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Boat Trips | Special Moments | Birdwatching & Ecotourism
On this 3-hour private tour from Faro, we’ll explore the areas of Ludo and Quinta do Lago in the Ria Formosa Nature Park. Considered the second most important wetland for birds in Portugal, Ria Formosa is an extraordinary area for bird watching and on this tour you’ll be out in one of the best birding spots in the Algarve.
Come along on a 3-hour private tour from Faro and discover the birds of Ria Formosa. In this extraordinary Nature Park you can improve your sightings list with the Kentish Plover, Little Tern, Caspian Tern or even Audouin’s gull and the Little Bittern. On the fresh water lagoons, the Purple Swamphen is the highlight of the day and the surrounding woodlands offer excellent views of the Azure-winged Magpie.
Ria Formosa is an excellent place for birdwatching with a wide range of habitats to explore such as salt marshes, sand and mud banks, dunes, saltpans, sweet and salt water lakes, ponds, farmland as well as pine woods. It’s a wintering ground for birds from northern and central Europe holding 20 000 or more wintering water birds on a regular basis. It is also an strategic stop-over point in the migration between Europe and Africa and it provides shelter for rare species such as the Purple Swamphen (Phorphyrio phorphyrio) - the symbol of this protected area.
During this tour we explore the areas of Ludo and Quinta do Lago. An experienced guide, we will share with you sightings of many different bird species as well as other aspects of Ria Formosa’s nature and culture.
All over the year, species like Black-winged Stilt, Avocet and Kentish Plover can be observed. Other breeders include Red-crested Pochard, Collared Pranticole, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Yellow Wagtail, Woodchat Shrike and beach-nesting Little Tern.
Autumn is marked by several migrant passerines including Melodious and Willow Warblers, Tawny Pipit and Bluethroat. The reed beds are important for several nesting waterbird species and also for large numbers of migrating passerines during both autumn and spring migration.
Winter is quite interesting mostly due to the huge concentrations of waders and ducks that take refuge here. The Caspian Tern, Northern Pintail, Glossy Ibis, Osprey, Black-shouldered Kite, Marsh Harrier and the Booted Eagle are regular visitors during the coldest period of the year. On the saltpans is also possible to have excellent views of Little Egret, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit and the Redshank.
Sightings of reasonable numbers of Greater Flamingo, Spoonbill and White Stork are common all year round and excellent views of Azure-winged Magpie, Hoopoe, Kingfisher, Sardinian Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Crested Lark and even the exotic Black-headed Weaver are some of the other highlights.
Come along and discover Ria Formosa on one of our daily birding tours.
We also organize Birdwatching Boat Trips in Ria Formosa» and birding tours to Tavira, Castro Marim, Lagoa dos Salgados and Sagres. Please contact us » for further information.
video: Birds of the Ria Formosa Birdwatching in the Algarve
