Western Palearctic Birding

Mallorca, 18 - 19 February 2009

With Ryanair flights at a ridiculous £17.50, car hire at only £13.00 for the day and cheap accommodation it seemed a shame not to take advantage and add Balearic Warbler to our WP lists! Jus and I were the only ones interested so we booked everything up including one night at the English-run Hostal Paris in the middle of Puerto Pollensa http://www.hostal-paris.com  

As our flights arrived in the late afternoon and left again in the late afternoon the following day. This meant that time was at a  premuim and thus we couldn't afford to hang around. Luckily all of the sites we wanted to visit were within a few miles of Puerto Pollensa which saved us valuable time. The drive from the airport at Palma to the Puerto Pollensa/Alcudia area was also surprisingly quick with a large chunk of the 30 miles being on dual carriageway. 

As already mentioned our main objective was to see Balearic Warbler but whilst there we also had a couple of other specialities in our sights - namely Moustached Warbler and the local endemic 'balearica' race of Crossbill. The sites we visited were the Embalse de Casablanca (about 4 miles north of the airport), some woodland south of Pollenca, The Boquer Valley, Casa Veyas (on the Formentor Peninsular), Puerto Pollensa seafront and the famous Albufera Marshes.

We owe thanks to Lee Gregory who was able to give us some useful info based on his previous winter trip and lend me his Birdwatching Guide to Mallorca (Arlequin Press) book which I promise to return! Thanks Lee.

18 February 2009

With our flight arriving on time and a hire car (Fiesta) quickly picked up we were keen to make the most of what daylight we had left and get some birding in before we headed north to Puerto Pollensa. The Embalse de Casablanca is a squared-sided reservoir within easy reach of the airport so we made that our first stop. It proved to be a little disappointing but 50 Pochard were notable. c100 Shoveler, 1 Wigeon and c10 Little Grebes were also on the water whilst 2 Common Sandpipers lurked at the waters edge. Passerines were limited to regular resident/wintering birds - 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Fan-tailed Warbler, c6 Chiffchaffs and a White Wagtail. 2 Cattle Egrets were also in the surrounding fields.

We then made our way north with the aim of finding some good looking pine woodland to explore en-route. This was easier said than done as most of the woodland was private and fenced but after one failed attempt (and just a couple of Black Redstarts seen) we found a good lane through woodland a few miles south of Pollenca. A stroll here produced 2 Firecrests (1 singing, 1 seen), loads of Goldfinches and eventually some poor views of 1 Crossbill in flight after hearing some calling.

The only other birds of note were c20 Cattle Egrets near Pollenca as we made our way into Puerto Pollensa. Despite a confusing one-way system we found the Hostal Paris and were welcomed in by the English owner in a 'hello Mr Bond we've been expecting you' stylee! The hostal proved to be very friendly and relaxed with no checking-in formalities and a happy hour in the bar that went on all night! We spent a great night drinking and chatting with the ex-pat locals with a quick nip out to BK for sustenance.

 

Hostal Paris, Puerto Pollensa 

19 February 2009

We both awoke with hangovers, not helped by the fact that at various stages of the night we'd both kept each other awake with our snoring!

So it was with bleary eyes and hurting heads that we wandered up into the Boquer Valley on the edge of town in search of our main bird of the trip. Sardinan Warblers were everywhere with a total of c30 seen in all, a pale Booted Eagle and 2 Ravens circled the cliffs on the edge of the valley but every warbler we could see and hear was a Sardinian! Eventually, when we'd passed the tiny pine plantation I got onto our first Balearic Warbler as it flicked across the path and out of view. This small area then produced c6 birds within the next 45 minutes with some excellent perched views. Unfortunately these were all too brief to contemplate photography but our target bird was well and truly in the bag. Interestingly the birds all favoured the lowest areas of scrub, dominated by Rosemary bushes. We walked right to the seaward end of the valley noting 2 Blue Rock Thrushes, c6 Cirl Buntings, c8 Stonechats, several Serins and a Song Thrush before deciding to turn round and head back. On the way back a Firecrest looked a bit out of place in the low bushes, 2 dark Booted Eagles appeared overhead and a Black Redstart was by the finca at the mouth of the valley.

Balearic Warbler, Boquer Valley (copyright Lee Gregory)

The Boquer Valley

Cirl Bunting, Boquer Valley

Puerto Pollensa from the finca at the start of the Boquer Valley

With the pressure off and feeling more perky we headed out onto the nearby Formentor Peninsular. The scenery here is absolutely spectacular and although it attracts a lot of tourists the viewpoint between Puerto Pollensa and Piedra is well worth a quick stop. We headed further onto the peninsular and beyond Piedra to an obvious area with cultivated fig trees on both side of the road. This is Casa Veyas. Within just 20 minutes we secured some great views of 8+ 'balearica' Crossbills in pines by the road plus 2 Black Redstarts and a Serin. The rocky ridge to the north gave us our best birds though - an unexpected but very welcome 3 Black Vultures and a Peregrine.

Scenery on the Formentor Peninsular

Casa Veyas

Heading back down into Puerto Pollensa we found a shop for provisions and then made our next stop along the seafront. A couple of offshore reefs here can be good for birds and from the car we could see gulls. These proved to be an excellent 6 Audouin's Gulls and quite a surprise as we'd been told they are difficult in winter in the north of the island. The same reefs also held 13 Sandwich Terns, a Kingfisher and 4 'desmarestii' Shags (1 adult and 3 juvs).

Audouin's Gull, Puerto Pollensa

After a wrong turning or two in Alcudia to the south we found our last site, the famous Albufera Marshes. This large reserve was hemmed in between hotels and not really what I'd expected but when we walked out along the main track this impressive site all homed into view. Within just a few minutes we could heard Moustached Warblers singing from the juncus hidden behind the very tall phragmites on the left of the track whilst c20 Night Herons sat roosting in bushes to the right. A little further on we could turn left onto another track and just around that corner we got some great views of a Moustached Warbler singing from a clump of reeds. We used the next 2 hours to explored as much of the area as we could and yet hardly covered a fraction of it. We weren't complaining though, as well as some more views of Moustached Warbler we had 8+ Cetti's Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Fan-tailed Warbler, a couple of Stonechats and our only Hoopoe of the trip. Waterfowl were numerous and included c275 Shoveler, 4 Gadwall, 2 Teal, 5+ Red-crested Pochard, a female Garganey and then a surprise Crested Coot which swam right under the stone bridge of the main dyke. Although presumably part of the re-introduction scheme it was unringed. Jus picked up a plover as it flew onto one of the islands on the scrape and it was quickly id'd as a male Kentish Plover whilst 2 Marsh Harriers and an orange-speckled Speckled Wood butterfly were also seen.

The main drain at Albufera Marshes

Crested Coot, Albufera Marshes

Night Heron, Albufera Marshes

We then had to reluctantly leave and make our way back to the airport at Palma. Driving along the northern perimeter of Albufera I commented that about the only species we'd not seen was Crag Martin. At which point 3 flew past the car over the reeds! 

Despite both of us forgetting we had to fill up with petrol before handing the car back we managed to avoid a surcharge and then enjoyed a flight back to Stansted that landed 25 minutes early.