BirdWatching in Ria – Olhão

Some of the most interesting species that we often observe in Ria Formosa are the black-necked grebe (podiceps nigricollis), the spoonbill (platalea leucorodia), oystercatcher (haematopus ostralegus), flamingo (phoenicopterus roseus), bar-tailed godwit (limosa lapponica), mediterranean gull (larus melanocephalus), cormorant (phalacrocorax carbo), little egret (egretta garzetta), grey heron (ardea cinerea), white stork (ciconia ciconia), among others. Ria Formosa Natural Park is one of Portugal’s most important protected wetlands designated as a Ramsar site and one of the 7 Wounders of Portugal. This Natural Reserve of special protection covers an area of 14.000 hectares protected by a complex web of sand barriers and dunes that extents for 60 kilometers along the coast and host in a regular basis more than 20,000 waterbirds especially during winter time. This is a crucial spot for migrant’s birds from or to Africa. More than 200 species of birds can be seen in a day on diverse habitats such as dunes, open water, inter-tidal mudflats, salt marshes, salt pans, reed beds, lagoons and pine woods. Particularly rich in wader species and passerines, this is a great place to see rare and localized species that cannot be found anywhere else in Portugal, like Purple Swamp-hen and Little Bittern.