Observer les oiseaux sur la péninsule de Sagres (Portugal)

The Sagres peninsula is a windswept promontory located in the southwest Algarve region of southern Portugal. A it’s extremity lies the Cape St. Vincent which is usually taken as the south westernmost tip of Europe. During the 15th century, Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal established a institute at Sagres to teach navigational techniques to Portuguese sailors, to collect and disseminate geographical information about the world. The Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina Nature Park protects nearly 100 km of coasts with abrupt and carved cliffs that hide small sand beaches. Plants fight against the rude soils and obvious exposition to the winds and salty seas, and botanical endemism is frequent.
The Sagres peninsular is very attractive for birdwatchers thanks to it’s remarkably strategic position, in particular in autumn (the spring passage is weaker): thousands of seabirds, raptors, passerines and others birds can then be watched. During spring, passage is usually weaker however, as most species take routes much further to the east and on a wider front than in the autumn. Several interesting birds species nest in the cliffs, heaths, grasslands and pine woods, while in winter, visitors include small numbers of attractive passerines such as the Siberian vagrant Richard’s Pipit on the grasslands and Alpine Accentors on the cape.
Rare birds turn up anywhere in the area, especially later in the autumn. The Sagres peninsula is probably the best site in Portugal for finding national and European rarities from as far afield as Siberia and North America.
Guillaume Rethoré presents us the best birdwatching sectors near Sagres.