Archived destinations
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Algarve
Flowers
March is a great time to see a wide selection of flowers, especially orchids including one of the region’s specialities, the Lusitanian mirror orchid. There are one or two locations for the early flowering peony Paeonia broteroi. Spring daffodils include the hoop petticoat narcissus and the miniature Narcissus gaditanus. The electric blue shrubby pimpernel Anagallis monelli is spectacular in mass but just as interesting are cistuses, the great variety in the pea family and the curious yellow broomrape, Cistanche phelypaea.
Birds
Azure-winged magpies are one of the specialities of the region and these are sometimes seen in our hotel grounds, as are Sardinian warblers. The shy purple gallinule is found in one or two particular locations. Gannets and Sandwich terns offshore remind us this is the Atlantic coast and not the Mediterranean. Caspian tern, black-shouldered kite, red-crested pochard, pallid swift and southern grey shrike are all possible. With so many different habitats there are plenty of birds to find, from hoopoes through to blue rock thrushes.
Other wildlife
A food plant of the monarch butterfly, the bristle-fruited silkweed, is established in parts of Algarve so monarchs can often be seen in those localities. Another interesting butterfly is the Spanish festoon. Wild boar and Egyptian mongoose are resident but hard to see. Iberian wall lizards are around and, if lucky, chameleons can be spotted as early as March.
Bald ibises at Lagoa dos Salgados at Pêra, April 2009 - from a reintroduction project in Spain.
Lusitanian mirror orchid
Monarch butterfly on bristle-fruited silkweed. More on Monarchs here
Cistanche phelypaea (Jenny Loring)
An armoured beetle Sepidium elongatum
