We made a day trip inland to the Castro Verde region in search of Bustards and other Steppe birds. Castro Verde is a Portuguese Municipalty encompassing several villages and pueblos, with the administrative seat being the town of the same name. The rolling hills have poor soil and the natural landscape is therefore quite unaffected by agriculture. A large part of the municipality is covered by the European Union's Natura 2000 project and is denoted as a Special Protection Area for endangered species of steppe birds such as the Great Bustard and the Lesser Kestrel. There is a Visitors Centre for the environment located a few kilometres outside Castro Verde town just off the road to Entradas village.
On the way there we encountered a large flock of soaring White Storks, and several large flocks of Lapwings. Lapwing flocks were once a common sight in England but sadly not any more as modern farming methods have caused a dramatic decline in their numbers, they are now Red listed by the RSPB, so it was nice to see them in numbers here in Portugal.
On the way there we encountered a large flock of soaring White Storks, and several large flocks of Lapwings. Lapwing flocks were once a common sight in England but sadly not any more as modern farming methods have caused a dramatic decline in their numbers, they are now Red listed by the RSPB, so it was nice to see them in numbers here in Portugal.
 White Storks - ciconia ciconia |  Lapwings - vanellus vanellus |
| Our first raptor of the day was a Red Kite which proved to be the first of many. In fact the day really belonged to raptors as we saw eight species in total.  Common Buzzard - buteo buteo |  Red Kite - milvus milvus The elusive Black-winged Kite put in a brief appearance but yet again too fleeting for a photo opportunity. No problem capturing this Buzzard however as it surveyed the world from the top of a post at the Visitors Centre. |
Monte Salto
The warden at the Visitors Centre gave us valuable information on how to find the Great Bustards which were apparently near a tiny village called Monte Salto. And so they were. We found a large group in excess of fifty birds, and although we were not able to get close it was a remarkable experience to see such magnificent and rare birds in their natural habitat.
Great Bustards - otis tarda
Spanish Imperial Eagle - aquila adalberti
The Bustards should have been the birds of the day, but we had been seeing various raptors including Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Griffon Vulture, when I decided one of the Vultures was not quite right, correctly so, as it was in fact this magnificent Spanish Imperial Eagle, an unexpected delight.
It did not end there as a little later we came upon a pair of Imperial Eagles roosting in the branches of a dead tree. We spotted the male first but then a female appeared from what looked like a very large nest low down in the same tree. We were later informed at the Visitors Centre in El Rocio that we had stumbled upon one of just three pairs of Eagles introduced into Portugal, where they are known as Iberian Imperial Eagles! We hope for their continued success.
It did not end there as a little later we came upon a pair of Imperial Eagles roosting in the branches of a dead tree. We spotted the male first but then a female appeared from what looked like a very large nest low down in the same tree. We were later informed at the Visitors Centre in El Rocio that we had stumbled upon one of just three pairs of Eagles introduced into Portugal, where they are known as Iberian Imperial Eagles! We hope for their continued success.
Spanish Imperial Eagles - aquila alberti
Note the female on what looks very much like a nest (Eyrie?) on the bottom right of this picture. The male is perched on the dead branch in the centre. Unfortunately the light was getting poor and the birds were too far away for good photography.
 Kestrel - falco tinnunculus |  Hen Harrier - circus cyaneus Other raptors of note include the Hen Harrier, and a rather handsome Common Kestrel on a fencepost. |
Golden Plover - pluvialis apricaria
Also worthy of note were the two or three Golden Plovers picked out among a group of Lapwings feeding in the fields, these birds are easily missed in their winter plumage without careful scrutiny with the binoculars.
