Mallorca 2023 (5 Viewers)

[Mike Montier]

Safe journey David.
I look forward to meeting up.
Let’s see if we can help you reach the magic 200.
I think it’s do-able.
Ring ouzel will be a good start, hopefully Hawfinch at Son Real and I will try to find something good for you.
A Razorbill has been seen on the coast up Artá way, found by Cati.
I haven’t said anything, but as David and derban know, I’m sure I saw a Calandra lark in flight yesterday at Sa Barrala.
I’ve seen many before in Extremadura so I’m very familiar with them.
I know it’s early but I really don’t know what else it could have been.
I will be going regularly so I hope I, or someone else, will relocate it.
Mike

 

[carstengp]

I went to Randa today and only had to wait a few seconds before I connected with some Ring ouzels. What lovely birds they are too.
They play on the football pitch and then sit in the surrounding trees where they can be hard to spot. They also frequent the rocks behind the water depósito.
I also heard a Hawfinch and made a recording which registered positive. I didn’t know they got up to the high bits of Mallorca.

I will be arriving in a couple of days and Ring Ouzel would be a lifer so this has caught my interest. However looking at the satellite map for Randa I can't really see anything that looks like a football pitch (a tennis court is the closest thing I can find ) or for that matter a water depósito. Maybe it will be obvious when I get there but would appreciate a further clue if possible.

 

[Mike Montier]

Drive up to the top from Randa village.
There is a car park. Walk through the courtyard and turn immediately left once through.
The football pitch must be for young children, it’s tiny. Walk towards the boundary wall and look over to the left. There is a water tank with concrete edges. The birds fly around there and into the trees, mostly olive. Also look ahead towards the rocks.
The birds are sometimes on the “football pitch” if you get there early, which is recommended. It can get busy later which disturbs the birds. Avoid weekends, there are too many people. The approach road is steep with hairpin bends and there are many cyclists.
I personally give all the time and space to the cyclists, all over the Island. I know many people don’t share these views but it only means a couple of extra minutes by waiting for a safe overtaking spot.
Good luck. With patience or a bit of luck, the birds will show.
Mike

 

[Mike Montier]

The pitch doesn’t show up, it’s overgrown and very small. The small reservoir can be seen, surrounded by a concrete border.
Mike

 

[H Johnsson]

Drive up to the top from Randa village.
There is a car park. Walk through the courtyard and turn immediately left once through.
The football pitch must be for young children, it’s tiny. Walk towards the boundary wall and look over to the left. There is a water tank with concrete edges. The birds fly around there and into the trees, mostly olive. Also look ahead towards the rocks.
The birds are sometimes on the “football pitch” if you get there early, which is recommended. It can get busy later which disturbs the birds. Avoid weekends, there are too many people. The approach road is steep with hairpin bends and there are many cyclists.
I personally give all the time and space to the cyclists, all over the Island. I know many people don’t share these views but it only means a couple of extra minutes by waiting for a safe overtaking spot.
Good luck. With patience or a bit of luck, the birds will show.
Mike

Mike has a good point there during spring migration of Ring Ouzel in Sweden they will disappear and hide in trees low vegetation as soon any disturbance occur - absolutely early visit is recomended. If the behave like they do in Sweden

 

[carstengp]

Drive up to the top from Randa village.
There is a car park. Walk through the courtyard and turn immediately left once through.
The football pitch must be for young children, it’s tiny. Walk towards the boundary wall and look over to the left. There is a water tank with concrete edges. The birds fly around there and into the trees, mostly olive. Also look ahead towards the rocks.
The birds are sometimes on the “football pitch” if you get there early, which is recommended. It can get busy later which disturbs the birds. Avoid weekends, there are too many people. The approach road is steep with hairpin bends and there are many cyclists.
I personally give all the time and space to the cyclists, all over the Island. I know many people don’t share these views but it only means a couple of extra minutes by waiting for a safe overtaking spot.
Good luck. With patience or a bit of luck, the birds will show.
Mike

Thank you so much for the very detailed info Mike - I'll make sure to report back on my findings!

 

[Mike Montier]

Biel saw female Merlín, Common crane and Bluethroat at Sa Barrala today. Pretty much what we saw. No sign of any possible Calandra lark which is a shame. The more I think about, the more certain I am. Such a distinctive bird in flight.
Biel then went to the plains at Vilafranca and scored with a lovely Dotterel.
The Iberian grey shrike also showed.
Dotterel are quite hard to see in the ploughed fields, they are surprisingly well camouflaged.
Mike

 

[Mike Montier]

Biel went to Sa Barrala not knowing about my sighting and he thought he heard a Calandra lark!
That’s very reassuring as I feel pretty certain about the bird.
A few birders will be going there in the coming days so I hope someone is able to get good views.
I might even sneak in there later today but I haven’t broached the subject yet.
I’m not sure how accurate the Merlín sound recording is because I record from my balcony from first light most mornings, and Blue tit keeps coming up.
I think that is very unlikely. There is a Great tit around so I wonder if Merlín is sometimes inaccurate.
I would be interested to hear other comments.
Grey wagtail is a daily occurrence which is a nice bird. One stays around here every winter.
Happy birding.
Mike

 

[Alf King]

Biel went to Sa Barrala not knowing about my sighting and he thought he heard a Calandra lark!
That’s very reassuring as I feel pretty certain about the bird.
A few birders will be going there in the coming days so I hope someone is able to get good views.
I might even sneak in there later today but I haven’t broached the subject yet.
I’m not sure how accurate the Merlín sound recording is because I record from my balcony from first light most mornings, and Blue tit keeps coming up.
I think that is very unlikely. There is a Great tit around so I wonder if Merlín is sometimes inaccurate.
I would be interested to hear other comments.
Grey wagtail is a daily occurrence which is a nice bird. One stays around here every winter.
Happy birding.
Mike

Merlin is the best of the apps available in my opinion but can still throw up oddments. I had Cliff Swallow, allegedly, in West Yorkshire earlier in the year. It helps to allow it to know your position and the various packs for downloading are quite useful. We had a trip to Colombia earlier in the year and it was surprising good there - much better than I was, in fact.

It was excellent for detecting Wood Warblers earlier this year for example and was vital for detecting Grasshopper Warblers. This demonstrated possibly its most function of being able to compensate to some extent for fading hearing in old age.

 

[Mike Montier]

Thanks Alf, very helpful. I completely understand about the hearing. I lost an ear in surgery many years ago and my one remaining ear is fading. Merlin gets between 6 and 10 species every morning from the balcony and I don’t hear any of them.
I have been birding with some very skilled birders over the years and they find many species on call. That’s why Merlín helps to make up for the loss.
Mike

 

[Mike Montier]

Gale force winds here have brought in some impressive gulls.
136 Mediterranean gulls at Albufereta is a very big number.
Some other gull news but as our man Geordie David was at the scene, I will leave him to give details and hopefully some photos.

I called in to Sa Barrala for a short time today but nearly got blown over. No hope of seeing much at all but I did notice some pipits and larks. No sign of the target bird though.
Mike

 

[Geordie Dave]

I left Newcastle at 2am on Tuesday morning to drive to Liverpool for the early morning flight arriving in Palma at 10am local time and to be greeted by 18-20° of bright sunshine. We are having some work done to the house here and so today was my first chance to get out birding. I started at Maristany where I met Big Year leader Toni Soller for the first time. Water levels are high and there are plenty of little grebe, shoveller, coots etc. On the far side of the pond there were 30+ Mediterranean gulls and briefly a little gull which Toni was able to photograph. A kingfisher flew past very close in front of us, much too quick for the camera. I moved on to Alcudia and walked about 2 miles each way along the beach and back in glorious sunshine. Other than 2 sandwich terns and a few cormorants fishing there was nothing else to report. I had hoped for a razorbill but it wasn’t to be. I later heard of 40+ Mediterranean gulls at La Gola and 130 at Albufereta where I’m headed in the morning. This will be my last trip of 2023 and I’m determined to enjoy it to the full.

 

[Schneppe]

Biel went to Sa Barrala not knowing about my sighting and he thought he heard a Calandra lark!
That’s very reassuring as I feel pretty certain about the bird.
A few birders will be going there in the coming days so I hope someone is able to get good views.
I might even sneak in there later today but I haven’t broached the subject yet.
I’m not sure how accurate the Merlín sound recording is because I record from my balcony from first light most mornings, and Blue tit keeps coming up.
I think that is very unlikely. There is a Great tit around so I wonder if Merlín is sometimes inaccurate.
I would be interested to hear other comments.
Grey wagtail is a daily occurrence which is a nice bird. One stays around here every winter.
Happy birding.
Mike

Hi!

I also made the experience that the Merlin app is quite accurate. I think it has trouble with birds that are only calling from far away, but that might have something to do with the microphone on my cellphone. That app can´t distiniguish between birds that mimick others and the bird that´s being mimicked, though; but then, if the bird is not seen, it is very hard for a human as well. Somedays ago I thought I heard a Marsh tit, when I saw a Great tit imitating the sounds of a Marsh tit. The Merlin app read "Marsh tit". But long story short, usually that app works rather well.

Fabian

 

[Mike Montier]

Just an afterthought Alf, there was a big influx of Cliff swallows, earlier in the year so maybe Merlín wasn’t wrong!
Mike

 

[Geordie Dave]

I began the day in the bay at Port de Pollenca. 22° and bright, blue sky sunshine. There were plenty around 50 Mediterranean gulls on the water and about 100 more in the air feeding and gradually heading south along the coast. I moved on to Albufereta and found at least 50 there. With around 20 black headed gulls mixed in among them it made ID interesting. Sa Barcassa had 30+ flamingo and about the same number of lapwing plus 2 great white egrets. Next stop was a deserted Albufera where I saw only 4 people in 3 hours. At the visitor centre I was told that 4 cranes had been seen at Cibollar 1 but, despite waiting for 2 hours they did not show. I was entertained throughout by the sight of 2 Osprey in flight and fishing over the ponds, the occasional marsh harrier hunting over the reeds and a fly through kingfisher. The main canal, the site of hundreds of egrets and night herons earlier in the year, was remarkably quiet with only 8-10 night herons roosting in the late afternoon sunshine. A beautiful day when you’re pleased just to be out enjoying the island.

 

[Mike Montier]

Quite a few records of Common crane seen in flight across the Island today including one large group.
I have been to Salobrar many times recently but haven’t seen any. I have only heard one.
Tonight, having been again this morning briefly, I rather despondently went to visit a friend in Ses Salines.
As we sat outside having a drink, I heard the unmistakable calls of several cranes. It was just getting dark so I would suggest that dawn and dusk are the best times to see the birds.
I have often seen cranes feeding in nearby fields so perhaps they leave early to feed and then return later in the day. I’m not absolutely sure of this because they are often on the reserve during the day as well, but I think that’s what happens.
I’m trying to go tomorrow to meet derban there but if I can’t make it, I hope he sees them and I can then regret not going for the rest of the day.
Mike

 

[Geordie Dave]

The weather was a little unsettled this morning so we didn’t venture out until mid day for a few hours at a very quiet and enjoyable trip to Albufera. About a dozen night herons in the canal roost with a juvenile looking suspiciously like a bittern. I do wonder how often their sightings are confused here? The ponds had the usual species with several hundred teal and a dozen or so of wigeon and pochard. The 2 Cibollar hides had 40-50 cormorant and about the same number of flamingo. We had 2 sightings of close in fly past kingfisher and in complete contrast an Osprey sat and never moved from its perch in the dead tree in over an hour. With temperatures up to 22° and the park largely to ourselves it just reinforces our view that November is a great time to visit the island. Back to the local to watch The Toon win 4-1; what’s not to like.

 

[Mike Montier]

I duly took Jane to lunch at the amazing Es Cruce.
The queue was round the block and we had to shuffle along for nearly an hour before we were seated. It was chaos in there as usual as families squabbled and talked loudly but that is why I love it so much.
The locals are friendly and welcoming as I have always found here in Mallorca.
I couldn’t help calling in at the plains of Vilafranca though.
After a wait, the Iberian grey shrike showed for a few seconds only, way in the distance, it seems even more elusive this winter. It has a lovely pink wash this time.
Lots of Corn buntings, Skylarks, Goldfinch and Meadow pipits.
Merlin picked up a Rock sparrow. I have very rarely seen one away from their favoured locations but I don’t see why not.
Three Booted eagles flew in and then put on a show that I have never witnessed before. One pale morph closed its wings and dived downwards. It crashed into the ground just as three red-legged partridge took evasive action. It was an amazing sight as the eagle just got one in its talons. It struggled and escaped. No Sunday lunch for the poor eagle. Unlike lucky us, the lunch was superb.
Photos are of a very distant shrike and the scruffiest Marsh harrier I’ve ever seen.Mike

 

[derban]

I duly took Jane to lunch at the amazing Es Cruce.
The queue was round the block and we had to shuffle along for nearly an hour before we were seated. It was chaos in there as usual as families squabbled and talked loudly but that is why I love it so much.
The locals are friendly and welcoming as I have always found here in Mallorca.
I couldn’t help calling in at the plains of Vilafranca though.
After a wait, the Iberian grey shrike showed for a few seconds only, way in the distance, it seems even more elusive this winter. It has a lovely pink wash this time.
Lots of Corn buntings, Skylarks, Goldfinch and Meadow pipits.
Merlin picked up a Rock sparrow. I have very rarely seen one away from their favoured locations but I don’t see why not.
Three Booted eagles flew in and then put on a show that I have never witnessed before. One pale morph closed its wings and dived downwards. It crashed into the ground just as three red-legged partridge took evasive action. It was an amazing sight as the eagle just got one in its talons. It struggled and escaped. No Sunday lunch for the poor eagle. Unlike lucky us, the lunch was superb.
Photos are of a very distant shrike and the scruffiest Marsh harrier I’ve ever seen.Mike

Well done Mike for combining, well, pleasure with pleasure! I just wanted to add that I had a rather quiet visit to Sa Barrala this morning, because the location has been mentioned a few times on here recently. I did see plenty of marsh harrier, a red kite and couple of kestrels, one of which startled a flock of about twenty cattle egrets as I was leaving. Definitely no cranes though. Merlin didn't show much either, only listing house sparrow, white wagtail, meadow pipit and Eurasian skylark. Of those I only spotted the sparrow, but in general I am certainly grateful for Merlin as my hearing is really not good and the recording function has often confirmed sightings on other occasions when I was unsure of what I had seen. I decided to quit when someone released his dog to race around all over the fields, putting an end to my hope of spotting any birds. Anyway, here is the one photo I took from my outing, so that I didn't come home empty handed.

 

[Mike Montier]

And a very nice photo it is too derban.
Speaking of Merlín, I agree completely.
Those against using the app possibly haven’t lost their hearing like I have.
It’s a great handicap in life, let alone birding.
I have recorded Hawfinch twice recently in places I wouldn’t expect.
There are probably more of these stunning finches around than generally recognised.
It’s just that I’m used to seeing them close-up at the drinking pool at Son Real.
Away from this area they are far more difficult to see as they seem quite a shy species..
A birding friend Tim saw three Fieldfare at Cap Roca by the hotel Cala Blava.
Mike