Mallorca day 1 - S'Albufereta and Can Cuarassa
This morning, at 3am, me and mum awoke, ready for our journey ahead. We were travelling to Mallorca for a birding holiday. We left Newcastle airport as dawn was breaking, excited for the trip ahead.
After arriving in Palma airport, we travelled by bus to our hotel in the north-east part of the island. The journey was slightly over an hour, in which time I observed 14 species - including two firsts for me, Audouin's Gull and Egyptian Vulture. Another highlight was an unidentified falcon briefly observed sat on a building as we whizzed past.
Our room wasn't ready when we arrived at the hotel, so we spent some time in the private bird hide that overlooks the S'Albufereta nature reserve. A Cetti's Warbler was attending it's nest nearby, while other sang relentlessly from the marsh. Three Little Egrets were resting on the far pool with a large number of Black-winged Stilts. A pair of Marsh Harriers were gliding over the marsh, while another displayed high above. A handful of Barn Swallows were feeding over the marsh, and on the pools there were many Mallards, Moorhens and a Coot.
In the hotel grounds I found a cracking male Sardinian Warbler and a small group of Serin - the first time I had seen either species.
After we had had our lunch and settled into our room, we headed up the bay to Can Cuarassa. Walking up the track entering the reserve, we noted a good number of phylloscopus warblers - which reflected the number on the reserve itself. On the first stretch of the path around the reserve, we encountered a stunning female Redstart. Also in this area were lots of Cetti's Warblers.
The next part of the reserve was made up of two pools, with a couple of small hides. One pool contained four Little Ringed Plovers and two Black-winged Stilts while the other had a male Garganey - my first experience with the species. There were also a number of Stonechats in this area, as well as three Swallowtail butterflies.
As we walked along the track past the final pool we saw two Sardinian Warblers. Then, slightly further down the track, a large brown bird flushed from behind a bush on the edge of the path. As it turned around in it's flight we could see it clearer - a Stone Curlew! Not a first but an awesome bird to see nonetheless. We the headed back along the road to the hotel, where I spent some time photographing the Serins.
After dinner, I decided to head back over to the hotel hide to see if there was much about on the marsh. The Black-winged Stilts, Little Egrets and Marsh Harriers were still about, but a pair of Gadwall on the pool was new. However, the biggest surprise was a group of five Greater Flamingoes that flew down onto the marsh (out of sight)! My first ever and a big surprise.
I left as the sun slipped below the horizon, the harriers settling down to roost and Barn Swallows zipping about above the marsh. Let's hope for more fab birding tomorrow!
