Report about bird Watching at Ses Salines – Salt Pans Part 1 of 2
I decided to take the morning off sailing for a bit of time out for some walking, bird watching. and relaxing. I was starting to feel all my bruises from the sailing, and yes it hurt a little bit. ouch!!.
After some tidying up, I sat out in the Porch area to look at the view over the bay. The House Sparrows where up in their favourite Tree making their continual ‘repetitive’ songs. It was although they where watching your every movement.
Another call is noted from the same tree and a loud commotion, then a squabble between birds. Two Great Tits appear, and decide to chase each other about the Tree. One sits on the end of the branch right above my head, and twitter loudly, then the birds move off, and continue their argument in a tree a bit further off.
I could see that the House Sparrows liked to pick up the crumbs left on the floor. One appeared on the wall with lots of nest material in its mouth. Lovely quirky little birds, and much more humanised, than the ones in the UK. They are not shy at all, and happily tidy up the floor of any crumbs, and nibbles for anyone. They are a lot more elongated than the House Sparrows back home, a little smaller. Still just as cheeky, the way they colonise in their little groups. Such sociable little birds, and they love to be in each others company all day. They like to nest on top of the mature Palm Trees and that is their favourite spot for all of their activity.
My OH carried on with his sailing for the morning, and I left him to it. It was a pleasant change to be on my own for a while. So I packed my bag with my binoculars, notebook, my ID books, and went for a walk around to the nearby Ses Selines Salt Pans close to the beach.
The area was busy with lots of people with sailing on their minds. Windsurf boards, and dingy boats moving about over the surface of the sand. Sails, and all the associated equipment being tested, and secured. Lots of metal clanging. There was a buzz of activity in the air.
Just the time to escape for a while and have some ‘me’ time, and enjoy the area,
The weather was already lovely, and warm. The sun lotion was added with gusto for the coming day. I started to walk from the door down the patterned tiled stairs, then brushed against the perfumed plants. I start to walk, and then place my foot in the sand. I felt the soft dry sand around my feet as I made my short journey around to the Salt Pans. The only thing I did not possess this morning was our camera, so I hope nothing was going to make an ‘grand’ appearance, and the opportunity pass by as they do sometimes. That would be just my luck.
So the sun shone in its glory once more, and I step over the high area of uneven rocks that juts out over the beach. The green algae had built up in the area, and lined the beach with its distinctive smell of ’well rotted’ vegetation. Lots of green bushes, hiding away a small pool of water to the right of me. It was very vivid shade of green, and sour looking, to the point the surface of the water was dead to look at, and was not visible at all. I cross a piece of wood used as a plank to cross a narrow trench in the sand. I wondered if any creatures where inhabiting this ‘small ‘green area of water.
I put those thoughts aside, and quietly walked on. I brushed against some wild flowers, and a butterfly makes it presence known to me. It was large a yellow, it was a beauty and a good size.
I found out that it was a Cleopatra Brimstone butterfly. A Painted lady passed by without stopping. There was such an influx of Painted Ladies and it was impressive to see their success all over the area.
I past by the path to the left up to the old boathouse with its short man made pier going to no-where except the waters of the bay itself. I could see a few Blacked Winged Stilts quite close to the beach edge to my left. I counted 5 of them. Lots of calls filled the air. They where searching for their food source of aquatic invertebrates, worms and other crustations. If one bird moved they all moved in unison. They where graceful and poetic in their movements. I sat quietly on a low stone wall to observe the Stilts through the binoculars. I sat for a good while, breathing in the air and listening to all the water sounds around me.
The Stilts carried on dancing, and carried on moving in unison with each other, and they gradually moved further out into the bay. The water in the bay shimmered and the birds reflections where plain to see. The shimmering water gave the feeling of an army of Stilts. Lots of red coloured legs moving around in the water.
An adult Cormorant flies by in the distance towards the south shore, and past a small light coloured boat that had become ‘entombed’ near the shore line. It had escaped from its mooring, and entered part of the allocated National Park area where the water is too shallow to get the boat out. So the boat sat looking deserted. It would make a great resting point for any passing birds, if they wanted to observe their area. Wonder if any birds used the stricken vessel as their perching post. o
The Stilts move further off and out of range, and they communicated as they did skimming over the water, ot of sight.
So now it was time to have another look around and see what was going on in the Salt Pans behind me. The area has lots of low boundary walls, with collected water in each square patch. The water level changed if there was any rain at all, and the water filed the area according to the weather. One heavy rain storm we had overnight caused the water to rise quite a bit, so the Salt Pans are weather dependent to a point.
Some interesting facts about the Salt Pans: Ses Salines Salt Pans have been used for salt production since Phoenician times. There are three areas, covering 1000 acres, located between Sa Caleta and Platja d`en Bossa. Sea water entering the salt pans is allowed to dry out in the sun,and is then exported for salting roads and fish. The salt pans are also a nature reserve where storks, flamingos and many other species of birds may be seen.
Yes, Flamingos have been seen in the area, as historical fact are mentioned, and Ses Salines is no expection for a sighting or two.
I could see the 6 plus resident Kentish Plovers in their small group. A Ringed Plover had decided to include itself in the group. One of the Kentish Plovers was feeding a youngster close to me Occasionally the same bird would scuttle between the low stone built walls, and the tiny bushes close to the Salt Pans, then reappear and back to its youngster with food.
Then the same group of Kentish Plovers moved across to the bay, and started feeding, searching for small invertebrates within the sandy area of the beach and back to the Salt Pans. The Plovers could move between bushes and they just run very fast indeed within a blink of an eye. Never seen a bird run so fast just to collect its food, and survive. I could see the association of a wader moving over the dunes as they do. They look like they are clockwork toys, hunting out their food.
Another wader was amongst the group of Plovers, and I looked through the binoculars. I checked out the ID and could see that it was a Curlew Sandpiper, which I understood frequented the area too.
Then some calls tinkle from the skies above my head, and I could see Swifts and House Martins moving above, and skimming the water for insects. Little single note calls to each other, here there and everywhere.
Picture 1 - Beach leading to the Salt Pans
Picture 2 - Boat in the bay
Picture 3 - Hoopoe on the Wall
Picture 4 - Yellow Legged Gull
Picture 5 - Hoopoe on post
I decided to take the morning off sailing for a bit of time out for some walking, bird watching. and relaxing. I was starting to feel all my bruises from the sailing, and yes it hurt a little bit. ouch!!.
After some tidying up, I sat out in the Porch area to look at the view over the bay. The House Sparrows where up in their favourite Tree making their continual ‘repetitive’ songs. It was although they where watching your every movement.
Another call is noted from the same tree and a loud commotion, then a squabble between birds. Two Great Tits appear, and decide to chase each other about the Tree. One sits on the end of the branch right above my head, and twitter loudly, then the birds move off, and continue their argument in a tree a bit further off.
I could see that the House Sparrows liked to pick up the crumbs left on the floor. One appeared on the wall with lots of nest material in its mouth. Lovely quirky little birds, and much more humanised, than the ones in the UK. They are not shy at all, and happily tidy up the floor of any crumbs, and nibbles for anyone. They are a lot more elongated than the House Sparrows back home, a little smaller. Still just as cheeky, the way they colonise in their little groups. Such sociable little birds, and they love to be in each others company all day. They like to nest on top of the mature Palm Trees and that is their favourite spot for all of their activity.
My OH carried on with his sailing for the morning, and I left him to it. It was a pleasant change to be on my own for a while. So I packed my bag with my binoculars, notebook, my ID books, and went for a walk around to the nearby Ses Selines Salt Pans close to the beach.
The area was busy with lots of people with sailing on their minds. Windsurf boards, and dingy boats moving about over the surface of the sand. Sails, and all the associated equipment being tested, and secured. Lots of metal clanging. There was a buzz of activity in the air.
Just the time to escape for a while and have some ‘me’ time, and enjoy the area,
The weather was already lovely, and warm. The sun lotion was added with gusto for the coming day. I started to walk from the door down the patterned tiled stairs, then brushed against the perfumed plants. I start to walk, and then place my foot in the sand. I felt the soft dry sand around my feet as I made my short journey around to the Salt Pans. The only thing I did not possess this morning was our camera, so I hope nothing was going to make an ‘grand’ appearance, and the opportunity pass by as they do sometimes. That would be just my luck.
So the sun shone in its glory once more, and I step over the high area of uneven rocks that juts out over the beach. The green algae had built up in the area, and lined the beach with its distinctive smell of ’well rotted’ vegetation. Lots of green bushes, hiding away a small pool of water to the right of me. It was very vivid shade of green, and sour looking, to the point the surface of the water was dead to look at, and was not visible at all. I cross a piece of wood used as a plank to cross a narrow trench in the sand. I wondered if any creatures where inhabiting this ‘small ‘green area of water.
I put those thoughts aside, and quietly walked on. I brushed against some wild flowers, and a butterfly makes it presence known to me. It was large a yellow, it was a beauty and a good size.
I found out that it was a Cleopatra Brimstone butterfly. A Painted lady passed by without stopping. There was such an influx of Painted Ladies and it was impressive to see their success all over the area.
I past by the path to the left up to the old boathouse with its short man made pier going to no-where except the waters of the bay itself. I could see a few Blacked Winged Stilts quite close to the beach edge to my left. I counted 5 of them. Lots of calls filled the air. They where searching for their food source of aquatic invertebrates, worms and other crustations. If one bird moved they all moved in unison. They where graceful and poetic in their movements. I sat quietly on a low stone wall to observe the Stilts through the binoculars. I sat for a good while, breathing in the air and listening to all the water sounds around me.
The Stilts carried on dancing, and carried on moving in unison with each other, and they gradually moved further out into the bay. The water in the bay shimmered and the birds reflections where plain to see. The shimmering water gave the feeling of an army of Stilts. Lots of red coloured legs moving around in the water.
An adult Cormorant flies by in the distance towards the south shore, and past a small light coloured boat that had become ‘entombed’ near the shore line. It had escaped from its mooring, and entered part of the allocated National Park area where the water is too shallow to get the boat out. So the boat sat looking deserted. It would make a great resting point for any passing birds, if they wanted to observe their area. Wonder if any birds used the stricken vessel as their perching post. o
The Stilts move further off and out of range, and they communicated as they did skimming over the water, ot of sight.
So now it was time to have another look around and see what was going on in the Salt Pans behind me. The area has lots of low boundary walls, with collected water in each square patch. The water level changed if there was any rain at all, and the water filed the area according to the weather. One heavy rain storm we had overnight caused the water to rise quite a bit, so the Salt Pans are weather dependent to a point.
Some interesting facts about the Salt Pans: Ses Salines Salt Pans have been used for salt production since Phoenician times. There are three areas, covering 1000 acres, located between Sa Caleta and Platja d`en Bossa. Sea water entering the salt pans is allowed to dry out in the sun,and is then exported for salting roads and fish. The salt pans are also a nature reserve where storks, flamingos and many other species of birds may be seen.
Yes, Flamingos have been seen in the area, as historical fact are mentioned, and Ses Salines is no expection for a sighting or two.
I could see the 6 plus resident Kentish Plovers in their small group. A Ringed Plover had decided to include itself in the group. One of the Kentish Plovers was feeding a youngster close to me Occasionally the same bird would scuttle between the low stone built walls, and the tiny bushes close to the Salt Pans, then reappear and back to its youngster with food.
Then the same group of Kentish Plovers moved across to the bay, and started feeding, searching for small invertebrates within the sandy area of the beach and back to the Salt Pans. The Plovers could move between bushes and they just run very fast indeed within a blink of an eye. Never seen a bird run so fast just to collect its food, and survive. I could see the association of a wader moving over the dunes as they do. They look like they are clockwork toys, hunting out their food.
Another wader was amongst the group of Plovers, and I looked through the binoculars. I checked out the ID and could see that it was a Curlew Sandpiper, which I understood frequented the area too.
Then some calls tinkle from the skies above my head, and I could see Swifts and House Martins moving above, and skimming the water for insects. Little single note calls to each other, here there and everywhere.
Picture 1 - Beach leading to the Salt Pans
Picture 2 - Boat in the bay
Picture 3 - Hoopoe on the Wall
Picture 4 - Yellow Legged Gull
Picture 5 - Hoopoe on post
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