Attention, all butterfly fans — ‘Butterfly Conservation’ is trying to get as many people as possible to participate in the Big Butterfly Count, which is being run between 17th July and 9th August. All that’s required is that participants take 15 minutes or so (I’d actually suggest a tiny bit longer) in a sunny spot and count as many butterflies (and, if you’re inclined, moths) of however many species that they see … then simply submit those sightings to www.bigbutterflycount.org.
Hopefully you will join the tens of thousands of folks expected to take part and assist this country-wide initiative designed to assess the current status of our butterfly population. If you need to know more, contact me here.
My snatches of birding in Portugal had to be short and sweet –usually early in the morning – as my wife’s not overly interested in our avian friends (though even she quite enjoyed seeing White Storks nesting in the tops of chimneys!).
We’d never been to the Algarve before, so deciding where to go was not straightforward. In the end we selected a fairly modern (and large) apartment on the seafront in Olhão, which is located on the quieter side of Algarve (ie going east rather than west after emerging from the airport).
I have to admit my final choice was not altogether unassociated with birds, since I could see from pictures on the ‘booking.com’ website that the accommodation – close to a new marina development – was very close to the sea, and adjacent to some tidal lagoons and salt-marsh.
And from the birding viewpoint it turned out to be ideal as I quickly discovered when walking out of the apartment and, within 300 yards, I was in among a selection of Cormorants, egrets, terns, gulls, waders – and Flamingoes. In just two hours or so before breakfast I’d logged my first 40 species of the holiday!
We were only there for a week, yet by the time we flew out of Faro, heading home, I could count 90 species in my notebook, including three ‘lifers’. These were Azure-winged Magpie, which tend to occur mainly in the south of the Iberian peninsula, the Black-winged Kite (a delightful small raptor that hovers) and a Black-headed Weaver, usually a resident of Africa that has begun to colonise the wetland areas found in the very south of Portugal and Spain in recent years.
The only mild disappointment was the paucity of raptors. Meanwhile, other highlights included a range of my ‘continental’ staples – Corn Bunting, Stonechat, Hoopoe, Cetti’s, Fan-tailed and Sardinian Warblers, Kentish Plover and Black-winged Stilt – and there was a dazzling array of wetland and coastal birds, notably Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egret, Avocet, Green Sandpiper, Sandwich Tern and Slender-billed Gull, plus those impressive White Storks and Flamingoes.
I renewed my very occasional acquaintance with birds like Blue Rock Thrush, Red-rumped Swallow, Pallid Swift and Spotless Starling, and, after several abortive attempts to find a particular ‘hot-spot’ near the golfing paradise of Quinta do Lago, I finally hit lucky, with even the luxury of a hide to use – and in a single session I added to my list Garganey, Purple Gallinule, Little Bittern, Red-crested Pochard, Common Waxbill and those dainty Weavers, which lived up to their names by building their nests of old brown reeds among the fresh green stems (see picture).
We’d certainly return to the Algarve, but would probably aim to stay at Tavira, further east and half way between Faro and the Spanish border, which is a very attractive small town with plenty of accommodation and restaurants. And I would also plan to use one day to go a little farther inland – where apparently Great and Little Bustards reside, along with a range of ‘plains’ bird such as sandgrouse, Stone Curlew and a much wider range of raptors.
The club decided to go closer to home than usual when staging the latest members’ trip. Yet the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Drakelow reserve – near Burton on Trent, and right on the border with Staffordshire – is still a fair journey for those among the nine-strong group who’d travelled the farthest, from Buxton and Chesterfield.
The reserve lies close to the River Trent and has a mix of habitats with some lakes and smaller lagoons, plenty of woodland cover and, being an old power station site, extensive flat open spaces.
We were met shortly after 9am by the reserve’s keen recorder Syd Garton, who took the time to explain the geography and what was around that day. The first bird I noted, while we were still in the small car park, was Common Tern, three of which were circling overhead before tracking down the Trent.
From one of the three hides, there were good views of an island hosting a huge colony of Cormorants, most of which were making plenty of noise in their nests dotted among the guano-spattered tree tops. We’d also been told about a quiet crossing point among reeds farther into the reserve, and viewable from another smaller hide, where we might see Water Rail. Well, we did! Or, at least, we caught a glimpse of a couple of the chicks, all black except for their light-coloured bills, as they sprinted across the clearing.
Walking around the woodlands areas, the usual springtime suspects rang out their familiar songs – Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler and the occasional Sedge, plus Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat – joining the resident birds such as Reed Bunting, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Robin. A Cuckoo was heard and, by following its song, we got scopes trained on it as it settled down for some minutes in the top of a tree.
On leaving the reserve, via a half-mile access road, we stopped alongside open ground and heard Skylarks and, as though by way of a parting boost to our tally, a Red-legged Partridge and Lapwing showed themselves among the long grass, and a pair of Shelducks flew low overhead.
While each of us had just 40-odd species in our notebooks by the time we left the site, comparing notes afterwards it emerged that the group had collectively seen 50 species – quite a haul for a Sunday morning.
The full list is as follows: Common Tern, Magpie, Wood pigeon, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Tufted Duck, Wren, Chiffchaff, Black-headed Gull, Swift, Greylag Goose, Robin, Gt Crested Grebe, Coot, Green Woodpecker, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Reed Bunting, Pheasant, Reed Warbler, Water Rail, Long-tail’d Tit, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Buzzard, Willow Warbler, Cuckoo, Kestrel, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Black-back Gull, House Sparrow, Gt Spotted Woodpecker, Sand Martin, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Chaffinch, Swallow, Canada Goose, Oystercatcher, Sparrowhawk, Gadwall, Great Tit, Whitethroat, Red-legged Partridge, Lapwing, Skylark and Shelduck.
