This holiday was to be of Jan's choosing, she claims Richard and I usurped her over Egypt last year. So she chose to go to Mallorca, Porto Pollenca in fact, and she could not have chosen a better place for birdwatching if she tried! We stayed at the Ora Playa hotel which was brilliantly placed for all the local birding spots. Twenty to twenty five yards to the right of the hotel was the beach, all Audouin's and Western yellow legged Gulls, a hundred yards or so down the road was the 'Postage Stamp' wood, almost directly outside was the 'Avenue of Pines' and a hundred yards or so to the left was the beginning of the Boquer Valley. Heaven! Not to mention a short walk away was the 'Smelly Stream'. I had genned up on the place as several people had lent me books on birds and birdwatching on the island and had scanned several relevant pages to take with me. But because of Jan's large wardrobe I was unable to take my telescope.

Bocher Valley

Avenue of Pines

Audouin's Gulls

Dave in the Bocha Valley

Things did not look good at the beginning, from the bus taking us to the hotel from the airport I saw very little, as we neared the north of the island I did start seeing flocks of Swifts, Swallows and Martins and we passed a Kestrel. On arriving at the resort we were driven by the beach and here I made my first identification blunder as I recorded in my note book, "Cormorants on rocks, joined by Little Egret. Two Gulls on the beach looked spot on for Audouin's. Hope for better views later". The 'Cormorants' were in fact Shags. After settling in to the hotel I went for my first walk along the Avenue of Pines towards the Boquer Valley. Was I in for a shock. I could see plenty of birds but they seemed much quicker than the ones back home. I was convinced the flock of birds feeding on waste land were Serins, but they dropped onto the ground and totally disappeared from sight. Even a close walk past did not disturb them. My first venture out only added Blackbird, Blackcap, Goldfinch and a Wood Warbler to my list. Things were not going to be easy.

Sardinian Warbler

Tony Paul had advised me to be on the Boquer Valley early, he suggested 4am, and I was awake then, but sorry Tony the sun was still asleep and I could not get started until just after 7.30. This time things were a little better. The first bird that greeted me was a Hoopoe, it flew by carrying food in its beak. Other birds still seemed faster than I am used to and my next birds were Greenfinch and Whitethroat. But then I noticed a bird sitting lazily in a tree, I walked to within a few feet of it and it ignored me, a female Cirl Bunting and the first 'lifer' of the trip. A Sardinian Warbler soon revealed its presence and I watched it for some time. As the holiday went on I was racing past them as Sardinian Warbler was one of the most common birds in the area. It was on this morning that I heard a bird that would haunt me for several days, the sun was shining, the sky was clear, and I heard what I was convinced was a Raptor calling. The sound was loud and seemed close by. I scanned the nearby mountains, sure this bird could not be missed, but I saw, nothing.

After a quite morning, spent getting in the shopping and finding our way around the area near the hotel, Jan wanted to check out the sea front and beach. So off we went and somehow we ended up at the 'Smelly stream'. We had very close views of Western yellow-legged and Audouin's Gulls on the way. While we were standing on the bridge over the stream someone dropped some pieces of bread into the water. The water immediately seemed to boil as hundreds of little fish started feeding on the bread, these were soon joined by slightly bigger fish, which in turn were joined by bigger fish, until some quite respectably sized ones were swimming around. I do not know how fishermen would describe the size of these big fish but Rick on first seeing them said "Good Eating". Less than ten yards from the bridge a Little Egret was fishing, a second bird was further away. House Martins, nesting in the tower of a nearby house were skimming flies from over the water and a male Redstart was flycatching from the roots of a fallen tree. But the star of this visit was a beautiful male Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail. It was walking over weed in the water and its prominent eyestripe (supercillium) could be seen without the aid of binoculars.

Small Fry

Egret on Smelly Pond

After returning to the hotel for something to eat we went for a short walk up the Boquer Valley where somehow we managed to lose Rick. A Woodchat Shrike sat on top of a bush as we neared the farm, we passed many male Redstarts and Sardinian Warblers and even saw a Robin. On the way back an Osprey flew over us heading for Pollenca Bay and in the Avenue of Pines we saw a singing male Crossbill and a female Pied Flycatcher. In the evening Jan and I returned to the stream the Egrets had gone, replaced by hundreds of Swallows and Martins over the water while Swifts flew higher overhead. Two Common Sandpipers fed from the shore and a Raven flew by in the background moving between two peaks. Just as it was getting dark all the Hirundines disappeared, everyone of them, but the two Little Egrets returned. Not a bad first day of a non-birding holiday.

While he had been 'lost' Rick had walked the length of the Boquer Valley to the sea. On his return he told us all about it and that it was not that far, we could easily do it in a couple of hours. This said we decided to go for a pre-breakfast stroll, to work up an appetite. I do not know what speed Rick walked at but it certainly was not 'birding speed' as the walk took us over four and a half hours. But it was worth it. The scenery alone was worthwhile but the birds! I finally got good views of Serins, either the birds are slowing up or I am getting the pace of them. The male Redstarts of yesterday were replaced by females today, although some males were still present. We saw a pair of Hoopoe in a tree and were able to compare the two, the female was not as bright as the male, her markings seemed to be chocolate brown instead of black. A Raven flew by giving us very good views, (sorry Stuart they do not look like Maltese Crosses) and a very clean well marked Cirl Bunting put on a show for us. At times I did not know which way to look, a Spectacled Warbler, with its blue grey head looking bigger and cleaner than a Whitethroats. Then just when I thought things could get no better, I nearly kicked a Mamora's Warbler! It was on the path less than three feet from where we stood. Rick says I was shaking as I took down its details, I really had not expected to see this bird as the expert on the video Gareth had lent me spent five days looking for one and only succeeded by driving miles out of his way. We were able to watch this bird closely for several minutes and Jan managed to film it on her video camera. As we neared the sea we came across an area that seemed full of Nightingales and they were fairly easy to see! The first bird we came across was singing a snatch of its song, then we noticed other birds flitting around, they would fly from one bush diving right into another. But with a bit of patience we saw them sitting right out in the open.

Scenes from the Boquer Valley

Detour!

We sat for sometime taking in the scenery, eating energy sweets, the only food we had available, then began the walk back. This was done somewhat quicker although I did manage to see Wheatear and what I am fairly sure was a genuine Rock Dove. Then as we neared the hotel a male Whinchat and the first Chaffinch of the trip. I had seen more Nightingales today than I have previously seen in all my 'birding' life. We had become completely blaise about Sardinian Warblers as there seemed to be one in every bush, this is a shame because they are lovely birds. In the afternoon we went by boat to Formentor, as it was the last sailing of the day we stayed on the boat for the return journey. After the boat we decided to visit the large Supermercat (thats supermarket in English) in the town. Rick's navigational skills let him down [I wasn't lost, we just weren't going in the direction I thought we were - ed.] and we found ourselves in the backstreets. I heard a sound overhead and thought it was a bird on the balcony of one of the nearby flats, but when we came to a cross roads I looked up to see three Red-rumped Swallows flying overhead. This was the first of our really lucky finds, but not the last. On the way back to the hotel I had really good views of Serins, both singly and in flocks, sometimes with Linnets, the males seemed to be as yellow as Yellowhammers back home.

Next day started with my usual walk up part of the Boquer Valley. I was getting used to the resident birds, Hoopoes, Woodchat Shrike, Cirl Bunting etc. But I did see several Willow Warblers and a stunning male Blue Rock Thrush. On the way back on some waste ground I added a pair of Stonechat and another male Redstart.

Hoopoe

Stonechat

The day was to be one of sightseeing and we boarded a bus for Alcudia, here we planned to visit the roman remains and view the medieval town. But even when sightseeing there are still plenty of birds around. As we wandered the old town Swifts races through the narrow streets, playing 'chase me', several were noted to have feathers in their beaks. I also noticed some of the birds making different sounds to the normal scream. The roman ruins in the town were closed "due to illness in the staff", so we made our way to the amphitheatre just outside the town. On the way I saw five Tree Sparrows feeding inside a chicken coop with House Sparrows, Tree Sparrows are a rarity on Mallorca (or so one of the books told me). Near the amphitheatre I also noted Corn Buntings singing from the telephone wires.

Scenes from Alcudia

Views from the Gate

The morning of Friday 12th April will be one I remember for a long time. I probably had my best hours birdwatching ever. It started on my normal morning constitutional to the valley. As I got to the orchard at the bottom I glanced over the wall and saw a flash of orange. I raced to the next opening, an area where the wall had fallen down and saw a Wheatear with a very orange head and dark brown wings, the underparts were beige with an orange tinge, which showed up much clearer when the bird perched on a tree or rock. It also had a black 'mask' that was ringed with white. It did not mind my presence and came within a few yards of where I stood. But it was slowly moving up the field and would reach the end shortly. I did not know what I was looking at! I drew a description in my notebook and for the first time ever it actually looked similar to the bird, but try as I might I could not get a good view of it's tail and I knew this can sometimes be crucial in identifying Wheatears. Later back at the hotel I would identify this bird as a Black-eared Wheatear. Not a bad start but there were many more birds around. I finally tracked down the bird making the raptor like call, it was a Wryneck, which perched in a small, bare tree and once seen made you wonder how you had missed it, this flew off and landed in another tree where it started displaying to a female. The subtle colours of these birds in the morning sun were truly marvellous.

Just after leaving the Wrynecks I saw a pair of Woodchat Shrikes, the male's cap was tan brown, while the female's was a more chestnut/orange. The male then flew onto its tree it used as a song post and began to sing, it had only just started when it was mobbed by two more birds and driven off. One of its attackers was another male, the second bird was not seen well. All this and I had not reached the first gate to the farm. I decided enough was as good as a feast and started back. I looked into the Wheatear field to see a slim Falcon displaying, at first I thought I was looking at a Nightjar and then Cuckoo came to mind. But the birds calls were neither of these species. It was moving slowly with it's wings down below it's body shivering them. I could not see it well as it was mainly head on to me. This one goes down as a missed species as does the next bird I saw. A Warbler skulking in a bush, I was not able to get a good description of it, so it too remains a mystery. I walked away heading slowly for the hotel, when another bird popped out of a bush, this one I am fairly sure was a Firecrest, but it's plumage was all over the place, it had been bathing and was still wet, it certainly did not look like the stunning Firecrests I have previously seen. The birding on this day ended while going to catch the bus. On the beach we passed a group of 12 Audouin's Gulls, with two pairs amongst them displaying.

During the night of Friday/Saturday I had woken to here torrential rain and when I got up in the morning there were large puddles everywhere. There was also a very strong wind from the west. I walked the Avenue of Pines and saw a Hoopoe, it was supported by the usual cast, Serins, Greenfinch and Sardinian Warblers. Approaching the farm I saw a female Blackcap and then a Raven flying low near the mountains. After passing through the two gates I looked up to see a Peregrine over the mountains, gliding along, it then folded its wings and 'stooped' out of sight. Near here I also saw my first and only Spotted Flycatcher of the trip. A male Blue Rock Thrush flew by, singing in flight, the song was similar to a Blackbird, but much shorter. Back near the first gate I found a male Blackcap and a pair of Great Tits, the latter were not as brightly coloured as the Great Tits at home. I then found the best marked and brightest Cirl Bunting I had seen. He perched on a chainlink fence and started to sing. The effect was instantaneous a female appeared after the first few notes, she perched near to him quivering in expectation, offering herself to this dashing creature. But he, seemingly full of his own beauty ignored her and carried on singing. I watched then for several minutes until the female gave up and went to find another mate.

Soller Tram

Our trip today was to be to Soller. This was Jan and Ricks day and I was not going to turn it into a birding day. But I took my binoculars along just in case. I was full of anticipation as the bus was to go through the mountains and would also pass the Cuber reservoir, home to many raptors including Black Vulture. Well its not really birding if you see things from the bus window is it? The day was very cloudy but the bus set off and things looked good, it was to be a fair ride to Soller, I think it took about one and a half hours. The roads were unbelievable, sheer drops, made all the more scary by the pieces of crashed cars on the bends. But the bus driver had probably seen it all before and at no time did we think we would crash. Honest! Then the windows started to mist up. We were in the mountains, there must be raptors and I was having difficulty seeing out of the windows, I fought a losing battle, wiping them with my baseball cap.

Soller Fruit Trees

But had to give up because we then went into the clouds, I did get a glimpse of some water around where I believed the reservoir to be, but nothing else. By the time we got to Soller the windows were clear again and the sun was shining we walked towards the town and Jan and Rick stopped to take photographs of the mountains. Right where they stopped a single bird was flying around. It looked similar to a Sand Martin but slightly larger and it had duller underparts, a Crag Martin. The main attraction of Soller is the trams, which is a shame because it is a nice town. Jan and Rick went to check these out while I looked over the raging river and the fruit orchards. I thought I was seeing things, there appeared to be melons growing on the trees but closer inspection showed these to be BIG Lemons. Around the engine sheds I saw my first Collared Doves of the trip.

Unable to resist we decided to catch the tram to Porto Soller, the cost was 75cents (less than 50p), so we did not expect a long ride. We were wrong! The journey took quite a while, we passed through the town, then the cultivated countryside and into the bay, despite the leisurely speed of the tram I was unable to identify the large bird of prey hunting over some of the fields. Lemons must be a really important crop to this region as they seemed to be grown everywhere, but a lot were overripe and were falling from the trees. In fact on of the first things I noticed when we neared the Port was the number of Lemons washed up on the shore. We left the tram and explored the Port, the only birds of note were four male Mallards swimming around the bay. As we wandered the marina we noticed our bus parked up nearby so we caught it here instead of returning to Soller. On the way back we were held up in a traffic jam and while we waited for it to clear we were surrounded by large numbers of Swallows, House Martins and Swifts. The journey back to base was better as the windows did not cloud over and we were able to admire the scenery and I saw two soaring Booted Eagles over the mountains. In the evening I returned to the Boquer Valley, Jan came along and managed to film a male Sardinian Warbler. A Crag Martin was flying around the first peak past the farm, with a pair of Kestrels displaying nearby. I found another of the Blue-headed Wagtails, again with the prominent eye stripe and on the return through the Avenue of Pines saw Stonechat and Whinchat almost together.

Sunday I found another skulking Warbler that defied identification and the usual cast were present on the Boquer Valley. A Hoopoe on the dead tree near the first gate, Wryneck on its usual song tree. It was then I decided to change my route and walk along the road for a change, I saw lots of Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Serins, with Sardinian Warblers (of course), Stonechats, Blackcaps, Great Tits and Cirl Buntings. The Great Tits do not appear to be in their breeding plumage, they are very drab compared to the birds at home. The Cirl Buntings were seen feeding and singing, with a female being seen on the ground.

Monday the big one! My day, and a trip to the Albufera Marshes. The bus took us straight from Porto P to the reserve, dropping us right outside. The birding started as soon as we crossed the English Bridge, for right near the entrance were roosting (and nesting) Cattle Egrets and Night Herons. As we stood watching these a Cetti's Warbler started shouting just above our heads. I confidently told Rick we would not see it as they are skulking little devils. I even stood with Rick under the small tree to prove the point, and we could not find the bird. But from then on there seemed to be a Cetti's in every bush and soon we had them running around our feet. Every time one appeared, Rick mocked me sarcastically saying "Wow that's really hard to see". Hundreds of Swifts flew overhead, Marsh Harriers quartered the reed beds and a Pochard dived in a small stream, we were able to follow its progress underwater as the stream was so clear. I then found a bird I had long wanted to see, a Fan-tailed Warbler, or to give it it's new name a Zitting Cisticola, it was constantly in flight. Calling zit, zit all the time, I had just written in my note book "does it ever land"? when it did right in front of me giving me excellent views of its streaks and tail markings. Black-winged Stilts were everywhere and several of them flew over us as we walked to the visitor's centre, they have a very raucous call for such an elegant bird. Again most of the birdwatchers seemed to be British and I stopped to talk to a couple coming out of one of the hides. I asked if there was anything in front of the hide to which they replied "Not much, just a Kentish Plover and a few odds and ends". I raced passed them and into the hide, I had never seen a Kentish Plover! I just settled myself down and scanned the birds, the only Plovers I could see were a pair of Little Ringed, surely they could not have been mistaken for a Kentish. As I watched these two birds the male ran at speed and attacked something a yard or so nearer the hide. Here was the Kentish Plover and here was another example of being in the right place at the right time. The attack drove it off and it did not return, if I had been 30 seconds later, I would have missed it. A little after this, Jan and Rick came into the hide to join me, we saw more Black-winged Stilts, many hundreds of Swallows, Martins and Swifts, so many in fact they kept landing on a dead tree giving the impression it was in full leaf. Then something would 'spook' them and off they would fly, leaving the tree bare once again. On the small 'Plover island' right in front of the hide we found another of the Blue-headed Wagtails with the 'stonking' eyestripe, this one much closer than the others. On the waters swam Red-crested Pochards, easily the most numerous duck on the reserve. In fast I counted 47 of them in front of just one of the hides.

Birders

An elusive Cettis Warbler

Stilts

Plover

We left the hide and made our way around to the viewing platform serenaded by Cetti's and Sardinian Warblers. Nearby we found a small pond surrounded by reeds and in the reeds was a singing Great Reed Warbler. At first it was hard to see but its size and method of crashing from one small reed bed to another some led to its location. We pointed it out to several other birders who had never before seen one. From here we made our way to a cross roads of paths and joined another group of birdwatchers. We got talking while we watched a couple of Great White Egrets and one of the birders told us we had just missed a Glossy Ibis. When we looked at the video Jan had done of the visit back at the hotel later that day she had filmed the Ibis flying away! The birder also told us that at one o'clock an Osprey passed through and with impeccable timing over the reed beds it came. Drifting almost arrogantly along, it folded its wings once in a mock dive and passed out of sight. Several Purple Herons were also flying to a fro over the reeds and at least three Marsh Harriers were seen as well. A large flock of Swallows appeared and through them passed a large thin Falcon. I wrote in my note book "larger than a Hobby, thinner than a Peregrine". Also it was all dark, showing no facial markings at all. I did not know until looking in a field guide that there was a dark phase Eleonora's Falcon, but that is what the bird was.

Another elusive Cettis Warbler

Stalking egret

We walked the Albufera for well over six hours. I had been told that Moustached Warblers were everywhere but had been unable to locate one. So just before we left I went on a concerted hunt, I heard a song in the nearby reeds that I thought sounded right and waited for the bird to appear when it did it was a Sedge Warbler! And according to the books back home this was possibly the rarest bird on the island as it is classed as a Rare Vagrant.

On Tuesday the 16th April we bussed it to Formentor, another cheap trip along the winding mountain roads. Here I saw more Chaffinches than all the rest of the holiday put together and had really nice views of a Firecrest, a bird that had been haunting me for days. I could hear them in the avenue of pines but had been unable to locate them. The other bird of note seen at Formentor was a Common Sandpiper in someones front garden! It was also here we had the only bad experience of the holiday. We decided to get something to eat at the local restaurant/café. We had to queue at on place to pay, then take a chit to another place for the food and then take yet another chit for the drinks. Being British I joined the queue with the other Brits, only to be bypassed by the Germans and others who do not believe in queueing it took ages to get served and it was incredibly expensive as well. (If visiting here take your food with you).

Mountains

Not Mountains

To cheer ourselves up when we got back to Porto P we went to the Codfathers British run chip shop (highly recommended). Well we had promised ourselves one British meal over the holiday. After our fish, chips and mushy peas we made our way back to the hotel along the back streets so we could walk the pines. As we got to the end of the pines furthest from the hotel Rick pointed to a bird in the sky and asked "What's that?" I looked up and saw a Swift and nearly ignored it, but something made me lift my binoculars, to find it was an Alpine Swift. It banked showing clearly its white belly, came closer to us flashed over the nearby building site, flew around for about another 30 seconds and then was gone. Jan stopped to film some Redstarts, while she was doing this I saw two large birds of prey come over the saddle of the nearest mountain. They then flew low along the side of the mountain so I was seeing their upperparts which looked black, with three white patches, one on each wing the other on the rump. They then began to circle and gain height before drifting off. I assumed they were Booted Eagles, but the upperparts were wrong for this species. Later perusal of the fieldguides said they could have been juvenile Golden Eagles, but I think they will remain a mystery. On the evening walk we finally got to see a pair of Red-legged Partridge after hearing them nearly every day. We also heard a Pheasant, which surprised me as they were not on my list of birds of Mallorca.

On the beach

On Wednesday morning we again heard the Pheasant. Lots of Willow Warblers were passing through the valley and we saw another pair of duller Great Tits. The day was hot and sunny with no wind at all, so we spent it 'chilling' around Porto P. Jan wanted to catch some rays on the beach so I went along and was soon watching a Shag which was fishing nearby. It would swim slowly along and then rest its head and neck on the surface of the water before slipping smoothly under. It must have been spying out its prey before diving for it.

In the evening I took my usual walk to the valley, but even I was beginning to feel a bit 'birded out' and spent the time talking to birders rather than watching birds. I met up with a Welshman from the previous day and he showed me the Wryneck roosting in a hole in concrete telegraph pole. Then about 8.40 he said "Well its Scops Owl time" and told me they were showing well outside the local police (Garda Civil) station. So I went back to the hotel to pick up Jan and Rick and made our way down there. As we arrived we were told we had missed it by a few minutes, it had been showing well but had flown off (isn't that always the case!). But after a few minutes wait it started calling and we tracked it down just around the corner. It was sitting on top of a pole just across the road. Excellent views!

Thursday the 18th was our last full day and we planned to spend it at the market in Inca. I changed my early morning routine by visiting the 'smelly stream' instead of the valley. The stream after two really hot days was starting to live up to its name. A lot of water had gone out of it. Walking down there I did note that in the first week of our visit I had seen Audouin's Gulls regularly on the beach, but I had not seen one for several days.

Inca market was very colourful, stalls everywhere. Leather goods, clothes and baseball caps seemed to be the main things for sale. But there was plenty to look at. If you could see, I had lost my glasses on the bus coming in. The bus had knocked down a road sign and in my rush to see my glasses had fallen onto the floor without me noticing. After spending several hours at the market, and drinking more than a few coffees we made our way slowly back to the bus station. With a little time to spare we explored a piece of waste ground and found another Fan-tailed Warbler and several Stonechat. When the bus arrived, my glasses were on the shelve waiting for me. There is a lot to be said for one bus a day!

For our last evening Rick and I decided to go back to see the Scops Owl, (Jan started the packing). We went early, too early in fact, we got there at around 8pm and stood around for three quarters of an hour before anyone else turned up. The evening Scops Owl viewing is the British equivalent of the Spanish seafront promenading. While everyone else dressed in their finery, walked the sea-front, visiting the bars and cafés the Brits gathered behind the police station. And it was not just the birders some of the ladies present had probably never raised a pair of binoculars in anger in their life. Anyway at 8.50 the star of the show started calling and then flew into the nearby Pine tree. Never really settling in the tree it raided a Swifts nest in a ventilation hole in the side of one of the houses. It did not harm the Swift but seemed to take exception to its nesting in the hole. This job done the Owl then flew onto a telephone wire right above my head and started watching the crowd below. Rick managed to get some really good video footage of it. After a few minutes a woman drove up in her very noisy (French) car, parked a few feet from the Owl, got out, slammed the door and went into one of the houses. The Owl never moved. The woman came back, slammed her car door even louder and drove off, again noisily, the Owl flew a few feet across the road and landed on the guttering of a house. Here it started calling, it then flew back into the Pine tree where a second bird flew in and drove it off.

Scops Owl on the wire

Scops Owl on a building

Farm Dog

Friday morning, after finishing the packing we went on a last walk up the Boquer Valley. It seemed much quieter than in the first week of our visit. We said goodbye to the locals, the Sardinian Warblers, Serins, Cirl Buntings etc. We did not see the Wrynecks, but a couple of birds serenaded us from the distance. The pair of Kestrels were displaying over the tall peak on our right. The farm dog was still in the same position as when we first walked the valley, does it never move? As we came away a Booted Eagle flew over and in the final part near the orchard we were buzzed by migrating Swallows. It was time to return to Blighty and I was sorry to be going!

Dave.

Media
Some photographs, movies, screen captures and sound files of the holiday:

• Photographs
• Movies
• Scops Owl