Registrations are now open for the 12th Birdwatching & Nature Activities Festival in Sagres, Algarve. The year’s most awaited nature event will take place from 1st to 5th October, and will once again showcase the beauty of bird migration and of the Algarve to nature-lovers worldwide.
The programme is available online and we recommend registering as soon as possible, since every year there are activities that sell out practically as soon as the programme is announced. This year, there are over 150 activities to choose from; many of them free or at special discounted prices. From birdwatching sessions on land and at sea to the ever-popular bird-ringing sessions, the Festival offers a wealth of opportunities for nature-lovers to discover that the Algarve is much more than beaches. There’s also plenty for birdwatchers’ friends and families, including walks, hikes, talks, and challenges for young ones. After registering online for their chosen activities, participants just have to head to Sagres, collect their bracelet and enjoy all the Festival has to offer.
In October, thousands of birds fly over the Algarve, on their way to wintering grounds in Africa, putting on a show worthy of a festival. While hundreds of seabirds, like gannets and shearwaters, sail past the coast, vultures, eagles and storks soar overhead in search of the route to Africa. On land, trees and bushes are welcome resting points for small songbirds on their ambitious journey south.
This year’s poster-bird is a regular at the Festival: the unmistakable Black Stork, which is often seen soaring high overhead. Shier than White Storks, Black Storks are usually seen alone or in pairs (during breeding season), but from August to September, when they migrate to Africa, they may gather in flocks of up to 100 birds. This is when they are easiest to spot, and Sagres is a particularly good vantage point from which to do so, precisely around the Festival’s dates. At this time, Black Storks from central Europe congregate here, in search of passage to Africa. Since they need thermals to soar, and these hot air currents only form over land, these birds tend to cross the Mediterranean at its narrowest point, at Gibraltar.
The event is once again organised by Câmara Municipal de Vila do Bispo, in partnership with the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA, BirdLife International’s partner in Portugal) and Associação Almargem.
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