Birdwatching

by kind permission of Clive Vinney

Access to the countryside is usually available to the considerate. In Portugal, there is a tradition that anyone can enter unfenced and ungated land on foot. Shepherds, goatherds and hunters readily take advantage of this custom. However, orchards and intensively cultivated land should not be entered without permission. Hunting preserves and estates can legally prohibit entry but are often double-fenced to keep in the game. Take care not to damage the temporary, string-like cattle fences (they are electric and usually powered by a large battery - sometimes with a small solar panel attached). Saltpan (salinas) operatives often tolerate casual visitors that walk on tracks but never enter the water or walk on the narrow earth walls (bunds) dividing the pans.

Algarvian country people are friendly. Give passers-by a cheery wave and wish him or her "bom dia" or "boa tarde" (after midday). If on private land or in a remote area, indicate to the curious what you are doing and point the direction you intend to go - you should not have any problems.

The hunting season extends from mid August to the end of February but shooting is only allowed on Sundays, Thursdays and public holidays. As ever, there are those that shoot at anything and at any time but compared to some Mediterranean countries the situation is reasonably good. Laws are mostly respected on nature reserves, where the penalties for transgression are especially severe. Elsewhere, the gangs of heavily armed hunters often seem to have things their way - on no account confront hunters. Persistent bangs in summer are often attributable to automatic bird-scarers, which are in use around crops and orchards and at Faro Airport. Bear in mind that fireworks are let off on any excuse, even in broad daylight.

A couple of words of warning for motorists. Take care on minor roads, as oncoming motorists never seem to expect other traffic and frequently cut corners at speed. Although the crime rate is low in the Algarve, theft from unattended cars, especially in high summer is a problem. It is best to take valuables with you and park where the car can be easily seen.

Other things

Always take a small notebook and one or two pens or pencils. Pocket digital notetakers are useful, especially when visiting an area where a large number of unfamiliar birds occur. Unknown calls and songs can also be recorded for later identification and discussion. Digiscoping is the buzzword for photography employing a digital camera (still or camcorder) in combination with a telescope. Now it is possible to photograph what appears through a telescope. Although the results do not compare in quality with the photographer's art, they often provide good records and support for a sighting of a rarity.
Dress sombrely, wear a sun hat and use lots of sunscreen. If out for a long day in the warmer months take plenty of water and do not forget something to eat - birdwatching consumes time.

Irritants

If susceptible to mosquitoes and horseflies, take a suitable repellent. There is only one effectively venomous snake in Portugal but it is terrified of man and it's bite is not severe. Noisy village dogs can be frightening but are mostly all bark. If hackles are raised and the tail stops wagging reach for two stones and throw the first to just miss (or to hit if attack seems imminent) - the threat of the second stone is usually enough.

Locations

Tavira

Apart from being the most attractive town on the Algarve coast, Tavira is a good locality from which to explore the Ria Formosa. White Storks nest on disused chimneys and in summer, Little Terns fish on the rio Gilão right in the centre of the town.

If time is short head towards the sea. Take the road along the west bank of the river out of town to Quatro Águas. Access to the salinas either side of this road is unrestricted. Birds are not wary and can be watched easily from the road or even from just behind the market. Tracks lead out onto the pans and along the banks of the rio Gilão and the Tavira Channel (Canal de Tavira).

From either Tavira or Quatro Águas ferries serve the Ilha de Tavira. This island is an 11 km sand dune facing the open Atlantic on one side and a lagoon on the other. The Ilha de Tavira has no permanent residents but its splendid beaches attract a large summer population of sun-worshippers at widely separated centres. In summer, the dune flora is superb. It is easy to walk away from the holidaymakers and into solitude. In winter, ferries are infrequent.

On the east side of the rio Gilão are more salinas, sapal, a tidal lagoon and farmland. A sometimes smelly water treatment plant (ETAR) provides an expanse of non-saline water (hardly freshwater) that attracts ducks (occasionally rare ones), grebes, herons and cormorants. The sapal holds breeding Common Redshanks, Stone Curlews, Yellow-legged Gulls and Yellow Wagtails. Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plovers and Little Terns breed in the salinas. Throughout the year, Greater Flamingos, Eurasian Spoonbills and large numbers of migratory shorebirds occur. With the good habitat diversity, it is not difficult to log fifty species in a morning. Approach this large area from the access road to Hotel Albacora (occupying the buildings of the former tuna fishing settlement of Arraial Ferreira Neto - interesting small museum in the hotel). Birdwatch the road from end to end, passing farmland, salinas, sapal, a ruined fort, beaches, dunes and the water treatment ponds. From the road, follow the coast or any of the salinas tracks eastwards on foot and even more of this attractive area opens up.

Cabanas

Situated on the same lagoon as Cacela Velha but 5 km westwards. Cabanas is easily accessible by taxi or bus from Tavira. In winter, it is sleepy village but at other times transforms into a boisterous and ever expanding seaside resort. From here, the inner shore of the lagoon and low cliffs can be negotiated as far as Lacem. A delightful walk and a good spread of wetland and farmland birds is guaranteed. The trees and bushes along the cliffs are attractive to migrants.

From Cabanas head for the fort at the eastern end of the seafront road. Walk around the fort, pass the magnificent pines and follow the path along the cliff tops. Look inland to the open orchards and seaward for picture postcard views of the lagoon and barrier islands. Respect fences and detour at obstructed points. The walk to Lacem takes about two hours birding but half that in a hurry. Return along the shore.

Cacela Velha

A delightful village, worth visiting for its own sake, perched on a small sea-cliff overlooking the lagoon at the eastern end of the reserve. Either side of the village, paths drop down to the lagoon shore and nearby at Fabrica boatmen will, for a small fee, ferry people across to the dune barrier. Behind the shore is farmland, golf courses and a few trees. The lagoon always holds a mix of birds, especially when the tide is low. Although the village is not served by public transport, the N 125 is only a kilometre inland. On some maps, the village is marked as Vila Nova de Cacela or just Cacela. Fabrica has a good seafood restaurant overlooking the lagoon.

Santa Luzia

An attractive fishing village on the Canal de Tavira about 3 km west of Tavira. It boasts some splendid restaurants. The main industry was octopus fishing but tourism is taking over. Less than a kilometre out of town on the road back to Tavira is a track leading seaward to the Sopursal Salinas (small sign). The approach to the salinas gate is public. Beyond the gate, access along the salinas roads is usually tolerated on foot. Private vehicles should not enter and in any event, the gate is locked outside of working hours.

This is a good area but the birdlife depends on the level of water in the ponds. Often the salinas next to the access road are best and sometimes full of waders and flamingos. The birds are tamer than elsewhere and offer good photographic opportunities from a car. Audouin's Gulls often roost on the bunds.

The rising sun is a nuisance, so the area is best tackled in the afternoon. A good circuit on foot is to take the first gated road off the access road eastwards, which eventually arrives at the bank of the Canal de Tavira and back through the main gate to the start point. Before the gated road, a badly rutted and abused (fly-tipping) public track passes by a large pasture and abandoned salinas before arriving in Tavira by the back door - Spotted Crake and Jack Snipe have occurred there.

About a kilometre west of Santa Luzia, Barril on the Ilha de Tavira is accessible from Pedras d'El Rei (a leafy holiday development). Cross the footbridge and follow the causeway alongside a narrow gauge railway through an interesting area of sapal, which is good for Bluethroats in winter, to the magnificent Atlantic beach. The island has few breeding birds, notably Greater Short-toed Larks, Stone Curlews and Kentish Plovers, but attracts migrants (especially to Barril's few trees) and storm-blown birds. Worth visiting at any time and refreshments are available.

Luz de Tavira

Luz de Tavira or just Luz as it appears on some maps, has an impressive church but is known better for being a bottleneck on the notorious N 125. Luz refers to the recently rebuilt Roman lighthouse and that is where to head.

When the tidal mud is exposed, this part of the Ria Formosa is a major feeding ground for shorebirds. At high tide, it looks scruffy. The site is found by forking left (signposted Tôrre d'Aires) after leaving Luz de Tavira on the N 125 towards Faro. Follow the narrow road to the lagoon - a continuation of the Canal de Tavira. The creek is popular with Fisherman, bait-diggers and small boat owners but the birds are tolerant of disturbance. The farmland inland adds diversity. The mudflats, the adjoining sapal and Ilha de Tavira beyond can be viewed from the gravelled road. Bar-tailed Godwits particularly like this stretch of the creek.

The road continues along the shoreline and where it turns inland an area of long abandoned impoundments can be explored to a point where the open sea opposite Fuzeta is visible. To the west, a small river enters the sea and beyond this is a fish farm. The area attracts an excellent variety of shorebirds, good numbers of gulls, cormorants, flamingos, spoonbills and in winter is good for Bluethroats. The road eventually rejoins the N 125 east of Livramento. Where the road turns inland is Marisqueira Fialho, which provides wonderful fish and seafood at rock bottom prices but go early or book.