I will be out to sea and out of contact for the next few days, doing the Dry Tortugas and spring migration, so I will post this early and hope it holds you all until I am back in touch. 🙂 This is another view of the one of the European Bee Eaters that we found nesting in a little wash at the edge of a small town in the Alentejo, somewhere between Castro Verde and Mertola, Portugal, the second week in April. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.

Birding a little river-side park in the Tagus Estuary on our first full day of birding southern Portugal, we saw our first Sardinian Warbler. The Sardinian was by far the most common Warbler we saw in Portugal. These are old world warblers…mostly drab and plain…not a patch on our colorful North American warblers…but still…great to see. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.

Black-crowned Night Herons were nesting in the Tagus Estuary when we visited this month. We saw them around a pond on the edge of the marshes and we saw them, including this handsome specimen, in the mixed rookery on the island in the Tagus. This is the same species as the North American bird…but since the Europeans only have one Night Heron, it is often called just plain Night Heron. It is a rarity, not in numbers, but in the fact that it has not been split off from its North American counterpart. Many birds have North American and European versions, or close matches, and most are the Eurasian something or other and are classified as separate species. Not so the Night Heron. Which is odd, as unlike most true circumpolar species, I don’t think of the Night Heron as being a strong flyer, or tied to the ocean. ??? Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Polarr.

While it is generally difficult to get close to birds in southern Portugal, there are exceptions. One is the Heron Rookery on an island in the Tagus near the small town of Escaroupin. A few enterprising boat owners make an income from taking birders (and tourists) out to see the birds, and to explore the banks of the Tagus up and downstream. The whole area along the river seems rich in birdlife, perhaps because the rookery is such a draw. We besides the rookery we saw Booted Eagle, Osprey, and Black Kite. It is a mixed rookery, with Eurasian Spoonbills, Grey Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets, and even a few Squacco Herons actively nesting. All but the Squacco Herons, which nest deep in the brush nearer ground level, are easy to see. They are busy with their nesting and young, and, because of the steady flow of boat traffic, are more used to human proximity than most European birds. We made two passes around the island, one going out, and one coming back, and had some of our best photo opportunities of the trip. This Eurasian Spoonbill was in full display. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. 1/2000th @ f5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.

The Black Kite was by far the most common raptor we saw in our 10 days of birding in southern Portugal. They were everywhere we went, from the Tagus Estuary, to the Alentejo, to the Algarve. We saw them flying and we saw them perched. From any distance at all, they do indeed look black, but, of course they are much more richly colored. They are described in the field guides as “grey-brown” but as you see in this photo, in the right light they can look a fairly bright rich rufous. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed and heavily cropped in Polarr.