Birdwatching Algarve: Raptor migration in the Algarve

Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) pale morph juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 13-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) pale morph juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 29-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

At the end of the summer, migratory birds of all kind leave their breeding grounds, driven by the urge to migrate southwards, to their wintering areas in Africa. Among them are thousands of birds of prey that pass through the "bottleneck" of the Strait of Gibraltar, where crossing the ocean is less exhausting and dangerous. Juveniles, on migration for their first time and not having learned the best route yet, often get "trapped" in the Sagres-Peninsula in the western Algarve, continental Europe's south-western tip, where their southbound journey is blocked by the Atlantic Ocean. Most birds of prey and other soaring birds, such as Storks, depend on thermals as they are incapable of performing active flight over long distances. Over the ocean, where no thermals form, they are in danger to get so exhausted that they plunge into the sea and die, so they instinctively don't pick this way. After being trapped in the hinterland of the cape-area of Sagres, sometimes for days or weeks, they eventually take the only way out - eastwards. By following the coastline, they finally reach the Tarifa-area in Andalusia, Spain, where Marokko is visible across the only 14 km narrow Strait of Gibraltar. Surveys related to the windfarms between the Monchique mountains and the cape of Sagres and São Vicente have counted 3000-4000 birds of prey and Black Storks passing through the region each autumn, peaking between mid September and mid October usually, depending on species. Far over 90% are juveniles. On a good day, 15 or more species of birds of prey can be observed from the watchpoint "Cabranosa" in the area. The following pictures are taken over the past month.

Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 13-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) dark morph juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 25-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 29-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) very dark juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 13-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) adult female, Cabranosa, Sagres, 16-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Eleanora's Falcon (Falco eleanorae) 2nd cy pale morph, Cabranosa, Sagres, 16-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) juvenile, Vale Santo, Sagres, 04-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) juvenile dark morph, Vale Santo, Sagres, 13-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 25-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Lesser-spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina) juvenile, Cabranosa, Sagres, 29-Sept-2017. © Georg Schreier.

Not only raptors migrate and stop over here:

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Raptor migration in the Algarve

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