It is over two years since I first shared photographs of this wonderful fly-catcher, but it has taken me until now to capture close-ups I was willing to share! The Bluethroat is a migratory bird here in Portugal, and we’ve been fortunate to observe them a few times now in the Algarve’s coastal wetlands. For more details on where you are most likely to see it in Portugal visit this page on the excellent Aves de Portugal website.
They are a passerine bird, about the size of Robin but much more secretive than Robins. At times their behaviour remind me more of Wrens than Robins. The male Blue Throat has a very distinctive blue breast, and so once you finally spot them – usually hopping along the waters edge under low hanging vegetation – you’ll know exactly what you are looking at. The next challenge is to take a photograph as usually you will be some distance away, and like Flamingoes they are not keen on humans getting too close. It was only thanks to my Nikon P900 I got these shots, although I probably didn’t need to take quite as many as I did!
The male in the galleries above and in the photograph below is the Luscinia svecica cyanecula as it has a whitish spot in the middle of the blue. In England if you are lucky enough to see one as they pass through it is more likely to be the L. svecica svecica which favours northern Europe and has a red spot in the centre of their bib. The ones in Turkey (L. svecica magna) have no spot at all.
Hope you have enjoyed my Six Word Saturday. For more delights and bloggers who manage to keep to six words in their post as well as their title visit Debbie.
Beautiful plumage, Becky ~ congratulations on capturing them on camera! 🙂
Thank you so much ☺
The little cocked up tail does look like a wren. I love wrens, we get a few in the garden, bobbing about.
Oh I love wrens too. Beautiful bird and such fun to watch.
What a rewarding experience it must have been! Great captures of a beautiful little bird 😊
It was. Not seen it much since I took these photographs which it makes it all the more special.
What a gorgeous little bird, and well done for managing to get the photos of him 🙂
Thank you so much. I’m helped enormously by my camera!
Well done! We get them in certain places in Belgium but I have never been able to spot one yet.
One of these days! Just keep your eye on mud at the waters edge under an overhanging bush!
Great photos. I’m a Nikon fan too!
Thank you so much.
They’re a great camera aren’t they 😊
What a gorgeous fellow! He’s keeping all options open on the colour front
I know – they are incredible. When MrB first told me about them I was envisaging just a dash of blue on the throat but this fellow has everything 😊
What darling little things 🙂
Stunning birds but so difficult to spot!
What an unusual bird! We have two robin families in our garden;one at the front and the other at the back of the house.
How wonderful…. must be glorious when they sing to remind each other of their territory boundaries!
He’s a lovely little chap! 🙂 🙂 I’ll have to make do with Robins and pigeons.
Happily make friends with a Robin 🐦