I've waited a few years for an opportunity to get up country and look for Red necked Phalarope. I was perched up with my Son very early at the viewing spot looking over a marsh alive with drumming Snipe and squeeling Lapwing. Afer a while I was starting to wonder if  I would get to find what I was looking for and then a splendid Male Red necked Phalarope showed at distance in the scope, gone. I waited again, then as I was watching the Cygnuts, the male Phalarope past by them, gone. One more show and it was time to settle on the views we had  and move on with a hatrick of all 3 ..read more

 A local walk up the road into Ballyea forest plantation would be a regular spring birdwatch for me to take , one of those places that no others sort of visit.  Lesser Redpoll and Siskin are regular feature, as are  Whitethroat,  Grasshopper warbler, Sedgys and Willow warbler.   Handfuls of Cuckoo can be seen and heard ..read more

 Over my couple of days birding in the Ludo I got to see 2 Purple Herons that were a target bird for me to see My 1st dropped in to a grassy area and seemed to have an eye on airplanes ✈️  approaching the airport and just stayed. Number 2 was at the early morning roosting near the Stork Heron rookery with Glossy Ibis and Egrets ..read more

A Woodchat Shrike .  I was in the scrub behind the Sao Lorenco bird hide, Faro looking for Chameleon that inhabit the area, I'd love to find one but I found this Woodchat Shrike which was probably also looking for Chameleons, a wary bird that could stand out but I never got on the right side of the light and it gave me the slip ..read more

 My first ever chance you get to take views of l Lesser spotted Woodpeckers  I had knowledge of LsW could be seen within this area of the Algarve but not common. An hour previously to finding this drumming bird I was tracking down Iberian Green Woodpecker which were calling in a Pine wood ? I got to see two but they were always aware of me. This little fella came out onto a dead tree to drum and call and was still hard to see and find. As it hammered away another LsW came to an adjacent tree to check out the noise but didn't stay and flew off. This was all happening as Cettis Warbler ..read more

 After catching up with the Yellow Wagtail (Flava) on my home patch this week at Clahane and what a stunning bird it was I Felt compelled to put out this post of a Yellow Wagtail (iberiae) that I found on a Golf coarse in Faro, Portugal  the week previous.  Two sub species of Yellow Wagtail within the week ..read more

   I had the morning to myself and I felt yesterday that I overlooked the boundaries of where a Pine Forest meets a Marsh that flows into the salt ponds along a dusty road that passes the Stork and Heronry . I walked the road Rua Henrique Fernandes Serrão, Faro into the Ludo 7am. The  Azure winged Magpies take you into the Pines, 2 Iberian Woodpecker in the Pine Forest as  graffiti ruined building gave up a nest building pair of Red rumped Swallows, a few Barn Swallows and House Martins. The Pines  I got to the area I wanted to be and it turned out to be one ..read more

The Ludo hiking trail is located in Ria Formosa National park in the Algarve region of Portugal next to Faro airport. Ria Formosa is special due to its Wetlands, sandbanks and islands, great beaches, Golf coarse ponds, ruins and Pine Forests but most of all because of its birdlife. If your a keen bird enthusiast then this place is a must to visit and have expectations in any season. 7-10 km guaranteeing over 50 species if bird in 4 hours if  you where to stop and watch.  My wife and I started our walk from our guest house at 9am that we stay at , at the north entrance to the Ludo, t ..read more