Day 3: Aveiro saltpans all day

Another reasonably early start, with black redstarts calling outside the room and yellow legged gulls making sure everyone was awake. Coffee and pastry and I was off. The saltpans can be confusing as you can follow a "path" along a mud pile between two muddy lagoons only to find it comes to another channel and you have to retrace your steps.
Different birds had arrived and I note that I omitted ruff from my trip list, making 59 species for the 3 days; 2 were noted from the road. Yellow wagtail, sub species iberiae were new to the list, with several seen and more heard with their plaintive call. Whimbrel were in good numbers and a curlew called. A gull billed tern evaded its photo whilst shelduck were too far away, as was a distant white stork. After 4 hours I headed back to town for a beer break before crossing the canal further north and wandering more lagoons. Much the same, with good numbers of most birds including at least 7 black kites before I finished the day with another pastry and beer before another good meal and wine in the evening.
As I headed back to town in the late afternoon, the black redstart shown below seemed to be most keen to have some photos taken. At one point running over my boots to chase its food, a ladybird.

Black redstart

Another black redstart sub species aterrimus, the default species for Iberia.

yet another black kite

yet another common sandpiper

the humble greenfinch, only one seen, so a trip rarity!

ruff

distant whimbrel

very distant and high white stork

yellow legged gull juvenile

yellow wagtail sub species iberiae