Birdwatching day in the Monchique hills

A last minute booking as I had a free day during a week of bird photography, and I wasn't disappointed. Guillaume is a fantastic guide (I have booked many over the years) and speaks fluent French (native), English, Portuguese and a bit of Spanish (his words) which helps when you are spending the day talking bird detail. His knowledge of birds is superb and he is very focused on finding you the best around and species of specific interest. I joined one other solo traveller so there was just the three of us with Guillaume driving us in his car. It was very relaxed and friendly. He is well travelled and knows many birding areas of Portugal extremely well. The areas up to and around Monchique are stunning, especially a small cork oak wooded place called Cerca da Rita where we had a picnic lunch (bring your own) and watched a pair of Redstarts foraging right next to us. Then a Crested Tit juvenile begging food from its parent :-) Monchique was sunny but can be very windy too as it is the highest point in the Algarve after all so I was glad to have my jacket. Fab Rock Buntings, Melodious Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Blue Rock Thrush, Stonechats, Woodlarks etc. Lovely place. Then we visited the village of Caldas de Monchique, a very pretty town with spa hotels and waterfalls just lower down from the peak. Black Redstarts, Grey Wagtails, Chaffinch, frogs, butterflies, and maybe a newt or two. Other stops included a few bridges (always good for wildlife) and the massive White Stork colony area just north of Lagoa, and a tiny wetland next to Aldi (lovely Purple Swamphen). I highly recommend a tour with Guillaume - it's interesting, relaxing and excellent value.

Our day was exceptional. We saw 36 bird species, incredible scenery, learned about local plants and some interesting history. Our biologist guide, Guillaume, was amazing at chosing varied locations locations where we saw different birds and their activities. He also was very knowledgeable and very professional about everything we asked - plants, towns, traffic signs, local tips. He knew the bird songs, always took time to point me in the right direction, and orchestrated an amazing day.