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Portugal Portugal Special Protection Area for birds

São Vicente

158 bird species recorded; the most in April.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec109at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

This month here

58 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Red Kite
Red KiteMilvus milvusWinter visitorNoel Reynolds · CC BY 2.0
Northern LapwingNT
Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Song Thrush
Song ThrushTurdus philomelosWinter visitorCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian MagpiePica picaResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling
Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolorResidentJohn Gould · Public domain
Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaoctoResidentDr. Raju Kasambe · CC BY-SA 4.0
White Stork
White StorkCiconia ciconiaResidentW. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Crane
Common CraneGrus grusWinter visitorAndreas Eichler · CC BY-SA 4.0
House Sparrow
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Crested lark
Crested larkGalerida cristataResidentZeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0
European Stonechat
European StonechatSaxicola rubicolaResidentAlun Williams333 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Corn Bunting
Corn BuntingEmberiza calandraResidentSteve Riall · CC BY 2.0
European Goldfinch
European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelisResidentPierre Dalous · CC BY-SA 3.0
European Serin
European SerinSerinus serinusResidentLuis García ( Zaqarbal ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
Grey Heron
Grey HeronArdea cinereaResidentVassilios Vescoukis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Kestrel
Common KestrelFalco tinnunculusSummer visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Eurasian Chaffinch
Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebsWinter visitorGilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0
Meadow Pipit
Meadow PipitAnthus pratensisWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Greylag Goose
Greylag GooseAnser anserWinter visitorImran Shah from Islamabad, Pakistan · CC BY-SA 2.0
Common Chiffchaff
Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybitaWinter visitorAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
European Robin
European RobinErithacus rubeculaWinter visitorCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Northern Shoveler
Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeataWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Hen Harrier
Hen HarrierCircus cyaneusWinter visitorKositoes · Public domain
Common Snipe
Common SnipeGallinago gallinagoWinter visitorHobbyfotowiki · CC0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

158 species, counted.

60out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 158Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 67Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 2ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 5,060Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 284 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 18Raptors
  • 5Owls
  • 12Waders
  • 5Gulls & seabirds
  • 8Ducks & geese
  • 11Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 2Storks & cranes
  • 1Flamingos
  • 74Songbirds
  • 22Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 158 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Lesser kestrelFalco naumanni
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Griffon VultureGyps fulvus
  • Red KiteMilvus milvus
  • Booted eagleHieraaetus pennatus
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
  • Short-toed eagleCircaetus gallicus
  • Eurasian Black VultureAegypius monachusNT
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus
  • Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
  • Bonelli's EagleAquila fasciata
  • Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • MerlinFalco columbarius
Owls5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Little OwlAthene noctua
  • Western Barn OwlTyto alba
  • Tawny OwlStrix aluco
  • Northern Eagle OwlBubo bubo
  • Eurasian Scops OwlOtus scops
Waders12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Eurasian Stone-curlewBurhinus oedicnemus
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincola
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
  • Little ringed ploverCharadrius dubius
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
Gulls & seabirds5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
  • Little TernSternula albifrons
  • Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
Ducks & geese8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • Red-crested pochardNetta rufina
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
  • Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
Herons, ibises & grebes11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
  • Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
  • Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
Storks & cranes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White StorkCiconia ciconia
  • Common CraneGrus grus
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds74 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • Spotless StarlingSturnus unicolor
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • Western JackdawColoeus monedula
  • Crested larkGalerida cristata
  • European SerinSerinus serinus
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • Sardinian WarblerCurruca melanocephala
  • Iberian Grey ShrikeLanius meridionalisVU
  • Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • Thekla's LarkGalerida theklae
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Eurasian Crag MartinPtyonoprogne rupestris
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • Great titParus major
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • Spanish sparrowPasser hispaniolensis
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
  • Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
  • Calandra larkMelanocorypha calandra
  • Iberian MagpieCyanopica cooki
  • Cetti's WarblerCettia cetti
  • Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
  • Woodchat ShrikeLanius senatorNT
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Carrion CrowCorvus corone
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • WoodlarkLullula arborea
  • Melodious WarblerHippolais polyglotta
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
  • Rock SparrowPetronia petronia
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Tawny PipitAnthus campestris
  • Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
  • Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
  • HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
  • Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
  • European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
  • Greater Short-toed LarkCalandrella brachydactyla
  • WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
  • African StonechatSaxicola torquatus
  • Dartford WarblerSylvia undata
  • Sardinian WarblerSylvia melanocephala
  • Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
  • Cirl BuntingEmberiza cirlus
  • Eastern Red-rumped SwallowCecropis daurica
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • Western Orphean WarblerSylvia hortensis
  • Western Bonelli's WarblerPhylloscopus bonelli
  • Western Black-eared WheatearOenanthe hispanica
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
Other birds22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
  • Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • European RollerCoracias garrulus
  • Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
  • Little BustardTetrax tetraxNT
  • CootFulica atra
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
  • Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Great spotted cuckooClamator glandarius
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
  • Red-necked NightjarCaprimulgus ruficollisNT
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • Great bustardOtis tarda
  • Stock DoveColumba oenas

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in April.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan5812°/2°57 mm
  2. Feb5714°/3°53 mm
  3. Mar9517°/5°66 mm
  4. Apr10920°/8°56 mm
  5. May8425°/11°38 mm
  6. Jun9131°/15°13 mm
  7. Jul5636°/18°4 mm
  8. Aug6336°/18°5 mm
  9. Sep8730°/16°28 mm
  10. Oct7924°/11°88 mm
  11. Nov6616°/6°76 mm
  12. Dec7512°/3°59 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

São Vicente.

Protected area in Portugal

São Vicente is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Portugal, 284 m above the sea.

158 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 5,060 open records.

The most recorded are the Eurasian Magpie, the Eurasian Collared Dove and the Spotless Starling.

40 species come for the summer, 25 for the winter and 2 only pass through.

2 are threatened worldwide, including Iberian Grey Shrike and European Turtle Dove.

The most species are recorded in April.

Vistas de Lisboa desde el Mirador de Santa Luzia, Portugal, 2012-05-12, DD 06
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

São Vicente seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 1car parks within 3 km
  • 3campsites within 10 kmCamping Piedade
  • 29places to stay within 10 kmMonte da Torre, Eco Hotel Rural Monte da Provença, Quinta de Santo António - Hotel Rural and 26 more
  • bird hides within 6 km
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • marked trails within 4 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around São Vicente.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas10 mountains within 25 km
Serra da Malefa · 6.1 kmAlto dos Ripados · 16 kmSerra das Cabras do Carvão · 17 kmCabeço do Mourato · 18 kmSerra da Pedra Torta · 21 kmLomas de Santa María · 23 kmSerra de Monte Novo · 24 kmSerra de Mouros · 24 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

View of Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora from Miradouro das Portas do Sol, Lisbon, 20250603 2018 9052
Jakub Hałun · CC BY 4.0
Miradouro Ponta de São Vicente 02
H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0
2016. Rúa de Sao Vicente. Madeira. Portugal-2
Luis miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other places nearby.

São Vicente

Portugal

  • 60Birdyas Score
  • 158Species
  • 67Migrants
  • 2Threatened

Torre da Bolsa

Portugal · 11 km

  • 64Birdyas Score
  • 173Species
  • 85Migrants
  • 2Threatened

See the guide

Complejo lagunar de La Albuera

Spain · 46 km

  • 76Birdyas Score
  • 177Species
  • 94Migrants
  • 6Threatened

See the guide

Vila Fernando

Portugal · 17 km

  • 61Birdyas Score
  • 156Species
  • 60Migrants
  • 3Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q63378443) · CC0
Birds5,060 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.