Birds of the Algarve
A region of pure, unspoilt nature, the Algarve has some excellent landscapes in which to watch the region’s birdlife.
Come and see the flamingos, spoonbills and purple swamphens that inhabit the Ria Formosa Natural Park. The wetlands of this protected environment contain more than 100 species of bird. The reed beds have the largest nesting colony of purple herons in the region and an important population of purple swamphens.
In the lagoon formed by the Ria, keep your eyes peeled for some beautiful examples of grey herons, bee-eaters, great reed warblers and marsh harriers.Take a trip to the Costa Vicentina, where at the headland of Cabo Sardão, you’ll be able to observe the world’s last population of white storks, nesting in the cliffs in the abandoned nests of ospreys.
You can see ospreys themselves in the Ria do Alvor (Mexilhoeira Grande). The species shares this protected area of the Algarve with storks, cormorants and peregrine falcons, amongst many other elegant birds.