Upon arriving in Aveiro, I dropped off the rucksack at the hotel and was off to the local saltpans and fishing pools. Greeted with plenty of waders, mainly dunlin, kentish plovers, ringed plovers and black winged stilts.
By Thursday morning the numbers of most migratory waders, not the stilts, had decreased and the ringed plovers had disappeared. A few little stints were still about and an occasional curlew sandpiper.
Overhead, 1 black kite on the Monday, at least 7 by Thursday. The group of 8 black tailed godwits were very mobile but were still present on Thursday. Not much sign of them moulting into summer plumage so maybe non breeding 1st year birds that will hang around here all summer, or possibly move northwards as far as the UK.
Please note: most of these shown here are 2nds as I keep the best for talks and also, Portuguese Tourist Board has requested some for their brochure and website which highlights the fantastic nature to be found throughout Portugal. It really is a great place to bird watch for those who just enjoy wandering about and seeing birds, regardless of their rarity. For me, huge flocks of dunlins, with a black kite overhead and black winged stilts in the background, accompanied by the sounds of calling little tern and fan tailed warblers is magical.
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| Black tailed godwit |
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| 2 suspected pairs of black winged stilt. Presumed males on mud, females wading |
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| black winged stilt flyby |
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| black winged stilt, probable female |
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| common sandpiper |
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| dunlin (foreground) and kentish plover |
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| Just a few of the 100's of dunlin present on Monday |
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| summer plumaged dunlin |
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| fan tailed warbler |
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| distant fan tailed warbler |
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| Kentish plover |
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| fishing little tern |
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| ringed plover and dunlin |
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| More dunlin |
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