Birds Archives - Page 23 of 46 - Craig Rogers Photography

Morning Dog Walk: Birds Showing Off Their Beauty

20th February 201920th February 2019Craig Rogers

I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

This morning I had the opportunity to capture the beauty of two particularly difficult birds to photograph in flight.

First, the unmistakably stunning Hoopoe. They are calling every morning now and this one was actually in a group of five.

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The Mystery Bird From Yesterday’s Nature Walk Identified

17th February 201917th February 2019Craig Rogers

First all, a big thanks to everyone that turned up yesterday for the first Free Nature Walk of 2019.

What an amazing morning out in the hills, the weather was almost hot, but certainly very warm and there were plenty of things to see. The one thing that got us excited was a dark black/blue bird that appeared a little too far away to ID. At first I thought it was a Starling, but then it stood upright like a Thrush. It disappeared before we managed to get a good view or shot of it and continued our walk. A few names were branded about and I mentioned the possibility of a Blue Rock Thrush. I have never seen one let alone locally to the house.

We continued our walk and the route brought us back past the same location on our return. I spotted it again, this time in full view albeit a long way, it was also now a view directly into the sun.

I snapped a photo but couldn’t tell from the image on the camera. This morning, I have cleaned the image up a little and gives a perfect view, I can now confirm it is indeed a Male Blue Rock Thrush. I visited the same location this morning, but couldn’t spot it but as these birds are resident in Portugal, I will keep an eye out for it and maybe stake out. It is possible that it will nest in this barn that it was spotted at.

Morning Dog Walk: The Barn Swallows Have Returned

8th February 20198th February 2019Craig Rogers

Whilst walking near the river this morning I heard a noise that I’ve not heard since the end of September and instantly recognised it as Barn Swallows. I looked to the sky to see 3 of them flying around catching flies for breakfast.

Whilst you may think this is early, it is right on time for the Barn Swallows to return at the beginning of February.

If you want to learn more about the Swallows, Martins and Swifts we can find in the Algarve, take a look at my Algarve Resident article I wrote in July 2018 titled Swallows, Martins and Swifts.

Ospreys At Ludo Fighting Over A Fish

7th February 20197th February 2019Craig Rogers

A few days ago I used the excuse of an airport run to spend the morning at Ludo to photograph the Osprey that I’d seen the week before. I waited around 30 minutes before one turned up, followed soon after by a second Osprey that joined it to hunt for fish.

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Morning Dog Walk: Female European Stonechat In The Morning Sun

7th February 20197th February 2019Craig Rogers

Whilst walking Wally this morning a Female European Stonechat was sitting on a fence post backlit by the rising sun.

Glossy Ibis In The Late Afternoon Sun

5th February 201912th October 2019Craig Rogers

Yesterday I was at Ludo to photograph the Ospreys that hunt there regularly (more on this in a later post). I was using the fact that I had to pick Emma up from the airport, so made a full day of it. Once the tide came in, the Osprey moved away so I decided to visit the São Lourenço Lake in Quinta do Lago to waste a little more time.

There was a (juvenile) Glossy Ibis sat in the warm afternoon sun and its colourful plumage was reflecting in spectacular fashion. The reason I know this is a juvenile is due to the white streaks on its head and neck. He wasn’t so happy when a Spanish Terrapin decided to share the sun spot.

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