Jonny's Birding Blog: Night Heron

Saturday, 22 April 2017

Mallorca - Birding at Albufera (Part one)

On our second day we spent the morning at the Albufera Marshes - one of the most important wetlands in the whole of the Mediterranean. Our target for the day was the Moustached Warblers, which despite having several hundred birds around the reserve, we had been told could be quite difficult to see.

After stopping to have a look at the Cattle Egret and Night Heron colony along the main canal (Night Heron was a long awaited lifer for me!), we reached the start of the Ses Puntes track. And there was a Moustached Warbler! We found them surprisingly easy to find, and were able to watch at least two birds both up close as well as more distantly through the scope over the next half hour.

A Water Pipit flew over the track on while we were on our way to the next hide; Cibollar 1. An excellent selection of waders were present on the muddy pools, including...

25+ Spotted Redshank
12+ Green Sandpiper
20+ Wood Sandpiper - some walked to within a few metres of the hide!
1 Redshank
1 Ringed Plover
25+ Kentish Plover
5+ Little Ringed Plover
1 Greenshank
20+ Avocet
40+ Black-winged Stilt
1 Common Sandpiper

Other birds from here included a Great White Egret, 3 Garganey, a Booted Eagle and 2 Purple Heron, while a Nightingale was singing behind the hide!

The area around the Sa Roca hide provided us with our first two Balearic Woodchat Shrikes of the trip, along with a Great Reed Warbler and a Black Redstart.

Other stuff around the reserve included good numbers of Fan-tailed, Sardinian and Cetti's Warblers, a couple of Purple Swamphen and Red-knobbed Coots and a few Marsh Harriers.

My next post will be about the Fermentor peninsula, including the Mallorcan speciality that is Balearic Warbler.

Moustached Warbler

Night Heron

Wood Sandpiper

Wood and Green Sandpipers

Hoopoe

Cattle Egret

Balearic Woodchat Shrike

Red-knobbed Coot

Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

Mallorca - Birding around our villa & Pollensa

Last Sunday (the 9th) we arrived on the island of Mallorca for a weeks break. We stayed in a villa on the north side of Pollensa, overlooking the mountains and ridges to the north of the town. Within just a few minutes of arriving I had my first lifer of the trip - Black Vulture. These huge birds were seen daily from the villa, the first of nine species of birds of prey.

On the 15th, a superb evening scanning the ridges produced a smart Egyptian Vulture, along with a Golden Eagle, which I understand is an escapee that has been on the island for a while now. While on our penultimate day a Griffon Vulture put in an appearance.

Other raptors seen regularly from the garden were Booted Eagles, Red Kite, Peregrine and Kestrel.

During the night we could stand outside the villa to watch and listen to Stone Curlews flying around. Two Night Herons also flew over on the 11th, while at least two Scops Owls were calling down the road into Pollensa, and on the 12th, we were able to see one calling from a hole in a tree at twilight.

Flocks of Bee-eaters were regularly seen in the area, including a flock of 40+ low over the garden on the 13th, and Hoopoes appeared twice.

Passerines seen around the garden included Serins, Sardinian Warblers and a single Pied Flycatcher and Cirl Bunting.

Lots more photos from other sites on our holiday to come soon on more blog posts...