigation dam surrounded by a recently planted Olive grove. Here a rich and exciting selection of birds were present to delight the group. The initial stars were approximately a dozen Collared Pratincoles resting on the shoreline opposite the vehicles. After carefully disembarking, we were able to admire them through the scopes as they courted and displayed to each other and periodically undertook swirling flights around the dam. Joining them were good numbers of Black-winged Stilts, also clearly breeding here, Greater Short-toed Larks, Black-eared Wheatears and Little Ringed Plovers. Seemingly from nowhere a distant Spanish Imperial Eagle drifted over to range along a nearby mountain ridge with a company of mobbing Ravens to indicate its size. After settling on a prominent boulder, it moved on once more, to drift over considerably closer, enabling us to clinch its ID. With the morning drawing on, we were forced to move on, but not before a quick stop was required to observe a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos clearly parasitizing the nest of a Eurasian Magpie. With an egg deposited the female flew out followed by the attendant male! We completed our southern circuit passing through plentiful evocative and colourful ‘steppelands’ before we rejoined the main road into Castro Verde.