Leaders	Duncan Macdonald and Julian Sykes
Flights	EasyJet, scheduled, Speedy Boarding and extra legroom included Outbound: Morning, Gatwick-Faro Inbound: Afternoon, Faro-Gatwick

Day 1	Fly London to Faro and transfer to eastern Algarve - 3 nights at Hotel Vila Gale Albacora.
Days 2-3	Exploration of the wetlands of the eastern Algarve, including Castro Marim and a day in the southern Alentejo.
Days 4-7	Transfer west to Sagres and exploration of wetlands, coast and Cabo de São Vicente of eastern Algarve including half day boat trip from Sagres - 4 nights at Memmo Baleeira Hotel.
Day 8	Return to Faro for our flight back to London.

Weather	A little rain could be encountered but generally warm and dry. Cooler in the evenings and early mornings. A sunhat is essential (10°-25°C).
Walking	Most will be on flat tracks and paths with lots of stopping and scanning. In the mountains, tracks to summits are steep but short. 2-4km per day.
Meals	All included from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 8.
Insects	Mosquitos may be encountered, unlikely to be a nuisance but bring repellent.
Accom	Twin and single rooms all ensuite.
Group	12

The very best of southern Portugal at the height of autumn migration with raptors, storks, seabirds, sunshine and a whole lot more.

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	*   Wonderful warm autumn sunshine in the Algarve
	*   Fantastic wetlands of the Rio Formosa for herons, flamingos, spoonbills and more
	*   Raptors including Black-winged Kite, Bonelli’s Eagle and Spanish Imperial Eagle
	*   Migration hotspots for raptors, passerines and shorebirds
	*   Boat trip for shearwaters, petrels, other seabirds and cetaceans
	*   The Alentejo steppe for Great and Little Bustards
	*   Chance of Two-tailed Pasha – what a butterfly!

Day 1	Our flight from London takes us to Faro. From here it is a short journey to our hotel near Tavira. The hotel is situated in the heart of the Rio Formosa Natural Park and if time allows, we shall do some initial birding around the hotel.
Days 2-3	The Algarve in autumn is warm and welcoming and provides some of the best birding in Europe. The Rio Formosa Natural Park stretches over 50km east to west and protects the Formosa estuary. Here the lagoons, marshes, channels and salt workings provide superb habitat for Greater Flamingo, Spoonbill, Cattle and Little Egrets, Black-winged Stilt and Kentish Plovers. At Quinto do Lago Purple Swamphen skulk through the reeds and sometimes out on to the golf course! Among the more common Shoveler we could find Red-crested Pochard or Ferruginous Duck. The Rio Formosa’s mixture of scrub, sand dune and water provides lots of opportunities of cover for migrating songbirds. Bluethroat can be found here if we are lucky and more common species such as Whinchat, Pied Flycatcher and Common Redstart can be more obvious. Audouin’s and Slender-billed Gulls are found among the Yellowlegged Gulls. At this time of year noisy groups of the endemic Iberian (Azure-winged) Magpie are obvious and will be a real highlight for many. The rolling steppe grasslands of the Alentejo, to the north of the Algarve, are an extension of the Spanish province of Extremadura. The sky here is huge and we shall explore this wonderful area for both Great and Little Bustards that are here in good numbers. Here we shall also hope to find Calandra and Thekla Lark and Iberian Grey Shrike. We shall be keeping a close eye on the sky for raptors in the hope of Black-winged Kite, Spanish Imperial Eagle and Red Kite that all hunt over the plains. Griffon Vultures can drift over and if we are really lucky maybe a Black Vulture from the Extremadura population just across the border in Spain.
Days 4-7	We leave the eastern Algarve and head west towards the port of Sagres, our base for the rest of the tour. Sagres sits in the southwestern corner of Portugal and is the perfect location from which to explore the surroundings at this time of peak migration. We shall spend a day inland around the village of Monchique. Here the hills rise to the summit of Fóia, the highest mountain in the Algarve at 902m. We shall explore the surrounding mixed forest for species such as Firecrest, Short-toed Treecreeper, Dartford Warbler and, if we are lucky, Rock Bunting. Above we could find soaring Goshawk and Hobby and Honey Buzzards heading south. Roads lead to the summits of both Fóia and nearby Picotta, from which the views over the Algarve to the sea are to be savoured. On a warm day these summits can be good places to find both Swallowtail and the rare Two-tailed Pasha. The southwestern tip of Europe finishes at Cabo de São Vicente. This headland is a great migration hotspot and we shall look out to sea for passing shearwaters and other seabirds. The point also acts as a beacon for migrating raptors and passerines that are heading south to Africa. We shall look for migrating raptors and just about anything is possible, but Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Honey Buzzard and Short-toed Eagle are all likely, with Hen and Montagu’s Harrier, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel all possible. We have had Eleonora’s Falcon and Spanish Imperial Eagle here in the past. Watching visible migration is a fantastic experience. Given the right conditions the passerines can fill the surrounding scrub. Crested Tit are to be found in the conifer stands, Sardinian Warblers scold from bushes and Hoopoes pick around the field edges. Around the cape itself Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart and Red-billed Chough are resident, but headlands at migration times can drag in just about anything. If we havn’t seen Little Bustard in the western Algarve, the area here is another opportunity. We could find species such as Tawny Pipit, Red-backed Shrike, Short-toed Lark and raptors are not the only large-winged birds to be migrating. Black Stork is possible and Portugal is the best place in Europe to see White Stork. One of the highlights will be the half day boat trip from Sagres. With luck on our side we could encounter Cory’s, Great, Sooty and Balearic Shearwaters, along with European Storm Petrel, Gannets and other seabirds. We shall hope for maybe Common or Bottlenose Dolphins and if luck is shining on us then perhaps even Wilson’s Storm Petrel.
Day 8	If time permits we shall enjoy some final birding on our way to Faro to catch our flight.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Red-crested Pochard	Spoonbill	Little Bustard
Black-necked Grebe	Greater Flamingo	Black-winged Stilt
Cory’s Shearwater	Egyptian Vulture	Audouin’s Gull
Great Shearwater	Spanish Imperial Eagle	Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Balearic Shearwater	Short-toed Eagle	Thekla Lark
European Storm Petrel	Bonelli's Eagle	Calandra Lark
Wilson’s Storm Petrel	Honey Buzzard	Bluethroat
Little Bittern	Balck-winged Kite	Blue Rock Thrush
White Stork	Purple Swamphen	Iberian Grey Shrike
Black Stork	Great Bustard	Azure-winged Magpie