Pedro´s Big New Year

[michael-ibk]

Well, I can certainly vouch for the excellency of Pedro´s special guiding capabilities. Best "night safari" ever - it included lots of wine, whisky and seafood! Not sure that was very beneficial to our spotting prowess though.

 

Obrigado for a few really fun outings amigo!

[Galana]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

it included lots of wine, whisky and seafood!

Put my name down for one of these.

[pedro maia]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

Well, I can certainly vouch for the excellency of Pedro´s special guiding capabilities. Best "night safari" ever - it included lots of wine, whisky and seafood! Not sure that was very beneficial to our spotting prowess though.

 

Obrigado for a few really fun outings amigo!

No whisky for me, I’m a responsible driver.

 

I think we couldn’t have done better, there were no owls and the european nightjar didn’t give us a chance..

[xelas]

Excellent find! And I assume it was easier to focus on as it was with The Nightingale?!

 

With that many applicants, you should think about a bigger vehicle. Saying that, count me in, if not already this year then next one for sure.

[Kitsafari]

dont' leave us out!

 

the phalarope is a beauty, and the GTG photo shows how happy you all were! that nightingale tale had me in stitches, @pedro maia but glad you finally nailed that bird. 

[pedro maia]

Me and my wife we went to the north of the country for a couple of days, first to Peneda-Gerês National Park, the only one in Portugal, we were there only once more than 20 years ago (it takes nearly 5 hours for us to get there) this time we visited one part of the park that was new for us.

 

These are the second highest mountains in continental Portugal, reaching a little over 1.500m and one part, the Planalto (plateau) da Mourela is especially good for birdind, to see some species that are tougher to see in other parts of the country, in particularly one that for some of you is probably common but is one of the most difficult of our resident birds, it one occurs in this place and in a few neighbouring spots and it can only be seen during breading time, mostly in May, so in the second half of June my chances weren´t too high.

 

Anyway, I was lucky, during an early morning drive in the plateau there was a beautiful male singing byn the side of the road.

 

 #19 (287), 17/6, Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella), Planalto da Mourela 

 

 

[pedro maia]

I missed two of my targets for this trip, the Dipper and the Hobby, but those I will have oportunities to see them in many other places.

 

That isn´t however, the case of my other main target, one of the rarest of our resident species which is getting harder and harder to see, it occurs in only a couple of spots, both far from here, it can be seen in a specific spot in the Douro International, where I missed it two years ago, and in a very restricted area in the Alto Douro Vinhateiro (upper Douro wine country), and I had never been to that specific part of the Douro wine country, close to Carrazeda de Ansiães.

 

In my opinion, this is the most spectacular landscape of Portugal and there are several lookout point such as this one, overlooking the area where we had to look for that other species:

 

 

In order to do that, we had to drive down a very narrow, steep and unrailed road that winds through the vineyards, really beautiful but not for the faint-hearted, it´s better to assure that your car breaks and tyres are in good condition.

 

 

 

To spot this species even here one has to be lucky and take time to look at rocks, poles and old stone walls in the middle of the vineyards, I drove slowly for nearly two hours until my wife spoted a white tale in a bird a bit smaller than a Blackbird and that´s what tells it apart from other birds that can look very similar.

 

#20 (287), 18/6, Black wheatear (Oenanthe leucura), Vinhas da Beira Grande

 

It´s the female (and I couldn´t avoid the dam wire), next morning I went back there to look for the male but didn´t see it but I was really happy nonetheless, it´s definitelly one of the toughest of our birds.

[Soukous]

Well done. You're lucky to have a break in your driving/guiding duties.

[michael-ibk]

Really beautiful landscape, and congrats for getting two specials! The Yellowhammer posed for you, great photos!

Edited June 20, 2022 by michael-ibk

[xelas]

Great photos ... and good brakes ! Any words about the wine?

[Galana]

A worth while trip that repaid effort. Good to see.

[pedro maia]

3 hours ago, xelas said:

Great photos ... and good brakes ! Any words about the wine?

In that region wines are top, of course we had to taste a Few of them, with some other local products…

 

[xelas]

Njami !

[PeterHG]

I'm glad your efforts paid off and it certainly looks like a beautiful area! Great photos of your new additions. I don't know what you mean about the wire, though. Perhaps it's my screen....;)

 

[pedro maia]

It must have been an optical illusion .

[xelas]

18 hours ago, pedro maia said:

It must have been an optical illusion .

A magician at work !

[TonyQ]

Well done with two special birds from a beautiful area

[Dave Williams]

That's one big steak!! It all looks very inviting in Portugal.

[pedro maia]

It´s been nearly a month since my last additions, last Friday there was a twitch for a rarity close to Alcochete, I was done with work, or at least I wasn´t feeling to keep working so I went there to check it and it as a successfull outing. Noew I have all my species listed in e-bird so I will use the life total from that list which is higher from the one in bubo.org, as it includes a few more species and also those from our islands, in my case the Azores.

 

#21 (296), 15/7, White-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), Ribeira das Enguias

 

Unfortunately it wasn´t a male with the blue beak but it a new species and counts.

[pedro maia]

While we were watching the duck one of my main goals for this yaer showed up, I was taking pictures with the P900 because the duck wasn´t very close and was still most of the time but with that camera I´m not able to focus a small bird of prey in flight so I had to rush to the car to swap cameras, I was still able to take some pictures but it was already going away, I could have taken much better shots but I got it and at the end of the day that´s what matters.

 

#22 (297), 15/7, Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo), Ribeira das Enguias

[PeterHG]

Two very good species, one would have been a lifer for me and the other I haven’t seen yet this year. And you’re right, you got them!

[Galana]

Two in the bag is worth fifty 'also seens'.

 

Done with work. Nicely put.

[pedro maia]

Testerday I did another night safari to the Pancas area, with my daughter, my brother-in-law and my nephew, we started around 22:15, drove all the dirt road coming from Alcochete but saw nothing, after arriving to the gravel road a nightjar took off but I couldn´t see which of the two species it was, I had the coordinates of where tawny owls were seen a couple of times some days before, I played the call, two of them answered from a distance, eventually got closer but we didn´t get to see them.

 

We went back to the gravel road and the nightjar (I assume it was the same) had got back to the road and this time it allowed a carefull approach, first by car to take record shots and then by foot, "unfortunately"it was the red-necked which I already have but I was able to take better pictures lying on the road (I know, it´s getting out of hands).

 

[pedro maia]

We drove the dirt road back to Alcochete and at some point there was another nightjar on the road that allowed the some kind of approach, I didn´t lay down but sat close to it and it was the other one!

 

#23 (298), 17/7, European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), Pancas area

Edited July 18, 2022 by pedro maia

[lmSA84]

Great shots and congratulations!