Migration is in full swing.
The winter has been short in Portugal and wintering species are on their way north. The birds that wintered in Africa are not quite settled yet. Here is a recapitulation of the winter in photos.
A Kingfisher posing in the morning sun.
A Black-winged Stilt. Perky, fragile and pretty agressive in nesting season. And of course, all of that on long, long legs!
The Little Owl. Every evening at the same spot waiting for the sunset, waiting for nightfall.
A Common Spoonbill.
A close up of a Common Moorhen.
Reflection…Black-winged Stilt.
A Barn Owl on a gas detection device, An odd perch, but the owl doesn’t seem to bother much.
The Mallards are in panic when the Marsh Harrier launches an attack. Yet she is not after the Mallards but tries to catch a Teal that submerges on her approach.
The Black-winged Stilt to the left invites the other one for mating…..but he doesn’t seem interetsed.
A Common Buzzard…I wonder what he is reflecting on?
The tiny Barn Owl is in featherweight class. Perching on a sign like that makes it even clearer.
Strawling in the sunrise, Black-winged Stilt.
A Merlin showing the beautiful polka dots under its wing.
A Western Moorhen in high key. Is that a big foot or what?
A Bonelli’s Eagle with a taste for Teal.
A curious Short-eared Owl. In the middle of the night he was hovering above me for a while and finally he landed right in front of me. Thus blocking the view on an approaching pole cat I was looking at.
A Common Spoonbill cleaning and preening, treating every feather with that beautiful odd shaped bill.