Mallorca 2022 (3 Viewers)

[Houdiny]

 

[honeym]

Hi Graham
Thanks for this.
Two citations are given in Homologacio de rareses ornitologiques a Mallorca i Formentera. Informe de 2000 by Lopez-Jurado, Carles Anuari Ornitologic de les Balears 15, pp.37-49. One in 1998: "Mallorca: vall de Bóquer (Pollença), un mascle, 11 de maig (P. Morrison i S. Morrison)" and another in 1996: "Mallorca: Parc Natural de s'Albufera, un mascle, 5 de maig (H. Franklin i altres/Banbury Ornithological Society)".
Ernest Garcia is a friend so I'll ask him if he has any other references.
Martin

Ernest has just responded. He writes:
"I am aware of 11 records from mainland Spain and the Balearics combined, up to 2021. The three accepted records from the Balearics (all males in spring on Mallorca) mentioned in my book are also listed in Eduardo De Juana's Aves raras de España and in Clavell's Cataleg dels ocells dels paisos catalanes. They are as follows: Pollensa 30 April 1996, Albufera 5 May 1996 and Pollensa again on 11 May 1998".

 

[Mike Montier]

A great day out for you Martin, you did better than we did yesterday.
I’m still doing the tourist thing here in Pollença with a visit to the old town and shopping.
We have had a great time together, some birding for me, but also just relaxing and eating too much.
The coastline and mountainous backdrop are simply stunning, what a great place to be.
An evening stroll produced a splendid male Red-footed falcon at Can Cuarassa.
I forgot my downloady thing so I can’t post photos. This is a back-of-the-camera and very distant shot.
I will post some photos tomorrow when I get home.
Mike

 

[TonyCath]

Boquer Valley this morning produced a minimum of 21 Eleonora's Falcons on top of the left hand ridge walking into the valley. We are pretty certain there must have been more on the other side of the ridge but we will settle for 21 !!

Further down the Valley a confiding Balearic Warbler gave us five minutes of it's time,absolutely stunning. We shared both these experiences with a couple from the Shetlands, it's great when this can happen.

A Blue Rock Thrush showed well.

Our list grew to 70 when a pair of Raven and Crag Martin appeared, separately of course.

 

[Mike Montier]

A few photos from the last three days in Port de Pollença.
Mike

 

[Geordie Dave]

I spent yesterday around the edges of Albufera starting at Cami des Pol walking the west boundary of the reserve up to Es Forcadet platform and then back again. Next stop was S’Amarador and the Doghouse. I was unable to get to the Depuradora as the road was closed so drove around for a second look from Es Forcadet. There were a number of bee eaters and a woodchat shrike on the Son Bosc road. I finished the day at Maristany ponds. 20+ sightings of Eleonoras over the reeds, 3 booted eagle, dozens of marsh harrier and a few red kites. I saw only my second Squacco heron of the trip at Cami des Pol. There were several purple heron and glossy ibis around together with the usual little and cattle egrets. Another lovely day when Mallorca looked at its best.

 

[Phil Akers]

A few photos from the last three days in Port de Pollença.
Mike

Lovely photos Mike

 

[Phil Akers]

We did our favourite dog walk today, the coastal path from Son Baulo to Son Serra de Marina. It`s also our 2 dogs favourite (Molly and Dave), there`s plenty of room to run around, meet other dogs and have a swim. The scenery is fantastic, especially at the moment with all the wild flowers in bloom. There are also lots of butterflies about, mostly Painted Ladies just now, there must be thousands of them.
Even though there were lots of holiday makers there today it didn`t seem to diminish the number of birds to be seen. There was Audouins Gull, Kentish Plover, Stonechat, Thekla Lark, Turnstone (in full summer plumage), Osprey, Tawny Pipit(we found 4) Shag, Little Egret, Kestrel. There are also warblers around, Sardinian, Balearic, Dartford, but walking 2 dogs and looking for warblers just isn`t compatible.
We had good views of an Osprey fishing, he was circling around and hovering occasionally but he didn`t catch anything and eventually moved on. Incredibly, no one else nearby us seemed to have even noticed it.
Anyway, here`s to our next coastal dog walk, we never tire of it.

 

[Mike Montier]

Neville reports from S’illot,
I Whiskered tern
1 Glossy ibis
1 Red-rumped swallow
and a Red-footed falcon near the coach depot and nearby,
3 Bee-eaters
There are a few Red-footed falcons coming through now, mostly appearing at their traditional haunts, but it’s good to hear of birds being seen in other places.
Mike

 

[Houdiny]

There are also warblers around, Sardinian, Balearic, Dartford, but walking 2 dogs and looking for warblers just isn`t compatible.

Phil, would you say the Dartford Warblers are an easy catch there (when not having dogs around)?
I’ve never found any Dartford Warblers here in Mallorca, and I’ve often looked for them at Son Real and Punta de n‘Amer (where they should be around, if I am not mistaken).

Martin

 

[Mike Montier]

Hi Martin
The only place I have seen them is Porto Colom, notably with stewb and Mike.
Early in the year seems best although I don’t remember what month stew and I saw them. I will look it up but I’m sure he will remember.
They are never easy but Mike Swiss and I saw at least three one day. Somebody went a couple of days later and saw nothing! That’s birding for you, but it’s never comfortable when you say you’ve seen something and then nobody else can locate them.
I know that both Mike and Stew will remember, they are memorable birds to see here in Mallorca.
Mike

 

[Phil Akers]

Phil, would you say the Dartford Warblers are an easy catch there (when not having dogs around)?
I’ve never found any Dartford Warblers here in Mallorca, and I’ve often looked for them at Son Real and Punta de n‘Amer (where they should be around, if I am not mistaken).

Martin

No Martin I wouldn't say that Dartford warblers are ever easy to find, I'm just aware that they are to be found on the Son Real coastal stretch. I do know that Geordie Dave has found them along the Fisherman's Walk near Cala San Vicenc.

 

[Geordie Dave]

Gents. I’ve seen Dartford warbler twice this year. In January either 4 or 5 together on the fisherman’s walk at Cala San Vicenc and in the same month one near the beach at Sun Real. Good luck!!

 

[StewB]

Hi Martin
The only place I have seen them is Porto Colom, notably with stewb and Mike.
Early in the year seems best although I don’t remember what month stew and I saw them. I will look it up but I’m sure he will remember.
They are never easy but Mike Swiss and I saw at least three one day. Somebody went a couple of days later and saw nothing! That’s birding for you, but it’s never comfortable when you say you’ve seen something and then nobody else can locate them.
I know that both Mike and Stew will remember, they are memorable birds to see here in Mallorca.
Mike

It was June 2018Mike, and still the only Dartford I’ve seen on the Island. That’s despite hammering Son Real on a regular basis, including following up a tip-off from a local birder for the best spot!

Maybe my luck will change - we’re heading over a week tomorrow for a slightly extended stay. I’m hoping to get nightjars at Son Bosc for an addition to my Mallorca list. If anyone has any up to date info I’d be very grateful!

Stew

 

[Houdiny]

It was June 2018Mike, and still the only Dartford I’ve seen on the Island. That’s despite hammering Son Real on a regular basis, including following up a tip-off from a local birder for the best spot!

Maybe my luck will change - we’re heading over a week tomorrow for a slightly extended stay. I’m hoping to get nightjars at Son Bosc for an addition to my Mallorca list. If anyone has any up to date info I’d be very grateful!

Stew

Hi Stew!
We saw a Nightjar last night. It was singing extensively and then hunting some insects at Punta de n‘Amer. Other additions to my list were Long Eared Owls, at least 3 permanently calling young and one adult bird flying above the one way street (Carrer dels Baladres) on the western edge of the wooden area.
Just outside of Cala Millor at the Carrer de la Torre Nova there was at least one Scops Owl calling.

Cheers
Martin

 

[Mike Montier]

Nightjars are much more common than I believed when they were at one time listed as a passage migrant.
I guess it’s just that not many birders are out at dusk. We go to many social functions at people’s houses, outside of course, and it seems there are nightjars calling from pretty much all of them here in the south. Maybe the environment here is more suitable for them, I don’t know, but I hear several pairs around where I live, up the road in s’Alqueria Blanca and many other locations.
I don’t know about up north, maybe there aren’t so many.
So if you dip at Son Bosc you can always come here Stew, it’s one bird I can absolutely guarantee.
Mike

 

[MJB]

Nightjars are much more common than I believed when they were at one time listed as a passage migrant.
I guess it’s just that not many birders are out at dusk. We go to many social functions at people’s houses, outside of course, and it seems there are nightjars calling from pretty much all of them here in the south. Maybe the environment here is more suitable for them, I don’t know, but I hear several pairs around where I live, up the road in s’Alqueria Blanca and many other locations.
I don’t know about up north, maybe there aren’t so many.
So if you dip at Son Bosc you can always come here Stew, it’s one bird I can absolutely guarantee.
Mike

I take it then that there isn't a Bird Atlas of Mallorca, Mike? That would indicate the species occurrence frequency for each tetrad. If there isn't, perhaps that's a suitable aim for local and visiting birders to undertake?
MJB

 

[Mike Montier]

Oops, thanks MJB, I completely forgot.
I hope the authors will excuse me for reproducing the page here!
Mike

 

[Mike Montier]

Whilst on that subject, I highly recommend this book by local birders, essential reading for all aficionados of Mallorca.
“Birds of Mallorca” by Birding and Nature Mallorca” authors: Rebassa, Manchado, Torrens and Oriola.
Readers of this thread will know Pep for his regular contributions and Maties too for his valuable input.
Mike

 

[derban]

And not forgetting the Mallorca Birding Map - 75 Best Birding Points and What to See. Not exactly an atlas but a good first orientation. More for birders of my standard than for experts like you guys though!