SEVENTEEN SPRINGS- EPISODE 7- 3RD-10TH APRIL 2004
WHERE DID THAT ROAD COME FROM?
A longer drive to the Airport this time- and Stansted gets on the list, but still with Air 2000. The moment any parent dreads came after we got to the departure lounge- our younger son Samuel, now aged 3 and quick on his feet, disappeared- cue absolute panic, followed by a careful search which after the longest 10 minutes in our lives, revealed him to be staring at the players in an amusement arcade and quite unconcerned, unlike us. The flight and transfer were good, and back at the hotel we had another top floor twin-balcony room- up scope again! The Scops were calling again but not visible.
Sunday to church, and then to the foot of the Boquer- which was unrecognisable with a new dual carriageway and roundabout removing half of the field that used to be there, and a new school as well. Basically the landscape was forever changed but at least it did not totally ruin the area,and PSWood whilst being noisier was still a good place to see small migrants.. Later back at the hotel there was the other end of the by-pass near the Ullal farmhouse- and to be fair this new road had been on the cards for some time,and it certainly eased the through traffic to Formentor by keeping it out of the town centre. The road was not yet open, but close to being so, and was well used by walkers and joggers to begin with. Crossbills were visible near the Guardia Civil that afternoon, and in the evening there were good views of the pair of Scops Owls near the Farmacia.
Monday was us wandering slowly to the Boquer and we again somehow managed to get the pushchair to the end. The BWarblers were there, plus Wryneck, Egyptian Vulture and a few migrants such as Whinchat. The Scops showed briefly an a very cold evening at the Farmacia.
Tuesday was just a beach day and i was on sandcastle duty so not much bird interest. Wednesday, having at last learnt the lesson to avoid market days at Alcudia, we went on the bus to Albufera. The interest include a Tufted Duck, the White-headed Duck for the last time, a Spotted Crake at Bishop 1 and a Collared Pratincole. Cloud and rain were starting as we returned to the hotel, and the scope was much used a s a fishing boat came into the harbour trailed by Y-L Gulls and a few Scopoli's.
Thusday was cold and cloudy, so a local walk to the harbour and along the quay got us close to some luxury yachts- including quite a few made by our own Fairline Boats of Oundle in Northants. Susan got invited aboard one worth £1 million- and had a guided tour whilst I stayed with the boys on the quay. The guy who showed her round was paid £25000 a year to stay in an apartment on the seafront and keep the boat in tip top order for his rich bosses- a husband and wife- who would often turn up by helicopter having given him 12 hours notice of an impending voyage. Later that day the pushchair broke outside the Daina hotel- it was repaired with string but was never the same again.
Friday dawned to wind and rain, and we stayed in the room, but again there were a few Scopoli's visible in the scope out in the distant entrance to the bay- just to the right of the luxury pad used in the TV series "The Night Manager". A brief walk later showed Crossbills drinking from puddles on the sea front.
Saturday was again wet and windy, with very little about, and only a cursory view of one Owl in the evening as it flew from the nest site over our heads.(Scops are long-winged and can move very fast if they need to.......}