Discover the birdlife at Ria Formosa Natural Park

No wonder bird watchers and ornithologists are regular visitors to this region. Ria Formosa is home to hundreds of thousands of birds, making this area one of the best spots to do birdwatching in the Algarve.

Walking in the vicinity of Golden Club Cabanas, you may spot white egrets, stilts, storks, and flamingos fishing in the lagoon and the salt pans.

In autumn and spring, Ria Formosa welcomes birds migrating between Europe and North Africa. Birds such as the little tern and the avocet nest here in spring. To other aquatic birds, the lagoon is a place to winter. One of the rarest species, the western or purple swamphen, with its characteristic blueish feathers, finds its only confirmed breeding site in Portugal in the lagoon.

The Quinta de Marim Estate (Olhão), the Quinta do Ludo Estate (Faro), and the Castro Marim salt pans (on the banks of the Guadiana River) are also great sites for birdwatching in the Algarve.