Back to Mallorca!
Back in April I spent a week birding in Mallorca with my mum. She must have had a good time, as we decided to go again for this half term, this time bringing the rest of the family! This does unfortunately mean there'll be less birding time, however I'm definitely not complaining!
And so, after a slight delay due to icy (!!) conditions in Newcastle, we arrived at the same hotel as earlier this year in the mid afternoon. On the way there, I had managed to spot several large gatherings of Cattle Egrets on farmlands and a single Hoopoe in flight over the road. After finding our room, I headed straight out to the hotel hide. A 15 minute session there proved very productive, with highlights including Cetti's Warblers (very common here but extremely unusual at home!), a Marsh Harrier and a Kingfisher. However the single highlight was an extremely unexpected Marbled Duck. After watching this bird for a while, it came up onto the bank and revealed it's bling - it was colour ringed! I have sent sighting information of 'White HW' and am waiting for information about the bird. I will keep you updated!
I then went for a brief, and very late, lunch, before continuing birding in the hotel hide. Conditions were awful, with long downpours of heavy rain, however birds continued to show. The Marbled Duck continued to show amazingly close, with a supporting cast of Robins (a winter visitor to the island), a Chiffchaff and several Stonechats. The wetland also contained a very large number of Little Egrets.
During a break between downpours, I headed across to a viewing platform with a slightly different angle on the marsh. From here I spotted a single Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, several Gadwall and a good number of Shovelers. Another surprise was a group of c.10 Swifts that dropped into the marsh briefly before heading onwards. A couple of Yellow-legged Gulls flew over, including a cracking 1st-winter bird.
Overall a good first afternoon of the holiday! We're planning a trip to Albufera tomorrow, which should hopefully be very lucrative. I'll keep you updated if I hear anything about this Marbled Duck!
