TRAVEL The Urban Birder KEY SPECIES GREATER FLAMINGO
THE
URBAN BIRDER
David Lindo heads for Lisbon – is it the urban birding capital of Europe?
I
é THINK PINK You can’t fail to be wowed by a flock of flamingos in flight 86 November 2015
long johns on a dank freezing windy day, wishing I were in bed. Instead, it was a gloriously warm and sunny day and I could have easily got away with wearing shorts. The main features of this site are the three freshwater wetland areas that are serviced by well maintained paths and hides. On one of the lakes were hundreds of Glossy Ibises and Greater Flamingos that would sometimes chose to take flight in one glorious pink-peppered flock. On the other lakes were multitudes of ducks. I took my place in one of the hides and began to sift through a remarkable gathering of some 7,000 Teal. In among them were Mallard, Shoveler and Gadwall. But I felt particularly proud that I discovered three wintering Garganey secreted in their number. Evoa has a very good visitor centre, staffed by very helpful staff, and a museum area that tells the ecological story of the site and the greater estuary. My only gripe with the visitor centre is that the glass windows are so tinted that you can barely see through them! All the more reason to get out in the reserve, if you ask me!
T R AV E L FAC T S
FLPA / Alamy Stock Photo
Black-headed Gull
Age fotostock / Alamy Stock Photo
David Lindo The Urban Birder is a familiar face on TV screens and is behind the Vote National Bird campaign
T HAS TO be said that when people think of shimmering in the sunshine across the river, you can Portugal, they usually think of the Algarve. Even sometimes see the pinkish haze lining the water’s edge. birders are guilty of that presumption. We still It’s an optical illusion created by hundreds of feeding think that the cream of Portuguese bird life is Greater Flamingos. As obvious as they are to us, it’s located there. But there is much more to Portugal than crazy to think that there are Lisbon residents who are sun kissed tourist-filled beaches and hot rounds of golf. totally oblivious of these graceful birds’ existence. There is the rest of the country north of the Algarve, But the city itself is not necessarily the central hub of including the capital city. urban birding when held up against the expansive Indeed, Lisbon has rapidly become one of my habitat that comprises the Tagus Estuary Natural favourite urban birding venues in Europe. Where else Reserve lying across the other side of the bridge. The can you watch thousands of waders of multiple species, pools that greet you as you enter the reserve will host masses of Greater Flamingos intermingling with shed yet more flamingos, along with numbers of waders loads of Glossy Ibis within sight of the roaring traffic that, depending on the season, will include Avocet, traversing the impressive Vasco de Gama Bridge that Redshank, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwits, Kentish Plover spans the mighty Tagus River? and many more. It is virtually a birder’s paradise They are just a small sample of the species to be found covering over 35,000 acres and, as such, is the largest in, or, perhaps more precisely, around this pretty cool estuary in Europe. You will find huge fields city. What strikes me about the Lisbon area is the sheer crisscrossed with creeks, expansive marshes, salt flats, number of birds to be seen. An autumnal walk along mud flats and agricultural land. The bushes and the tree-lined streets will reward you with migrant watercourses seem to be stuffed with birds. During Chiffchaffs searching the foliage for morsels. You the summer you can expect to encounter both will be spotting Spotless Starlings with ease and Nightjars and Red-necked Nightjars and Black Redstarts should make your list too. A DAVID Mediterranean stalwarts like Bee-eater, Great walk up to St George’s Castle, a very popular SAYS Spotted Cuckoo, Nightingale, Cetti’s Warbler, cultural attraction, will afford you great You can Rock Sparrow and a host of other views over the city and the Tagus sometimes spend the passerines. Let us not forget the wide River. There are birds to be found in whole day birding the Tagus range of waterbirds to be found the grounds of this fascinating Estuary and not see another birder. here, including breeding Redplace and, if you look beyond the Don’t be put off. Become a finder crested Pochard, a raft of herons feral Peacocks, you will find and discover the birds that and egrets, raptors like Blackwarblers like Blackcap and Chiffchaff would otherwise have winged Kite, waders like Collared even during the winter months. gone unseen. Pratincoles and even Little Bustards. I Once you have crossed the Vasco de Gama strongly recommend a visit, even if you are Bridge, Europe’s longest bridge at some 11km just visiting Lisbon just for a long weekend, as end-to-end, and casually look back at Lisbon it truly is a magnet for birds.
The Greater Flamingo is both the largest and the most widespread of the world’s six flamingo species. Its range encompasses Mediterranean Europe, parts of Africa and southern Asia, Cyprus and Israel. The Greater Flamingo is a bit of an enigma in the UK as birds have been recorded on our shores over the years and although this species does occasionally range further north, its popularity as a captive bird certainly confuses the issue. The other members of the family include the Lesser, American, Chilean, Andean and James’ Flamingos. The family are oddlooking birds and although they superficially resemble storks, ibises and spoonbills, anatomically, they are now grouped with ducks and geese. In case you ever wondered, they attain their pink or reddish colour from the carotenoids in the plankton that they sift through their uniquely shaped beaks. Greater Flamingos main habitat are mudflats and coastal lagoons with salt water and they breed in large colonies within those habitats that are far and few between and very sensitive to disturbance. Once the chicks survive into adulthood they stand a chance of being pretty long-lived. The oldest Evoa Conservation Area Greater Flamingo on record This is a 173 acre freshwater wetland created was a captive bird that was within the Tagus Estuary. Influenced by the DAVID procured by Adelaide London Wetland Centre, it is recognised SAYS Zoo as an adult and as a Ramsar site. It’s a fantastic site for Spend more time just died at the grand sheer numbers of waterbirds and watching birds, especially old age of at waders all year around and common birds. The more you least 83! regularly attracts in excess of watch them the more you learn. The 120,000 individual birds during more learn the more likely you the migration periods. are to find unusual birds. My visit was made during the winter. Find the extraordinary I use the term winter loosely, as I wasn’t among the cowering over my scope, shivering in my ordinary.
OTHER SITES Lisbon Gardens This long, thin stretch of reedbed and municipal parkland borders the muddy foreshore on the city-side of the Tagus Estuary. It serves as an appetiser for what is to come when you cross the bridge into the estuary proper. It is fairly heavily used by the locals as a place for jogging or just to while away sunny afternoons. But you will still find birds despite all the human presence. The reedbeds, although rudimentary, attracts an array of warblers during the breeding season, including the obligatory Great Reed Warbler. During the winter months Bluethroat is the reedbed speciality and Dartford Warbler frequents the more scrubby areas. The Gardens are also a fine place when it comes to checking for passage migrants. When exposed, the foreshore can hold legions on Black-headed Gulls and masses of waders, especially outside of the breeding season. Expect to drool over hundreds of Avocets, Redshanks, Curlews, Black-tailed Godwits and many other species. You can also get some really close up views of the Greater Flamingos as they variously rest and feed. WEBSITE Many thanks to my good friend and guide João Jara at Birds and Nature (birds.pt ) and Helena Ribeiro at Turismo de Lisboa (visitlisboa.com) David flew with TAP Airlines (flytap.com) and stayed at the Hotel Olissipo Oriente (olissippohotels.com/en/Group/ Olissippo-Hotels/Oriente/ The-Hotel.aspx )
é SOMETHING’S MISSING... It’s a Spotless Starling and the clue is very much in the name
REFERENCE GUIDES The ever-dependable Collins Bird Guide – Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney & Dan Zetterström
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