Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris
Pictures by Ray Tipper - More about Ray...
More about Ray Tipper
Ray Tipper began his birding on the North Kent Marshes at the age if eleven. He left his native Britain in 1973 spending most of the next 22 years in Hong Kong. As a trustee of WWF he was intimately involved with its renowned Mai Po Nature Reserve. It was in Hong Kong that Ray turned to bird photography, which quickly became his major interest. He gained associateship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1990, and his photographs appear in journals and books throughout the world. Ray guides specialist birdwatching and bird photography tours and since 1997 has led more than 100 tours in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Madagascar. He now lives in the Algarve, where his intimate knowledge of its birds has been recognised by his appointment as Chairman of the Portuguese Rarities Committee.
Sagres
This sombrely clad but extremely attractive thrush is the indubitable harbinger of winter in the Algarve. More common in some winters than others, the Fieldfare is rarely really numerous but a search among the matos of Sagres will usually turn up several birds, the area immediately surrounding the Fortaleza de Beliche being particularly rewarding. Typically, they perch on the tops of the stunted Juniper and Mastic shrubs, as depicted in the accompanying photograph, and if disturbed, fly away calling a loud chack, chack, chack so characteristic of the species.
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