For the second week of my trip to Portugal, I've moved from Sagres and am now
staying in Montnegro, right near the airport. The reason for staying here is
it's quite central for everything and is right in the middle of the Ria
Formosa nature reserve.....and my apartment really is in the middle of the
nature reserve, as I discovered yesterday afternoon.
I was back at the apartment for 3pm following an early morning and after a
chill with a cup of tea I decided to have a walk around the garden. I started
a checklist on eBird and set off. When I go back to the apartment the eBird
tracker told me that I'd walked just over half a mile (0.8km)! Think
about that. Half a mile walk around the garden.... and there were bits I
couldn't get to because of the saltmarsh. Yes the garden includes an area of
saltmarsh. You might have hedgehogs in your garden. These people have fiddler
crabs! The garden also has a stone pine woodland, an acacia woodland, a few
cork oaks and a sandy heath area, plus wide open views over Ria Formosa. Quite
honestly it could be a nature reserve. I've never stayed at a place quite like
this.
I recorded 36 species in or over the garden today, including a few greater
flamingos, three spoonbills and seven white storks. Highlight though was this
wonderful western subalpine warbler.
Two booted eagles flew over.
At least two spotted flycatchers in the garden, also a single pied.
All of the following photos are within the garden, except this one which is a
view of the estuary and saltmarsh taken from the garden.
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