Mallorca day 9-10: back to the swamp

Day 9 on Mallorca was another rest day. I did little more than trundle to the beach at Port de Pollenca to photograph the desmarestii sub-species of Shag which is found in the Med, and was amused to find a few revellers from the night before enjoying the early morning light on the beach. Returning via the town's La Gola nature reserve, a few more Mediterranean Flycatcher were the main highlight. My son and I did manage a brief trip to the S'Albufureta - S'Albufera's little sibling - where an Osprey, more Stilts and my first Woodchat Shrike of the trip provided some interest, but otherwise day 9 saw me subject to the tyranny of time by the swimming pool.

Marbled Duck at S'Albufera

Marbled Duck is considered globally vulnerable due to habitat loss and hunting

Six birds were present in total

Two of the flock loafing on the water's edge

I find these rest days quite stressful so resolved to get up early the next morning while everyone else was still in bed and revisit S'Albufera. The mosquito bites from my first visit had changed by this point from angry red burning wheals to angry red itchy rashes, so this time I went better prepared. Long-trousers and boots got their first outing of the holiday, but covering my arms presented a dilemma as I had only taken one long-sleeved shirt with me: a dark blue number with tan trim which my sons would describe as a 'party shirt'.

Juvenile Black-winged Stilt, S'Albufera

Over 50 Stilts were on this one pool at S'Albufera

This youngster was attempting log-balancing

Adult female Black-winged Stilt

It was not your typical birder's outfit, and I did get some funny looks from other visitors as the morning progressed, the heat rose, and the inappropriateness of my attire became more apparent. I consoled myself with the thought that these T-shirt-and-shorts folks would be itching by the time they got home, while I would smugly be bite-free, protected not just by my disco gear but by the lashings of citron-scented insect repellant procured at vast expense from a local chemist.

This young Goldfinch landed on the street in Port de Pollenca

The Mediterranean desmarestii sub-species of Shag, Port de Pollanca

Med Flycatcher at La Gola, Port de Pollenca

Med Flycatcher, Port de Pollanca

Anyway, enough catwalk talk, there was birding to be done and it started well: the fine selection of herons from my first visit were still present, with Night, Squacco and Purple Heron in a variety of plumages. Before the sun had risen convincingly, a small flock of Greater Flamingo rose briefly above the skyline, just long enough to grab a few pictures.

Glossy Ibis - commonplace at S'Albufera

Juvenile Night Heron, S'Albufera

Purple Swamphen, S'Albufera

Immature Squacco Heron, S'Albufera

All very nice, but not yet what I was hoping for. S'Albufera is a good site for the Marbled Duck, a globally threatened species classified as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN and I had yet to see one anywhere in the world. Fellow Dorset resident Marcus Lawson had provided some potential site details including a lagoon on the edge of the reserve, but this had dried out in the summer heat unfortunately. The deepest water at this time of year would be on the main reserve and sure enough, as I entered a hide on the Sa Roca trail, first one, then two, and eventually half a dozen of these attractive waterfowl gathered in front of the hide. A good morning then, even though Moustached Warbler continued to elude me.

Greater Flamingo at S'Albufera

The flock held 13 birds in total

Adult Red-knobbed Coot at S'Albufera

Juvenile Red-knobbed Coot at S'Albufera

It was a productive return to the swamp, but one of the best moments of the day was yet to come: as I made my way home via the Port de Pollenca ring road, two large soaring white birds with black wing tips caught my eye. My instinctive reactive was 'White Stork' but on pulling over for a better view it became clear they were in fact Egyptian Vultures - a bird I had hoped to see on the trip but had been advised could be very difficult!

Egyptian Vulture, Port de Pollenca

Egyptian Vulture, Port de Pollenca

Egyptian Vulture, Port de Pollenca

Woodchat Shrike on the back roads to S'Albufureta

Mallorca day 2, part 2: into the swamp

After the early start at Formentor we returned to the apartment to cool off in the pool. With the rest of the family planning a late afternoon siesta, I was free to make my first visit to the renowned S'Albufera marsh, a 20 minute drive from our base in Port de Pollenca. Heavy traffic on the popular coast road extended this a bit but I located a reasonably close parking place and headed into this mother of all swamps with high expectations.

Purple Swamphen (or Gallinule) at S'Albufera from Sa Roca hide

Striking plumage colours were revealed by the evening light

To get to the reserve information centre from the road requires a 1 km walk along a straight track, the latter part of which rises onto a boardwalk alongside which the vocalisations from various herons could be heard and occasional glimpses snatched of the sources of these exotic sounds. Most were Little Egret but among them were Cattle Egret, Night Heron and Squacco Heron - and all this before getting to the information centre to seek a permit! When I got there it was closed anyway so, following the advice of the Hearl guide book about not waiting for the erratic opening hours to pan out, I didn't hang around before exploring further.

Adult Black-winged Stilt from Sa Roca hide

Juvenile Black-winged Stilt from Sa Roca hide

The first hide I entered was presumably a new one as it didn't appear in my old guide book, or indeed on any of the reserve maps, but was reached via a short track just south of the information centre. It can be seen on Google maps as the most easterly hide in the vicinity of the visitor centre, overlooking the main lagoon to the south. It was something of a showcase hide - a well-appointed structure with, most important of all, stacks of birds just outside.

Adult Black-crowned Night Heron from the Observation Deck immediately north of the information centre, looking back east down the canal - a ditch of diversity holding at least four breeding species of heron 

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron from the information centre

Among the numerous Little and Cattle Egret seen from this hide were good numbers of Little Ringed Plover and, more exotically, Black-winged Stilt and Glossy Ibis. Most eye-catching of all though were several Purple Swamphen - a species which is flourishing at S'Albufera following a successful reintroduction scheme in the 1990s.

Adult Squacco Heron from Observation Tower on Cami d'Enmig

Juvenile Squacco Heron from the boardwalk near the information centre

Not being much of an international traveller, like quite a few other birds seen on this trip, my only previous sighting of Purple Swamphen had been in the UK (I twitched the first British one with Marcus Lawson and Jol Mitchell at Minsmere in 2016). The Minsmere bird chose a similar habitat to those at S'Albufera: dry, reed-fringed pools around which it could strut, breaking off stems which it would hold in its long toes and strip with a powerful bill.

Red-knobbed Coot from Es Canal Gran hide

Red-knobbed Coot from Es Canal Gran hide

As I scanned the bird-filled lagoon it suddenly emptied - an Osprey was lumbering past flushing everything in sight. Returning to the visitor centre I walked the short loop to the south marked on the reserve map as the Sa Roca trail which produced a similar selection of birds plus a few Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and an inquisitive Fan-tailed Warbler.

Fan-tailed Warbler from Cami de ses Puntes

Fan-tailed Warbler on Sa Roca trail

The Sa Roca trail rejoined the main track through the centre of the reserve at three stone bridges, which produced another world tick for the trip - Red-knobbed Coot. The best views of this species were obtained from the Es Canal Gran hide with the sun behind me as one performed just outside the window, allowing comparison with the regular Coot which were also present.

Osprey from Sa Roca hide

This shot gives some impression of the havoc caused by the Osprey as it flew low over the lagoon

The guide book suggested that evenings were a good time to see Eleonora's Falcon, one of my main targets for the trip, hunting over the reserve. I had seen my first, another world tick, earlier in the day at Formentor but only at great distance through a scope, so was keen for closer views. Despite making the long slog to the Observation Tower on Cami d'Enmig as recommended, however, I could not locate one though the diversion provided views of yet more herons - Little Bittern and Purple Heron being added to the trip list.

Juvenile Little Bittern from the Observation Tower Hide on Cami d'Enmig - given away by its constant grunting noises

Purple Heron flypast from the Ses Eres Observation Deck on the Cami de ses Puntes

The hot walks between hides made for pleasant birding - Nightingales croaked and occasionally flushed from the path; Sardninian Warblers rattled away from every other bush and presumed Mediterranean Flycatchers provided constant distraction. Butterflies and dragonflies were disappointingly scarce with Speckled Wood and Black-tailed Skimmer being the most evident representatives of both groups.

Plenty of pale-foreheaded, unstreaky presumed 'Mediterranean' Flycatcher at S'Albufera

This one flycatching by the Stone Bridges

The light was fading by now and while it had been an excellent introduction to S'Albufera I had barely scratched the surface - unlike the local mosquitoes which, I realised the following night when awoken with intense burning sensations in the arms and legs, had been burying their proboscises deep into my exposed shins, calves and forearms. I vowed to return later in the holiday - but not without a bucket of insect repellant and some long trousers!

Butterflies were disappointingly few and far between on Mallorca - but every shaded path at S'Albufera seemed to hold a colony of Speckled Wood

Purple Swamphen catching the late evening light from Ses Puntes track

Not exactly 'night' heron

My third attempt to photograph the Bournemouth Night Heron today paid off as it walked into the sunshine at about 10:00 after spending a couple of hours in the shade. I first saw it in near darkness on Tuesday and it was roosting in trees on the far bank of the Stour yesterday, so I was hoping it would come out in the sun today on its favoured island. The bird's finder was also present and after a long wait we decided to walk away and come back 5 minutes later to see if it could be persuaded out of the shadows. This seemed to work and the bird showed very well, but never entirely unobscured, to a small crowd. A pair of Egyptian Geese also gave a flyover (middle picture), a site tick, I'm told, for the Stour Local Nature Reserve. Kingfisher (bottom picture) were also constantly moving up and down the river.

Skylarks and Sedgies

After success with the Night Heron last night I had another look this morning en route to Hengistbury Head, but the bird was a fair bit further away, roosting in a tree on the far bank of the Stour. Still a good view though as it nodded off in the branches. Like every other day this week, Hengistbury was fine and bright, and a Skylark on the golf course allowed an unusually close approach. Heading for Wick, a newly arrived Sedge Warbler was extremely vocal - and visible. Other migrants were few in number thought Whitethroats were ubiquitous and a single male Whichat was my first of the year.