Introduction
The holiday was primarily a family one, staying at the excellent Aguamarine Hotel in the northern resort of Arenal d’en Castell. The weather was very hot throughout, with a nice breeze, but luckily, the hotel room we were in had air conditioning, so we could always escape. We were offered a hire car via the hotel rep through AVIS, but we took the far cheaper option of walking into Arenal d’en Castell, and just past the SPAR shop was a car hire place (Miramar) run by a very nice bloke called Tony, who spoke good English. We went in looking for a people carrier (seven adults on the holiday) and came out with two small cars! My birding mainly took place before breakfast, but twice I went out in the heat of the day, one successful, one unsuccessful. I took all the suitable trip reports I could find with me, and also the Graham Hearl book.
Sites visited
Son Parc – Follow signs from the ME-7 to Son Parc. Go past all the golf course entrances, and follow the road until you see a large water feature/fountain on your right. There is a left turn opposite signposted to the beach. Park on the corner here by the supermarket and other shops in a small block. The golf course is opposite the supermarket and is surrounded by a fence. I followed Mike Millar’s instructions in his report (August 2000) from birdtours.co.uk. He says ‘ When the track ends, continue on the road you have just driven down till you come to the supermarket at the road junction. On your right should be another dirt track going diagonally towards the reed beds. Walk along this track till you come to a large pool.’
What I presume is the ‘diagonal path’ goes directly across the golf course now. The golf course looks extremely new, and is surrounded by a wire fence. We walked through the gates, across the greens towards the reed bed. No one challenged us, but it was 20-30hrs and there was no one about! There is a dirt track in front of the reeds, and here we had Purple Heron, Cetti’s Warbler’s, Zitting Cisticola, one Purple Gallinule, Bee-eaters and loads of Woodchats. If you carry on past the reeds, you come back onto another bit of the golf course. There seems no other way across now. On our first night, we walked back at 21-00hrs and the gate was locked. The fence is too high to climb, but on further investigation, where the fence starts on the left next to a dried up stream, immediately in front of the supermarket is a large hole in the fence. I used that the following morning at 06-30hrs as the gates were still locked. There were a few golfers about, later a green keeper and a dog walker – again, no one said anything to me. I quite liked the reeds here and made three visits.
Salinas de Montgofre - An area of old salt pans and a large sign at the entrance say ‘Privado – Game reserve’ or something like that. Directions from Graham Hearl’s book are take ME-7 from Mahon, after 9km turn right signposted Cap de Favaritx, then after 2.1km turn left down an unmade road opposite green metal gates with a sign ‘Morella Vell’ and follow this road for 2.5km until you reach the entrance to the Montgofre estate, where there is ample parking on the bend. I didn’t write for permission to enter this site, but I passed one government vehicle with nature reserve signs on and another vehicle. Both just waved at me and I saw no one else. I visited at 13-00hrs on a very hot day, and I reckoned it was about 40º C. It was quite good for raptors and waders, very quiet and undisturbed. Again, I enjoyed my visit here, despite absolutely dripping with sweat.
S’Albufera es Grau – The nature reserve on the island. As I’ve read in other trip reports, a bit disappointing. We visited site 1, 2 and 3 from Graham Hearl’s site guide, and you basically look down from a mound. Lots of Coots if you like them!
Tirant Marshes – Didn’t expect any water here but I did find a small pool. The road to Cala Tirant was totally dry both sides, but there must have been 15+ Quail calling down this road plus a Stone-curlew. If you head back down this road away from the sea, and turn left at the ‘T’ junction, there was an area of water on the left, viewable from a hump in the road. There is a gateway to stand in and I parked the car in a wide farm entrance.
Cap de Cavalleria – Turned up as the sun was setting and the place was crowded with folks just sitting and watching. There was a Blue Rock Thrush in the grounds of the lighthouse, but offshore there were only Cory’s Shearwaters.
Algendar Gorge – Arrived mid day. Access no problem. Just walk either side of the gate. Baking hot day but good views of Kestrels. Not much else.
Punta Grossa - Headland to the right of Arenal d’en Castell, and walkable from the resort. Plenty of Blue Rock Thrushes and a Thekla Lark.
Little Grebe, Son Parc Two on 9th. Tirant Marshes Seven on 11th. S’Albufera es Grau 40+ on 12th.
Cory’s Shearwater Cap de Cavalleria 150+ offshore on the evening on 10th, with just two past on 11th.
European Shag Cap de Cavalleria One offshore on 11th. Arenal d’en Castell An immature in the bay on 11th.
Little Egret Tirant Marshes 15 roosting on 11th. S’Albufera es Grau One on 12th.
Grey Heron Tirant Marshes Three on 11th. Salinas de Montgofre One on 12th.
Purple Heron Son Parc Three on 8th.
Mallard Son Parc Four on 9th.
Red Kite Salinas de Montgofre Two on 12th.
Booted Eagle Son Parc One on 10th. Ciutadella A pale-morph over on 10th. Cap de Cavalleria A dark-morph on the approach road on 11th. South to Mahon Two over ME-7 on 12th. S’Albufera es Grau One over on 12th. Salinas de Montgofre Three on 12th.
Osprey Salinas de Montgofre Two on 12th.
Common Kestrel Arenal d’en Castell One over Aguamarine Hotel on 7th. Algendar Gorge Five on 9th.
Common Quail Tirant Marshes Up to 15 calling birds in the area plus one seen on the road on 11th.
Common Moorhen Son Parc One on 10th.
Purple Gallinule Son Parc One on 9th, and one in flight over the reeds on 10th.
Common Coot Son Parc Three on 8th, four on 9th & 10th. S’Albufera es Grau Very common.
Black-winged Stilt Tirant Marshes Nine on 11th. S’Albufera es Grau Two on 12th. Salinas de Montgofre Eight including a juvenile on 12th.
Stone-curlew Tirant Marshes One in a field off the Cala Tirant road on 11th.
Little Ringed Plover Salinas de Montgofre Two on 12th.
Common Redshank Salinas de Montgofre Two on 12th.
Greenshank Salinas de Montgofre One on 12th.
Green Sandpiper Son Parc One over on 9th.
Wood Sandpiper Tirant Marshes One on 11th. Salinas de Montgofre One on 12th.
Audouin’s Gull Ciutadella An adult over the harbour on 10th.
Yellow-legged Gull Common throughout Arenal d’en Castell 3+ around hotel daily. S’Albufera es Grau 40+ on 12th.
Rock Dove Algendar Gorge Four on 9th. Punta Grossa Two on 13th.
Wood Pigeon Arenal d’en Castell 3+ around hotel daily.
Collared Dove Ciutadella 10+ in centre on 10th. Punta Grossa Two on 13th.
Turtle Dove Very common throughout the island.
Eurasian Scops Owl Arenal d’en Castell One flew over at dusk on 11th.
Common Swift Arenal d’en Castell Up to 10 around hotel daily.
Pallid Swift Cap de Cavalleria Seen on 10th & 11th. Punta Grossa Six on 13th. Arenal d’en Castell Three over on 13th.
European Bee-eater Son Parc 8+ flying around during evening on 8th. Nr Santa Victoria At junction of ME-7 & ME-15, 2+ over on 9th, one on 11th. Tirant Marshes At least two seen on 11th.
Hoopoe Nr Mahon One over ME-7 on 7th. Son Parc One on 10th.
Thekla Lark Punta Grossa One on 13th.
Swallow Son Parc One over on 8th.
House Martin Algendar Gorge Five on 9th. Ciutadella Seen on 10th.
Tawny Pipit Son Parc Four on golf course on 9th, two on 10th. Cap de Cavalleria One 10th, 10+ on 11th.
Rufous Nightingale Salinas de Montgofre One on 12th.
Stonechat Son Parc One 8th, five including several juveniles on 10th. Cap de Cavalleria 20+ on 11th. Salinas de Montgofre One on 12th. Punta Grossa 10+ on 13th.
Blue Rock Thrush Cap de Cavalleria A male around the lighthouse on 10th & 11th. Punta Grossa Three males, a female and a juvenile on 13th.
Common Blackbird Son Parc Seen on 8th. Punta Grossa Present near the villas.
Cetti’s Warbler Son Parc 4+ singing on 8th - 10th. Algendar Gorge One on 9th. Tirant Marshes One nearby on 11th.
Zitting Cisticola Son Parc 5+ on 8th, 4+ on 9th & 10th. Algendar Gorge One on 9th. Tirant Marshes Two in area on 11th. S’Albufera es Grau Two on 12th.
Reed Warbler Son Parc Heard on 8th.
Sardinian Warbler Son Parc 3+ on 8th, 9th, Arenal d’en Castell One in scrub nearby on 9th. Tirant Marshes Seen in area on 11th. Cap de Cavalleria Seen on 11th. S’Albufera es Grau One on 12th. Salinas de Montgofre One on 12th. Punta Grossa 5+ on 13th.
Spotted Flycatcher Abundant throughout.
Balearic Woodchat Shrike Arenal d’en Castell One on the outskirts on 8th, two on 9th, Son Parc Nine (five adults and four juveniles) on 9th, eight (three adults and five juveniles) on 10th. One on ME-7 on wires at 14km on 12th.
Common Raven Cap de Cavalleria Four on the approach road on 11th. Salinas de Montgofre Two on 12th.
House Sparrow Very common in built up areas.
Chaffinch Arenal d’en Castell One Aguamarine Hotel on 7th. Algendar Gorge Two on 9th.
Greenfinch Arenal d’en Castell Seen around Aguamarine Hotel.
Goldfinch Arenal d’en Castell Seen around Aguamarine Hotel. Son Parc 30+ on 9th.
Linnet Son Parc One on 9th.
Common Crossbill Arenal d’en Castell Heard in conifers woods behind the hotel on 13th.
Corn Bunting Tirant Marshes 20+ in nearby fields on 11th.
For any more information, contact me at nick.smith907@ntlworld.com.
Nick Smith
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs
July 2006