All,
I'll post my trip report in bite-size chunks, followed by a species-by-species list.
If anyone wants more details (I've intentionally left out site directions to stop this turning into War and Peace), please drop me a PM - happy to help.
Hope you enjoy reading this half as much as Suzanne and I enjoyed the holiday!
Cheers
Background & Logistics
Despite having travelled quite widely in the UK, this was my first birding trip abroad. It proved to be very productive, resulting in 19 species new to me, and a total of 116 species seen. The weather was extremely good for the time of year, with a great deal of unbroken sunshine – most days saw temperatures well up into the mid twenties. However, perhaps these clear conditions were responsible for the relatively low numbers of grounded common migrants (for instance, Redstarts and Willow Warblers)? Throughout the trip, we used Graham Hearl’s excellent guide to birding on Mallorca, which is still very accurate on the whole and comes recommended.
Suzanne (my girlfriend) and I flew with bmiBaby from Birmingham to Palma, costing £125 return per person. We hired an EasyCar for £148 for the entire trip including unlimited mileage. Driving on Mallorca was invariably straightforward (though perhaps not for the faint-hearted in the mountains!) with excellent road surfaces and little traffic.
We rented a small apartment (bargain priced at £250 overall) on the edge of Puerto Pollensa, which proved an excellent base – the town is ideally located for most birding destinations, and has a wide range of restaurants and shops, plus a new supermarket.
Saturday 1st April
After our departure was delayed by about 90 minutes, we finally arrived in Palma at 2250 local time, and collected a hire car without any problem. Despite getting a bit confused (some might say lost…) around an area of roadworks, we found the apartment just after 0100 to hear two Scops Owls calling – one in the town somewhere, and another over towards the Bocquer valley. We heard these on most evenings, from about 2115 onwards. The only concern at this stage was the complete lack of running cold water in the apartment… but getting some sleep was higher priority than sorting this out!
Sunday 2nd April
Woke up to find a beautiful sunny day and a stunning view over the Tramuntana mountains to the northwest. Still no cold water, and no sign of a stopcock anywhere… but it was time to go and explore in town. Straight out of the door, we immediately saw an iberiae Yellow Wagtail on the rough ground opposite – very smart. A couple of Yellow-legged Gulls were loafing in the bay by the Pine Walk, and the edges of Postage Stamp Wood held singing Serin, Greenfinch and Goldfinch. A Redstart was flicking about by the new main road through to Formentor.
After a quick phone call to the apartment’s owner, and opening the bizarrely located stopcock (in the bathroom ceiling!), we headed out again, initially to stock up on food, and then to the Llenaire area, south of Puerto Pollensa. We parked along the road by the Torrente Saint Jordi, and were immediately greeted by Sardinian and Fan-tailed Warblers, another iberiae wagtail and a Woodchat Shrike. At the time, I’d completely forgotten that the latter was likely to be the distinct Balearic subspecies, so didn’t pay much attention to the relevant details… good job it wasn’t the last one we saw! A Hoopoe called persistently to the south, while another one flew across the Torrent before disappearing into tall vegetation. We also saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth here.
A very short drive took us back out to the coast, to the mouth of the Torrent S’Albufereta. Both Little-ringed and Kentish Plovers were vocal and showing well here, as we started the walk out to the mound overlooking S’Albufereta. A couple of Swallowtail butterflies were unexpected, but 2 distant Audouin’s Gulls on the main lake were perhaps more predictable, shimmering in the heat haze. Before we reached the limestone pavement area, a Hoopoe called from the roof of a small building, and gave excellent views flopping away across the fields.
We spent quite a while watching the world go by from the viewpoint, checking through numerous waterbirds. Looking back south west over the marsh, several Cattle and Little Egrets were joined by a single Great White Egret stalking about. Black-winged Stilts were very much in evidence, flying about calling in pairs, and a Corn Bunting was singing almost non-stop.
After dinner, a short evening walk to the base of the Bocquer valley didn’t offer much apart from great views, but a rather late Robin was the only one of the trip, feeding on the track.