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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Mallorca 2020 (1 Viewer)

Pla de Lanzell is a fabulous place to visit.
I take for granted the number and variety of species seen there.
When I went there with Stewb, I remember he was astonished to see so many birds which seemed quite normal to me
Mike

It’s still stuck in my memory Mike! The contrast between the agricultural desert here in Norfolk and the flocks of finches, buntings and larks we saw was really stark. The RSPB among others are showing that with a sympathetic approach it doesn’t have to be like this in the UK, but I’m not holding my breath!

Stew
 
Having been locked up so long, my eyes were wide open to everything, and I noticed such a rich variety of plants and flowers, all covered in insect life and therefore an abundance of birds were present too.
Gregor, I bet your photo of the Lesser Kestrel looks like mine!
Having seen the close-up photos I’m sure I got the right bird but I will still go back for seconds.
No other news yet.
Mike
 
At least 7, probably a few more, Red-rumped Swallows were among a large mixed flock of hirundines and swifts (also a Sand Martin and a few Pallid Swifts) just south of Es Capdella this afternoon. It was amazing to watch them in the wind, at times they were no more than a handful of metres away from me! It was virtually impossible for me to get a photo of them with my poor photography skills, out-of-date camera and the strong wind, but I've attached the best I managed! And it's considerably better than my Lesser Kestrel effort Mike ;)
 

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I saw this hare and another from the hide at Son Real in March last year.
 

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I saw this hare and another from the hide at Son Real in March last year.

A google search for Iberian Hare produces a lot of results which are both fascinating and confusing - including some learned scientific papers which I’m afraid went straight over my head. (Martin - help!).

Basically, it seems that the hare has seen two historical introductions to Mallorca at around 1500 BC from the mainland, from Ceres and from Zaragoza. DNA can assign hares on the Island to a probable origin of one of the two, but I haven’t seen a suggestion that that they’re separable in the field. Interestingly, there is very little about status, and the notion that they had died out seems to be a statement without evidence that has simply been repeated by succeeding authors.

This lockdown business has been going too long..

Like others, I have seen hares fairly often. Last Summer I nearly stood on one at Son Bosc as I stalked a flock of serins. I totally agree about the laxative properties of a startled hare!

Stew
 
I have been told by many people that the Hare here is very rare indeed but as I had seen a few, I thought this couldn’t be correct.
So thanks Pep for confirming its status and also Ben Nevis for pointing out it’s laxative qualities. I’ve had a few moments like that in the field over the years, the most memorable being when we were shot at in Norfolk.
I’m also interested to read about evidence that is simply repeated over the years Stew, without ever being challenged. The most notable here was the fact that Booted eagles didn’t migrate over water. It just got accepted as the law.
Any doubters would be convinced by coming with me in the autumn to Cap Ses Salines and watch streams of Booted eagles leaving Mallorca for Africa, one of the best sights on the Island.
Mike
 
A good number of Honey Buzzard coming through the north today.
Also one male Montagu’s Harrier.
Lesser Kestrel and Red-footed falcons still present at Pla de Lanzell this morning.
Mike
 
A google search for Iberian Hare produces a lot of results which are both fascinating and confusing - including some learned scientific papers which I’m afraid went straight over my head. (Martin - help!).
Stew

I'm not that good on mammals but from what I see on Fauna Europaea the hare on the Balearic Islands (only Mallorca) is Lepus granatensis subsp. solisi Palacios & Fernandez, 1992. In other words a subspecies of the Granada hare.

However, a more recent study (2014) concluded that (genetically) the hares on Mallorca could not be distinguished from those of continental Spain.

Martin
 
Fascinating stuff about the hares, there seems to be a lack of information about Mallorca's mammal species in general, I found another article stating that Pine Martens are extinct here which is evidently not true either!

A nice day around Es Capdellà today. The Red-rumped Swallows have been showing for a third consecutive evening today in the same place. There were much fewer House Martins and Barn Swallows, but still a huge number of swifts (with a handful of Pallid and Alpine too).

Earlier today, Long-tailed Tits were again in the garden, while Black and Griffon Vultures and an Eleonora's Falcon went overhead. I also saw a Mallard this evening, which was a first for me here ;)
 
SEVENTEEN SPRINGS- EPISODE 30- 28TH MARCH- 4TH APRIL 2015
A STYLISH NEW HOTEL???
A second journey to Gatwick this year and the airline was EasyJet from the south terminal, reached by going up and over the remarkable "aeroplane bridge" to the departure stands. I actually remembered my bins this time and after turbulenca over France the journey calmed down with brilliant views of the Pyrenees, Barcelona and Formentor before landing. Then off to the hotel which was hardly recognisable- it had become the Fergus Style Pollensa Park Hotel and Spa, which was a mouthful- but the interior had had a major facelift. The dining area also looked totally different but the free juice or water with the evening meal had been replaced by drinks we had to pay for.
This was the year my wife's health (she has M E) began to affect us more severely, and on the Sunday I had to stay around the hotel and look after her and the boys, so I missed church and the Boquer and the Joker bistro, which was disappointing, but the hotel gardens are very pleasant, and pretty good for birds as well. On the Monday we all overslept, which was the first time it had happened, and nearly missed breakfast. Susan felt a bit better, so we got the bus down to the crumbling Posada Verano, and went into Albufereta, enjoying a leisurely time on the mound, with Great White Egret and Osprey showing well.
Tuesday we again spent mainly around the beach and hotel, although we did get to the Joker for lunch- and then on Wednesday I was allowed out to Albufera on my own- with Marbled Teal, Avocet and Dunlin the highlights- the latter are not always that easy to catch up with in early springs on the island. Thursday we walked down to the Llenaire Hotel again- just for drinks, and I was very pleased that a group of Bee-eaters dropped in briefly as we sat on the terrace- and I also went out to the Can Cuarassa hides to see what was there- not much being the answer. On the Friday I had arranged for a Fiat Punto to be our hire car, as we could no longer use Hiper as the new owners of the hotel had changed the arrangements, and so we used a contact via an assistant at the supermarket to get us a car at a much cheaper rate from Port d'Alcudia, and a Corsa was the result. I took the boys up to Albercutx tower, and for the first time met the raptor group (GORA) and Pep Manchado, and appropriately a Sparrowhawk moved North past us.
Saturday was discover day, and so first we went to Costitx again for drinks at the cafe, followed by a drive through Inca and up to Lluc monastery where we had our lunch, and then explored around the area, before coming down back to PP for the evening meal. You may have noticed no mention of Scops Owls at all in this week- basically because there were none to be seen or heard so far........
 
What is the status of Red-necked Nightjar in the Balearics? I was watching the Netflix show 'White Lines', which was predominantly filmed in Mallorca and Ibiza, and during one scene a Red-necked Nightjar is clearly audible in the background.
 
What is the status of Red-necked Nightjar in the Balearics? I was watching the Netflix show 'White Lines', which was predominantly filmed in Mallorca and Ibiza, and during one scene a Red-necked Nightjar is clearly audible in the background.

Is very scarce during migration, maybe less scarce in Ibiza, there are very few data about it.
Can you say us the episode and the minute?
Thank you
 
Fascinating stuff about the hares, there seems to be a lack of information about Mallorca's mammal species in general, I found another article stating that Pine Martens are extinct here which is evidently not true either!

Given the number of road kills one sees, they may be becoming extinct.

If it's of interest, here's a list of mammals (from Fauna Europaea, ignoring subspecies):

Atelerix algirus (Lereboullet 1842)
Lepus granatensis Rosenhauer 1856
Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus 1758)
Tadarida teniotis (Rafinesque 1814)
Apodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus 1758)
Mus domesticus Schwartz & Schwartz 1943
Mus spretus Lataste 1883
Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout 1769)
Rattus rattus (Linnaeus 1758)
Martes martes (Linnaeus 1758)
Mustela nivalis (Linnaeus 1766)
Eliomys quercinus (Linnaeus 1766)
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber 1774)
Rhinolophus hipposideros (Bechstein 1800)
Crocidura russula (Hermann 1780)
Crocidura suaveolens (Pallas 1811)
Barbastella barbastellus (Schreber 1774)
Eptesicus serotinus (Schreber 1774)
Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte 1837)
Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl 1817)
Myotis capaccinii (Bonaparte 1837)
Myotis emarginatus (E. Geoffroy 1806)
Myotis myotis (Borkhausen 1797)
Myotis nattereri (Kuhl 1817)
Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl 1817)
Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreber 1774)
Plecotus austriacus (Fischer 1829)
Genetta genetta (Linnaeus 1758)

Martin
 
I know that many recordings of background noise are obtained from library sounds. A friend in tv told me why they do this but I can’t for the life of me remember the reason.
It’s why winter scenes have Common Swift screaming past and other out of season sounds.
It may be just a recording marked “Spain” and therefore was from another time and place.
As Pep says, Red-necked nightjar are very scarce here, I have been to many suitable sites throughout the migration times but never heard one.
There are a handful of records from the islands like Cabrera but I don’t recall a mainland Mallorca record.
Mike
 
Many thanks Martin
That’s exactly what I have been after for some time now.
I couldn’t find a full list anywhere.
Excellent and for the record, I have recently seen Pine marten in Mondragó but I have never seen Genetta.
Mike
 
A couple of Slender-billed gulls have been seen, Phil logged one at the depuradora, Albufera.
Honey buzzards have been coming through with double figures on one day last weekend.
I visited the salt pans today.
High numbers of Ringed plovers, one Grey plover, a lovely flock of greater Flamingoes in flight, lots of Avocets and Black-winged stilts.
Mike
 
Episode 5, around 30 minutes. Mike is probably right that it's just a generic ambient noise effect inserted afterwards.

I totally agree with Mike regarding background sound and even pictures.
It has never been seen a White Bald Eagle in Sweden until one suddenly show up in a programme about house restoration in Stockholm archipelago.
Explanation was that the use pictures from photo agency.
 
A nice morning at Son Bosc/Depuradora, where the Slender-billed Gull showed distantly (the first I've seen of the species anywhere), along with great views of a Collared Pratincole (better than my photos suggest!), a Purple Heron and 3 Whiskered Terns. It's exciting to heae that s'Albufera will be fully reopening next week.
 

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