Birding Weekend in Alentejo / Tour May 2023

We experienced so many wonderful encounters during our birding tour in Alentejo this spring that it is difficult to know how to describe them!

I meet our 6 guests and our second local guide on Friday morning, and after a short briefing, we take the road towards the steppes of the Castro Verde region. The weather is nice and there is a little wind. A first stop allows us to observe a colony of Western House-Martins and a nest of White Storks with 2 young ones.

Little by little, the landscapes change and the typical Alentejo scenery appear. We spend the whole day in this fairly large area which we explore both on foot and by car.

After observing a pair of European Rollers, we made a great discovery a little further away: a Little Owl in a White Stork nest!

After that, European Bee-eaters, Spanish Eagle, Black Kite, Long-eared Owl, Spotless Starling, Eurasian Spoonbills, Booted Eagle, Red-rumped Swallows, and many others!

Being in a small group gives us the opportunity to spend more time with everyone and observe in more comfortable conditions. Everyone is excited to participate and look for local birds with us.

We end the day in a small agricultural area where we see Calandra Lark, Black-bellied Sandgrouse and Western Black-eared Wheatear, then return to our magnificent little hotel in Mertola. The view is exceptional and our guests are delighted with the comfort of the rooms. We go to dinner in a restaurant next door, everyone enjoys it. The atmosphere is fantastic.

The next day, we explore other good birding spots between Mertola and Castro Verde, and the encounters with the birds of Portugal are both numerous and quality. All in sublime landscapes:

What a joy to observe for several minutes a Montagu’s Harrier flying over a field in search of food!

Near Castro Verde, we find a group of Great Bustards! One of the most coveted species by our Swiss and French guests who are not lucky enough to be able to observe this extraordinary bird at home.

We are very happy to introduce the group to all the emblematic species of Portugal, or almost! Only the Great-spotted Cuckoo and the Bonelli's Eagle will have remained discreet, but we observe Red-legged Partridge, Eurasian Hoopoe, European Bee-eater, Spotless Starling, European Roller, Spanish Eagle, Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Great Bustard , Little Bustard, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark, Iberian Magpie, Little Owl, Iberian Grey Shrike, Golden Eagle, Spanish Sparrow, etc etc… unbelievable!

At the end of the day, we walk around our accommodation and observe the Lesser Kestrels, the Blue Rock-Thrush and even a Western Subalpine Warbler. Fabulous!

We return to our accommodation and have dinner in the heart of the medieval village to end this memorable day.

After a good night's sleep and a good breakfast at the hotel, we go to Castro Verde for new observations, including the European Turtle-Dove and the Western Black-eared Wheatear.

We then take our chance in one of the only places in the country where it is possible to see the rare White-rumped Swift, and luck is with us! It’s a real aerial ballet with two individuals circling around us!

We end our birding tour in Portugal with the observation of a rare bird: the Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin!

We had already tried to see it on the first day, without success. We tried our chance a second time, and it was one of our guests who discovered it in 5 minutes! Approaching me, he shows me a photo he has just taken and says “is that him you’re looking for?”. Yes it's him! Amazing! We spend a wonderful time observing this magnificent little bird before heading back to Lisbon.

These 3 days were truly exceptional, with an absolutely brilliant group, ideal birding conditions, and lots and lots of birds! Join us in Portugal for our Birding Weekend in Alentejo :)

Jonathan
Guide Salva Fauna