Mallorca days 4+5 - Sa Barcassa and S'Albufera
Apologies for the late post!
Yesterday morning I got up early and headed out to the hotel hide. It was definitely worth it! As the previous evening, many Water Rails could be heard on the marsh. After a while waiting, a couple showed themselves - my first prolonged views of the species other than ringing. Light wasn't amazing, but I got a couple of photos.
A Kingfisher briefly landed on the fence by the hide before darting off again, it's bright blue back flashing as it departed. I've had a good week for Kingfishers, seeing them every day so far. A Great White Egret flew out across the marsh, and a Marsh Harrier was quartering the reed beds. I was watching a Cetti's warbler when I heard a wader calling overhead. I looked up and saw the bird - a Greenshank flying north high over the marsh.
I was scanning the edges of the pool when I noticed 2 Marbled Ducks sleeping. One of them had a visible ring, white 'HW', the same bird I had seen on Saturday. The second's ring wasn't visible - after 20 minutes waiting with the scope trained on the bird, it showed it's ring for a few seconds - white 'J6'.
Then, I noticed a group of large birds fly up from the marsh - bright pink Greater Flamingoes! In total there were 9 birds, which soon landed back on the marsh and were lost again.
I then headed around to the platform by the car park which looks over the 'back pool'. This pool is far batter for waders. Here there were 2 Serin, 4 Greenshank and 1 Spotted Redshank. There was also a single Marbled Duck sleeping on the back, however if it was ringed the ring wasn't visible.
We then headed out to Alcudia, where we spent the day. On the way home in the afternoon I got dropped off at Sa Barcassa, where 4 Audouin's Gulls, 36 Kentish Plovers and a Greenshank were on the estuary. On the main reserve 2 Marbled Ducks flew from the marsh and were lost from sight. 7 Greater Flamingoes (possibly part of the flock I saw in the morning) were sleeping on one of the pools. A Kingfisher was flying around the marsh, and I flushed a Snipe as I walked along the path. 2 Great White Egrets and a juvenile Purple Heron were on the marsh, the latter flew north.
This morning, I got up early again to visit the hotel hide with mum. Unfortunately the weather turned for the worse just minutes after we got to the hide, and so we had to head straight back to our room. Instead I headed out to the hide later in the morning. It was very quiet, the only birds of note being 10 Black-winged Stilts and a Green Sandpiper on the back pool.
In the afternoon, I headed to S'Albufera with mum. It started strong, with 3 adult Black-crowned Night Herons in the trees across the canal from the path approaching the reserve. From the first 3 hides all looking over the same pool, I counted 36 Common Snipe, an Osprey, 4 Purple Gallinule and 2 Greenshank, along with many Black-winged Stilts, Wigeon, Teal and Lapwings,
We then headed onwards to the Cibollar hides. On the way, I saw 3 Crested Coots and 1 Purple Gallinule. One of the Crested Coots had a neck collar, and it turns out it was the same bird I saw just a few metres away on the 8th April!
From the Cibollar I hide, highlights included 6 Greenshank, 5 Spotted Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 1 Kingfisher, and 10 Marbled Ducks. I could only read 1 ring in the time I was there, white 'JH'. The birds frequently flew off and came back, which could have been a good possibility to read the rings, however none of my photos showed the ring clearly enough. Hopefully on our return visit tomorrow I'll manage to get more rings read. If anyone can read any of the rings in the flight shots then please let me know.
