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.