Mallorca : 16th October 2015 : Mortixt, Cuber and Salobrar de Campos
Mallorca : 16th October 2015 : Guided Birding Day at Mortixt, Cuber and Salobrar de Campos.
The 16th was our planned guided birding day so it was an early start. We were to be driven to various sites by Cristina Fiol from BalearsWildlife who turned out to be a great guide. We had to get up really early though to take full advantage of the day and a great day it turned out to be with lots of birds of prey, waders and woodland birds – we covered it all getting forty-five species in all with some special birds, including two “life-ticks”.
Mortixt
Our first destination was Mortitx where we parked at the gates leading to the vinyard. This is actually a public finca and runs right through the valley and eventually ends up at the sea.
We started off a bit slowly but as the day warmed up we started to see some small birds, Sardinian Warbler, Stonechat etc. Then we got what we were hoping for, some birds of prey, in the shape of two Griffon Vultures But this site largely turned out to be good for the smaller birds and we went on to get Cirl Bunting, Firecrest, Siskin, Tree Pipit, Blackcap and Redstart to add to the numerous Green and Gold finches and the ubiquitous Robins. We also got a couple of Ravens and a rather out of place Marsh Harrier.
Bird Sightings : Mortixt
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Eurasian Griffon | 2 |
| Eurasian Marsh Harrier | 1 |
| Rock Dove | 2 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 20 |
| Common Raven | 2 |
| Firecrest | 1 |
| Blackcap | 1 |
| European Robin | 12 |
| Common Redstart | 1 |
| Tree Pipit | 2 |
| Cirl Bunting | 2 |
| Common Chaffinch | 6 |
| European Greenfinch | 4 |
| Eurasian Siskin | 6 |
| European Goldfinch | 12 |
Cuber Reservoir
Our next location up in the hills was Cuber Reservoir and this proved even better for birds of prey as we started to get Ravens and, eventually, Black and Griffon Vultures. The Griffons were a first for us and we had such good views that Cristina, our guide, was able to teach us how to distinguish them when the views are not so good. By the time we left Cuber we had seen eleven Griffon and four Black Vultures. Added to this we also saw a pair of Booted Eagles and a Red Kite.
There were small birds as well, though, and we got a Grey Wagtail and a Chiffchaff catching flies near a little stream. There were Sardinian Warblers and Stonechat but by far the best small birds we saw here were an adult and a juvenile Crossbill, no more than twenty foot from us and at head height. We stood and watched the adult work its way through an entire pine cone whilst the juvenile looked on. Occasionally, the adult fed the juvenile but it was clear that it was essentially every Crossbill for themselves. It was also proven, as Cristina said, that you can hear the sound of a Crossbill eating as clearly as you can hear it calling – if, as we were, you are close enough.
Bird Sightings : Cuber Reservoir
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Great Cormorant | 1 |
| Grey Heron | 1 |
| Cinereous Vulture | 4 |
| Eurasian Griffon | 11 |
| Booted Eagle | 2 |
| Red Kite | 1 |
| Yellow-legged Gull | 2 |
| Common Raven | 2 |
| Great Tit | 2 |
| Eurasian Wren | 1 |
| Common Chiffchaff | 1 |
| Sardinian Warbler | 1 |
| European Stonechat | 6 |
| Grey Wagtail | 1 |
| Red Crossbill | 2 |
We stopped at a picnic table at Cuber and had a spot of lunch. It was quite late by now and we had an hour drive up and then across and down to Salobrar de Campos.
Salobrar de Campos
At this site the tone was set as soon as we got out of the car – we were inundated by mosquitos. Despite spraying heavily I still managed to get about 30 bites – two dozen of them in one cluster on one shoulder. An additional hazard was the extensive slimy mud that we had to navigate. There had been quite a bit of rain recently so the path was almost completely mud. So, insect bitten and mud spattered, we headed down to the pools and then it all felt worthwhile when we saw the large numbers of Greater Flamingoes – another “life tick” for us. I had thought that Cranes were elegance personified but these Flamingoes exceeded their impact totally. In flight they are magnificent.
It wasn’t all just Flamingoes though; we also got Curlew, Greenshank, Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Shelduck,Spotted Redshank etc. Up in the sky we got a Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and a couple of Kestrels. As far as small birds go we got a couple of Fan-tailed Warblers, a lot of Stonechats, Sardinian Warblers and a pair of Thekla Larks showing really well in the field near our parking spot. By now it was round 6pm and we had a fair drive up north to get home so we picked our way through the mud again and got back in the car.
By the time we reached Port de Pollenca I had killed two mosquitos that had sneaked into the car and all the way back home I picked Cristina ‘s brain about the local birding situation. The day out had cost us 220 Euros so it hadn’t been cheap but we got good value for money, several life ticks and more holiday ticks. And lots of other ticks too, of course but not the good ones !
In the end out list total for the day was forty-five species with very some special birds, including two “life-ticks”. As we said our goodbyes to Cristina she told us that she had to get up the next day to do a “family day” at S’Albufera where she would be ringing birds. She invited us to come along and have a look so we said we would try to make it but we were thinking that we were so exhausted that we probably wouldn’t make it. After a rushed shower and a quick dinner at the hotel, we sat down for a drink – knackered but happy that we had had a great days birding.
As it happens we did get up next day and go to S’albufera !
Bird Sightings : Salobrar de Campos
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Common Shelduck | 20 |
| Mallard | 50 |
| Greater Flamingo | 150 |
| Grey Heron | 2 |
| Little Egret | 2 |
| Eurasian Marsh Harrier | 4 |
| Red Kite | 1 |
| Kentish Plover | 1 |
| Little Ringed Plover | 2 |
| Spotted Redshank | 4 |
| Common Greenshank | 2 |
| Eurasian Curlew | 2 |
| Little Stint | 2 |
| Black-headed Gull | 20 |
| Rock Dove | 20 |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | 1 |
| Common Kestrel | 2 |
| Merlin | 1 |
| Thekla Lark | 2 |
| Zitting Cisticola | 2 |
| Sardinian Warbler | 3 |
| European Stonechat | 8 |
| House Sparrow | 10 |
Total Bird Count for the 16th of October
| Species |
|---|
| Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) |
| Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) |
| Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) |
| Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) |
| Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) |
| Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) |
| Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) |
| Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus) |
| Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) |
| Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) |
| Red Kite (Milvus milvus) |
| Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) |
| Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) |
| Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) |
| Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) |
| Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) |
| Little Stint (Calidris minuta) |
| Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) |
| Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) |
| Rock Dove (Columba livia) |
| Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) |
| Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) |
| Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) |
| Merlin (Falco columbarius) |
| Common Raven (Corvus corax) |
| Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae) |
| Great Tit (Parus major) |
| Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) |
| Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) |
| Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) |
| Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) |
| Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) |
| Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) |
| European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) |
| Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) |
| European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) |
| Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) |
| Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) |
| Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) |
| Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) |
| European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) |
| Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) |
| Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) |
| European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) |
| House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) |