April 26-May 7, 2026 with Marcelo Padua
When we started running the tour Portugal was a little known country that had very few visitors each year but the secret is now out in cities like Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra now get millions of visitors each year as people from all over the world flock to this country just sample some of its great food, drink its fabulous wines and enjoy the amazing hospitality of the Portuguese people. Luckily for us most of this tour is spent in the countryside away from the bustling cities and allowing us to experience first hand the genuine flavors of Portugal.
We start the tour with a day in Porto visiting a couple of famous port wine lodges and burning a little bit at the mouth of the famous Douro river where we found some common species such as European Stonechat, Yellow Wagtail, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-bellied Plover and several others Before turning our attention to the countryside of Portugal. On the second day of our tour we moved upstream along the Douro making birding stops along the way that connected us with a number of species including Greater Whitethroat, Melodious Warbler, Common Firecrest, Booted Eagle, Coal and Crested Tits and Eurasian Linnets to name a few with a memorable stop at Quinta da Pacheca where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch, sampled some great wines and even found the scarce Eurasian Tree Sparrow before reaching the picturesque medieval village of Castelo Rodrigo.
Castelo Rodrigo was certainly a big change from our stay at Porto as the village only has about 30 inhabitants but our lodging was quite lovely and the hospitality from our hosts was like staying at their own home giving us a real feel for the Portuguese culture and allowing us to explore the beautiful Douro International Natural Park with its famous outlooks over the Douro and the sheer mountain sides where Eurasian Griffons, Egyptian Vultures and Cinereous Vultures nest and Blue Rock Thrushes forage along the rocky slopes. This was an unforgettable experience complete with European Bee Eaters, Eurasian Hoopoe and a memorable picnic with some of Portugal’s rarest Vultures flying by us bellow eye level. A real treat!
Our fourth day had us making our way south but not before stopping at the lovely Faia Brava reserve to learn more about the conservation efforts of our hosts Pedro and Ana as a part of the rewilding Europe initiative, a truly inspiring work of love by the owners of our lodge that is setting aside land for conservation and protecting key species such as Golden Eagle, Egyptian Vulture and many others. Lunch was a charming picnic complete with great wine and many charcuterie products made at home by our hosts which made it hard for us to want to continue on our journey south but we did despite our wish to stay longer and enjoy a bit more of this hidden corner of Portugal.
A few hours moving south and we found ourselves at Cabeças do Reguengo, a boutique winery run by Retired Ballet dancer and wine writer Joao Afonso. A true artist that has dedicated himself to produce wines from old bush vines of wine varieties that are often almost forgotten. His work has earned him several awards and one of his wines was even featured on the cover of Decanter Magazine so we were fortunate to sample some of his wines which have very limited production and are very hard to find anywhere.
Dinner was another experience as we ate at a Michelin recommended restaurant that is run by a retired Forcado. This is the name given to the Portuguese bull fighter who stands in front of the bull and must grab the bull by the horns to subdue it. In Portuguese bull fighting they don’t kill the bull and the Forcado has a greater chance of getting hurt than the bull. In any case the food was absolutely divine, the setting unique and the wines were delicious as we had now officially moved into the Alentejo region, and an entirely different wine growing region with different soils, climate and culture.
We then moved to Mertola with a stop at Jose de Sousa Winery to learn about the Roman technique of making wines in Clay Pots that is still in use to this day in Portugal. Mertola is a town that is a layer cake of history and centered right at the heart of some of Portugal’s best birding allowing us to explore different habitats and areas with some exciting birding that included species such as European Roller, Great Bustard, Montagu’s Harrier, Eurasian Wryneck, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Lesser Kestrel and more White Storks than any person would care to look at.
Our birding around Mertola also included some less flashy but very important birds with several species of Larks, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Eurasian Thick-knee and Little Bustard just to name a few, but we also took some time to explore the archeological sites at Mertola learning a lot about the different periods of occupation of the area and about the strategic importance of the Guadiana River back when it was an important way to reach the Ocean and thus allowing trade to happen.
The final days of our tour were spent at the comfortable Casa de Palmela and gave us access to some forested Habitat where we found Tawny Owl, Eurasian Nuthatch, Iberian Chiffchaff as well as the estuaries of the Tagus river with its Greater Flamingos, Dunlins, Eurasian Whimbrels, Godwits and more. This was a perfect ending to a fabulous tour with a wonderful group of people and lots of great memories.
I loved every minute of it and I hope you did too. And with some luck we will share a glass of wine again the future and enjoy some fabulous birding together.
Our tour also enjoyed some fabulous wines. Here is a list of the wines we enjoyed in the order they were served on the tour.
WINERY, WINE, VINTAGE, REGION, TYPE OF WINE
Graham’s, Six Grapes, No Vintage, Porto, Port
Graham’s, Late Bottled Vintage, 2019, Porto, Port
Graham’s, Tawny Port, 10 Years. Porto, Port
Symington Family Estates, Florão, 2025, Alentejo, White Wine
Quinta do Vesuvio, Pombal do Vesuvio, 2023, Douro, Red Wine
Graham’s, Tawny Port, 20 Years. Porto, Port
Calem, Fine White, No Vintage. Porto, Port
Calem, Tawny, 10 Years, Porto. Port
Sogevinus, Curva Douro DOC, 2024, Douro, White Wine
Bursmester, Douro DOC, 2023, Douro, Red Wine
Kopke, Fine Tawny, Porto. Port
Pacheca, Douro Superior, 2024, Douro, White Wine
Pacheca, Douro Superior, 2024, Douro, Red Wine
Pacheca, Tawny Port, 100 Years. Porto, Port
Pacheca, LBV, 2020, Douro, Porto, Port
Pacheca, Reserva, 2024, Douro, White Wine
Pacheca, Reserva, 2023, Douro, Red Wine
Colinas do Douro, Reserva, 2023, Douro, White Wine
F. Olazabal & Filhos, Meandro do vale Meao, 2017, Red Wine
Quinta de Vale de Pios, Vale de Pios, 2019, Douro, Red Wine
Cabecas do Reguengo, Quartzo, 2024, Alentejo (Portalegre). White Wine
Cabecas do Reguengo. Solsticio, 2022, Alentejo (Portalegre). Red Wine
Cabecas do Reguengo, Respiro Clarete, 2021, Alentejo (Portalegre). Red Wine
Monte da Penha, Veronica, 2021/2022 Blend, Alentejo (Portalegre), White Wine
Tapada do Chaves, Tapada do Chaves Reserva,2018, Alentejo (Portalegre). Red Wine
Cossart Gordon, Bual Madeira Dry, 5 years, Madeira, Fortified Wine
Freixo Estate & Vineyards, Reserva, 2022, Alentejo (Portalegre), White Wine
Howard’s Folly, Sonhador, 2023, Alentejo (Portalegre). White Wine
Freixo Estate & Vineyards, Reserva, 2021, Alentejo (Portalegre), Red Wine
Adega Jose Sousa, Jose de Sousa, 2023, Alentejo, Red Wine
Adega Jose Sousa, Jose de Sousa Reserva, 2023, Alentejo, Red Wine
Adega Jose Sousa, Jose de Sousa Mayor, 2019, Alentejo, Red Wine
Adega Jose Sousa, S, 2023, Alentejo, White Wine
Herdade dos Lagos, Vinho Branco, 2024, Alentejo, White Wine
Henrique Uva, Mingorra blanc de noirs, No Vintage, Alentejo, White Wine
Henrique Uva, Mingorra Reserva, 2021, Alentejo, Red Wine
Herdade da Bombeira, Syrah, 2023, Alentejo, Rose Wine
Casa Ferreirinha, Papa Figos, 2022, Douro, Red Wine
Herdade Malhadinha Nova, Monte da Peceguina, 2023, Alentejo, White Wine
Fontes Barbaras, Colheita Selecionada, 2020, Alentejo, Red Wine
Joao Portugal Ramos, Alvarinho, 2024, Vinho Verde, White Wine
Francisco Fernandes Garcia, Convento da Tomina, 2023, Alentejo, Red Wine
Herdade dos Grous, Rose, 2025, Alentejo, Rose Wine
Herdade dos Grous, 23 Barricas, 2022, Alentejo, Red Wine
Herdade dos Grous, Reserva, 2021, Alentejo, Red Wine
Aveleda, Loureiro & Alvarinho, 2024, Vinho Verde, White Wine
Vale D. Maria, Vinhas do Sabor, Reserva, 2023, Douro, Red Wine
Alambre, Moscatel de Setubal years, 2023, Alentejo, Fortified Wine
Herdade de Catapereiro, Single Vineyard Escolha, 2024, Tejo, White Wine
Aveleda, Arco D’aguieira, 2022, Bairrada, White Wine
Villa Alvor, Negra-Mole, 2024, Algarve, Red Wine
Quinta da Bacalhoa, Vinho Branco, 2024, Peninsula de Setubal, White Wine
Tapada do Chaves, Branco Vinhas Velhas,2019, Alentejo (Portalegre). White Wine
Antonio Lopes Ribeiro Wines, Chibu, 2023,Tras os montes, Red Wine
Alambre, Moscatel de Setubal 20 years, No Vintage, Alentejo, Fortified Wine
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/549364
Marcelo Padua