We were heading north from the Algarve on the A2 motorway, the main road between the Algarve and Lisbon, that cuts through the high ground to the north of the Algarve. The area is known as the Alentejo. An area of plains that extend as far as the eye can see, with vast fields of wheat and grasses waving in the wind. As well as the white fields the landscape is dotted with Cork Oaks and Olive trees. We were heading specifically for the region to the east of Castro Verde, a journey of just over one hour on a wonderful, empty toll motorway.
The whole area is one of high quality steppe landscape and it is down to the Liga da Protecao da Natureza (LPN) for its current day existence. In 1993 the LPN purchased five properties in the area, a total of 1700 hectares, at a time when the whole area was under imminent threat of becoming forested with eucalyptus trees. Not only did the LPN over turn this threat but through lobbying gained special protected status for the area.
Today it seems there is added pressure from visiting birders, and due to some unruly behaviour a lot of the area is off limits, and you are left with driving around the country roads. There is though an information centre about 15 kilometres north east of Castro Verde, and it was to there we headed first. As well as the information centre, there is alo a trail you can walk. After some misguided sat nav instructions we finally managed to get on the access road, a dirt track that headed to the centre. Driving slowly along the dirt track, Crested Larks and Corn Bunting sang from the fences, and my first lifer of the day, a Lesser Kestrel appeared on a rock by the side of the road. We came down the road slowly towards the white building.
Pulling into the car park there were a few cars about, but the building itself appeared closed, which it was. Undeterred we were still able to walk the trail, so we prepared ourselves and then headed down the path, it was a lovely morning, plenty of sunshine but also very windy, and the wind had a cool edge to it.
All around us there was the calls and song of Crested, Thekla and Calandra Larks, while from distant fence posts there was the jangle of Corn Bunting song. Having recently been to Martin Down in Hampshire I could see a similarity, but that was all. This place was like Martin Down on speed, grassland for as far as the eye could see.
Just to the east of the information centre is an old water tower. Today it has been converted into a nest site, primarily for the Lesser Kestrels, but is also occupied by Jackdaw. In front of the tower is a set of rocks and beyond that a small hide that is hired out by the centre for photography. The rocks were identified as a good spot for Little Owl, and Helen promptly found one, unfortunately with its back to us. Here a very distant record shot.
The jackdaws then had a fight with the Lesser Kestrels and in doing so spooked the owl and it disappeared from the rocks
Lesser Kestrel was a new bird for me. Any birds perched were a long way off so I was left to watching and photographing them as they flew overhead and around me. The Lesser Kestrel when soaring has much more rounded wings than that of the Common Kestrel.
Here the unstreaked grey head contrasting with the rufous brown back, and no streaking plus a blue band on the wing is very distinctive, this being a male.
In addition very little spotting or streaks on the under wing providing a very clean appearance. Also the Common Kestrel has a more rounded head shape where the Lesser Kestrel's is more flatter
Although not too clear here the Lesser Kestrel has a more angular end to the tail, with a large broad tail band
The birds were hovering over the grassland, and then swooping low across the fields between the tower and a very large eucalyptus tree.
We continued walking the trail, heading south and down through a rolling glade, nothing in the distance other than a few trees on the horizon
A largest bird appeared on the horizon to the left of us, it wings held out in a shallow V and the rocking movement giving away its identity immediately, a male Montagu's Harrier.
While not a new bird for me, I haven't seen one since watching a pair across a heat hazed field in Norfolk over twenty tears ago, and then nothing like the views I was getting now.
The bird flew low over the grass keeping just above the horizon. Montagu's Harriers, or Monty's as they are affectionately know are the smallest of the commoner harriers found in Europe. As with all harriers it is long winged in comparison with its body, and hunts just above the grass level with a very buoyant style, almost floating over the grass.
The male, as we had here, is pale grey with black wing tips and a narrow black bar that runs along the upperwing.
The harrier drifted away over the ridge, and we carried on walking. We passed through a gate and walked around the outskirts of a fenced field from where Corn Bunting sang. Suddenly there was movement in the grass and a pheasant sized bird burst from the grass flying away from us. It clearly had a black and white neck, and could not have been anything other than a Little Bustard. It had taken me by surprise so no pictures, but I did watch it fly away with the binoculars. This was the second new bird of the day for me and one of the target species.
We walked on with the "wet my lips" calls of Quail coming from the field alongside the track. At another gate we stopped to scan across to another old building with a hide in front of it. Once again there were Lesser Kestrels perched in the holes and they were feuding with more Jackdaw. However of more interest was a pair of distant Roller sat on the fence post. These too nest in the building. Here a very distant but record of another beautiful European bird that we hardly get to see in the UK.
We were debating whether we could go through the gate to the next field, but as we stood there Helen picked up another Montagu's Harrier coming down the slope.
It plunged into the grass, then flew over to a post where from some poor photographs I could make out it had something in its claws. It then flew to a rock.
We thought at first it was pulling at the grass, but after seeing the photos it must have been eating what ever it caught.
The clouds were rolling in now, and when the sun went in the wind was quite cool. We came across a lone tree on the top of a ridge that reminded me of sites in the New Forest back home.
Small Copper had flow past us, and many were in a tattered state, this individual though was in much better condition. Small Copper are seen pretty much on the wing all year here, and this one was warming up on the dried mud.
More scenery, scanning down across this valley there were White Storks soaring distantly in the sky, again Martin Down on speed.
In another valley we picked up some very big raptors away in the distance. From the shape of the wings and their soaring behaviour I thought they could be Griffin Vultures but could not be certain
These are Red-striped Oil Beetles, and they were moving through the grass in front of us on the path
At first the thought was young following the mother, but clearly that wasn't what was going on, it must be males chasing the female. If you are wondering why they are called Red-striped, it is because the species does have red stripes on the abdomen, it is just that the Iberian sub species is all black. Like all Oil Beetles if attacked they give of a poisonous acid from there bodies, which explains why they were happy crossing the path in the open.
We had been told the trail was a loop but we couldn't see any sign of the track turning back so when we reached another gate we looked at the skies to the north, and decided that maybe it would be better to turn around. As we did so another Little Bustard burst from the grass and flew away from us across the plain, the black and white neck clearly seen, but again no chance of a photograph, a little frustrating.
The sun for now was gone and it was getting quite cool, and we turned into the wind and headed back hoping that maybe the sun would come back out
We were now seeing more White Storks, they would soar up from behind the ridge and then drift away across the open grassland.
Some coming quite low over our heads as if to check out who and what we were.
Scanning across the plains we could see them walking slowly through the grass with their heads down searching the grass for any chance of prey.
We passed the old building and the hide, the two Roller were now together on the roof of the hide watching the antics of the Lesser Kestrels and Jackdaws.
Despite the wind and cloud there were still a few butterflies about, this Small Copper once again settling on a daisy flower head.
We had seen the commoner Crested and Thekla Larks on the paths and fences alongside the fields, the raised crest a give away, but there was also a much larger, stockier lark that was seen mostly over the grassland and not around the roads and path.
In flight it would appear large, with a very distinctive white training edge to the wings, the song too was a collection of calls, trills and whistles that seemed to mimic birds of prey and the Corn Bunting. This was the Calandra Lark, and the most distinctive feature is the black collar marks which appear split into two.
On the ground the Lark emits a series of contact calls that are very nasal, and at the time I wasn't aware of what they were. The tail is short and it has a thick based bill.
The views are vast across the plains and you have to keep scanning the area, as anything could be out there at any one time. The major specialty of this area is the Great Bustard, the largest flying bird in Europe, and it is just by chance you find them out in the middle of the plains, too large to be hidden by the grass like the Little Bustard. So we were constantly looking across the plains, but today only finding groups of White Storks hunting in the grass. As I watched a group pf storks I picked up a bird flying towards us with a long tail. As it came it was mobbed by the larks and flew to a fence post where I could see quite clearly it was a Great-spotted Cuckoo.
The view was marginally better than that I had at Portland a couple of years ago.
Being early spring there were still plenty of flowers mixed in with the grasses, the rains of the winter having ensured a great display. The most dominant colour is the purple of what appeared to be a species of knapweed and thistle. This would form patches of an iridescent hue with the grass when the sun was in.
Up close a better view of the flowers themselves, if only you could hear the noise of the wind blowing through the grass and continual buzz of many bees.
We made our way back to the car park, there was no sign of the Little Owl, but the Lesser Kestrels and Jackdaws continued their squabbles. As we sorted the car out, another White Stork flew over, again as if to check us out.
We left the centre listening to the songs of the larks and the Corn Buntings on either side of the car, then ignoring the sat nav instructions turned right in the direction of Entradas. A car appeared behind me and I pulled over to let it pass so if needed I could stop, the car then stopped in front of me. Looking to the right there was another male Montagu's Harrier quite close so I pulled over and managed to get a few more shots.
Our plan now was to drive around the area following some of the notes and information provided by the booklet I had acquired "Finding Birds in South Portugal" by Dave Gosney. From Entradas on the IP2 we were to head to Sao Marcos da Ataboeira on a minor road, come dirt track. Finding the way through the village was not easy but finally we were on the road south with more grass plains on either side of us, the weather had now become almost totally overcast.
Coming out of the village we passed a small reservoir, and a bridge over the feeder stream. A Red-rumped Swallow was collecting mud from a puddle so I pulled over.
We then continued to the next village and turned left and east on the N123 towards Guerreiro, turning south to reach the village with no discernible wildlife sightings at all. From Guerreiro we turned west to Alcaria, and then on to Viseus, lots more larks and Corn Buntings but no sign of any bigger birds other than White Storks hunting in the grass.
From Viseus we turned north towards Rolao, and finally found some birds of note, two pairs of Montagu's Harrier hunting over a cereal field.
The males would come close to road.
The female is very similar at distance to the appearance of the Hen Harrier, it has the banded "ring tail", and distinctive white rump, however the wings are much more narrower, and show on four definite primary tips where the Hen Harrier will show five.
As the female came closer the difference is much clearer, the Montagu's appearing more buoyant in flight.
Here you can see the narrow wings.
We left the Harriers once more and took the road once again from Sao Marcos to Entradas. The only birds of note being a pair of White Stork close to the road side on an old haystack, we actually interrupted them!
There was one final throw of the dice, and we headed north from Entradas across the IP2 There was no sign of any bustards here, but we did manage to find a Black-shouldered Kite fly over the road and across the fields.
As we drove back to Castro Verde and the A2 back to the Algarve Helen picked out a Great Bustard in the fields by the roads, unfortunately there was no opportunity to stop or turn around!
We headed back to the Algarve having managed to see two new birds, but the was a hollow feeling about missing out on Great Bustard, would we be able to come back and try again?
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