Mark your calendar: registrations for activities open on August 1
Organisers have announced the return of the Birdwatching and Nature Activities Festival to Sagres between October 3 and 6.
The festival has become one of the most popular of its kind in Portugal, having attracted over 1,100 people to the south-western Algarve town in 2023.
“In addition to a variety of birdwatching sessions on land and at sea, the festival offers a range of opportunities for nature lovers to discover that the Algarve is much more than just beaches. There are also many options for families and friends of birdwatchers, such as tours, hikes, lectures, and challenges for the little ones,” the organisers of the event say in a statement to the press.
The Sagres Birdwatching Festival’s full programme is due to be announced on its website from August 1. Those interested in taking part in the wide range of activities should keep a close eye on the announcement, as many of the events tend to become fully booked quickly.
Every year, one bird species is picked to act as a kind of mascot for the festival. This year, the choice has fallen on the booted eagle, named for the “feathered legs that make it look like it is wearing pants.”
“This medium-sized bird of prey is mainly seen while flying and is identified by its ‘landing lights’: white spots on the sides of its neck, facing forward, resembling the landing lights of an airplane,” the organisers say. “An interesting aspect of this species is that it appears in two forms: light and dark, depending on the color of its chest and the underside of its wings. A migratory species, it visits our country mainly in spring and summer, although some individuals stay here in winter. During migration, they often appear along the coast, and one of the best places to observe them is in the Sagres region, where, when the wind is from the east, they can gather by the dozens.”
The Sagres Birdwatching Festival is organised by the Municipality of Vila do Bispo in partnership with the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and the Almargem Association.
