Events & Festivals

Following last year’s success that brought hundreds of wildlife and nature lovers together, the 11th Sagres Birdwatching Festival is set to return on 2 – 5 October.

A hotspot for biodiversity, Sagres is a verdant region in the western point of the Algarve, and the main crossing point in Portugal for migratory birds, enroute to their final destination of Africa. October will see visitors from across the globe attend, armed with binoculars and telescopes to view the unique spectacle in the skies above, with the hope to glimpse numerous rarities such as the Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus), the Rüppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppelli), The Red-Breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva), the Yellow Browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) and much more.

Apart from birdwatching, people can also go dolphin watching or on plant fieldtrips.

Sagres Birdwatching Festival

The Sagres Birdwatching festival organised with the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), is a celebration of nature as well as wildlife, and the programme will include around 200 nature-related activities such as nature excursions, boat trips, environmental education workshops and courses, guided tours, bird ringing and more.

Visitors will also be able to enjoy horse and donkey rides, boat trips to view dolphins and birds, and attend activities that focus on specialised topics from archaeology and geology to botany and marine life. To infuse a taste of Algarvian heritage into the event, there will be walks and guided tours to learn about the history of Sagres, and there will also be plenty of activities to keep the younger ones entertained.

This year the programme features a host of different activities both during the day and at night, including some webinars for the first time. Each day from 9 to 10pm you can watch “Women Saving the World” talks remotely. Other topics for webinars include Ria Formosa’s seahorses and the fight against environmental crime. There are also scientific illustration workshops.

Bird of the Year

Promoted by local partners, anyone attending the festival can take advantage of several discounts across accommodation, restaurants and shops.

This year’s official poster highlights the Bonnelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata). The eagle can be identified by its white front, dark wings and white patch on its rump. In Portugal, it is classified as ‘endangered’ and is also the SPEA’s (Study of Birds) ‘Bird of the Year 2018’.

Programme and Registration for Sagres Birdwatching Festival

Registration for the event is set to open on the 28 July, in addition to the unveiling of the festival programme. Latest news can be found on the official Facebook Page, and shortly, the festival’s website: Birdwatching Sagres.

For further information on The Algarve,

please visit: www.visitalgarve.pt or http://www.algarvepromotion.pt/en/

To visit the Sagres Birdwatching Festival website

Click here.