Mallorca day 3 (part 1): Dadventurous

One thing I wasn't quite prepared for about Mallorca was the beauty and majesty of the mountains, particularly the Serra de Tramuntana which run from Formentor at the northern tip down the length of the island in a south-westerly direction. The Cuber reservoir high in these mountains was prominent on my list of priorities to visit as one of the known raptor hotspots on the island. A full day had been allocated in the family itinerary for what's known in our household as a 'Dadventure'.

Tawny Pipit is one of the characteristic birds of the Cuber area

The adult Tawny Pipit was joined by a more streaky juvenile

A Dadventure is loosely defined as a day trip orchestrated by me, based around birding hotspots with periodic visits to cafes or other theoretically family-friendly points of interest thrown in to pacify my fellow travellers. The unwritten rule of a Dadventure is that seeing the target species takes priority and may require amendments to the published itinerary, enjoyment of which is entirely optional for the other members of the family, and very much a secondary consideration. If this sounds harsh, I should point out that on a family holiday the frequency of Dadventures are restricted, and I am subjected to the tyranny of the majority for the rest of the time.

The juvenile Tawny Pipit was getting the hang of catching grasshoppers

A view of the reservoir and mountains beyond

Having played my joker thusly I was determined to make the most of it, so we set off early (by our standards) to start the hour long drive to Cuber. The winding roads produced complaints of car sickness so frequent stops to check out promising viewpoints and allow pauses for breath were made en route. These didn't produce much bird-wise but on reaching Cuber and squeezing into the last free parking space (in the second car park just beyond the more northerly one by the entrance track to the reservoir), I stepped out of the car to be greeted by my first ever Black Vulture, circling high above with a couple of Griffon Vulture for company.

My first views of Black Vulture were distant but conclusive - a huge, dark shape, wings slightly bowed and evenly broad with a saw-toothed rear edge

Griffon Vulture by comparison shows an all pale head, and wing coverts which are paler than the dark flight feathers

When Graham Hearl's guide book was published in 1999, Griffon Vulture was a rarity on Mallorca, with one wandering bird being referred to in the text. In 2008 a flock of around 100 birds arrived, breeding followed in 2012 and a healthy population now appears well established. The larger Black Vulture was, however, my main target, and we saw several, all high and distant, over the course of the next few hours spent walking the shore of the reservoir. Another potential target, Spectacled Warbler, was heard but not seen just beyond the dam.

The Cleopatra butterfly always lands with wings closed, looking very much like our more familiar Brimstone, but in flight...

...the difference becomes obvious - couldn't manage an in-focus shot unfortunately!

Shortly after leaving the car an unfamiliar Wagtail-like call betrayed the presence of two Tawny Pipit close to the path, an adult accompanied by a juvenile which was constantly begging for food. The rest of my own family carried on in search of shelter from the searing heat while I sat and cooked, happily photographing the pipits, and watching the youngster get the hang of catching grasshoppers. Eleonora's Falcon reportedly visit the reservoir to bathe around midday, so our packed lunch taken at the western end of the reservoir had been timed to coincide with this. Again I was disappointed on this front as no Eleonora's appeared. In consolation, however, we enjoyed good scope views of more vultures, a Booted Eagle and a Red Kite.

A paler (presumed female) Cleopatra

Striped Grayling

Cuber also offered the chance to see a couple of new butterflies - the subtle Striped Grayling which was frequently disturbed from the tracks, and the brilliant Cleopatra which was eking out nectar from the few available wildflowers. Picking out males of the latter was easy enough due to the bright orange patches visible on the forewing in flight, but as this feature is not apparent on females, I was initially unsure as to whether these might be the very similar, more familiar Brimstone. Checking the field guide resolved this confusion as Brimstone is apparently absent from the Balearics! 'Continental' Swallowtail, Common Blue and Painted Lady were also present around the shores of the reservoir.

Swallowtail

Puig Major: the highest point on Mallorca - a few hundred feet higher than Ben Nevis - is marred somewhat by this Spanish military installation which also makes it inaccessible to climbers - but not to vultures which could often be seen around the giant golf ball

Creatures of the Cols part I

If the birding was hard work on our recent holiday in the French Alps, butterflying was a bit easier and more productive - we caught the end of the continental heatwave, enjoyed good weather even at altitude, and I saw several species for the first time. Colleagues are still helping me with some of the trickier identifications - oh for the simplicity of the British butterfly list and its 59 reasonably discrete species! So this post, the first of a couple focusing on the species I was reasonably confident about identifying myself, may be followed by others as my tentative identifications are either confirmed or corrected.

Queen of Spain Fritillary, Col du Grand Colombiere

The closest I got to photographing the stunning pearls of the Queen of Spain's underwing

Queen of Spain Fritillary

One of our first excursions to higher altitude from our base near Annecy took us west to the Col du Grand Colombiere, just shy of 1500m. This was a recommendation from Dr Martin Warren who kindly provided some site info before I left - and a good recommendation it was too. Within a few minutes I had seen Apollo, Scarce Copper, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Large Wall Brown as well as species familiar from home in the UK like Adonis Blue, Chalkhill Blue and Silver-spotted Skipper.



Scarce Copper - the first of several new species for me

A view of the Scarce Copper underwing

The first Apollo of the trip was the smartest - but a bit distant for a good photo

From there we dropped down into the lowlands and the beautiful Marais de Lavours, another recommendation from Martin. A boardwalk took us through a variety of wetland habitats but it was too hot for both us and the wildlife it seemed - a False Heath Fritillary and a fleeting view of a probable Southern White Admiral were the highlights.

Adonis Blue was one of a number of species familiar from home

Ditto, Chalkhill Blue...

...and Silver-spotted Skipper - this species appeared quite widespread - more range restricted back at home

From there we again went in search of the cooler air of high altitude, driving up to the top of Mont du Chat, an attractive location who phonetic pronunciation caused much mirth with my increasingly puerile children. I really don't know where they get it from. As well as spectacular views, Mont du Chat offered a close encounter with a hilltopping Swallowtail of the gorganus sub-species which prevails in continental Europe.

The Silver-spotted Skippers (this a female) appeared darker to my eyes than those we see at home...

...the field guide suggests this is a feature of higher altitude specimens - this one a male

False Heath Fritillary at Marais de Lavours

With the heat of the day receding we descended to the lowlands to meet up with friends for a swim in Lac de Bourget. The lakeshore area was too developed to see much in the way of wildlife but for someone who is not much of a swimmer I must say even I enjoyed a dip in the refreshing mountain waters.

This Swallowtail was in excellent condition

Found in very different habitats to the britannicus sub-species I saw in Norfolk earlier this year

Swallowtail

Returning to base near Annecy was a reminder that we didn't need to climb into the high mountains to see good butterflies - there were Brown Hairstreaks nectaring in the garden and I even rescued a Glanville Fritillary from the swimming pool!

Brown Hairstreak - not bad for a garden butterfly

This Glanville Fritillary was water-logged in the pool

I was able to see the attractive underwing pattern as it dried out

Incoming

'Incomers' aren't always as welcome as they might be in some parts of Purbeck, so here's one whose appearance shouldn't be controversial at all, or probably that much of a surprise given the changing climate: the Continental Swallowtail butterfly. A few sightings in previous weeks turned into regular ones at St Aldhelms Head, and it appeared that a small emergence, presumably of individuals laid as eggs by migrants some time last summer, was underway. In which case, they're not incomers at all really, but 'proper' natives now. And as British as the britannicus sub-species which is found in the fens of East Anglia.

Contintental Swallowtail, St Aldhelms Head

But not so fussy it would appear, as these were feeding on some pretty scabby clifftop thistles, lowering their standards well below that of their Norfolk cousins who rarely stray far from their reedbed colonies. I dashed off after work one warm evening last week with two children in tow, along with an essential ingredients for such a twitch: hand-held electronic gaming devices to keep them amused while I searched for Swallowtails.

The red eye on the left hind-wing can just about be seen in this shot

Remembering Steve Smith's advice that they seemed to like the cliff edge I walked a short stretch of it and found one tatty but still impressive specimen which then flew onto the short grass of the main South West Coast Path to bask. After a few minutes it dropped into clifftop vegetation, presumably to roost, and was not seen again that evening. Steve has diligently catalogued and identified individual Swallowtails from various photos taken in the area so we can be confident of the presence of at least 5 individuals.

A Windhover doing what it says on the tin at Chapman's Pool

There is some slight concern about the origins of Continental Swallowtails, as apparently some of today's newlyweds, not content with sending lanterns burning into the night sky to become tomorrow's litter, are now releasing butterflies at their summer weddings. Presumably as a symbol of the fragile, ephemeral nature of their love which will die before autumn arrives? Whatever happened to cake and confetti?

A young Peregrine cruises along the Purbeck coast

Anyway, research is apparently underway to establish whether there is any possibility of a wedding-based butterfly release in the area, so hopefully that will draw a blank to help put any doubts to bed. In the meantime, similar emergences at other southern coastal locations at around the same time certainly suggest something more 'natural' was afoot.

My sons occupy the wooden bench near which the Swallowtails could be found. Do you think they are (i) hiding to avoid the embarrassment of being associated with me and my geeky hobby (ii) keeping the sun off the screens of their Nintendo DSs? Yes, agreed: probably a bit of both.