Mallorca Holiday 28th April 2015 : S’ Albufera,Son Bosc and Depuradora de S’Illot

Mallorca Holiday 28th April 2015 : Son Bosc, Depuradora de S’Illot and S’ Albufera

Our destination this day was to the S’ Albufera nature reserve near C’an Picafort, a huge reserve that always impresses with its huge range of habitats and species. We also had another target, though, and that was to try to see Bee Eaters. A couple we had met at the Casa Boquer had shown us pictures of Bee Eaters on the power lines at the Son Bosc site just outside the edge of the S’Albufera reserve. They told us that if we couldn’t see them there the we wouldn’t see them anywhere!  Gosney also says that this is the best site for this species so heartened by this we set out with the idea that we would get there by walking through the S’Albefura reserve.

We started off from the main entrance of S’Albefura and from the first viewing platform we saw a Cormorant and several Little and Cattle Egrets. In the channel were Mallards and Red crested Pochard. At the end of the avenue, though, instead of going forward to the reserve reception we turned left down the “Ses Puntes” track. Although you can get to Son Bosc by car from the main road at Can Picafort another (not exactly encouraged) way of getting there is down this track. The “Ses Puntes” track is also supposed to be one of the best places for Moustached Warblers. As we walked down this track we could hear lots of birds but it was incredibly hard to get more than a glimpse of them before they were again under  cover. Here the limits of our ability to identify birds –  by song only – made itself very evident. We could identify the Cetti and Sardinian Warblers easily enough and also the Nightingales but there were many others we were not able to identify easily. More work to be done with the Warblers! Needless to say we didn’t see any Moustached Warblers.

We reached the raised platform overlooking “lone pine pools”, as Gosney terms it, and from here we got a good view of a Cetti’s Warbler.  There were numerous Marsh Harriers and we also saw a Purple Heron, the latter being a “life tick” for us. We also saw a Kestrel and a small number of what I took to be Eleonora’s Falcons all hunting together.  Dozens of Cattle Egrets flew by while we were there. On the pools there were Shelduck, Coot and Gadwall. We also had a Hoopoe, Sparrows galore, Stock Dove, Feral Pigeon, lots of Stonechats,  Greenfinch and Goldfinch etc.

We continued along the path to the very end where there is a locked gate. This is supposed to be “no entry” but we climbed over it anyway (as we have been told we could !) and followed the path as it bent round keeping the house on our right. Just as you cross the chain across the path there is a path going off to the left. We kept straight on the long straight road but a glance down this path revealed a Serin. We walked quite a long way down this freshly tarmaced road with a fenced area of rubble on our left and open fields on our right. There were lots of Stonechats and Short-toed Larks in the fields.

As we approached a set of power lines on either side of the road we were disappointed to see that they were devoid of perching birds except a couple of Woodpigeons. We could see a few piles of what looked like builders sand to our left behind a wire fence and some of these looked like they had some excavated holes in them – possibly caused by nesting Bee Eaters? Anne thought she could see some movement over by a blue skip in the distance so I put the scope on it and on a fence near to it two Bee Eaters were perched.  After a little while we managed to get a group of around half a dozen and with the scope at full magnification we could just make out their fantastic colouring. We had walked two kilometers to get to this point so we were pleased to have added this “life tick” to our list even though we were a little disappointed that they were so far away. Still, it was mission accomplished so time to make our way back down the road to the farm house and onto the S’Albufera reserve.  Before returning, however we had time to see a Kestrel and yet another Marsh Harrier.

We ran into a couple who were familiar with the area and they suggested that we should visit the raised platform overlooking the Depuradora de S’Illot which was just off the road we had walked up. Gosney also mentions this so it was in our mind to visit it so we walked back down the road noting the Stonechats and Short-toed Larks as we went and just as we made to turn onto the track to the Depuradora a small flock of around ten Bee Eaters appeared from the trees to our left and flew bouncing over our heads and across the field to our right giving us the views that we had really wanted – up close and brilliant against the blue sky. We had plenty of time to get our binoculars on them and enjoy them properly. Now we really thought that the four milometer round trip was worth it.

At the Depuradora we had a great view over the countryside where Cattle Egret flew overhead regularly. There were also Sand Martins hawking around above us and on the water Common Pochard,  Mallard and a Tufted Duck. There were good numbers of Black-winged Stilts and around the edges of the pol were Common Sandpiper and Ringed Plover. We stayed for a while but time was getting on and we wanted to see something more of the S’Albefura reserve. As we returned down the path the bushes were alive with the sound of Nightingales that seemed to be singing every few feet apart. It was hard to imagine how many were there in total. There were other birds in there too but hard to spot. There were, of course, Sardinian Warblers and Cetti’s Warblers aplenty.

We got back to the locked gate  and climbed over that (much to the amusement of another couple who had stopped on their bicycles at the locked gate) and we were back on the reserve proper. We walked back along the “Ses Puntes” track as quickly as we could but, of course, stopping occasionally to try to see a bird or watch another Egret or Harrier overhead. At last, a bit weary, we ended up at the visitor centre; with a bit of a sit down, a drink and an apple by way of sustenance, and a loo stop and we were off again.

We had heard that there had been a Collared Pratincole showing well outside the first hide overlooking the Sa Roca pools but when we got there the hide was full and with a queue formed outside it. We gave up on that and waked around the path to where you can get some clear views of the pool. It seemed as if the bird had gone. To our surprise we couldn’t see any Marbled Ducks or Purple Gallinules as we had done on our visit last Autumn.  Neither were there any Stone Curlew . What there was, though, was plenty of Black-winged Stilts and Red-crested Pochards,  Shelduck, Mallard and a single Garganay. There were also Ringed and Kentish Plovers and a single Little Ringed Plover; two Wood Sandpipers and Little and Cattle Egrets. One bird that caught my eye looked like a Yellow Wagtail but not quite and then a bit like a Grey Wagtail but not quite. After reading up on the Mallorca Birding web site regarding sightings here, I concluded that it was a Blue-headed Wagtail – definitely a first for us.

We eventually moved on back to the bridge where we got Red-knobbed Coot and then down to the hide overlooking the Es Cibollar pools. Luckily this hide wasn’t too full so we managed to get a seat. From here we could see more Black-winged Stilts,  Kentish Plovers, half a dozen Spotted Redshank in full breeding plumage and Coot, Gadwall and a Garganey.  Marsh Harriers appeared occasionally and there were half a dozen or so Common Terns. Among the Cattle Egrets was one in full breeding plumage with orange patches of feathering.

We did move on to the second hide but it was pretty much the same but from a different angle. The afternoon was getting on and we wanted to try to catch the ten past five bus back to Port de Pollencia  so we headed back down the long path back to the main road. As we walked down we could hear the Cattle Egrets settling down in their roost along this track making their extremely odd “gobbling” noises, for all the world like they were Turkeys.

When we got to the bus stop we got talking to a chap we had met earlier and we said that we hadn’t managed to see the Collared Pratincole and he said that he had seen in at 3pm from the hide we had just left ! I’ll just have to try again.
 

Click here for route taken from Port de Pollenca to S’Albefura

Click here for route taken from S’Albufera to Son Bosc and Depudora de S’Illot

Bird Sightings : S’Albufera “Ses Puntes” Track

Species	Count
Common Shelduck	4
Gadwall	2
Purple Heron	3
Little Egret	8
Cattle Egret	30
Common Coot	3
Feral Pigeon	4
Stock Dove	2
Eurasian Hoopoe	1
Common Kestrel	1
Eleonora’s Falcon	8
Cetti’s Warbler	8
Common Nightingale	8
European Stonechat	8
European Greenfinch	8
European Goldfinch	6
House Sparrow	10
Spanish Sparrow	20

Bird Sightings : Son Bosc

Species	Count
European Bee-eater	10
Common Kestrel
Greater Short-toed Lark	10
European Stonechat	6
European Serin	1

Bird Sightings : Depudora de S’Illot

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Species	Count
Common Shelduck	2
Common Pochard	6
Tufted Duck	1
Black-winged Stilt	12
Common Ringed Plover	2
Common Sandpiper	2
Sand Martin	20
Sedge Warbler	1
Sardinian Warbler	12
Common Nightingale	20
Eurasian Blackbird	6
Common Chaffinch	1
House Sparrow	20

Bird Sightings : S’Albufera : Sa Roca Pools

Species	Count
Common Shelduck	6
Mallard	40
Garganey	1
Red-crested Pochard	24
Little Egret	2
Cattle Egret	4
Black-winged Stilt	12
Kentish Plover	6
Common Ringed Plover	6
Little Ringed Plover	1
Wood Sandpiper	2
Western Yellow Wagtail	1

Bird Sightings : S’Albufera : Es Cibollar Pools

Species	Count
Gadwall	2
Eurasian Marsh Harrier	8
Common Moorhen	2
Common Coot	10
Black-winged Stilt	12
Spotted Redshank	6
Black-headed Gull	1