Happy new year all, here's to some great birding to come.
I had my first trip out yesterday, hoping to find Alpine Accentor at the Albercutx tower. I arrived there at 8.10 am, expecting to have the place to myself. I parked up before the final bend and made my way up the hill, passing 4 French cyclists who were sitting dangling their legs over the edge of the old military buildings and having a laugh. As I arrived at the end of the lane there was a parked car there with a couple inside, fast asleep with blankets over them and music playing! not a good start.
However, I found 2 male Blue Rock Thrushes within a few minutes which cheered me up and I managed to snatch a quick pic of a Balearic Warbler But, no Alpine Accentors to be seen. This is the 6th time this winter that I`ve made the trip to the tower looking for the Accentors and I believe that no one else has found them either?
Off to Can Cuarassa next, I saw Spotless Starling there along with Mike Swiss a few weeks ago and I was hoping to get a few better photos. While I was scanning around I was startled to hear the lovely fluty whistle of a Golden Oriol. It had me thinking for a while, then I remembered that a few months ago, one of our Old Gits Birding club members, Stew B also heard the same thing and realised that it was a bit of mimicry by a Starling. But anyway I was in luck. Three Starlings flew over and landed on the roof of the house that I was hoping for. When I checked my photos all 3 birds were Spotless Starlings, a bonus.
I drove around Pollenca bay, heading for the Albufereta. I pulled over to check out 2 pairs of birds which were showing what appeared to be black and white. They turned out to be Great Crested Grebes out fishing in the sunshine and the flat calm waters of the bay.
At the tower overlooking the main Albufereta lake there lots of birds showing :
3 Great White Egrets, about 55 Flamingos, Avocets, BW Stilts, many Coots and Mallards, An Osprey perched on a post, Grey Herons. Lapwings, Meadow Pipits. And a Bluethroat in the tree to L/H side of the tower, it flew before I could get a photo.
Next stop was the Albufera. There were Night Herons in there canal side roosts and also Mallards, Gadwall and Marbled Ducks.
At the new Sa Roca hide there were teal and shoveller, Lapwings, Shelduck and a Purple Swamphen. But no small waders. The conditions were good, very shallow water and mud.
At the middle hide there was a single Shelduck, nothing else. At the 3rd hide, nothing.
I checked out the Ses Pardes hide, Mallards and Gadwall. I was hoping that the Widgeon would still be around but no.
Over the main Canal and down the lane to the 2 Es Cibollar hides. Very little to be seen. Cormorants, Teal and Shoveller, Lapwings, a Handful of Flamingos in the background and once again, no small waders.
Normally, at this time of year there is usually a nice selection of waders in good numbers at all of the hides. I wonder if the unusually warm weather is having an effect?
At the Es Columbars hide I was hoping that the Black Stork might be around, I bumped into Maties and he hadn't seen it. But there were at last a few more birds about. They were mostly to the left of the hide but at some distance, around the row of of wooden stumps, I picked out Spotted Redshank, BW Stilt, lots of Cormorants. about 25 Flamingos and a few Little Grebes.
On my way back home I called in at Maristany and was surprised to se a Lesser Black Backed gull out on the lake, alongside a few YL gulls. I managed one poor photo just before it flew, along with the YL Gulls. There were a few Pochard around and the ever present Little Grebes.
But its always worth a quick look at Maristany, you never know what you might find.
