Mallorca 2023 (14 Viewers)

[Mike Montier]

I’m on my way Mike!
I have had the greatest adventure but I miss Mallorca terribly.
Reading all the news has been great but frustrating in equal measures.
Thanks everyone for keeping the news coming.
Mike

 

[Mcnswiss2]

We will cross Mike..this town is not big enough for both of us!
Last visit to S’Albuferata this trip. Weather still perfect.
Some 45 Species seen or heard including Osprey, Purple Herons, Grey Plovers, Black Winged Stilts, Flamingo, Great Crested Grebes.
Great Morning out!

 

[Mcnswiss2]

Back home in the Cold..asking why did I leave!
Reflections over last few weeks:

• Based in the North, its easy to use buses at this time of the year
• Some 100 species seen or heard in a few weeks including Merlin, Hobby, Ospreys, Kingfishers, Grey Plovers and murmurating starlings
• Weather has been excellent
• Although School holidays at the end of October, fewer tourists and Cyclists
• Great to see friends again
• Cannot wait to return!

 

[Phil Akers]

Albufera car park yesterday, at 7.45am, Firecrest singing in the Pines, nice start to the day. Found a lovely young Night heron on the far bank of the Gran Canal just after passing through the gates. I kept counting them until I arrived at the visitor centre, found 40.
At the new Sa Roca hide, lots of Teal, Shoveller, BW Stilts, Glossy Ibis, a few Lapwings. On to the centre hide, pretty much the same plus 4 Purple Swamphens and a couple of Marbled ducks. Water levels quite high so no small waders. 2 Marsh harriers circling kept spooking the birds.
At Ses Pardes hide there was little to add other than Gadwall. Then over the wooden bridge on to the path. A Moustached Warbler singing in the reeds, couldn`t pin it down for a photo. Then walking past the small pathside pond, another Moustached Warbler singing away.
Next, Es Cibollar 1 hide. 40 Flamingos, Audouin's gulls, Osprey on the perch at the back of the lagoon, a young BH gull, a Kingfisher flying across and back again, BW Stilts, a few Kentish Plovers.
Down to the Es Columbars Hide. Once again, water levels high. The only birds added to my day list, little grebes.
Decided on a complete change for the rest of the afternoon.
Son Real, the hide.
It went quite well, 8 Species, Gt Tit, Serrin, Robin, Blackcap, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch. But no Hawfinch.
Oh well, better luck next time.
The last 2 photos, Siskin and Hoopoe were from my garden .
So, 52 species on the day, pretty good.
Cheers
Phil Akers

 

[Mike Montier]

I will be back in Mallorca from this Wednesday having had a great adventure in the far East.
It was an amazing time, the highlight was being in a jungle on my own. I’m not the bravest of people so it was a major challenge for me, having to conquer my own fears.
I have missed Mallorca more than ever though, and I am mentally preparing my itinerary for the winter months.
First stop, Sa Barrala where I will be going on many occasions. A Montagu’s harrier has been reported from there and two Common crane too. I’m very excited at visits to this site which I have been shouting about for years. It is seriously underwatched and has a great number of larks, pipits and finches. Red-throated pipit is regularly seen.
Then up to Randa for Ring ouzel and on to Son Real for a Hawfinch or two.
Winter birding is brilliant with the Starling roost being a must see event.
I just can’t wait to be back and hopefully meet up with any visitors.
We will have some fun and see lots of great birds.
Mike

 

[foresttwitcher]

I will be back in Mallorca from this Wednesday having had a great adventure in the far East.
It was an amazing time, the highlight was being in a jungle on my own. I’m not the bravest of people so it was a major challenge for me, having to conquer my own fears.

I hope we are going to get a trip report of your adventures?

 

[Mike Montier]

I travelled firstly to Singapore with my wife so it was not exclusively a birding holiday but I did go out every day.
I had some great advice from Birdforum members which helped a lot. It was very hot and humid, but as I live in Spain, I found it manageable.
The botanic gardens were very productive but none of the birding was easy. Waiting in one spot paid dividends and I saw some great species. Gardens by the Bay are also exceptional. There were many species I failed to see which was frustrating but I was often short for time.
Cambodia was in a different class, much more birding in the wild and many more birds on the list. Also, less distractions as Singapore is a tourist destination too.
It was a very humbling experience to meet so many locals, living in the wild and just about scratching a living from the land. They were welcoming and seemed happy with their lives.
Bangkok was wild and free, a great experience and very different. The birding was the best of all and a day in the jungle was eerie and easily the most extraordinary location I have ever visited.
It was impossible for me to focus exclusively on birds, there was so much else going on. I found the whole experience deeply moving and I feel I have changed as a result.
It all confirms that we live on an amazing planet with so much to see and so little time to see it. It has fired me up to visit more challenging parts of the world which I will now be doing.
I feel all the richer for having done so.
Mike

 

[MJB]

It all confirms that we live on an amazing planet with so much to see and so little time to see it. It has fired me up to visit more challenging parts of the world which I will now be doing.
I feel all the richer for having done so.
Mike

An interesting 7-legged spider...!
MJB

 

[Mike Montier]

We got back to Mallorca yesterday, arriving in beautiful sunny conditions and a lovely 23 degrees.
The Island looked fabulous and it was very nice to be back.
Black redstarts have returned as have Chiff-chaffs.
Some Redwings have been seen at Comuna de Bunyola.
Redwing is quite a difficult bird to catch up with in Mallorca but a few arrive every winter.
Comuna de Bunyola is a terrific place to visit. Every year, we used to rent the refuge, make a big fire, roast far too much food and eat ourselves silly. It was one of the highlights of the year and I’m very sad we no longer do it.
Many local families meet there Sunday lunch time, bringing wood and food to barbecue on the open fires provided by the authorities. The atmosphere is typical of Mallorca, one of celebration and community.
Sharing is also high on the agenda. When we walked in the mountains and passed by these gatherings, we were very generously offered food and drink, a lovely gesture.
A Yellow-browed warbler has been recorded on Dragonera by Jason and Maties. A few of these little gems winter here. I well remember getting a crick in the neck when searching the tree tops with Mike Swiss, looking for ones of these very smart warblers.
I did a seawatch tonight and for the first time ever I think, I didn’t see a single shearwater. There was absolutely nothing out there.
Never mind, I’m fired up for some winter birding which I love here on the Island.
As I was leaving, I got a glimpse of a line of birds flying over which looked very much like Common cranes. They disappeared behind a tree before I could be sure.
I hope we get some more this winter, there have been very few for the past few years.
Mike

 

[Neville Davies]

Sorry to hear about your camera Mike.
Hope you are going on the “bum” boat to Pulau Ubin to find the real original Chicken !

Back to Mallorca, a few minor trips to Can Sa Vincente and Maristany.
Very Quiet again at both.

One firecrest seen in the woods at CSV and only one Balearic Warbler seen on the fishermans walk. A distant Booted Eagle and two Ravens seen, a few Sardinian and Robins calling.
An African Monach or Plain Tiger butterfly was seen, different to the Monach photo I published above.

Maristany water levels were high. Many Shoverlers and Little Grebes.
The highlights were a single Kingfisher, Green Sandpiper, 3 Greenshanks, a few Common Pochards and a single Wigeon.
Cettis Warblers were abundant.
A dozen or so Barn Swallows were still here.
The famous Coscoroba swan was also present.
Many dragonflies including Red Veined Darter very busy on the water.

Hoping for a few more special birds….

Morning, where is the Fisherman's Walk you mention please? I am probably aware of it by another name but wanted to make sure as Balearic Warbler sightings have been a bit difficult up north recently. Boquer Valley gets a lot of people strolling through for the small beach from around 08.30 so there tends to be some disturbance. Many thanks.

 

[Mike Montier]

10 Redwings at Comuna de Bunyola, a great number for here.
Kevin went to Randa this morning and saw Ring ouzel in the trees around the water deposito.
I popped into Sa Barrala very briefly on the way back from art class and it looked great.
A few Booted eagle were on the wing, a female Merlín flew through and some pipits flew over.
I heard a Common crane.
I am going Sunday for a full morning so I hope there will be some interesting birds.

I’m sure Mike or others can help you with directions to Fisherman’s Walk Neville.
I’m hopeless with directions. Just ask Mike Swiss!
Mike

 

[Mike Montier]

Kevin saw at least 6 male Ring ouzel at Randa and also had good views of the Iberian shrike at Vilafranca.
What a great day for him, the shrike has been quite elusive so far this autumn/winter.
Mike

 

[StewB]

Morning, where is the Fisherman's Walk you mention please? I am probably aware of it by another name but wanted to make sure as Balearic Warbler sightings have been a bit difficult up north recently. Boquer Valley gets a lot of people strolling through for the small beach from around 08.30 so there tends to be some disturbance. Many thanks.

Fisherman’s Walk:
Just before reaching the sea on the drive down into the village of Cala St Vicenc there are some commercial rubbish bins on the left. The walk entrance is next to the bins. Following the concrete road, (which becomes a stony track) brings you to an old iron double gate on the right, with an open pedestrian entrance (near to a small Civil War monument). Go through the pedestrian gate and soon the path comes out of the trees and climbs up along a rather rocky track. The views over to Cala St Vicenc itself are really good, and after a kilometre or so the views out to sea are even better! I don’t usually walk further than a few hundred metres past the obvious quarried
area.

Stew

 

[derban]

Back at last after more than six weeks of gloom, rain, gales, fog in north Germany ... Yesterday in our garden, we saw three raptors circling above, one clearly a red kite, one smaller, so probably booted eagle, one about the same size as the kite but obviously a different bird. It rose higher than the others then glided off heading southwest in a straight line, perhaps Bonelli's? No photos though. And today, after a brief and fruitless visit to the polo pitches, I went on to the Salobrar. Glorious weather, fabulous light, complete calm, about twenty species in an hour and a half with plenty of the usuals, the star perhaps a grey plover, but flocks of dunlin and little stint darting about exuberantly, – where do they get the energy from, these tiny birds that have just flown in from northern Scandinavia? – greenshank, kentish plover, black-winged stilt and any number of flamingoes. And to finish up, there were several stripey spiders beside the path. Why do I ever leave the island?

 

[Phil Akers]

I often post the day after birding, but this is the latest posting ever, even for me. I`ve had a heavy week and my laptop ,which is soon to be replaced, is heading for the bin.
I began the day last Monday 13th at the hide at Son Real 8.00am. It`s always a waiting game here. I had Robin, Greenfinch, Sardinian Warbler, and Collared Dove within the 1st 15 minutes, which was encouraging. A little later a small flock of around 8/10 quite dark Song thrushes appeared. They were very skittish and never settled for long. As the morning wore on there were Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon, Gt Tit, Goldfinch, Crossbill, Black cap, Serin, but no Hawfinch unfortunately.
After 2 hours it was time to move on.
At the Albufera, walking along the Gran Canal I found 18 Night Heron and 8 Grey heron in the canal side bushes.
The 3 Sa Roca hides had a fair number of species including: shoveller, Teal, Glossy Ibis, Marsh Harrier, Snipe, Gadwall, Widgeon, Little and Cattle Egret, Purple Swamphen, but few small waders. The Glossy Ibis were showing especially well.
At the 2 Cibollar hides there were 50 Flamingos, Black winged Stilts, Kingfisher, a few Kentish Plovers, GT White Egret, Osprey and Audouins Gull.
Next stop, Maristany on the way home. Common Pochard, Lots of little Grebes, BH and YL Gulls, Glossy Ibis, loads of little grebes and a young ? GT Crested Grebe.
All in all good day out, no rarities but lots of lovely birds.
Cheers
Phil Akers

 

[derban]

What a wonderful day! MikeM was keen on Sa Barrala so Kevin and I met him outside the Hotel Font Santa early doors and decided to stroll through the Salobrar first. What a start! In the fields we encountered a bluethroat and two redwing – year tick and lifer for Mallorca for me – before we moved further down to the pools. Water levels were generally low so there were plenty of waders, 60+ dunlin, similar numbers of little stint, red and greenshank, a water rail – another tick – curlew, ruff, zitting cisticola, numbers of marsh harrier; and then encounters with a German birder who had spotted a marsh sandpiper, which remained elusive for us, locals on their first visit who found the area "precioso" ... How could you top all that? Well Mike had pies of course, sustenance for our further endeavours at Sa Barrala, where we were circled by raptors including various shades of booted eagle (the pale morph was too far away for a decent photo), but regrettably, the rarities remained elusive. But as I said, a wonderful day. Thank you to both of you for the great company.

 

[MJB]

How could you top all that? Well Mike had pies of course, sustenance for our further endeavours at Sa Barrala, where we were circled by raptors including various shades of booted eagle

That sounds a great idea, to attract raptors with pies...! Does it always work...?
MJB

 

[derban]

That sounds a great idea, to attract raptors with pies...! Does it always work...?
MJB

No, no raptors came for the pies but there were two scavengers!

 

[Mike Montier]

It was a great day derban, enormous fun and a great surprise with seeing the Redwing. Bluethroat a few seconds later really made the moment special.
The pies were good, far too good to share.

I went to Randa today and only had to wait a few seconds before I connected with some Ring ouzels. What lovely birds they are too.
They play on the football pitch and then sit in the surrounding trees where they can be hard to spot. They also frequent the rocks behind the water depósito.
I also heard a Hawfinch and made a recording which registered positive. I didn’t know they got up to the high bits of Mallorca.
The views from the top are glorious, especially on a day like today. Brilliant sunshine, 24 degrees and little wind. It’s due to change tomorrow but being in shorts and T shirt in mid November can’t be bad.
Mike

 

[Geordie Dave]

I’m arriving back in Mallorca tomorrow morning for my final visit of my year and my last push for the Big Year 2023. Staying until 7 December. The recent spell of storms and wet and windy weather in the north east of England has produced a few migrant birds. We’ve had many thousands of redwings and fieldfares, several hundred waxwings, dozens of brambling, up to 16 Hawfinch and several yellow browed warblers, redpoll and ring ouzels. If I could add all of those plus a few cranes and alpine accentors my Mallorca birding year would be complete! Looking forward to catching up with a few ex pats and any visiting birders that might be about. Temperatures look to be settling down so plenty of opportunities to be out and about starting with a search for ring ouzels at Randa on Thursday. Packed and almost ready to go.