Mallorca query (1 Viewer)

GiG said:

Hi,
I'm likely to be visiting on a family holiday in a couple of months staying in Puerto Pollensa. I'll only have one day out, at S'Albufera and a couple of early morning walks to the Boquer Valley. I have a couple of questions please, firstly for these sites will a scope be needed? Secondly, I have a general interest in wildlife so would be interested in details for plants, reptiles, mammals to be found at these places or maybe nearby that would be accessible (not by car).

Many thanks,
Gi

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eanin1 said:

A scope would not be essential at S'Albufera as you should get plenty of birds close up from the hides but it might not be any harm to have it around the Boquer valley. S'Albufera won't disappoint and there is a regular bus service from the marina in Puerto Pollensa that stops outside the front gate.

regards
Sean

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honeym said:

The area called La Gola, which is in Puerto Pollensa on the seafront heading east from the pedestrianised centre is always worth a look, especially early morning.

I would recommend the new "A birding tourist´s guide to Majorca ( see http://www.birdingmajorca.com), or the new "Mallorca Birding map". Both of these are available for sale in the reception office at s´Albufera. They should also have copies of "Plants of paths, marsh and meadows". This was compiled originally for s´Albufera but it is useful anywhere - but it depends exactly when you will be here as much will have ´gone over´as things tend to flower early. That said, the season is some weeks behind what it should be so you may be OK. I´ve never been here later than late June.

There´s not much in the way of mammals that would be easy to see. Pine Marten occurs but I´ve been a regular here and have never seen one. Others have been more lucky. With reptiles it will mainly be two species of gecko, you might be lucky to see a snake or two at s´Albufera (usually Viperine snake) and there are frogs, mainly marsh frogs of a couple of species (can´t recall exactly). You are bound to see terrapins at s´Albufera but these will most likely be the introduced American Red-eared slider (they seem to have ousted the European pond terrapin).

No doubt others will reply with additional information.

Have a great time.

Martin

ps I´ve just returned from a quick visit to some of the hides at s´Albufera and on the way I had a brief sighting of a mustelid. My first reaction was that it was a stoat as it had a black tail, but it wasn´t very long and, according to all the information, only weasel occurs on the Island, so it must have been a weasel.

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honeym said:

Hi

A quick visit to Es Cibollar I was well-timed as a Collared Pratincole flew in circled a few times and then landed in front of the hide. It stayed for about 20-30 minutes, drinking and preening before setting off north.
A good example of being in the right place at the right time.

Martin

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honeym said:

Hi

There are insects a plenty.
Butterfly species are quite poor in terms of numbers of species but there are some nice ones (Swallowtail, Cardinal, Cleopatra, Two-tailed Pasha, etc.).
Moths (my own subject) are very diverse but there´s still not a lot known about them. Hawk-moths always seem to be popular and there are a number of species (Southern Spurge, Convolvulus, Death´s-head, Elephant, Striped, Silver-striped and, of course, Humming-bird). You may see Spurge Hawk-moth mentioned but it doesn´t occur on Mallorca. The Greater Spurge is also mentioned but in 15 years of (sporadic) moth trapping I´ve never seen one, or come across a recent record of one.
Dragonflies, particularly at s´Albufera can be very numerous - or anywhere where there is standing fresh water (even irrigation tanks can be worth a look). The most recent addition to the dragonfly fauna is the Violet Dropwing - a very smart looking beast.
Other Orders are equally well provided for, especially beetles, bees and wasps, and grasshoppers. There are also mantis species.
Of course, there is a down-side, there can also be lots of mosquitoes at times.

Martin

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honeym said:

Hi Mike

Violet Dropwing – Trithemis annulata (Palisot de Beauvois, 1807)

From a quick look at available literature it seems to be an African species that expanded in Europe in the 1980s and 90s. The first record from mainland Spain was published in 1981 and it was recorded from the Maltese Islands as breeding in 2008.

August/September seem to be the best months for seeing it, gleaned from postings and photos on the GOB Forum (Fauna) by searching for “Trithemis”, but Askew in The Dragonflies of Europe states that adults have been seen from April to November.

I´ve seen males perched on vegetation just outside the Es Ras hide in s´Albufera in September.

Best wishes

Martin

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GiG said:

Looking at the s'Abulfera map can the Son Bosc viewing area be accessed from the Cami de ses Puntes track as there looks like a bridge across?

Cheers,
Gi

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