Introduction
For the last decade, I have visited Menorca in the spring, usually for seven to 10 days and timed to coincide with visible migration over the Island. The Island is small and compact – about the same size as the Isle of Wight in England – and all of the main birding sites are easily accessible by hire car.
One of the joys of birding on Menorca is that you are largely on your own and have to find your own birds. I usually see the occasional tour group from the UK, but until recently have never met any local birders.
What follows is an outline of the highlights of my spring 2013 visit. I have also provided details of access arrangements to the main sites.
Getting there and car hire
From the UK, there are numerous direct flights to Menorca (Mahon) and I generally use Easyjet, direct and reliable from London Gatwick.
A car is essential, and I have always been totally satisfied with the service provided by Sol Cars Hire (www.solcarhire.com). This is an English owned and managed company and you collect the car from the airport car park.
Accommodation
There is a huge choice when it comes to accommodation on the Island, including beach side hotels, self-catering options and rural/eco hotels. I always self- cater in the North of the Island, at Playa de Fornells, an urbanization on the outskirts of Fornells (a picturesque fishing village).
One of the many benefits of being based at Playa de Fornells is that I am able to walk to the Tirant wetland and there is fantastic birding within walking distance of the apartment. I book through www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/423723
Local birding guide
The top birder on the Island is Javier Mendez. Javier was born and raised on the Island, and earns a living as an ecologist, researcher and bird guide. Javier is also an accomplished ringer, and not surprisingly, knows the top birding sites and has all the up to date gen. In May 2012, Javier also helped me to visit a ringing station on Isla del Aire, more of which at the end of this report. Javier has his own website at www.menorcawalkingbirds.com
Tirant Marshes
I visited the Tirant Marshes most morning between the 24 April 2013 and the 1 May. This is marked as Lluric on some maps.
The marshes are to be found in the North of the Island, just a few miles from Playa de Fornells (Platages de Fornells on some maps and sign posts). If you are heading from Mercadal towards Fornells, you will reach a large roundabout with a modern metal sculpture. Turn left here towards Cap de Cavalleria. This is a narrow lane that requires a little driving care, especially as in spring and summer you are likely to be distracted by Bee-eaters. The Tirant Marshes are seasonal, and the water levels vary considerably, depending on how much winter rain there has been. The Marsh starts behind the farm of Es Prat (on the right) and can be viewed from the road. But you do have to park with care and avoid blocking entrances to farms. On the 26 April, the pool behind Es Prat had a lone Greater Flamingo. Just beyond Es Prat is a turning to the right that takes you eventually to the sandy beach of Cala Tirant. As soon as you have turned on to this track, there is a wet Marsh to your left. In spring 2013, this was excellent for Marsh Harriers, Bittern, Purple Heron, Fan tailed warbler, Cettis Warbler and Nightingale. A couple of Wood Sandpipers were the only waders that I could locate this year. In previous years this site has also produced Whiskered Terns and a single Collared Pratincole.
As you drive along the track to Cala Tirant, flocks of up to 30 or more Bee-eaters are frequently encountered, especially after the first week of May. The sandy bay at Cala Tirant was very good for Audouin’s Gull and Yellow-legged Gull and on the 28 and 30 April there was an Osprey fishing in the bay.
On the 30 April, as I walked I walked across the beach, I found a male Rock Thrush perched on the wall of a villa that overlooks the bay. This was probably one of my best ever self-found birds on the Island and I savoured the view for a couple of minutes, before it flew off into the dunes.
Cap De Cavalleria
Retracing your route, Cap De Cavalleria is only a couple of miles away. As you make your way along the road towards the Cap (there is a lighthouse there) you pass through a number of gates that should be closed after you. There is an eco-museum which also has a small café (in season) and toilets. On the afternoon of 1 May, the little garden at the museum was very good for Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and there were several Woodchat Shrikes in this area as well. Just beyond the eco-museum, there is a small bay (on the left) and as usual, an Osprey was perching on the mast of one of the moored sailing boats. At the Cap itself, there is a small, rough, car park and in this area I had Northern Wheatear. Blue Rock Thrush were also easily found, whilst out at sea, distantly, there was a movement of Cory’s Shearwaters. Retracing my route towards Fornells, there were incredible numbers of Barn Swallows and House Martins, as well as several Egyptian Vultures, three Ravens and two Red Kites.
Cala Galdana and Algendar Gorge
On the 26 April, I visited Cala Galdana and Algendar Gorge, two sites that can be combined with a lazy time on a stunning sandy beach. Cala Galdana, on the South coast, is easily accessed from Ferreries and the mirrador overlooking the sea is a good place for Alpine Swift (especially towards sunset) and Peregrine Falcon. As you approach Cala Galdana there are two mirradors signposted and you want the one to the left. Parking on the residential street is easy and the view point looking out to sea at the end of the road is the best place for the swifts. Common Swift were common here and down beside the beach, Audouin’s Gull and Yellow-legged Gull tolerated the humans swimming in the sea!
The Algendar Gorge is to be found by driving down to the Galdana resort. By car, you cross the river and then have to turn either right or left at a T junction. Turn right and drive along the road with restaurants to your left. At the end of the road (less than one mile) there is ample parking. The gorge is accessed by climbing over a stone style by the locked gates and after about 100 meters, turning sharp right. Ignore the left fork concrete path. The path passes close to a boggy area to begin with and you follow the path up the gorge until the vegetation blocks your route. The gorge is like a lost world, often cool because of the shade, and absolutely alive with birds. On the afternoon of the 26 April, there were numerous singing Nightingales and Cettis Warblers, together with a single female Blackcap. The gorge is also a reliable place for common Kestrels, House Martins and Swallows. The stars of the gorge, however, are the Egyptian Vultures that nest nearby, together with the occasional Red Kite and ubiquitous Booted Eagle. In May 2012 I also heard a Scops Owl calling here in the early afternoon. I would recommend allowing at least two hours for a visit to the gorge – it rarely disappoints.
Es Grau (and the S’Albufera – a large brackish lake)
These sites are to be found on the Eastern side of the Island and are easily accessed from Fornells or Mahon. Es Grau is a pretty seaside village with a sheltered bay and sandy beach. The beach is good for Audouin’s Gull and Yellow-legged Gull, and Balearic Shag is commonly seen here. S’Albufera national park is clearly signposted as you approach Es Grau and there is an interpretation centre and car parking. There are a number of marked trails here (leaflets should be available from the interpretation centre) and there are a couple of hides. On the 27 April, the lake had numerous Coot, Mallard, Little Egrets, and a small number of Gadwall. Purple Swamphen and Red Crested Pochard breed here and were easily seen. This site was also good for Osprey, Booted Eagle and Black-Winged Stilts.
North Son Saura wetland
On the 28 April I visited the Son Saura wetland with the help of local guide, Javier. To be honest, without his help I would never have known about this superb site which is difficult to access. The starting point is the westerly beach car park at Son Parc in the North of the Island. There is a small and obvious sewage works here, behind which runs the Cami de Cavall (a mainly coastal footpath that encircles the island). You take the footpath West, in the direction of Fornells, and just before the numbered Cami post 04/23 you veer off left in to the bush. There was an indistinct path here, and lots of snags, but eventually we climbed a gate and had views of the wetland. Fortunately the ground slopes away from the open water, and from here we could set up our scopes and see a large percentage of the lake. The birdlife here was prolific and included Red-crested Pochard and a few Common Pochard (both breeding), Feruginous Duck, Shoeveller, Purple and Squacco Herons, and Cattle Egrets. Hawking over the lake were 100s of House Martins, Common Swits and Barn Swallows.
Montgofre Nou
On the 29 April, I made my annual pilgrimage to the redundant salt pans of Montgofre Nou. This is a site that has become much easier to visit with the completion of the Cami de Cavall, and no longer involves trespassing or trying to seek permission from the landowner. The starting point for the walk (of a couple of miles in each direction) is Addaia, an urbanization and small port in the North East of the Island
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As you enter the urbanization, there is a small supermarket and the Taj Indian restaurant, beyond which you turn immediately right on to Carrer Fontanlelles. Bar Toni will be on your right at this turn. About 200 meters along this road on the right is stile that you climb and this leads on to the Cami. You then follow the Cami for a couple of miles, along farm tracks, down to the water’s edge, and eventually to the redundant salt pans. The pans can be very good for birds, but unfortunately the Cami has increased disturbance and it’s possible that the number of species is declining. On my visit of just a couple of hours I saw a pair of Osprey, Shellduck, small numbers of Ringed Plover, and a single Curlew Sandpiper and a single Greenshank. A scope is useful at this site as the birds can be a little distant.
Torre Fornells
The Torre Fornells is an old watch tower, found by following the brown tourist signs through the village/port of Fornells. There is a small car park at the end of the road (at the Cap de Fornells). Around the tower on the 2 May I easily found both Tawny Pipit and Thekla Lark. The headland here is high above the sea and can be really good for sea watching. The early evening, with an on-shore wind (best from the north) is best for passing Shearwaters.
Isla del Aire
Isla del Aire (Illa de L’Aire on some maps) is a tiny islet off the South East coast of the island, visible from Punta Prima. I had been aware for a number of years that Isla del Aire was a ringing station and had always dreamed of making a visit. But it was only in 2012, and with considerable help from Javier, that I was able to realise this dream. Access involved a using a Sea Kayak to cross the couple of hundred meters of choppy water from the beach at Punta Prima. Once on the islet, we were warmly welcomed by a couple of ringers and two researchers (the latter researching the extent to which migrating birds might carry parasites on their migrations from Africa to Europe). For me it was a huge privilege to spend a day with these dedicated people and to observe the ringing and research that was taking place.
The ringing station is best visited in the last two weeks of April, although early May should still deliver many interesting birds. On average, between 3,000 and 3,500 birds are ringed each year and I understand that Javier can now arrange a boat as an alternative to a Kayak, although this might depend on the number of people wishing to make the crossing. I have got to say that after many years of visiting Menorca, day at the ringing station was a top experience, and I just loved seeing common migrants in the hand.