Two sites that we visited whilst on holiday in Menorca were the large marsh called
S'Albufera es Grau near the village of Es Grau in the north east of the island and the
Algendar Gorge in the south west of the island.
Harbour at Es Grau
S'Albufera es Grau is the only official nature reserve on the island. It is nearly 2000 hectares in size, 67 hectares of which are a large, freshwater lake. We visited one afternoon, when it was very, very hot! It wasn't the best time to visit, but we did still manage to find a few birds;
Little Grebe (several pairs nesting),
Moorhen,
Coot,
Black-headed Gulls (2 juveniles- quite a rarity here), a single male
Pochard,
Red Kite,
Kestrel and several juvenile
Red-crested Pochard.
View from the hide at S'Albufera es Grau
Another good spot for any visiting birder is the
Algendar Gorge.
Algendar Gorge
The main reason for visiting this site was to catch up with Egyptian Vultures. We arrived at about 11am and managed to see 2 birds; an adult and a juvenile bird, already high up in the sky. As well as the vultures we also saw and heard the following; Blackcap (singing male), Kestrel, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Rock Dove, Red Kite and Raven. Woodchat Shrike and Hoopoe were seen on the drive over.
A typical Menorcan gate
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