Long live Albufeira Reserve, Majorca

Report No 7.   22^nd June 2022.

Not a great deal to report as we finished the month by catching Covid during our holiday in Majorca, so isolation means it's home to garden watching!!

You may recall in April that I wrote about the Poole Harbour Osprey that earlier this year had laid an egg, the first one in 5 years.    Hot news from our local reporter James FK, 3^rd June and the egg has hatched.

It would be nice to think it broke out the day before the news broke, i.e. on June 2 as that would be the actual date of the Queens diamond jubilee Thus the fledgling would well and truly qualify for a name relevant to the jubilee event.   Jubilee?? Diamond?

Watch this space!!

 

The main activity in the last 4 weeks has been our two weeks holiday in Majorca from 4^th to 18^th June, once again at the Picafort Park. It has been two and a half years since we were last there, restricted due to Covid, and we finally enjoyed the holiday purchased in October 2019!!

Anyway, to the birds.   As always the usual avian residents were at the hotel. Early bird guests (those placing their beach towels from 5.45am!) saw the Hoopoe banging away catching ants, and I gather before we arrived a couple had reported seeing an adult with two young. We just saw the one adult. Still searching for food the day we left, at 6.45am

The Southern Spotted flycatchers were there everyday, impervious to and probably unnoticed by, most guests. Difficult to tell how many there are as they are buzzing from one post to the next all day, and even in the area where we played French Boule, they still landed on nearby trees. I just love them, they are so close and I wish people could share my enjoyment.

House Sparrows had many young, often in groups of 2/3 with their adults.

Not surprisingly I had two bus trips to Albufeira, and each time spent an enjoyable 3 hours amongst the huge reed bed area.

Towards the end of the 1 metre walk to the centre, it is always a joy to look across the river and see the birds that nest in the trees. But this year, there were now 4 different species.

Of course the Little Egrets, outnumbered by the Cattle Egrets, and supplemented by a few Night Herons, but this time a number of large black birds.   Glossy Ibis had decided to join and share the nest zone and turned out to be a species seen by me more frequently than before. In many cases they were flying in pairs.

On both trips I met a Brit (for a change!) (as opposed to many groups of Spanish students, who unfortunately crowded the hides,) and we shared mixed sightings and experiences.

No Osprey, but Marsh Harrier, Purple Herons, Purple Gallinule, and a couple of Stone Curlew.  And to compensate for failing at Whisby, I stood for sometime listening to and watching 2/3 Nightingales singing their hearts out.  May that never cease. 

Oh well, roll on July.... work to be done!!

David

How close can you get to Gannets?

Turned out to be a nice month, May 2022 so here goes.

Friday 29^th, I went to  a village near Repton, ostensibly to see Yellow Hammers. Wrong!!...BUT, as I walked across a grassed field, Yipeee  A lovely Skylark took to the sky singing joyfully. After it landed, another one did the same.  All worth while!

Despite being not properly dressed in a weekend break in Palma, Majorca (no bins!!) I ticked off a couple of world wide birds during our stay.  Swifts, of course, but great to see a nice Eleonora’s Falcon loafing  above as we sat outside a bar by the Cathedral and you can't miss Audouin's Gulls, even the one drinking from the pool next to which we were having a liquid lunch!!

May 15, during a 15,000 paces walk in Allestree, close to our old house in West Bank Rd,  we were buzzed by a pair of Swifts, as they explored houses near No 68!

May has actually been quite a good month for ticking off birds here or there and I have added 10 in this way.

During the BwB walk on 1^st May, which Keith and I covered whilst Amanda was still away, and Garry was in a Bird club walk, Garden warbler was found on Stones Island. Whilst on the tip of Stones, Simon Roddis, the Carsington expert called Arctic Tern and most of the group were able to see a pair flying south down the reservoir.

I decided to have a day at Old Moor on the 2^nd May and was surprised to see all the changes that have been made to the site with the Lottery grant. Bird wise it was disappointing, but just before I left, from the Bittern Hide I caught site of a lovely male Garganey.

I went again a fortnight later, and met up with Amanda on duty. We had good views of a Marsh Harrier, seen from the Wader Scrape hide. After lunch I popped into the tower hide at Broomhill Flash and managed to pick up the Black Necked Grebes, lurking amongst the reeds.

Sunday May 22^nd was the 30^th anniversary of the Queen opening Carsington Reservoir, so there were a lot of activities going on and a lot of people. Based on a tip, again from Simon, I went to Millfelds and with my scope picked up the Mediterranean Gull on Millfields island.

I had a nice couple of additions on a wet trip to Padley Gorge, starting from the top, going down the gorge and then a circuitous route back to the car…. Where and when IT RAINED.

I was wondering what I was going to find in the gorge, but my slow walking finally spotted a lovely male Pied Flycatcher (and another).  Talking to a couple of fellow birders, they pointed to a derelict ice building not far away, telling me that they had the very clear song from a Wood Warbler.  I went to the brick shelter and not being sure of the song, played it on my phone. In seconds, the Warbler was jumping round the branches above my head (looking for the mate??). I turned the sound off quickly and could see the lovely yellow chest of the little bird, together with it’s trembling as it sang it’s shivering trill, and which I now recognise.

Only two for the trip, but cracking birds.

Just got in a final birding trip on May 31 with a visit to Bempton. A Black-browed albatross had been around for a few days, but despite visiting the cliffs end to end, sadly by 2pm no sightings had been reported. 

Corn Bunting was another dip, but all 6 of the regular cliff birds were there, proving very popular for the large attendance.   These are two photographs I took at the southern end of the cliffs, where the nesting birds are nearest to the footpath.  Superb

 

And so end-of-May YTD is 149.  I’m thinking 51 more for the year is a huge target, but we’ll see. Majorca will not count…or?? 

Happy Birding

David