The most anticipated event dedicated to nature of the year takes place between October 1st and 5th, and intends once again to show the spectacle of bird migration and the beauty of the western Algarve to nature lovers from around the country and even around the world...

The programme is online at www.birdwatchingsagres.com and the organisation recommends that you sign up as soon as possible, as every year there are activities that sell out right at the launch.

This year the activities up for grabs include field trips, boat trips, thematic mini-courses, lectures, environmental education workshops, bird ringing and monitoring sessions, as well as hiking, photography courses, historical guided tours and even dolphin watching.

After choosing and registering online for both the free and paid (but at attractive prices) activities, participants only have to head to Sagres, collect their bracelet and enjoy all that this fine and feathery festival has to offer.

This year the “star” bird on the poster is the black stork, which is a regular presence in the skies of Sagres, and festival participants will be able to observe it with relative ease at the time of migration. More elusive than the white stork, the black stork is usually seen alone or in pairs (in the breeding season), but between August and October, when it migrates to Africa, they band together in flocks of up to 100. This makes them easier to observe, and in Portugal, at the time of the festival, the area of Sagres is a privileged place to do so. It is then that black storks from central Europe congregate there, looking for a passage to Africa. As they depend on thermal currents to glide, and these hot air currents only form on land, these birds try to cross the Mediterranean by the shortest route, in Gibraltar.

The event is once again organised by the Municipality of Vila do Bispo, in partnership with the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and the Almargem Association.

To find out more you can follow them at www.birdwatchingsagres.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/birdwatchingfestivalofsagres and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/sagresbirdwatchingfestival.