I stopped off at Cheddar Reservoir on my way to Ham Wall with the hope of seeing some black-necked grebe which had been reported there. A grey wagtail was all I achieved for my efforts which involved a major detour by road and then another on foot. It was also very cold by the water and so not a great success.
Grey wagtailA rather coquettish grey wagtail
At Ham Wall there was much more to see with plentiful views of marsh harriers and a glossy ibis. The best, though, was the booming of bitterns all the way round. Disappointingly there were no sightings. However, I did get a glimpse of a common crane but I was too slow to get a photo.
A cheeky chiff chaff at Ham WallA great crested grebe – can’t help thinking of Yorkshire terriersTufted ducksNo reed show from these two great crested grebesTufted ducks over the waterA male marsh harrier over the reedsMarsh harrierMarsh harrier closer upThe same marsh harrierMale and female marsh harriersEurasian tealGlossy ibisGlossy ibisGlossy ibisAnd just as I was leaving the sun came out and lit up this male chaffinch
And who says that birds in the UK are only LBJs (little brown jobs)?
Kingfisher
It’s definitely a good time of the year to see kingfishers and robins in our local park. This morning the sun shone brightly but it was still very cold. No reason to complain though with these bright little birds to lift your spirits, as they always do.
We had an enjoyable gentle Sunday morning stroll around our local park in the sunshine chatting to new and old acquaintances.
We were well rewarded with a fleeting visit of a male kingfisher who stayed only long enough for me to take 3 frames (although everyone told us that the male and female had been around for ages. I also missed a treecreeper that everyone else seemed to have seen.
Male kingfisher
I think robins are about my spotting ability and there were plenty of those to choose from.
Robin – one of half a dozen we sawI like this poseSame robin as aboveThey do like to show off
Around the lake there were lots of cormorants. The mind boggles to think that they eat 30 times their body weight of fish in a day. That doesn’t bode well for the fish in the lake, although there always seem to be plenty there.
A lovely morning spent photographing birds at Slimbridge. Nothing remarkable except for nature itself and the warmth of the sun on our backs.
Statue of Sir Pater Scott who established the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in 1946 and helped found the World Wide Fund for Nature,Northern pintailGreylag gooseCommon craneMute swan taking offEurasian curlewEurasian tealCommon craneAvocets standing out from the wigeon and the shovelersWhite fronted geese in front of the barnacle geeseMore barnacle geese arriving above the Canada geeseGreenfinchGoldfinchLong-tailed titBlue titCoal titCommon chaffinchRobin
It was very wet on the Avalon Marshes today and there was a fresh wind but, thankfully, the light was very good. I couldn’t face getting muddy so I hunkered down in the hide at Catcott Lows and enjoyed seeing a variety of birds at quite close quarters.
The rarest bird was a spotted redshank and it was a toss up between lapwings, wigeon and shovelers for the most prolific numbers.
The spotted redshank was difficult to see at first… and then it took to the air… and was almost showing off
There were distant marsh harriers, a red kite and a peregrine which caused constant consternation and allowed me lots of opportunities to take photos of birds in flight.
My favourites, however, were the great white egrets which are quite common here.
Great white egretGreat white egret photo bombing a little egretNorthern shovelerWigeon having a snoozeWigeonLapwing up closeLapwing in flightWigeon taking to the wingNorthern shoveler in flightThe peregrine was responsible for all of thisGreat white egretGreat white egretGreat white egretNot very often you see a single starling in these parts. I did see huge flocks of them as I drove here.Just had to get a silhouette of Glastonbury Tor in somewhere
I won’t bore you with the other 900 photos I took during the day!
There is a roundabout just outside our hotel with a statue of a seahorse. There is the largest population of seahorses in the world in the Ria Formosa Natural Park.
The seahorse roundabout
On our last full day here in Portugal we decided to revisit the Ria Formosa Nature Reserve at Quinto de Marim. At the entrance to the park there is a poster reminding us of the fragility of the seahorses in nature with the population diminished by 90% in the last 15 years.
On our boat trip earlier in the week we had seen buoys protecting the area where the seahorses exist.
We had much better light on our visit today but the tide was very low and the mudflats were almost empty of waders. However, we did have a very good view of this plover below which, according to one ID app, is a semi-palmated plover. However, it is more likely a non-breeding adult common ringed plover. In fact, having studied several sources, the slight webbing between only one of the toes convinces me that this is definitely a common ringed plover
Semi-palmated plover or more likely a non-breeding adult common ringed ploverStonechatThe flora was even more beautiful after the rain and with quite warm sunshineOxalis pes-caprae has all sorts of common names, including slender yellow wood sorrelThe mudflats were empty of birdlife but it was great walkThe tidal mill with very little bird life todayMainly cattle egret with a few little egrets at the freshwater pondChiffchaffs and/or willow warblers were putting on quite a display at the freshwater pond – difficult to say which when they weren’t singingLittle grebeTealTeal and shovelerTerrapinsLupins have appeared in flower after the rain… and these beautiful crocus-leaved romuleaIberian magpieIberian magpieAnd saving the best to last, just as we were leaving the park a Eurasian hoopoeEurasian hoopoe
And then back to Olhão for a celebratory last lunch – although, we didn’t really need an excuse.
This morning we had a non-birding trip to the pretty little town of Estoi, about 10 kilometres north of Olhão. There were three interesting tourist attractions: the Matriz de Estoi Church (which we only visited briefly as there was a service on); the Palácio de Estoi (a 19th Century Neo-Rococo styled palace, now converted into a luxury posada hotel, whose beautiful ornamental gardens are open to the public; and the nearby Ruínas Romanas de Milreu, the best preserved Roman ruins in southern Portugal.
The Matriz de Estoi ChurchEl Palacio de EstoiThe orange and lemon groves
Although it was a non-birding day we did have a very good view of a European hoopoe in the gardens and white storks flying high overhead.
A traditional Portuguese farmhouse (Casa Rural) was built on top of the Roman Villa Inside the Roman villaThe temple was one of the earliest churches in Portugal , and has been used as a Roman temple, a church and a mosque, but is now a ruinThere were many fine mosaicsOf course there had to be a bath houseThe beautiful spring flowers are just everywhere in the countryside at presentAnd they are a feature of town gardens too
Today’s forecast was always looking pretty dire, with torrential rain supposedly lasting all day. As it turned out we did have torrential rain all morning (which allowed me to catch up with blogs) but it abated for a good 2 hours at lunch time and we made the most of it with a walk into town to get a spot of lunch. The rain returned in the afternoon but again stopped in time for us to get a late afternoon walk around the Salinas de Olhão. We were well rewarded with a massive number of birds in decent light, the best of which were five spoonbills. And so it wasn’t too bad a day, although we had to cope with pretty muddy boots.
Kentish ploverChiffchaffChiffchaff in different lightEurasian spoonbillEurasian spoonbillDunlinLots of dunlin (and probably a few other waders).Las Salinas de Olhão Common ringed ploverCommon redshankBlack-tailed godwitsBlack-winged stiltsGrey ploverLesser black-backed gull with crab supperLesser black-backed gull with crab supperStonechat in the fading light
We took an Uber to Quinta de Marim, a few kilometres to the east of Olhão.
Quinta de Marim (or Centro Educação Ambiental de Marim) is a beautiful estate with many different habitats that attract birds. A 3 km trail takes you through various ecosystems – dunes, salt marshes, pine woodlands. There is a visitors’ centre and a couple of hides at the edge of the marsh, one looking across the mudflats and another looking over a fresh water pond.
The dull weather was rather disappointing for photographs but it was still quite warm (17C) and we didn’t need coats. The visit was not at all disappointing.
LavenderIberian magpies in the pine treesRosemary in flowerIberian magpie
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StonechatSwallowFrom the roof of the mill there were spectacular views along the coastThere were waders everywhere along this stretch of the coastGrey ploverBar-tailed godwits and a whimbrelGreenshankIberian magpiePurple viper’s buglossA flyover Eurasian spoonbillTidal mill at Quinta de Marim – In other times, when energy sources were scarce and limited only to muscle power, wind and current, tidalmillshad a major advantage over other forms of energy: their constancyand predictability. There are two daily tides that guarantee approximately4 hours of grinding. They were built in estuaries on low land and in sheltered areas where the water could be dammedKestrelWhite stork, not looking so white in this lightDunlinLittle grebes on the freshwater pondCattle egretWigeon with barn swallow flying pastRoman salting tanksCowpeaBarn swallow on a wireBlackbird on a log
In the late afternoon on our return to Olhão we had another walk around the Salinas de Olhão.
WhimbrelA different swallow ?Pied avocetRedshankPied avocet
We made the most of the sunny and calm conditions to take a three hour trip around the Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal.
In 2010, the lagoon was recognised as one of the country’s seven natural wonders and the series of barrier islands connects to the sea through six inlets, one of which is artificial to allow easier access to the port of Faro.
We spent half an hour on the tiny island of Armona, just enough time to visit the village with its charming minute houses which are mainly used as holiday homes and to savour the tropical feel of the island.
The approach to the public toiletsLarge white butterflyA typical holiday homeClear water and sandy beaches of ArmonaRuddy turnstone
We then moved on to the larger island of Culatra which has a permanent population of about 1,000 people who are mainly involved in the fishing trade.
The island has an extensive sandy beach on its ocean side to which we made our way across the protected sand dunes on a raised wooden walkway. It was warm enough to sit on the beach next to a bar and enjoy a beer.
The walkway to Praia da CulatraThe best of the bird life on the island – a crested larkYellow-legged gull
As the tide was high most of the sandbanks were submerged and so, apart from gulls and cormorants, we saw very little bird life, except on the return journey we saw a small colony of spoonbills.
Eurasian spoonbillsThe covered markets of Olhão seen from the lagoon.
In the evening we had another walk around the Salinas de Olhão, next to our hotel.
Black-winged stilt in the evening sunshineLittle egretChiffchaffChiffcaffChiffchaff catching its last meal of the day
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 