General Info

Portugal’s landscape is remarkably diverse within a small area, supporting a rich avian fauna. The birding tours organized by Portugal Birding enable bird enthusiasts to explore multiple habitats teeming with species, all accessible without lengthy travel.

Just half an hour from Lisbon’s city center and its airport, two key wetland protected areas—Tagus Estuary and Sado Estuary—are ideal starting points. They host an impressive array of birds such as Greater Flamingo, White Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, and Purple Heron. Raptors like Booted Eagle and Black-winged Kite are common here, alongside ground-feeding species including Little Bustard and Collared Pratincole. Visitors can also spot Pallid Swift, Bluethroat, Dartford Warbler, Savi’s Warbler, Melodious Warbler, alongside Iberian Chiffchaff, Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, and a variety of waterfowl, gulls, terns, and other waders.

A further drive of about an hour takes travelers to Alentejo, where diverse habitats such as plains and hills host additional unique birds. The plains of Castro Verde are home to species like Great Bustard, Common Crane, Red Kite, Montagu’s Harrier, Lesser Kestrel, and Eurasian Stone-curlew. Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Great Spotted Cuckoo, European Roller, Calandra Lark, Tawny Pipit, and Rufous Bush Robin further enrich this frontier of bird diversity. Meanwhile, the scenic Guadiana Valley Natural Park’s cliffs and hills are favored by Black Stork, Iberian Imperial, Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles, along with vultures—Cinereous and Griffon. The area also supports European Turtle Dove, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, White-rumped Swift, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Black-eared Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrust, Golden Oriole, Spanish Sparrow, Hawfinch, Rock Bunting. In these are we also can see striking birds, including Little Owl, Red-necked Nightjar, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, European Bee-eater, Sardinian Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, and Iberian Magpie

Itinerary

Day 1 – Pick up at Lisbon Airport or your Lisbon accommodation and set out for south area of the river Tagus. Explore multiple zones and diverse ecosystems within the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve, such as the mudflats and salt marshes at Hortas, the Atalaya salt pans, Ribeira das Enguias, Samouco, and the rice paddies and grazing lands of Barroca d’Alva. Spend the night at Hotel TRYP Montijo, or a similar hotel.

Day 2 – Continue discovering notable locations and landscapes in the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve. Today’s itinerary includes open fields, rice paddies, reed beds, lagoons, mudflats, and salt marshes in the Ponta da Erva region, as well as the Cork Oak forests of Pancas. A boat tour might be possible either in Tagus or Sado river.. Overnight at Hotel TRYP Montijo or similar.

Day 3 – Depart to Mértola in the Alentejo area and tour the expansive plains of Castro Verde. Overnight at Hotel Museu in Mértola, or a comparable hotel.

Day 4 – Explore the rugged terrain and scenic overlooks of Guadiana Valley Natural Park, visiting sites such as Mértola, Mina de São Domingos, and Casével. Head back to Lisbon at the end of the day. Overnight in Lisbon

Conditions and Price

Starting/ending of the Tour:

Lisbon

Price of the tour

1750€ per person (min 2 pax)
Single supplement (200€)

Prices Inclues

– Comfortable transport 
– Accommodation
– Guiding services with daily check lists and 24/7 support.
– Park fees
– Our Briding trip includes all meals

Prices excludes

– Flight Tickets 
– Drinks, snacks and hotel extras
– Travel insurance
– Itens of personal nature and tips

Some photos of this tour

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      Janusz Jagiello profile picture
      Janusz Jagiello
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      Rui is a very knowledgeable birding guide, a talented photographer, skillful enterpreneur and a great travel companion at the same time. Thanks to his determined efforts I managed to spot some 'lifers' despite of challenging conditions on that day. I highly recommend services of 'Portugal Birding' headed by Rui!
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      Aron Rider profile picture
      Aron Rider
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      Our experience with Rui was warm, comfortable, informative, and really enjoyable! Rui is a great guide and very helpful. We had time for an all day trip including Tagus. It was so nice to see nature outside of Lisbon! We learned a great deal and saw over 75 different birds in beautiful places. We highly recommend this experience, and look forward to another trip with Portugal Birding!
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      Karsten Kriedemann profile picture
      Karsten Kriedemann
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      At the end of June, I went on a day trip with PortugalBirding to the Tagus Estuary wetlands near Lisbon. I can honestly say it was one of my best birding excursions—and that is saying something, given how much I have traveled across Europe and Africa. Rui is an excellent birder with expert knowledge of the area, and he was completely attentive to my preferences. We spotted nearly 80 bird species that day. A real highlight was a flock of around 400 house martins resting on the dirt track and "bathing" in the warm sand just a few meters away from us. I can highly recommend this tour—and undoubtedly all of Rui’s other tours—and I plan to return during the peak birding season in winter. Best regards @karsten.kriedemann
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      Tatsutoshi Honjo profile picture
      Tatsutoshi Honjo
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      市� の� �園の探鳥だったのでそれ程期� はしていなかったのですが、42種も見れ、一番の収穫はヤツガシラが至近距離でしかも飽きるぐらい長く観察できました。 別の場所で巣に餌を運びこむ姿もじっくり見れました。 他にキバシリが頻繁に見られたのも大きな収穫でした。 また、ガイドの方も積極的に探してくれました。ありがとうございました。
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      John Ditto profile picture
      John Ditto
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      I went birding in Lisbon September 15 2025. My guide was Rui Pereira. I had a fantastic time we birded several places and I saw an incredible amount of birds. Rudy was able to lead me to a great variety of species in various habitats, which made the day productive. His expertise and knowledge of birding in Lisbon in Portugal I believe is second to none. Also, he is very personable and we had a great time with our conversing about birds, habitat, conservation, and our families and life in general. I highly recommend Rui Pereira.
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      Nuno Santos profile picture
      Nuno Santos
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      We had a wonderful, productive, educational and fun day with Rui! A couple of friends and I did the Alentejo tour on a very hot day and thanks to Rui's deep knowledge of both the area's habitats and the behaviors of the different species, we ended up seeing an amazing total of 69 species of birds. Being an excellent photographer himself, Rui was always trying to put us in the best angles and the best situations for us to be able to capture great shots. I would highly recommend Portugal Birding and Rui if you want the best chance of seeing (and learning about) bird fauna in Portugal!
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      Andrea Ferrari profile picture
      Andrea Ferrari
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      Con Rui ho trascorso una giornata di ottimo birdwatching nei dintorni di Lisbona. Rui conosce molto bene uccelli e luoghi ed è persona davvero amichevole. Un esperienza davvero piacevole!
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      Jeremiah (Colorado Grouse Tours) profile picture
      Jeremiah (Colorado Grouse Tours)
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      Rui was warm, friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the birds, habitats, and culture of Portugal. We had an excellent day birding and he really hustled to find me all the birds. Incredibly nice views of bee eaters, spoonbills, ducks, shorebirds, and many more. I would be very happy to hire him again and couldn’t recommend him more!
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      Val Hennelly profile picture
      Val Hennelly
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      Three of us had an excellent 4 day tour with Rui in March 2026, possibly the perfect time to go as the temperatures are pleasant, the migrants are on the move, and the uplands are still green and wet. Pre the trip Rui was informative and helpful via WhatsApp, and in person he is a fantastic guide, sharp-eyed, knowledgeable about habitat and habit, and persistent in locating the bird he wanted to show us. Obviously the Flamingos were on the EVOA wetlands near Lisboa in abundance, but we saw lots of other birds - 120 over the four days, including a Scops Owl, Greater and Lesser Bustards, Iberian Magpies, and Blue Thrushes. We learnt a lot about the country, its approach to conservation, its people, history and its football teams. It was a good balance of car transfers and fresh air and the car journeys were full of chat and shared experiences or wider recommendations for bird watching. Rui also knew the good eating houses and the lunch stops were particularly gourmet, and the beer welcome. All the overnight stops were comfortable and breakfasts good. We are already planning our next trip . . . PS photos are landscape as I like watching birds, not photographing them.
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      Ana Rute Neves profile picture
      Ana Rute Neves
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      We spent an unforgettable 7 day birding adventure with Rui Pereira and Birding Portugal, and it exceeded every expectation. Our route took us from the Tejo River and a beautiful boat tour on the Sado with Carlos, through the open landscapes of Castro Verde and Mértola, and all the way down to the Algarve — exploring Castro Marim, Quinta do Lago in Ria Formosa, Ponta de Sagres, and even the Benagil caves. Rui was an outstanding guide from start to finish. His knowledge of each region and his ability to spot and identify birds were truly impressive. Every stop brought a new variety of species, and Rui made sure we experienced the very best each place had to offer. He also shared fantastic photography tips throughout the trip, helping us improve our skills and come home with very nice photos. The tour was perfectly balanced, mixing birding from the car with relaxed trail walks. Rui’s enthusiasm was contagious — he was always excited to show us “just one more” bird or viewpoint, and he was incredibly generous with his time. The hotels he selected were comfortable and ideally located for the birding locations we explored, and he introduced us to wonderful local restaurants where we enjoyed delicious Portuguese food. On top of everything, Rui is simply great company: friendly, funny, and easygoing. We had plenty of laughs along the way, which made the whole experience even more memorable. We can highly recommend Rui and Birding Portugal. We’d happily join another tour with him — and we’re already looking forward to it.
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