Guadiana Breakwater

A poorly maintained concrete road leads from the lighthouse at Vila Real de Santo António along the Portuguese side of the rio Guadiana to a long rocky breakwater (Banco de O'Brill) popular with fishermen. The road affords excellent seawatching opportunities. There are always plenty of gulls and scanning should reveal less common species. Oystercatchers and Cormorants love the sand bars and always a few waders feed on the beach. Northern Gannets are common offshore and often a few terns, skuas and petrels need to be sorted out. After autumn storms, auks and storm petrels (usually Leach's) shelter in the river mouth. A flock of Common Scoters winters offshore and sometimes small parties of Black-necked Grebes occur. During activity lulls, walk along the beach and return via a track behind the dunes or take a look at the pine woodland. The pines support a large population of Collared Doves that sometimes attract less common species to feed.