The morning walk around Aumallia produced the now expected species but
Stone-curlews were annoyingly close and all around us but still we could not
find one of the eerily calling birds while Cirl Buntings continued to ‘tsip’
quietly from the wrong sides of trees! A
male was singing again but remained hidden.
A Nightingale croaked in the dense pine cover belt where the Firecrests
were active. Breakfast and then on the
road once again and north to the mountains.
The slow drive out through the lanes was excellent with
Thekla’s Larks in the fields and Med-type Flycatchers and a Redstart on the wires while we
ignored the calling Cirl Buntings that were out to taunt us. I reversed a few yards for a Kestrel in a
bare Almond that was being mobbed by a Hoopoe. The Kestrel departed when five more Hoopoe arrived in the tree and then suddenly they were coming in from all directions and I stopped at 18 before the chances of duplication got too high. I have never seen anything like that before and frustratingly we were on the narrowest part of the lane where you could not even open the doors let along pull over and get out! I suspect that there were even more gathered there and I wonder if they had communally roosted close by?
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| Hoopoes - four in this shot |
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| Hoopoe |
Onwards and north although the drive was typically quiet
bird wise with just the odd Red Kite and Cattle Egret before we started to
climb into the Tramuntana Mountains. We
wiggled up past cyclists and found our pull in at the entrance to the Mortitx
Winery and set off for a walk through the vineyards and rugged rocky, Evergreen
Oak and Olive landscape.
The walled vines held parties of Gold, Green and Chaffinch
and Cirl Buntings were calling all around and at last we had scope views of
several birds including a couple of males during the course of the walk. ‘Normal’ Spotted Flycatchers, three Redstarts
and a Pied Flycatcher were on the fences too and there were Blackcaps and very
showy Firecrests in the Oaks.
Some of the Olives were positively ancient with vast almost
empty hollow trunks from which fresh growth still sprung. I thought that some of the impressive ones on
Lesvos had great age (about 800 years) but I had never seen anything that
looked like these veterans.
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| Carob |
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| Mediterranean Fan Palm - Chamaerops humilis |
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| Woody Spurge - Euphorbia dendroides |
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| Feral Billy Goat |
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| With a penchant for Carob seed pods |
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| Which he could stretch up to nearly six foot to reach! |
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| Meanwhile the local White Mallorcan Ram just chilled in the shade |
We found shady spots and scanning the rugged skyline and
soon picked up both Black (sorry, I just can't call them Cinereous) and Griffon Vultures as they cruised effortlessly
across the landscape. Both species
drifted over our heads and the Blacks gave particularly close views.
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| Black Vultures |
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| Griffon Vultures |
There was the odd Red Kite and Kestrel but no Bonelli’s
Eagles and we could see Crag Martins higher up too.
We wandered back and had some Crossbills fly over and even
males singing in the pines but we could not find them before they flew while Wren
and Blue Tit were new for the trip and the Firecrests gave even closer views. A
Wryneck called from some very tall shrubs and flew over and away which was unfortunate.
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| Firecrest - too close and too fast were my excuses. Much greyer around the neck and mantle that our UK birds. Also forehead buff more extensive and peachy and same colour on the throat and upper breast. Calls and song also quite different. Just saying. |
The temperature was back in the mid thirties again and the
van was like an oven so we opted to drive and find somewhere to have lunch
which after some serious wiggling we did with a huge view back down the steep
valley to the plains below. More
annoying Crossbills kept us company and Ravens and Griffons were passing
over. A dark Booted Eagle was surveying
the view too from a dead tree opposite and a male Blue Rock Thrush sallied
around a pinnacle.
From here we retraced slightly and passed through the
Aqueduc d’Escorca (where an ice-cream was precured) and ending up at the view
down the Panta de Gorg Blau. The water
level was very low but there were still two Cormorants! We watched several death defying Feral Goats way up on the crags
while another mumped scraps in the car park and we did well for raptors with
both Vultures, Booted Eagle, Red Kite, Eleonora’s Falcons and Kestrels. There were so many Crag Martins along the
highest ridge line.
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| Aqueduc d’Escorca |
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| Panta de Gorg Blau |
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| Panta de Gorg Blau |
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| Feral Goat |
From here we came back to the lunch spot adding calling
Robin on the way and began the descent with a final stop to stretch our legs in
a wooded car park where Sardinians, Tits and Firecrest were seen and another
Wryneck heard.
Once back on the plain we even managed to add a singing
Black Redstart as we came through a town centre! It had been a long and winding day with some
great encounters but the flock of Hoopoes half a mile from the hotel still
proved to be the most popular moment of the day.
