A MORNING AT THE ESTUARY.

A  morning spent near the sea, always makes me feel invigorated, and my daughter and I went to Foz do Douro Porto, quite recently, so that I could go to the estuary to see if there were any birds. I had had another exam in the morning, and going without breakfast was one of the requirements, so our first stop was a to find a nice place to have a late breakfast.

We had two large slices of toast smothered in butter and cut into fingers, and two large mugs of coffee with milk, but first, the proprietor asked for a document to prove we had had the three vaccines. It's called the European Vaccination Certificate, which Eve carries in her purse and produces it whenever it's needed.

This is the view we could see from the restaurant. Deserted, and out of season, but still a lovely sea view. We could see people on the beach however, with their dogs, as dogs are allowed to run on the sand at this time of the year.

When we left I took more photos of the restaurants. It was too early for lunch so the tables were not set, but they would soon be occupied by the locals.

Shortly after, I took a photo of two policemen exercising their horses.

The sea was calm, and there was a warm breeze, making the walk very pleasurable, but we still had a long way to go before reaching the estuary.

  

On the other side of the road is a small garden with this pretty fountain. I went there to see if there were any birds, having seen Wagtails, Doves and Blackbirds there before, but no such luck.

In the garden.

There are Palm trees on both sides of the avenue.

A tribute to a famous Portuguese writer, the author of many books, who was born in March 1867, in Foz do Douro Porto. he was the son of a fisherman, who became a captain in the army, a journalist and eventually a writer.

I finally arrived at the estuary, but the sun was in my eyes. Eva had 

settled on a bench some distance away, just enjoying the sea views, as she knew it would be some time before I came back to join her. Eva writes poetry, and has often been inspired by this area of Foz.

There were far more seagulls than usual. There must have been hundreds, spread out on both the sand and the rocks.

There were quite a few Cormorants. and...

a couple of Herons...

Perhaps more, further away.

Nearer to where I was standing, there were so many of these small seagulls. Very dainty little birds called Black- headed gulls.

The adult winter Black-headed gull. 

I took lots of photos of these lovely gulls.

In summer they look quite different, as their face is brown.

I love a bottoms up capture.

They were swimming about in a small colony, no doubt enjoying the sunshine.

I have no idea what these ducks are called, and they looked rather strange, as they slept with their heads tucked away under their feathers.

The one on the left, as it stretched began to look more like a duck.:=)

 I saw Turnstones,  Sandpipers, not shown, and a few more Heron.

One last shot, as I made my way back to my daughter Eva.