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Salinas de Levante - BirdForum Opus


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Balearic Islands

Overview

Located in the south of Mallorca and known locally as Salobra de Campos, the saltpans and surroundings form an excellent birding area but access is not always assured.

Birds

Notable Species

The saltpans attract a wide range of waders, notably a large breeding colony of Black-winged Stilt and numerous species of plover and sandpiper on passage including Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Greenshank and Temminck's Stint.

Terns are also common on passage, mainly Whiskered Tern, Black Tern and White-winged Tern, sometimes Gull-billed Tern and Caspian Tern. Mediterranean Gull and Audouin's Gull are sometimes seen around the saltpans.

Collared Pratincole often appear and Greater Flamingo are frequent as are Grey Heron and Purple Heron.

Breeding warblers include Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler and Sardinian Warbler, and Woodchat Shrike is common. Common Kingfisher occurs in winter and Bluethroat on passage. Raptors include Osprey and Marsh Harrier, and fairly frequently, Booted Eagle. with the odd Montagu's Harrier in autumn.

The drier ground around the saltpans has Stone-curlew, Greater Short-toed Lark, and Corn Bunting with Hoopoe, European Bee-eater and Turtle Dove in patches of scrub and trees.

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Little Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Greater Flamingo, Common Shelduck, Western Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Osprey, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Water Rail, Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Stone-curlew, Collared Pratincole, Eurasian Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Little Stint, Temminck's Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Audouin's Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black Tern, White-winged Black Tern, Common Swift, Common Kingfisher, European Bee-eater, Eurasian Hoopoe, Greater Short-toed Lark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Blue-headed Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Cetti's Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, House Sparrow, European Serin, Corn Bunting

Other Wildlife

To do

Site Information

History and Use

To do

Areas of Interest

To do

Access and Facilities

From the northeast of the island, where most birders are based, the Salinas de Levante are reached by turning off the coast road just past the Albufera saltpans towards Santa Margarita and on to Petra. From here take the Villafranca and Felanitx road.

From Campos head for Colonia San Jordi and the entrance to the saltworks is on the right. However, do not visit on weekends or holidays, the area is privately owned and birding groups have been refused entry in the past.

Contact Details

To do

External Links

Majorca Tourist Information Guide

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

Content and images originally posted by Steve

Reviews

Alf King's review The Salinas are accessible at all times via "Eddie's Track" however. This is detailed in most of the birding books for the island. Park up by the Banos "Spa hotel" and follow the track around the side of the Salinas. From here you will get good views of the disused pans which tend to hold lots of interesting birds and will provide hours of enjoyable birding.

One note of caution. When there has been rain this area is a sea of treacherous and glutinous mud which can prove very hazardous in Autumn and Winter.

The road to Es Trenc is very worthwhile following and there is a large pull off (only one) on the left just which should easily take a car, allowing you to walk on the road and 'scope the saltworks.

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