Birds and Birds-in-Flight, in the Algarve, Portugal

1529 words; 12 photographs; 10-minute read

This wasn’t meant to be a birding trip. We were looking for some good downtime with our daughter in a relaxed villa setting just a 15-minute walk from the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic and a golden sand beach on the Algarve. And it has been. Good food, great wine (and cheap!), and even better company.

The photos presented here were made with an Olympus / OM System OM-1 (v1) with the M.Zuiko ED 100-400mm/5-6.3 lens IS lens (v1). IS is turned off on the lens, which keeps it active in the body. The drive is set to SH2 at 25fps with a large AF target and Bird Detection on. I keep these settings on C3 for quick access.

All files are raw captures, processed in Lightroom for exposure, colour balance, denoise and sharpening. When needed, I used DxO PureRAW 5 or Topaz Photo AI to denoise and sharpen. Some photos denoised and sharpened up beautifully in Lightroom. Those of smaller birds that were further away were outsourced to DxO. Lastly, Topaz was used for rescue missions when there wasn’t much to work with due to distance, fast flight and focus.

Two things whet our appetite for nature. Laura and I are not really beach people. We’d rather be looking for wildlife or exploring a trail. The first was a close encounter with a European Kestrel out on the cliffs near the villa we rented. Then, last week, the three of us took a boat tour to see the dolphins and the myriad caves along the coast.

Nature Therapy

We enjoy the cultural bits, the food, wine, coffee and pastries, but in a place like this, where one villa complex follows the next, we knew we were in need of some nature-therapy. When a friend of ours mentioned some boardwalks just west of Ferragudo at Alvor, we checked on Google Maps to discover there was a large marshland along a dirt and gravel road that led down to the coast. Perfect. It boasted flamingoes, but knowing the way nature works, we didn’t get our hopes up.

Serendipity

Later the next afternoon, while our daughter enjoyed some beach therapy, Laura and I set out. Sure enough, not 50 metres down the road, we encountered over 50 Black-winged Stilts and a number of other wading and marsh birds. Unfortunately, everything was backlit by strong, late afternoon sunlight, so it took a while to find some that were close enough and lit well enough to photograph.

Then, I spotted a Crested Lark. The road was just wide enough for a car to pass us, but only if our car was almost up against the fence, which made for some difficult shooting. But given the habits of birds, it returned to one fence posts after another, allowing me to get into position to photograph it.

This was how we made our way along the road, one or two birds at a time. Over the next hour or more, Laura recorded a total of 27 species along that road. But the best was yet to come . . .

While the flamingoes were a no-show, on our way out, some two hours after starting, a flash of blue caught my attention at the same time as Laura saw long tail feathers. It was an Iberian Magpie—two of them and possibly a nest—a species found only on the Iberian peninsula. What a find! But the opportunity to photograph them was zilch and all I ended up with was a blurred photo of one streaking away from me half a football field away.

So, two days later, we returned. This time, Laura added another seven species, including a European Bee-eater. Bee-eaters have always been a favourite since when we lived in Tanzania and we would regularly see them on safari. They were a bit elusive to photograph, as were the Iberian Magpies, but I managed a couple of ‘record’ shots.

The Storks of Ferragudo

Every time we drove around Ferragudo on our way to Portimão for our dolphin and cave cruise, then out to Alvor for the marshes, we passed a dozen or so stork nests. We had previously seen a storks in the Alsace region of France and marvelled at the humungous pile of sticks roughly woven into a nest. Here, there were stork nests on every chimney (now out of commission), a number of light standards and even apartments of these huge nests on transmission towers. The huge Staples sign in town has four nests on top of it. We had to get photos of these amazing birds.

European Storks are magnificently large, gangly birds. They are noticeably larger than a great blue heron and have these enormous wings that span over 2.5 metres, that’s over 8 feet! As one of the pair returned to the nest after foraging, they would greet each other by repeatedly clapping their bills and bending their necks way back over their backs. What a display!

Each morning, we were also greeted by a European Wren and its melodious song, and each evening by the persistent calls of at least two Tawny Owls. In the dark of night, we never saw them, but enjoyed the repeated calls between them.

So, what began as a chill holiday, and ended as one, too, also provided some great birding opportunities. In fact, on our second-to-last evening in Ferragudo, we had the thrill of having 8 to 10 Iberian Magpies visit the garden of our villa complex. Of course, the lighting was the worst ever—high overcast on a dull evening. Worst still, was their behaviour of heading into the deep cover of juniper trees only coming out for the briefest of moments before zooming off somewhere. But I managed one decent frame. As colourful and unexpected as the magpies were, and the Tawny Owls and bee-eaters, and stilts, it will be hard to forget the storks.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to add a LIKE, continue the discussion by adding your COMMENTS, questions or observations, and feel free to SHARE this post with others. 

NOTE: This blog is completely free and does not include any commercial affiliate links. To help keep it free, consider buying me a coffee . . .