I was sitting enjoying the end of the hot sunny day when a large group of European Bee-Eaters came to hunt in an area next to the Quinta. I grabbed the camera and hid behind a bush, I wasn’t as close as I needed to be, but with a bright purple T-shirt on, it wouldn’t have been a good idea. I did manage to get a male coming into land next to his female partner. The early evening setting sun lit up his wings beautifully.
Morning Dog Walk: Rock Bunting On “The Rock”
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, although I saw a lot of birds, I didn’t manage to photograph anything, probably down to the after effects of the local Labour Day (1st May) celebrations yesterday!
However, on the way back past “A Rocha” I saw a pair of birds hopping along the exposed rock almost perfectly blending in. I managed to quickly get a shot of this one before it took cover in the Esteva plants. It was a Rock Bunting, this is a new sighting for me, first time I’ve seen one. They are resident all year round here in the Algarve and as the name suggests prefer the rocky terrain that the Algarve Serra has to offer. Difficult to tell from the photo, but I suspect this is a male due to the black definition on the head. The females are usually a litter duller.
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