MY GARDEN LIST

My home is on the Quinta da Rocha peninsula which is bordered by the Ribeira (River) Alvor and Ribeira Odeaxere and is adjacent to the tidal lagoon of the Ria da Alvor. The great mixture of habitats in a relatively small area results in a large and varied list of resident birds and the location near the southwestern-most point of mainland Europe also produces large numbers of migrants. The bird observatory and field study centre (Cruzinha, the home of the now worldwide A Rocha organization - www.arocha.org) close by have recorded, in their trapping and ringing programme, a large number of scarcities and rarities.


My own "garden list" includes all species observed either perched within my land (an area of 4,000 square metres) or species of which I can be confidently certain have flown over my "air space" since March 1997; it does not include species just seen from my garden:


Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)
White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus)
Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus)
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix)
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)
European Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus graellsi)
Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur)
Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)
Little Owl (Athene noctua)
Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis)
Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba)
Common Swift (Apus apus)
Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
European Bee-eater (Merops apiasterUpupa epops)
Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
Eurasian Crag-martin (Hirundo rupestris)
Eurasian Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica rufula)
House Martin (Delichon urbica)
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Spanish Yellow-wagtail (Motacilla flava iberiae)
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
Common Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)
Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)
Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)
Western Olivaceous Warbler (Hippolais opaca)
Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta)
Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)
Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)
Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)
Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
Iberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus)
Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)
Great Tit (Parus major)
Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)
Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyana)
Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis)
Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild)
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
European Serin (Serinus serinus)
European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
Eurasian Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

Total Species on list 114