Red-footed Falcon

What a good way to finish my 4 day weekend birding trip!!!! This 2cy female Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus was today at Lagoa dos Patos ricefields near Beja, and feeding along with several resident Lesser Kestrels and Kestrels from the area.

Although, their spring migration routes are more westerly, the majority of portuguese records were made in the autumn.
 http://avesdeportugal.info/falves.HTML

Red-throated Pipits

A few record shots from the wintering  Anthus cervinus at Nossa Senhora do Rosário ricefields near Estômbar.
2 inds. confirmed, but there were probably more birds involved.

Cream-coloured Courser at Alvor

13 years have passed since the last record, however in the last week, strong southern winds have blown away to Iberia this adult Cursorius cursor.... yesterday at Alvor, with plenty of anxious birders! Thanks José, for let me publish your photos.

 

The Courser Crew .... !!!!! with some locals ;-)

 

 

Sociable Plover

On the 28th at Pancas, Tagus estuary... 1st winter Sociable Plover Vanellus gregarius

Red-throated Diver at Peniche harbour

Instead of a Great-northern Diver that was reported at Peniche harbour in the morning I stumble upon with this awesome Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata

This is Peniche, lots of good birds, you just need the right gear to reach them!!!!

Olive-backed Pipit

Found (2 ind.) by Magnus Robb on the 21 at Cabriz, Sintra, two days later and at least one bird has been relocated at the same place.
Just before the sun came up, at least one Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni circled us twice calling! but only to see her gaining altitude and head north, just to be found again 5 hours later in the lower branches of a small pine tree.

Baltic gull or Baltic origin!?

Another great gull however unringed, this time from Espinho   41° 0'8.67"N  8°38'49.00"W, the jizz is obviously slender, with long primary projection, probably the 150% more as stated for nominate fuscus, exceding tarsus lenght. At distance the strinking dark jet black upperparts, equalling primary color stood out in the middle of the other LBBG present.

Here (above) together with some dark late moulting graellsii/intermedius.

Note the dark upperparts, and very  long primary projection.

Leg color and dark smudge on bill could suggest a 4cy.

Outer primaries old but still in good condition, and showing a small P10 mirror, winter head sreaking restricted to the hindneck  and behind the eye.

P5 new, P6 on the way, dropped P7 and P8 to P10 old, moulted outermost secondaries???  dropped outermost GC and growing outermost MC....I would say primary moult was suspended on P4 still at breeding site, then started moulting again in the wintering grounds, some of the November fuscus seen at Israel showed similar moult score . Western Europe is not on the migration route taken by nominate fuscus unlike graellsii/intermedius, however several ringed birds have been seen on a regular basis in Spain, 1 or 2 color ring readings from Portugal and Morocco.
However nominate fuscus is diclining, estimated 90% since 1970, with 18 000 - 19 000 pairs worldwide (2006),  pesticide ingestion in African wintering quarters are one of the causes with high mortality rate between immature birds due to liver failure, and recent expansion northwards of pale-mantled intermedius into all dark fuscus breeding colonies.