Portugal Birding Revisões

Bill Palmer 2026.10.14

     

We did the Targus Estuary day tour with Rui on September 22, 2026. Our day started with a 7am pick up at our accommodation, followed by the most amazing sunrise from the Vasco da Gama Bridge over the Tagus River. We then meandered (by car) through wetlands, rice fields, woods, pastures, waterways and to the Targus Estuary Nature Reserve. Rui’s enthusiasm for locating and viewing the wide variety of bird life and habitats was much appreciated. We saw 79 species of bird during the day. Some of the lifers included Kentish Plover, Wilson’s Phalarope, Common Hoopoe, European Serin, Corn Bunting, Whinchat and the Yellow Crowned Bishop male in breeding plumage The stork nests were also amazing. Rui provided us with a comprehensive trip report. It is a wonderful conclusion to a great day. The map, list and photos are a terrific summary and we have had fun showing our friends the birds we saw. It was a wonderful day. Rui is an exceptional guide and birder. It’s like being out for the day with your friend. Morning coffee in Alcohete had the best pastel de nata (Portuguese tart) we had in Portugal and lunch was a great authentic local experience. The heat, 38 degrees defeated us in the afternoon, so Rui arranged for an electric trolley ride to the hide at the reserve. It was a nice site to finish on. We highly recommend Rui’s tour and if we come back to Portugal we will be in touch. Debbie & Bill

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding

Thank you very much, Bill. It was a great day. I'm so thankful for having you birding with me. All the best!

Tariq Asmi 2026.10.13

     

What an amazing day spent with Rui! Prior to the trip he was so great in helping us plan (including many recommendations for wonderful places to eat during our stay In Lisbon). He is extremely flexible and accommodating, and most of all has a true love of nature and a passion for birding and bird photography. Had an amazing day yesterday, saw well over 70 species, While in the the actuary during the late rice harvest experienced thousands of storks mustering on land and spiralling in flight, flamboyance of flamingoes stepping in rhythm, also thousands of ibises congregating and complementing the numbers of flamingoes and storks. A great way to get out of Lisbon and appreciate the beauty and other settings of the region. A truly amazing day of birding made spectacular by Rui. (Do you also have a giggle at the stork condos.) -Tariq (Toronto, Canada)

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The pleasure was all mine. You guys were amazing! What a day!

Bernd K 2026.10.07

     

The night tour was a fantastic experience and a real highlight of my trip to Portugal! My guide’s enthusiasm for birds and nature made it even more special. A wonderful adventure that I’ll remember for a long time. Highly recommended!

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.10.07

Thank you very much, Bernd! It was a pleasure sharing the owls with you! All the best!

Philip Elbek (mentalwarbler) 2026.09.20

     

Rui and I was on a 12 hour trip in the vicinity of Lisbon. Rui was able to adapt the trip to my wishes, but was also great at suggesting places to go depending on local rarities, the season, tidal currents, heat, direction of the sun etc. Rui also knew great places for small breaks to get some local lunch, coffee, pastries or something refreshing to drink on a hot day. I ended up getting 7 lifers, including several I had not thought about when arraging the trip with Rui. I would 10/10 recommend and also do again another time.

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.09.20

Thanks a lot Philip! ...and i think you´re going to get a 8 lifer....73% sure!

Jeff Kelleher 2026.09.14

     

Had an amazing time. The guide was very informative and knowledgeable.

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.09.14

Thank you very much, Jeff! Great day, great company! All the best!

Eric Morey 2026.09.14

     

An absolutely outstanding birding experience and easily one of the highlights of my trip to Portugal. I spent a full day exploring the Tagus Estuary with Rui, and the entire experience exceeded my expectations. We saw an incredible 80 bird species, and Rui’s knowledge of the birds, habitats, and best locations was exceptional. He seemed to know exactly where to go throughout the day, and even chose a perfect spot for lunch that made the experience feel especially thoughtful and well planned. What I appreciated most was how relaxed the day felt. I never felt rushed, and Rui was incredibly patient with all of my questions. As someone who is still relatively new to birding, I felt completely comfortable asking questions and learning along the way. His enthusiasm, knowledge, and patience made the day both educational and genuinely fun. If you are considering a birding tour in the Lisbon area or the Tagus Estuary, I cannot recommend Rui highly enough. It was a perfect day from beginning to end and an experience I will remember for a very long time. Thank you, Rui, for such a fantastic day!

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.09.14

Thank you very much, Eric! It was a fantastic day, indeed! The time passed so fast! I hope you continue to enjoy Portugal and come back for a Portugal+Morocco tour (Challenge made!).

Victor Carrozzino 2026.09.09

     

We visited several different habitats which provided a great number of sightings. Pedro is extremely knowledgeable of the environments and species. If I come back to Portugal to do any birding I would work with Portugal Birding.

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.09.09

Thank you very much, Victor! It was a pleasure having you with us. We'd appreciate your choice again if you decide to come back!

Kevin Rebelo 2026.09.05

     

Our tour was incredible with an astonishing 87 species observed! Pedro was a brilliant guide who could even identify birds by sound. We look forward to using Portugal Birding's again next time we are back in Portugal!

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.09.06

Thank so much for choosing us!

Mark Jones 2026.09.03

     

Excellent tour. Highly recommend! Full day of exploring for birds. Rui was very knowledgeable and interested in finding all the species possible we could find. Had a lovely coffee break in a small shop and enjoyed a delicious lunch in a local restaurant. Memories were made. Looking forward to coming back some day and doing another tour.

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.09.03

Thank you very much, Mark! It wasn't a "boring" day, for sure! 😁😁😁 You were great, all day!

Janusz Jagiello 2026.07.29

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.07.29

Thank you Janusz! It was a tough day, specially in the afternoon (max temp: 48 celsius) but the morning ended up to be quite good and productive. Thank you very much for choosing us!

Aron Rider 2026.07.26

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.07.27

Thank you very much for a great day. The birds helped us a lot! I want to see those purple heron photos! 😁😁😁

Karsten Kriedemann 2026.07.18

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.07.18

We really had a great tour. The Tagus estuary provided a nice show and the sightings were amazing. Thank you very much, Karsten.

Tatsutoshi Honjo 2026.06.09

     

市内の公園の探鳥だったのでそれ程期待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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.06.12

Thank you very much! Great two sessions!

John Ditto 2026.06.06

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.06.06

Thank you very much John! It was quite a good birding day, indeed. I hope you´re well and enjoying life! Nice to hear from you!

Nuno Santos 2026.05.24

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.05.24

Thank you, Nuno. It was a dificult day for birding (too hot) but we ended up to manage a good count of species and some nice angles for photograghy. Sharing knowledge is one of my favourites things and yesterday it was a fulfilled day. Thank you for listening!

Andrea Ferrari 2026.05.17

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.05.17

Thank you, Andrea. Although we do not saw all the target species we had a nice birding day.

Jeremiah (Colorado Grouse Tours) 2026.05.13

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.05.13

Thank you very much! He really had a nice day birding, with 81 species viewed, which is quite good for the season. All the best, Jeremiah!

Val Hennelly 2026.04.29

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.05.01

Thank you very much, Val. We had great four days! I genuinely enjoyed a lot birding with you 3 and i hope we can see each other in future (Portugal, England or elsewhere!). All the best, Rui Pereira

Ana Rute Neves 2026.04.07

     

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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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.04.08

We really had a fabulous time and lots of fun. The birds helped us! I'm so glad that you enjoyed and very happy to share all I know with you. I'm thinking in changing the name of the tour to...."Two rabbits and a partridge!'. All the best.

Rhiannon Brown 2026.04.06

     

Rui was a wonderful tour guide. We saw lots of beautiful birds. We loved our day with him, that included a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. He is very accommodating and goes out of his way to make sure you have a great visit!

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Responder a partir de Portugal Birding 2026.04.07

Thank you very much! It was a wonderfull day with you and your family. I learned something about flowers/trees (Dana is TOP) and Trevor was able to show me that "just" a duck can mean a completly differente thing! All the best for you, cheers.