a

Riu Touareg

Island of Boa Vista  >  Cape Verde

Around hotel Riu Touareg on the island of Boa Vista three interesting birding sites can be found: Lacacão sewage pond, Lacacão wetland and Curral Velho island.

Added* by Christoph Randler
Most recent update 28 avgust 2023

Description

Hotel Riu Touareg is located on the southeastern tip of the Cape Verde island of Boa Vista. The Riu Touareg area consists of three interesting birding points.

1 To the west of the hotel is the Lacacão sewage pond. You can park near the small "factory". It is sometimes supervised, but people were very friendly when you announce that you are a tourist and are birding, use your basic Portugues if possible ;-). The sewage pond holds waders, herons and waterbirds, sometimes raptors and around the pond desert birds such as Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Greater Hoopoe-Lark, Bar-tailed Lark and Cream-coloured Courser. The pond seems freshwater but it is not really fresh rather sewage, many insects; probably during evening and in the rainy season insect repellent is necessary. At this place both Sparrow types can be seen Cape Verde Sparrow P. iagoensis, and often in large number, P. hispaniolensis. The Spanish Sparrows may move towards the hotel for sleeping while iagoensis seems to be more outside. In August, mornings seemed to better for birding than evenings.

2 The Zone Humide de Lacacão is a wetland to the east of the hotel. In contrast this has more saline water (especially when flooded by large see waves). Birds you can expect here are Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Spectacled Warbler, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Whimbrel and at the beach often Brown Booby.

3 Ilhéu de Curral Velho is a small island off the coast. It is the breeding place of many Brown Booby and Cape Verde Shearwater (both seen), probably Red-billed Tropicbird and White-faced Storm Petrel (reported by others).

Details

Access

Different parking places: at sewage pond, at Riu Touareg, and longer walk to the cliff. Click on a P in the map for directions or coordinates.

Terrain and Habitat

Desert , Steppe , Sea , Wetland , Mud flats , Beach

Conditions

Flat

Circular trail

No

Is a telescope useful?

Can be useful

Good birding season

All year round

Best time to visit

Spring migration

Route

Paved road , Unpaved road

Difficulty walking trail

Average walk

Accessible by

Foot , Car

Birdwatching hide / platform

No

Extra info

Photo hotel Riu Touareg and surroundings by Simon Waldherr, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Links

View other birding spots in the area that are published on Birdingplaces

Map

Top 5 birds

Other birds you can see here

Show more birds Show less birds
Show more images Show less images

Comments & Tips

Give feedback
Rate this area