Birdwatching Archives - Living in the north east of Portugal

… there are many, but for us there are two iconic and very different birds, birds we look for each day – the Nuthatch (Trepadeira-azul) and the Booted Eagle (Águia Calçada).

Whenever we are at our house in França we put out a bird feeder, much to the amusement of our neighbours, and hopefully delight of the many birds that use it. Soon after we started this practice a pair of Nuthatches (Trepadeira-azul) arrived. They became regular visitors. We put up a nest box in the walnut tree and within 12 hours they had taken it on. They nested there every year until 2019, and continue to be our boldest and most reliable garden visitor.

We’ve written about these birds and why we are so enamoured by them on our birding site : https://woodcockwood.com.

Booted Eagles are a relatively common summer migrant that can be seen throughout Spain and Portugal. They are recognised by the white leading edge to their wings. They are about the same size as the Common Buzzard (Águia-d’asa-redonda), and relatively easy to identify, although there is a dark phase Booted Eagle that can cause confusion.

Dark phase Booted Eagle – almost entirely dark plumage seen from below, except for brownish tail. We watched this bird patrolling back and forth high over Marvâo (Alentejo) for at least an hour late one evening.

The small back balcony of our house in França looks out across village gardens to low wooded hills, and there’s a chance of seeing one or both of the Booted Eagles at any time of the day from there.

They are likely to use the same nest year on year, and we think this pair have their’s situated in the woodland above Rabal, about 3 kilometres away.

Their displays can involve dramatic soaring and diving, but normally we see them circling low over the ridge and climbing high on thermals. They are beautiful to watch, and we are disappointed if we don’t see them at least once during the day.

The other raptors that we see frequently are the Common Buzzard (Águia-d’asa-rotunda) circling over hills towards the water pumping station where a pair have their territory, and Griffon Vultures (Grifo-comum), usually cruising very high during the middle of the day. Look at the small specs in the blue sky with binoculars, and they will almost certainly be Griffons.

How do you identify a tiny silhouette? If the tail is shorter than the breadth of the wing it will be a Vulture, and here the chances are it will be a Griffon. If the tail is longer, it will be some form of eagle.

**Built for effortless gliding, the Griffon Vulture needs to work hard at take off.**

Normally we see Griffons passing high overhead. But towards the end of September 2019 we were walking past the hípico in the evening when we saw several low flying Griffons slowly circling. Over the next hour their numbers grew until there were between 20 and 30 birds. There appeared to be no particular point where they were landing, but clearly there was a carcass of some sort taking their interest. They slowly drifted off over the course of a couple of days, but for that short time it was great to see these wonderful birds at close quarters so near to home.

**With a wing span in excess of 2.5 metres, you can understand why they are sometimes referred to as “flying doors”!**

Another bird you are likely to see in the village is the Black Redstart (Rabirruivo-comum), which would be a rarity in UK, but is a common bird in towns and villages in Portugal.

Pied Wagtails (Alvéola-branca) are common everywhere, but you might see the Grey Wagtail (Alvéola-cinzenta) along the Rio Sabor, especially in the shallows towards the hípico. We also occasionally see them in the village hunting for insects among the cobbles.

Serins (Milheirinha-europeia) are also common, making their distinctive twittering call from high points such as the electricity cables.

We sometimes hear and occasionally see the Greater Spotted Woodpecker (Pica-pau-malhado) exploring the old chestnut trees in the village. They are cautious birds, but show themselves in a flash of red, black and white.

We have twice seen a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Pica-pau-galego) in our walnut tree in the garden. But that is a rarity, here as everywhere.

Chaffinches (Tentilhão-comum) and Goldfinches (Pintassilgo) are quite common, and we occasionally see Linnets (Pintarroxo-de-bico-escuro) feeding on the cabbages that have been allowed to seed in gardens.

**Most gardens in the area have Galego cabbages. The leaves are perfect for the traditional soup, calde verde, and the seeds are perfect for Linnets.**

As regards songsters, we see and hear Blackcaps (Toutinegra-de-barrete) calling from high vantage points around the village, and we also hear nightingales in the distance, although they are more difficult to spot even close to. Up beyond he hípico is a good place to hear them during April and May, particularly on the downward part of the track – see description of walk: (https://livinginnortheastportugal.woodcockwood.com/?p=108).

The most evocative of the songsters is the Golden Oriole (Papa-figos) singing throughout the summer in the poplar trees – often heard but seldom seen.

Swallows and House Martins (Andorinhas) are always around, and in autumn they congregate in large numbers in readiness for migration. At this time of the year they will invariably be joined by Swifts.

The wonderful thing about the area is that you never know what might appear – Bee-eaters (Abelha-ruco) and Pied Flycatchers (Papa-moscas-preto) on autumn migration, once a Black Stork (Segona-preta) flying down the valley, Dippers (Melro-d’água) along the river, and the occasional sighting of a Kingfisher (Guarda-rios-comum) is always exciting.

**Pied Flycatchers visit us for a couple of weeks each year in early September**

And one evening, just past the Casa de Povo we saw an otter on the bank of the river carrying a large trout. It’s the only time we’ve ever seen one live!!

If you would like to follow up on some of these, we have written longer articles on:

European Bee-eater: https://woodcockwood.com/the-european-bee-eater/
Black Restart: https://woodcockwood.com/the-trauma-of-leaving-the-nest/
Common Buzzards https://woodcockwood.com/the-common-buzzard/); https://woodcockwood.com/buzzards-at-the-nest/
Eurasian Nuthatch: https://woodcockwood.com/the-eurasian-nuthatch/

A Twenty Five Year Perspective

França is a village in the east of Parque Natural de Montesinho, about 18 km north of Bragança. We first visited the village in 2003 on a walking trip, and stayed with our friends who were then renting out a couple of small gites in the village.

We were keen walkers and birdwatchers, and were interested to see what the area offered by way of species.

Bird lists

Our host had various books and brochures which included a list of birds typically seen in the area, published by Parque Natural de Montesinho in 1994. He also had a checklist of birds seen by visitors.

We don’t have a record of what we saw then, but my memory suggests that it was a large number of many species, far more than are around today. We added the few that we had spotted to the visitor’s book, but our list didn’t compare to the checklist made by two couples in particular, the Thomases and the Barringtons. Theirs was impressive by any standards.

Declining numbers of birds and insects

Our friends recently gave me a copy of their list. My response was to say that while all of those birds are probably still around, it would take us two years not two weeks to compile it.

This may to a certain extent reflect our competence in finding and identifying birds, but I also believe it is a sad reflection of the fact that the overall number of birds is far fewer today than it was in 2004. Perhaps the Thomases or the Barringtons should return and put this to the test!

However, our regular visits over 15 years allow us to add the following to the sightings list:

Dipper (Melro-d’agua) seen regularly for several years between the village and the Hípico, but not recently perhaps because the flow of the Sabor has been much reduced by the new dam;
Barn Owl (Coruja-das-torres) which we’ve seen twice over our 15 years, between Bragança and França;
Bullfinch (Dom-fafe) a pair on the edge of França. These occur throughout the year in the north of Portugal, but are a rare sighting;
Grey Heron (Garça-real-comum), which is now seen regularly along the Sabor;
Pied Flycatcher (Papa-mosca-preto) we saw regularly on its annual winter migration passing through;
Great Crested Grebe (Merguilâo-de-poupa) seen on the original dam at Montesinho.

And these to the overall Parque list :

Booted Eagles (Águia-calçada) we regularly saw these during the summer;
Griffon Vultures (Grifo-comum), regular sightings, sometimes in large numbers, are now common throughout the year;
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Pica-pau-galago) seen twice in the walnut tree in our garden.

… and not just birds

The decline in numbers undoubtedly applies to butterflies, moths and other insects. One of our abiding memories of living in ouhouse in the early 2000s was watching large numbers of moths flying round the street lights and watching bats hunt them – something not seen these days.

Yes, species decline is a reality, even in an area so sparsely populated as Parque Natural de Montesinh.

Birdwatching in the 2020s

When we walked into the hills it was very rare to encounter anyone. At most we might have met a couple of tourists in a car, or perhaps a farmer tending a chestnut tree plantation. And yet on many of these walks we saw few birds – perhaps the occasional Crow (Gralha-preta) or Raven (Corvo), although we would invariably hear Jays (Gaio) in the woodland, and usually Chaffinches (Tentilhão-comum) and Robins (Pisco-de-Peito-ruivo).

But then again the walk could have been marked by something quite spectacular – a Golden Eagle (Águia-real) , Montagu Harriers (Águia-caçadeira), Hoopoes (Poupa), a flock of hundreds of Chaffinches, and more! See for example our photomontage of Golden Eagles in Parque Natural de Montesinho: https://woodcockwood.com/golden-eagles-montesinho-portugal/

…. and the English subtitled video:

ou, com legenda portuguesa:

It was these experiences that add to the challenge and continuing excitement of this location, and we would like to share them with you on our website.

For an overview of birds today, try:

Birds in and around Aldeia de França ….

The Beauty of Parque de Montesinho

The park of course remains as beautiful as ever, and we provide directions for a number of our favourite short walks from França and nearby – see our list of Walking Trails.

Living in the north east of Portugal

Category: Birdwatching