Mallorca Holiday 26th April 2015 : Port de Pollenca and La Gola

Mallorca Holiday 26th April 2015 : Port de Pollenca and La Gola.

With friends from Palma visiting us at noon we had just enough time for a spin around La Gola before they arrived. The general area held the usual Greenshank and Common Sandpiper and a Yellow-legged Gull. There were numerous Mallard chicks and one creche held around 20 of them. In the shrubbery there were several Stonechats and we heard a Sardinian Warbler. The Greenfinch was again the dominant bird numerically. We decided to take a bit of a diversion through the woods. It was one of the best decisions we could have made and gave us the “tick of the fortnight” and although not a “life tick” it was a most splendid sighting.

We had entered the La Gola site from the east end and as you walk round the “official” path you see a track off to the left that is obviously used quite a bit – probably by birders – so we decided to follow that to see where it led to. We heard a Cetti’s Warblers in the woods but the real high point was when we reached the end of the track at the gates to a big drive near to the main road. I saw a flash up in one of the two trees that straddle the drive, high up. I was sure I saw a flash of yellow and as I walked quickly forwards I spotted a beautiful male Golden Oriole. I got good, clear views in my bins but Anne missed it apart from some movement in the trees. A bit of patience was rewarded, though, as it came back into view again in a tree further to our left. Apart from the one we thought we had seen at Lakenheath Fen, this was a first for us and in any case this was the first unquestionable Golden Oriole. It was a bit hard to better this and we had to get back to our hotel anyway to meet our friends.

After a spot of lunch with them at the vegetarian restaurant in town I begged my leave of them and had a quick walk up to the “Pine Avenue” which was a little disappointing. However this was just a stopping off pot on my way to what is referred to in Gosney as the “Postage Stamp Woods”, a small bit of woods cum derelict land near the Sis Pins hotel. It is a small but densely wooded patch of ground and after a little while there there rang out loud and clear the song of a Nightingale ! I probably spend more time than I ought to have done trying to locate this bird but the best I could do was to get two brief glimpses of it as it flew from tree to tree. Still, not too bad and another good tick for the holiday list. Obviously not on a par with the Golden Oriole but not too shabby either.

Bird Sightings : La Gola

Bird Sightings : Postage Stamp Woods

Bird Sightings : Port de Pollenca Environs