Beach near Lagos, Ponta da Piedade, Algarve, Portugal

Portugal – The Algarve at Christmas
Andy Tucker
Andy Tucker
General Manager
18th January 2022
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The festive 8-day ‘Portugal – The Algarve at Christmas’ tour provided us with plenty of birds, a mixture of weather, superb food and high quality accommodation (writes tour leader Neil McMahon). Despite the anxieties associated with the COVID pandemic, this tour provided the much-needed tonic after another challenging year for travel. With guests jetting in from a number of airports around the UK, we were soon together on day one and following a traditional Portuguese sea-food lunch, we immersed ourselves in the coastal and estuarine birds of the Praia de Faro which included views of Ospreys, waders, gulls, Caspian Tern and the numerous common warblers of the Mediterranean scrub.
We treated ourselves to the fantastic birding venue of Quinta do Lago that afternoon, with very close views of Red-knobbed Coot, Little Bittern, Glossy Ibis, Bluethroat and many others and this set the scene with bird-filled daily adventures along the length and breadth of the Algarve. Christmas Eve saw us driving north to the dramatic landscape east of Castro Verde where we found Spanish Sparrows, Black-winged Kites, Calandra Larks and after a bit of a search the magnificent Great Bustards! Next came three immature Spanish Imperial Eagles, up to nine Black-bellied Sandgrouse and another flock of Great Bustards in flight. Our gastronomic highlight was lunch at Helena's, a wonderful array of Alentejo cuisine that was just superb! The afternoon birding took in a small day-time roost of Long-eared Owls and a flock of up to 40 Little Bustards – a declining species which is proving more and more difficult to track down.
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Great Bustards
The quality sightings just kept on coming during our days in the eastern Algarve, highlights perhaps being a flock of 60 Stone Curlews, hundreds of Greater Flamingoes, a Booted Eagle or two, a flock of 13 Black-crowned Night Herons and great views of Mediterranean, Audouin's and Slender-billed Gulls.
The second half of our tour was centred around Sagres where we struck out to fabulous venues along the western and southern Atlantic coasts, the uplands of Monchique and heathland and scattered woodland blocks of the interior. Two pairs of Bonelli's Eagles were firm favourites but the close Rock Bunting, Woodlarks and Dartford Warblers were not far behind! We glimpsed Crested Tits, Short-toed Treecreepers and Firecrest and enjoyed the challenge of identifying Thekla and Crested Larks, often close to each other. Peregrines, Hen and Marsh Harriers and more Ospreys kept the raptor enthusiasts happy and careful observations around coastal bushes confirmed the presence of wintering Ring Ouzels among the many Blackbirds and Song Thrushes. Following a recce and careful planning, co-leader Robert provided us with an opportunity of seeing a Eurasian Eagle Owl as it emerged just before dusk – wow!

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Eurasian Eagle Owl