“I consider that this edition is already a success because on the first day of opening of registrations, more than 20 activities sold out, which has never happened before”, said the mayor, Rute Silva.

The Sagres Bird Watching and Nature Activities Festival is organized annually, on the first weekend of October, by the Vila do Bispo City Council with the support of the Algarve Cultural and Environmental Heritage Defense Association (Almargem) and of the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA).

According to Rute Silva, “in view of the great demand registered, it is expected that this year the number of people taking part will exceed that of 2021”.

Speaking to Lusa, environmentalist André Pinheiro, from the Association for the Defense of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the Algarve (Almargem), a partner in the project, revealed that “more than 1,500 people are expected this year, taking part in the 276 activities over the five days of the event”.

“Given the number of entries, we expect to surpass last year's record and even the participation of 2019, in what was the best year ever for the festival”, noted André Pinheiro.

According to the official, nature activities are planned “for the whole family, for specialists and people who want to start observing birds, flora and insects”.

“In addition to these, there are also health and well-being and leisure activities and boat trips to observe the marine fauna, with about two thirds of the events being free to participate in”.

André Pinheiro pointed out some new activities for this year, including “the observation and exploration of dinosaur footprints on Salema beach, bioacoustics on Mareta beach - where a biologist will try to capture the sound of fish talking to each other - and one of plankton observation with a magnifying glass”.