Just wow, sometimes we are gifted a show by Bonelli’s Eagles soaring past, however, a pair have spotted a rather tasty flock of Pigeons that a neighbouring Quinta keeps. The pair of Bonelli’s have been here all day doing their best to grab an easy meal. I’ve not actually seen one catch a Pigeon but I have seen them diving and the Pigeon numbers have also decreased.
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When you think of raptors on the Alentejo plains during autumn it’s easy to think of the ones that leave for the winter. However, Red Kites arrive in large numbers to spend the winter here.
Yesterday I was near Entradas for a family and friends picnic at an amazing picnic site, I smuggled a camera along…….
Here are a few of the many Red Kites that appeared throughout the day.
There are lots and I mean lots of Jays locally collecting food from the rich source of Acorns available.
Although you can only see one Acorn, this Jay probably has a few inside its gullet too. Ever wondered why an Oak tree starts to grown in a strange place where there are no Oak trees close by? It probably came from a “cached” Acorn that was forgotten about.
Yesterday I posted to keep an eye out for Flycatchers During Migration here in Portugal, this morning a Pied Flycatcher came to the garden. It’s difficult to tell if it’s a male or female because the male moults his black and white breeding colours before he leaves for Africa.
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As an addition to my last post regarding Flycatchers During Migration, another small bird to keep a watch for during the autumn migration in Portugal is the Garden Warbler. It’s not a resident and can only be spotted as it passes through during migration. The Garden Warbler has no real features to identify it, therefore, if you spot an “LBJ” (Little Brown Job, the term given to many small birds difficult to ID) during the migration period then it maybe a Garden Warbler. They are quite shy and like to keep in the cover of branches so spotting them is quite difficult.
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Although a lot of the attention is to the skies for the large flocks passing through, keep an eye out for the smaller birds you may see passing through.
Both the Pied and Spotted Flycatchers will be making their way through the Algarve on their way to the southern African regions.
The Spotted isn’t seen very often and the Pied is not resident, however, during the autumn migration both can be seen fairly easily as the pass through.
The male Pied flycatcher moults his breeding colours of Black and White and therefore will look similar to the female.
The Spotted Flycatcher is a little more brave than the Pied and can be seen perched out in the open.
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