Mallorca - October 2011
Wednesday 12th - Friday 21st October 2011
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| La Gola nature reserve, Port De Pollença |
Here are the nature highlights of my holiday with Linda. We were based in Port de Pollença at the Puerto Azul hotel, which was just a few minutes' walk to Boquer Valley, and got around when we needed to on the very good local bus routes. The weather was very warm and sunny most of the time (24-29
oC), with the only rain occurring overnight on 19th, with a fresher feel then (21-22
oC) for the last two days.
Wednesday 12th
We had an early flight from Bristol, arriving at our hotel just after 11.00am. First birds ...
House Sparrows, at the airport, then a
Buzzard and two groups of
Cattle Egrets of around 25 each between the airport and Alcudia; c40
Shags were off the beach road to Port de Pollença (the
Shags are of the Mediterranean
desmarestii race, the young birds being very pale).
Taking in our surroundings at the hotel, I saw two
Ravens over the impressive craggy ridges above Boquer Valley, towards which our balcony faced.. A
Blackbird, c15
House Sparrows, c10
Wood Pigeons, and a
White Wagtail over were also noted.
A walk along the promenade past the harbour after lunch took us to the nature reserve of La Gola. This reserve was created at the mouth (La Gola = the throat) of a tidal creek, less enchantingly marked as 'Smelly Stream' in the birding guides. A male
Stonechat, a
Little Egret, a
Sardinian Warbler, a
Zitting Cisticola (I prefer this name to Fan-tailed Warbler, don't know why, I just like saying it), a singing male
Cetti's Warbler, c6
Goldfinches, c12
Mallard, a
Muscovy Duck (not tickable!), and
House Sparrows. House Sparrows are just about everywhere on Mallorca, so I won't mention them much more. An impressive
Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa, was on the path, and we disturbed several large Grasshoppers
Eyprepocnemis plorans (the
plorans subspecies) from their afternoon bask as we walked the paths. Butterflies included three
Clouded Yellows, including a very pale female
helice type. Walking back along the beach area produced three
Yellow-legged Gulls, a
Cormorant and c6
Collared Doves.
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| Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa |
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| Clouded Yellow |
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| Clouded Yellow, 'helice' type female |
Thursday 13th
Sunrise during the holiday was quite late compared to the UK, with the clocks being two hours ahead of our BST, so it didn't start to get light until around 7.45am (this also meant of course a later sunset; it didn't really get dark until around 7.45pm). Before breakfast was therefore an ideal time to check out local sites, and a walk along the seafront produced my first lifer of the holiday, an
Audouin's Gull, plus a
Yellow-legged Gull. YLG were always present on the beach in fact, and usually Audouin's too.
At
La Gola as the sun rose, another
Audouin's Gull was present, and two
Night Herons circled in flight over the trees before going to roost. Other birds noted were two
Chiffchaffs, two
Grey Wagtails, a
Sardinian Warbler, a
Coot, two
Moorhens, and a
Grey Heron.
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| The 'big rocks', Boquer Valley |
Later, we walked up into Boquer Valley. The start of the walk to Boquer, the Pine and Tamarisk-lined Bocchoris Avenue, was conveniently next to the hotel. From here you just cross a roundabout and the path continues up to the finca (finca = estate). The walk through the finca produced a male
Redstart and six
Cattle Egrets in the fields below. Along the trail from the 'big rocks' to the sea, my next lifer was
Blue Rock Thrush, two were seen and a third heard in song (reminiscent of Skylark). Three
Booted Eagles were another lifer as were an
Eleonora's Falcon, and a
Crag Martin at the cove, Cala Boquer; more Crag Martins were seen on the return walk. An
Audouin's Gull was also at the cove. I also noted on the walk at least one
Cirl Bunting, two
Wheatears, a
Stonechat, a
Chiffchaff and a
Raven, and several
Sardinian Warblers,
Goldfinches,
Greenfinches,
Song Thrushes,
Robins, and
Blackbirds. Insects of note were 3+
Clouded Yellows, a
Red Admiral, and grasshoppers
Eyprepocnemis plorans and
Calliptamus barbarus.
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| A singing male Blue Rock Thrush, atop of one of the 'big rocks' |
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| Boquer Valley scenery |
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| Booted Eagle |
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| Calliptamus barbarus |
Back near the hotel was a
Chaffinch, and relaxing by the pool I noticed a
Grey Wagtail at the water's edge. Later, a walk along the seafront 'Pine Walk', north of the main bustle, a
Common Sandpiper was on the beach near one of the many small stone jetties.
Friday 14th
At La Gola early morning the highlights were 2-3
Eleonora's Falcons, one almost overhead, a
Cetti's Warbler singing again, a
Grey Heron, a
Little Egret,
Sardinian Warblers, and several
Robins and
Blackbirds. Wintering Robins were increasingly numerous as my stay progressed, and became virtually ubiquitous, even more so than House Sparrow, and numbers of wintering Blackbirds (and other thrushes) increased steadily too. On the beach I got quite close to an adult
Audouin's Gull, and a first-winter
desmarestii Shag was along the Pine Walk.
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| Audouin's Gull |
After breakfast, we explored the small wood Bosquet de Boquer, which is known as 'Postage Stamp Wood' in the birding guides, and is no more than five minutes walk from the hotel. Several
Firecrests were heard near the middle of the wood (near the pile of broken bottles - shame!), and around the paths several butterflies comprising four
Wall Browns, 3+
'Southern' Speckled Woods (
Pararge aegeria aegeria) and
a
Geranium Bronze.
Later we got the bus to Alcudia and explored the old town, and then walked most of the was back to Port de Pollença, taking in S' Albufereta nature reserve on the way (it seemed a long way in hot sun!). More
Clouded Yellows were seen just out of Alcudia, and a single
Cattle Egret was in a roadside field. At S' Albufereta we only had time to check out the area nearest the coast, and water levels in the scrapes we could were quite dry with just two
Little Ringed Plovers being the only waders present. Around 10
Swallows were hawking insects over one of the fields and a male
Kestrel, several
Sardinian Warblers,
Goldfinches and
Greenfinches the only other birds noted. Back along the coastal road we spotted several interesting plants including
Small Pheasant's Eye,
Sea Holly,
Sweet Alyssum,
Sea Pincushion Flower, and the Autumn-flowering 'crocus'
Colchicum filifolium.
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| Colchicum filifolium |
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| Small Pheasant's Eye |
Saturday 15th
Before breakfast I noted a
Zitting Cisticola, a
Stonechat, and several
Serins, Sardinian Warblers,
Goldfinches and
Greenfinches on weedy ground near the hotel; two
Firecrests and a
Blackcap were at
Postage Stamp Wood.
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| S' Albufera nature reserve |
We headed for the bus station after breakfast to catch the bus to one of the sites I was particularly looking forward to, the S'Albufera reserve, which is situated to the south of Alcudia. This really is a fantastic reserve with a wealth of interest. I think the visitor information centre must have improved from an earlier report I read, as I found it very good, and the reserve leaflet has an excellent map for finding your way around the trails and hides. Checking the main areas I recorded five
Little Grebes, c10
Cormorants, 25
Little Egrets, a
Grey Heron, three
Marsh Harriers, a
Booted Eagle, three
Purple Swamphens (lifer),
Moorhens, c10
Red-knobbed Coots (lifer), six
Coot, c40
Teal, c60
Tufted Ducks, two
Wigeon, c6
Gadwall, c30
Shoveler,
Mallard, c30
Kentish Plover (lifer), 1+
Little Ringed Plover, c30
Black-winged Stilts, a
Green Sandpiper, two
Lapwings, c10
Dunlin, a
Sanderling, a
Little Stint, c15
Greenshanks, a
Curlew, two
Snipe, c10
Black-headed Gulls, a
Yellow-legged Gull, two
Meadow Pipits,
White Wagtail, a
Wheatear, a
Whinchat,
Robins,
Blackbirds, a
Moustached Warbler singing (heard only but a lifer), 6+
Cettis Warblers,
Sardinian Warblers, a
Chiffchaff, a
Great Tit, a flock of c200
Starling,
House Sparrows,
Serins,
Greenfinches,
Goldfinches and 2+
Linnets.
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| Purple Swamphen |
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| Red-knobbed Coot |
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| Kentish Plover |
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| Black-winged Stilt |
There was lots of insect interest too, with Lepidoptera comprising two
Clouded Yellows, three
Southern Speckled Woods, a
Small White, a
Red Admiral, three
Common Blues, two
Lang's Short-tailed Blues, Odonata: a beautiful
Violet Dropwing, several
Red-veined Darters, a
Lesser Emporer, and Orthoptera: several grasshoppers
Eyprepocnemis plorans. Good times.
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| Southern Speckled Wood |
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| Lang's Short-tailed Blue |
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| Violet Dropwing |
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| Grasshopper Eypropocnemis plorans |
Back at the hotel I was tickled to scope from the balcony a distant
Blue Rock Thrush on the crags.
Sunday 16th
Before breakfast, a
Hoopoe was at Bocchoris Avenue near the hotel, also two
Chiffchaffs and a
Chaffinch. The
Redstart was still below Boquer finca, and walking beyond a
Stonechat, and lots of
Song Thrushes and a few
Redwings all moving through south. At the big rocks, a
Blue Rock Thrush was singing, and on the return walk two
Zitting Cisticolas were near the hotel. At La Gola after breakfast a
Hummigbird Hawk-moth was around flowers near the road, and I saw these at various sites throughout the rest of the holiday.
We got the bus to nearby Pollença, where I saw my star bird of the trip. From the centre of the town, a long flight of steps take you up a hill between rows of Cypresses to a chapel at the top. This is Calvary Hill, and from here there is a superb views of the surrounding area with Port de Pollença to the north and the Tramuntana Mountains to the west (and also a nice café). After admiring a view, I was delighted to spot a
Black Vulture, which soared towards us and then flew directly overhead, before climbing and circling and then heading off towards the mountains. The view was amazing, and another lifer. A futher five were circling together on a thermal over the distant peaks. A
Lang's Short-tailed Blue was seen on the way down the steps.
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| Black Vulture
|
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| Lang's Short-tailed Blue |
Back from the Hotel balcony, two
Booted Eagles were over the crags and the
Blue Rock Thrush was seen again.
Monday 17th
The early constitutional walk to Boquer's big rocks produced the
Redstart again, a
Black Redstart, c5
Song Thrushes, a
Blue Rock Thrush, a singing male
Cirl Bunting, a
Stonechat, two
Booted Eagles, an
Eleonora's Falcon, a
Chiffchaff, and a male
Wren singing by the rocks, plus
Sardinian Warblers,
Greenfinches,
Goldfinches,
Robins, and
Blackbirds.
We took a boat trip later around Cap Formentor to Cala Sant Vicenç. This produced great views of a total of c30
Eleonora's falcons at various points on the journey. Other birds noted were 2-3
Peregrines at the cape, two
Ravens, 3+
Balearic Shearwaters and 1+
Cory's Shearwaters, two
Booted Eagles, c6
Shags, a
Cormorant, and several
Yellow-legged Gulls.
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| Boquer Valley seen from from the sea |
The boat stopped at Formentor Beach on the return leg, where we were able to leave and spend some time here, before getting a later boat back. A male
Crossbill was in the pines behind the beach singing and feeding (the resident Crossbills are the endemic subspecies
balearica). A
Humming-bird Hawkmoth and several
Thread-waisted Wasps were around the beach.
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| Eleonora's Falcon |
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| Yellow-legged Gull |
At La Gola later I saw a
Common Sandpiper, a
White Wagtail and a
Clouded Yellow;
two
Firecrests were at Postage Stamp Wood.
Tuesday 18th
The
Redstart, two
Black Redstarts, three
Cirl Buntings, two
Stonechats, and the singing male
Wren were at Boquer again first thing.
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| Cirl Bunting |
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| Sardinian Warbler |
Another bus ride took us further afield to the attractive town of Art
à. From the main street a long flight of steps leads up to a church and castle (Saint Salvador Sanctuary), and along the climb I noted 1+
Serins in pines and 4+
Lang's Short-tailed Blues. 2+
Large Whites were around the castle and also a carpet of flowering
Common Sternbergia, oh and there's a nice café here too that does a nice line in Apple Cake.
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| Common Sternbergia |
A modest walk south-east from the town centre leads to Ses
Païsses, the fascinanting remains of a Bronze Age Talayotic settlement. Among the Holm Oaks here were 3+
Serins, three
Firecrests, two
Blackcaps,
Geenfinches,
Sardinian Warblers,
Robins,
Blackbirds,
Goldfinches,
a Clouded Yellow, four
Red Admirals, a
Willow Emerald Damselfy, and a
Red-veined Darter.
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| Willow Emerald Damselfly |
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| Holm Oak |
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| Almond - this tree was on the walk between the town and Païsses |
Wednesday 19th
Around Port de Pollença early morning in the playground/Police Station pines just south of La Gola were at least 4
Serins including two singing males; on the beach an
Audouin's Gull and a
Yellow-legged Gull; and at La Gola were c30
Starlings feeding on Mastic Tree berries, a
Grey Wagtail, two
Grey Herons and a
Little Egret; from the hotel balcony I spotted 1-2
Booted Eagles and 3+
Crag Martins over the crags; at Bocchoris Avenue at least one
Serin in the pines; and at Postage Stamp Wood two
Fiercrests, two
Wall Brown, a
Geranium Bronze, and a
Red-veined Darter.
Later we walked to Cala Sant Vicenç, and highlights on the way were three
Stonechats, six
Crag Martins, and numerous
Sardinians Warblers. At Cala Sant Vicenç
I saw six
Crossbills, five
Firecrests (one quite close as we rested at the ancient burial caves of Alzinaret), two
Booted Eagles, an
Eleonora's Falcon, 4+
Serins,
Goldfinches,
Greenfinches, a
Humming-bird Hawkmoth, a
Red-veined Darter, a
Southern Wall Brown, a
Rose Chafer, and a
Common Field Grasshopper.
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| Crag Martin |
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| Sardinian Warbler |
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| Female Red-veined Darter |
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| Male Red-veined Darter |
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| Wall Brown |
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| Common Field Grasshopper |
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| Rose Chafer |
From the hotel balcony late afternoon I noted a
Booted Eagle, an
Eleonora's Falcon and six
Crag Martins.
Thursday 20th
We took the bus back to Alcudia to see the ruins of the roman town of Pollentia. This is an impressive site, especially the amphitheatre carved out of the bedrock. Around 8
Cattle Egrets were between Port de Pollença and Alcudia, in a field near the road, and two
Audouin's Gulls were on the beach; also several
Yellow-legged Gulls.
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| Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull |
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| Adult Yellow-legged Gull |
In the afternoon I returned to Boquer Valley (while Linda checked out the local Port de Pollença market). This was the only time the scope left the hotel, and I used it to good effect to find an impressive 200+
Balearic Sheawaters and a few
Cory's Shearwaters off the bay; also three
Yellow-legged Gulls. Other birds noted were the usual species: a
Booted Eagle, two
Eleonora's Falcons, a
Raven, c8
Crag Martins, , two
Blue Rock Thrushes, c10
Sardinian Warblers,
House Sparrows,
Blackbirds,
Robins,
Goldfinches,
Greenfinches, a
Black Redstart, two
Song Thrushes, a
Wren and 40+
Wood Pigeons, and I heard what was almost certainly calls and song of a
Balearic (Mamora's) Warbler; the bird however eluded confirmation.
Friday 21st
On our last day we spent the day around Port de Pollença, and we visited some of the local spots which had become familiar to me. An
Audouin's Gull and seven
Little Egrets were on the beach near the harbour; at La Gola a
Common Sandpiper was present again, plus a
Grey Heron plus around six
Serins; along the Pine Walk an approachable first-winter
desmarestii Shag was on one of the jetties, and a
Firecrest and a
Geranium Bronze were around the pines. Finally at Postage Stamp Wood two
Firecrests were showing well next to the road, one of my favorite birds and a nice highlight to round off a great 10 days.
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| Young desmarestii Shag |
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| Geranium Bronze |
Acknowledgements
Books: For information on sites I found "A Birdwatching Guide to Mallorca" by Graham Hearl (thanks for the loan Mike), and "Finding Birds in Mallorca" by Dave Gosney very useful.
Thanks also to
Mark,
Mike, Duncan and Ian for their invaluable tips on sites, and also to Ian for help with identifying plants.
For more of my Mallorca photos, see my
Picasa web album.
