Iberia: Castro Verde 16-20 April

Day 7 16.04.2017

Having had an insanely busy day yesterday, on our day off, it was nice to get back into the routine here. The area we went to was possibly the best area of Steppe in Castro Verde and it showed. At one point I had a field with over 50 Great Bustards and 50 Black-bellied Sandgrouse in. An incredible sight! A pair of Iberian Grey Shrike near the reserve entrance was a highlight, as the birds were more approachable than I’m used to with Grey Shrikes. I also had a Spanish Terrapin, which was unexpected for the size of the pool I found it in. After the morning we took the rest of the day off, as a result of the backlog of work as well as an extended morning in the field.

-Iberian Grey Shrike

-Great Bustards

-Iberian Marbled White

Species List:

Castro Verde: Woodpigeon, Iberian Grey Shrike, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Corn Bunting, Zitting Cisticola, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Red-rumped Swallow, Marsh Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, Red Kite, Black Kite, Lesser Kestrel, White Stork, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, European Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Collard Dove, Common Buzzard, Common Swift, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Red-legged Partridge, Stonechat, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Spanish Terrapin, Small Copper, Small Heath, Clouded Yellow, Green-striped White, Common Blue, Meadow Brown,

Day 8 17.04.2017

A much quieter morning than yesterday to be sure! Far less bustards but still quite a few Black-bellied Sandgrouse and more Montagu’s Harriers made up for it. There were also plenty of Bee-eaters in the few bushes in my transect. I did get a butterfly lifer and a dragonfly trip tick to make up for it. The butterfly I identified in the field as a grizzled skipper but after looking in the book is in fact a Red Underwing Skipper, based on the line of small white spots along the outer edge of the wing. The dragonfly was Red-veined Darter, with two females found in the grass. In the evening we went back out to this area, but my transect included some more scrubby vegetation. In hindsight I life-ticked Thekla Lark at this point, but it wasn’t until I saw more the next day that I was confident of my identification. I also had a few Woodchat Shrikes and more Montagu’s Harriers. After the transect we went with Bruno, our Portuguese birder, to look for Scops Owl. We had some success with the owl, as two or three could be heard calling and we got brief views of at least one individual. The wooded valley where they were was a fantastic location, with Nightingales and Cettis Warbler both in full song from the bushes, as well as our first trip Crag Martins flying over and under us at the road bridge. A great way to spend an evening!

-Red-underwing Skipper

-Black-eared Wheatear

-Montagu's Harrier

-Large Psammodromus

Species List:

Castro Verde: Montagu’s Harrier, Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, White Stork, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Mallard Gadwall, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Short-toed Lark, Corn Bunting, European Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Magpie, House Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Collard Dove, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Thekla Lark, Woodchat Shrike, Red-legged Partridge, Cettis Warbler, Nightingale, European Scops Owl, Crag Martin, Iberian Hare, European Rabbit, Red-veined Darter, Iberian Blue-tailed Damselfly, Painted Lady, Common Blue, Red Underwing Skipper, Green-striped White, Iberian Marbled White, Small Copper,

Day 9 18.04.2017

Today we travelled further south to an area of habitat that was far more scrubby. Here I continued to cock up my Crested/Thekla Larks, but by the end of the morning I had seen a number of larks that were obviously Thekla. Short-toed Larks also put on a good show here. I heard two Golden Oriole but sadly could not see them, and on the subject of Portugal ticks I also had my first Dartford Warbler and Common Cuckoo of the trip. On the drive back we also added Black Stork and had more encounters with Azure-winged Magpie. On our now daily trip to the Intermarche got us a few Pallid Swift flying over. In the evening we went out to try and photograph Dartford Warbler. We saw the birds but an increase in wind meant they were not sitting up and as a result views were quite restricted.

-Thekla Lark 

-Short-toed Lark

-Black Stork

Species List:

Castro Verde: Montagu’s Harrier, Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, White Stork, Cattle Egret, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Mallard, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Short-toed Lark, Corn Bunting, European Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Magpie, House Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Collard Dove, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Thekla Lark, Woodchat Shrike, Red-legged Partridge, Pallid Swift, Dartford Warbler, Blue Tit, Common Cuckoo, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Azure-winged Magpie, Black Stork, Iberian Hare, European Rabbit, Red-veined Darter, Iberian Blue-tailed Damselfly, Painted Lady, Common Blue, Red Underwing Skipper, Green-striped White, Iberian Marbled White, Small Copper,

Day 10 19.04.2017

As we continued our surveys we found ourselves working further and further away from Castro Verde itself. Today we worked in a private reserve half an hour’s drive north. The change in scenery provided a few new birds, including BLACK WINGED KITE!!! What a bird, seriously! So exciting to have to birds hunting over us whilst we did our survey! In addition to the Kites there was not much, another Golden Oriole singing, plus our first Woodlark of the trip singing. I had an exciting encounter with a Western Montpellier Snake. I almost trod on a rather large individual, which responded with a naturally aggressive hissing tone. It then proceeded to rear up and slither in my general direction. Appreciating the snake’s discomfort I backed off, upon which it turned around and slithered under a rock. A pretty mental experience to say the least! We also got to look in the nest of a Lesser Kestrel thanks to the park ranger, and had plenty of Iberian Grey Shrikes. Due to strong wind we did not go out in the afternoon. I had a look at the pond near the centre but the best I managed was a Greenshank. We heard reports of a possible aquatic warbler just up the road so went to have a look. No joy but did get a cracking Great Reed Warbler which was more than enough compensation. There were a few Odonata species here, including our first Southern Damselfly of the trip.

-Black-winged Kite

-Western Montpelier Snake

-Red-veined Darter

Species List:

Castro Verde: Montagu’s Harrier, Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, White Stork, Cattle Egret, Little Bustard, Mallard, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Short-toed Lark, Corn Bunting, European Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Magpie, House Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Collard Dove, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Red-legged Partridge, Black-winged Kite, Quail, Stonechat, Iberian Grey Shrike, Greenfinch, Great Reed Warbler, Spoonbill, Little Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Iberian Hare, European Rabbit, Red-veined Darter, Black-tailed Skimmer, Iberian Blue-tailed Damselfly, Southern Damselfly, Painted Lady, Green-striped White, Iberian Marbled White, Small Copper, Western Montpellier Snake, 

Day 11 20.04.2017

For our last day in Castro Verde we headed north again, but to an area with much poorer habitat than any we had experienced so far. It was also extremely windy. As a result I only saw 1 Great Bustard and 1 Little Bustard, although more of the latter were heard. I actually saw my first Woodlark of the trip, as well as getting more views of Azure-winged Magpie and another Black-winged Kite, as well as a Black Kite showing well. Overall though the birding was much poorer. After lunch we wrapped up our time in Castro Verde and headed north. 

-Azure-winged Magpie

-Red-rumped Swallow

Species List:

Castro Verde: Montagu’s Harrier, Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, White Stork, Cattle Egret, Little Bustard, Mallard, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Short-toed Lark, Corn Bunting, European Bee-eater, Hoopoe, House Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Collard Dove, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Red-legged Partridge, Black-winged Kite, Iberian Grey Shrike, European Roller, Stonechat, Azure-winged Magpie, Small Copper