Tavira Split Sessions

Morning short walk around the old town. A Whimbrel flew over the River calling. The Gulls here are used to people and don’t take flight too readily. 1 Cormorant.

Afternoon on the Salinas: 6 Flamingo 🦩 in flight. 2 Black-tailed Godwit. Usual Suspects.

A juvenile Gull on the floor remained motionless until the second time I encountered it a couple of hundred yards away. It had walked and I noticed there were a few primaries on the right wing missing so flight was out of the question😢.

A Wet Windy Tavira Session

Heavy rain and windy early am but the rain stopped so off I went a birding. There had been a fair bit of wader dispersal but I still managed to get a couple of newbies 😁.

A Whimbrel flew over from the SE calling loudly and frequently. I noticed a large wader alongside a Grey Plover. Lo and behold it was a Bar-tailed Godwit 👍

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At the ferry terminal a Cafe worker threw out some kind of seeds or perhaps cooked rice. Immediately the place was rocking with gulls and house sparrows.

They were joined by a Turnstone which hadn’t read the rules: Never Ever let a nasty Homo Sapiens near you!

I took 3 photos of it at a short distance but the bird kept on feeding as I passed within 2 yards of it twice 😳.

Plenty of Avocets around and a pr White Wagtail on the Hotel lawn.

A local Dog thought better of eating me.

Tavira Keeps Delivering Birds

Just like the UK the Algarve is subject to inaccurate weather forecasts. It was supposed to rain all day but after an early morning downpour it stopped so off I went to what I call the far side. This being over the river and the opposite end of town.

6 White Stork 2 on their nests in town and 4 flying over the wetlands 😛.

40 Great Flamingo 

2 singing Blackcap ditto Serin & Iberian Chiffchaff 👍.

Zitbags were all over the joint and 3 of them need doctors appointments; they actually stopped for a couple of seconds and showed themselves.

4 Sandwich Tern. Pr Shelduck. 6 Black-tailed Godwit

A Reed Bunting provided a break from the many House Sparrows lining the road.

Got my first Common Swift on the way back to the hotel.

Tavira This Morning

A slow start owing to a naughty wind from the SE but I managed a few more morsels for the year 😃.

A Flamingo flew over low passing close to the hotel and a Spoonbill flew low > E.

Got me a very flighty Slender-billed Gull. A few House and a couple Sand Martin joined the Swallows. 3 Zitting Cisticola and a Cettis Warbler the latter sang briefly

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Another for the wader list; Little Stint numbers in the low teens.

Also another Curlew Sandpiper 2 Little Egrets and Sanderlings.

Overwhelmed In Tavira Portugal

I arrived at the Hotel early afternoon did minimal

unpacking then shot down to the massive coastal wetlands just a couple hundred yards down the frog n toad.

I almost went into shock at the wader species I saw some in large groups some down to doubles.

Curlew Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Ringed & Kentish Plover, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Dunlin, Sanderling, Redshank and a lone Oystercatcher. 4 Spoonbill seen at distance & a couple of Little Egret.

A big surprise was Caspian Tern; a pair of the belters on a lagoon beach surrounded by numerous LBBG and a few YLG. 

Another stunner was a passerine I’ve not seen since dinosaurs roamed; a Bluethroat 😅. Several Swallows flying around. 2 Grey Wagtail ditto White, one of which chased House Sparrows from its patch.

Windy Ogden To Mixenden Brings Surprises

I nearly got my Toupee blown away this morning and didn’t expect any birds but they did show up!

A Tawny Owl 🦉 hooted and a Nuthatch was singing, both in the E bank trees.

Further on near Ogden Clough I really was surprised to discover a handful of calling and singing Siskin.

A pair of Tufted Duck were struggling with the choppy waves near the feeding corner. Very few gulls around but 5 Common were noted.

A few Goldfinches were noisy in the trees at Stod Fold.

Mixenden Res was unremarkable as usual but a welcome surprise on the south bank grass top came in the shape of a Redshank 👍. Sadly some 5 minutes later some 8 dogs being walked by 2 cretins drove it away 😡.

Horton Bank CP

Not exciting. 2 Adult LBBG, c21 Herring of all age ranges including 2 Adult. Smaller gull sp. also.

Pr Mute Swan. Coots & Moorhens in low numbers ditto Woodpigeon. To make up numbers I’ll even mention many Dullards 🙄.