5 Days Birdwatching in Tavira and Ria Formosa

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival
1 stop
1
Individual arrival to Faro Airport and rent-a-car vehicle pick up. Drive to Maria Nova Lounge Hotel in Tavira.
45 minutes • Admission ticket included
Day 2
Tavira & Santa Luzia Salt-pans (Salinas) & Sítio das Quatro Águas
1 stop
2
The Tavira salinas consist of numerous tanks, channels, creeks and drainage ditches. In autumn and winter the large tanks on the south side attract large numbers of waterfowl. The tanks are a popular high tide roost for waders and gulls and Greater Flamingos can usually be found. It is a site best visited at high tide. These are home to numerous wading birds at high tide including Dunlin, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, and Kentish & Ringed Plover. Common Shelduck can often be found on the bunds amongst the roosting Lesser Black-back & Audouin’s Gulls. The road to Quatro Águas is bounded on the east by Salinas and then the River Gilão, on the west by an extensive area of Salinas, creeks and disused fish farms and on the south by the tidal Tavira channel. It is sometimes possible to see the six common species of gull found in this area, including Audouin’s and Slender-billed Gulls, on the same pan. Caspian Terns can also be found.
5 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 3
Quinta de Marim
1 stop
3
The Natural Park is state managed and the headquarters of the Ria Formosa is here. Currently the entrance costs 2.5€ and you can obtain information about the fauna and flora either at the entrance or at the headquarters building. There are sign-posted trails around the park. The park is an area of approximately 40 hectares comprising salt marsh, saltpans, Mediterranean scrub and pine forest, freshwater lagoons, beaches and mudflats. With such a range of habitats it is possible to see a wide range of bird species. If you are visiting in the spring look out for orchids in the wooded areas and in the summer months look out for Mediterranean Chameleon.
4 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 4
Castro Marim
1 stop
4
A day visiting the Reserva Natural do Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo Antonio, an enormous area of wetland, saltmarsh and salt-pans at the eastern end of the Algarve which is home to a wealth of birdlife. One of the major attractions here are the Greater Flamingos at least some of which can be found all the year round. A varied selection of gulls, wildfowl and wading birds can be expected in spring, autumn and winter. At the “Cerro do Bufo” saltpans it is possible to watch several species of water birds, including the Audouin's Gull, Little Tern, Collared Pratincole and Yellow Wagtail (spring/summer); Shelduck, Shoveler, Black-necked Grebe and Caspian Tern (Autumn/winter). All year round it is possible to find Flamingos, Black-winged Stilts, Spoonbills, Greenshanks and Avocets. Kingfisher is regular at this location and, during migration times, Black Tern often turns up.
5 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 5
Departure
1 stop
5
Individual departure or extra days (on request). At convenient time drive back to the rent-a-car nearby to Faro Airport to drop off the car.
45 minutes • Admission ticket included

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Minimum age is 21 years
• A minimum of 2 people per booking is required

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