Jayne and I have just spent two weeks in Puerto Pollenca in Mallorca. Whilst there we hired a car for a few days and travelled around the island to a few of the birding sites. This first post will, however, cover just those birds seen in and around the seaside town of Puerto Pollenca.
One of the first birds seen was one that many birders travel to this island to see, namely Audouin's Gull. Birds were seen everyday flying in and around the town, harbour and beaches.
Audouin's Gull
The other gull species seen here was Yellow-legged Gull. Again, birds were seen daily, in and around the beaches and in the nearby La Gola nature reserve.
Yellow-legged Gull (La Gola reserve)
La Gola Reserve is a small reserve right in the centre of Puerto Pollenca (2 minutes walk from the harbour). Although it wasn't great for birds, I did get daily views of Yellow-legged Gull, along with Blackbird, Kingfisher (1 sighting), Moorhen, Coot, Great Tit, Mallard, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Stonechat, Linnet, Little Egret (flying over), Fan-tailed Warbler (Zitting Cisticola), Hoopoe (2 fly overs), Sardinian Warbler (see and heard daily, but impossible to photograph!!!) and Mediterranean Flycatcher.
This last species, Mediterranean Flycatcher, (Muscicapa tyrrhenica baleric) was a bit of a surprise for me, as I hadn't realised it was a full species until I was actually in Mallorca! It was formally accepted as a full species in January 2018 (see article here), so was a very nice addition to my "life list". The birds were plentiful around the town, in the gardens and in trees on the beach.
Mediterranean Flycatcher
Other species seen daily were Common Tern and Shag (sub species desmarestii) Both species were out on the breakwaters by the main beach. House Sparrows, Woodpigeons and Collared Dove were also seen every day. The final species for this site was Oystercatcher. One bird was seen on the breakwaters on one occasion.
Year List update:
157 – Audouin’s Gull
158 – Yellow legged Gull159 – Fan-tailed Warbler
160 – Mediterranean Flycatcher
161 – Hoopoe
162 – Sardinian Warbler
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