First day birding

Might have been grey much of Friday, but it was a whispery grey interspersed with blue and much warmer than it looked. It was also high tide and so the salt pans were busy with flamingos, gulls, waders and passerines. The most common bird sighted was the Coot, MrB thinks there most have been over 200. There were also hundreds of Sanderlings, Plovers and Dunlins.

There were also lots of gulls particularly Slender Billed, MrB recorded over 30. We didn’t see the Audouin’s Gull though, despite both of us thinking of it at the same pond! What struck me was how few Black-Winged Stilts and Red Shanks we saw. Most unusual as was the fact we didn’t see a single Little Egret. We did though spot Herons, Cormorants, a Spoonbill and Cattle Egrets. All very common in the Algarve but not regularly seen in the salt pans we were exploring on Friday.

I took nearly 200 hundred photographs in the hour or so we were out, but most I have since deleted. And those that I have kept whilst useful for identification purposes are not ones that excite me as a photographer. It does seem to take me a day or two to get back into bird photography after a long break.

I was reasonably pleased with the two above shots of a Red Shank – which one do you prefer? I have included both as MrB prefers one and I prefer the other! As so often happens though it was one of the final shots I took that I am delighted with. Not only a great shot, but one of my favourite passerine birds here in the Algarve.

Not a bad hour’s birding, over 30 different species seen and a couple of photographs I am delighted with. Can’t wait to head out again.