Private Full-Day Birdwatching Tour from Lisbon to the Tagus Estuary
Lisbon is the only European capital located near such a rich Birds & Nature hotspot – the Tagus Estuary. This estuary is the most important Portuguese wetland area and one of the most important in Europe.
The Tagus Estuary, a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, includes a wide Special Protection Zone (ZPE) and a Natural Reserve (RNET), extending over 14,000 hectares, specifically created to protect wintering, passage and breeding populations of aquatic birds.
Because of the specific geography of the area, it abounds with a remarkable variety of non-wetland biotopes as well, including wooded slopes and extensive pastures. Put together, the greater Tagus Estuary contains a quite extraordinary range of birds, from Greater Flamingo to Black-winged Kite and Squacco Heron to Little Bustard. Other charismatic species regularly seen on our tours include Little Bittern, Bonelli’s Eagle, Western Swamphen, Collared Pratincole, European Bee-eater, Eurasian Hoopoe, Iberian Grey Shrike, Iberian Magpie, Iberian Chiffchaff and Bluethroat. The area bird list comprises more than 250 species.
Visiting the Tagus Estuary is a fantastic experience at all times of the year. In winter, it holds over 150.000 waders, waterfowl and other aquatic birds; during migratory periods, the bird diversity is at its maximum, and it is not unusual to observe more than 100 bird species in a single day; during the summer, the estuary is alive with breeding species more usually associated with the Mediterranean.
Nature seems especially close here, because of the unique age-old relationship between agriculture and the land. Enormous, powerful black bulls abound, lazing under Cork Oaks, while the ecological balance created over the centuries has ensured a wide biodiversity.
Many wild mammals are common, especially the Egyptian Mangoose, which is regularly seen, moving in family groups.
The places visited include a wide variety of special habitats: open water, inter-tidal mudflats, salt marshes, salt pans, rice fields, reedbeds, small lagoons, Cork Oak and Stone Pine woodlands, eucalypt plantations, poplars and willows and steppe-like pasture.
Given the closeness of Lisbon to some of the best places for birdwatching at this site – a drive of about 20 minutes – Birds & Nature has half day (morning or afternoon) and full day guided tours to the area.
(+ 60 € per additional person)
Photos by Pedro Marques
