Birds

Crested Tits Around The Quinta

26th March 202126th March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

The birdlife this year has been great around the Quinta, particularly the smaller birds and whilst I was having an afternoon chilling in the garden, I could hear Crested Tits calling to each other. It has been a strange day and although the Golden Hour was approaching (the great light before sunset and after sunrise) a deep haze filled the sky so not great for photography.

However, I couldn’t help but grab the camera, as you can see, I even managed to get a shot of a male “courtship feeding” a female a caterpillar.

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Flamingos In The Mist

25th March 202125th March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

Sometimes it’s great to go over old photos and process ones that you never got around to doing. In a bizarre train of thought, I was talking to a lady who wants to attend a Digital Photography Fundamentals Workshop once they are back up and running and she told me that she was photographing Flamingos near Faro. It had also been foggy here in the Algarve hills that morning and it reminded me of this photo I shot back in 2019. So I dug it out and processed it.

It is available to purchase in print in the Web Shop.

(Click to view in Lightbox)

A Female Blue Rock Thrush Finally Appears

14th March 202114th March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

I occasionally spot a male Blue Rock Thrush around the quinta but I’ve not seen a female since “Bluey & Roxy” disappeared back in 2019.

It was an amazing early morning today and just after 7:30am I was wandering around the garden watching the many Blue Tits we have this year when I spotted a silhouette perched on an electricity pole in the neighbouring field. I was sure it was the male Blue Rock Thrush but no, when I got there, it was a female. I’ve not seen the male for a few weeks, but I’m sure he’s close by.

This month I was hoping to write my Algarve Resident article on Hedgehogs but our resident hog has been a little camera shy, this sighting gave me the inspiration to write about Blue Rock Thrushes, availabe on March 25th and online a few days later.

A Pair Of Short-Toed Eagles Moving Nearby?

14th March 202114th March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

For the past 3 days I have seen or heard Short-Toed Eagles. I first spotted one 3 days ago soaring over a hill I call Eagle Ridge which is where I’ve spotted a few Eagle species over the years.

At first, I didn’t get too excited as they could be passing through on migration, however, 3 days could mean that they are going to nest nearby!

I hope so!

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers Pairing (Video)

2nd March 20212nd March 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

We are lucky to have a large number of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in our area here in the Algarve Hills and right now spring has certainly began as they are calling and drumming (and so are the Greater Spotted Woodpeckers too).

Both Lesser and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers drum to attract the opposite sex (females and males do this), the louder the drum, the better the chance of attraction. They have worked out that man-made objects make more noise than trees and therefore you often see them drumming on anything that makes a loud noise.

This morning, I watched a male drumming on a street light and grabbed my mobile to film him, apologies for the footage as I also had to use the digital zoom which has caused quality issues. However, it is worth sharing because as you will see, shortly after I start, a female comes along, you can hear her calling just before she flies in. The male seems to flee, but he lands in a nearby tree and after a quick nibble on the insects on the post, the female joins him. It’s great to have witnessed this pairing up!

The orientation may not be right with the embedded video, so mobile viewers will be better watching directly on YouTube at https://youtu.be/gnaXDgxACYo

{Remember to watch in HD if possible}

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A Pair Of Blackcaps Foraging In The Rain

3rd February 20213rd February 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

I don’t normally pick a camera up when it’s raining (unless its a photo of the weather of course!) but we are currently in the process of revamping the gardens around the Quinta. This is bringing in bird life to forage through the mess and I noticed a Black Redstart this morning so grabbed the camera (D850 armed with 80-400mm), however, my attentions were soon diverted to a pair of Eurasian Blackcaps who really didn’t seem bothered by my presence as they happily sifted through the gravel and dead leaves coming within a few metres of where I was sat. The female was constantly checking where her male was, so these will soon be nest building nearby.

Although the light levels with the persistent drizzle was terrible I couldn’t help myself but to share a picture of each.

First is the male and you can instantly recognise why it’s called a Blackcap. Often people are confused with the similar Sardinian Warbler, but that has a white breast and also a red ring around the eye.