Mostly Menorca

Today was rather quiet with little to report from the local patch except for an unlikely twosome - a retreating-to-the-barn Barn Owl and a fly-over Ring-necked Parakeet at Conder Green. There are still 26 Black-tailed Godwits and the usual wildfowl, waders and brown-jobs singing from the roadside and the hedgerows. 

Barn Owl

You can’t win them all, so today I’m posting more pictures from our recent Menorca holiday. "Click the pics" to see Menorca in a colourful slide show.

In addition to birds this post features a number of photos from the historic and picturesque town of Alaior, just a mile or two inland from some of the holiday resorts frequented by large numbers of visitors to Menorca. It is such a pity that towns like Alaior, Es Mercadal, Ferreries and Sant Lluis remain unexplored by many tourists. These charming and lovely municipalities remain true to the unspoilt nature of the island; within their quiet streets there is much to discover and appreciate. 

A number of long abandoned salt workings/sea inlets of the northern coast of Menorca hold a good variety of waders in the right seasons. Our wader list from the two sites Ses Salines and Addaia included Black-winged Stilt, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Avocet and Greater Flamingo. Add in a few specials like Blue-headed Wagtail and Ospreys, plus the everyday Nightingale, Cetti’s Warbler, Tawny Pipit, Sardinian Warbler, Woodchat Shrike and Turtle Dove and there are enough birds to satisfy the most demanding of bird watchers. 

Ringed Plover and Little Stint

 Little Ringed Plover

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Addaia

Wood Sandpiper

Unlike most places where the species occurs in Northern Europe, the five pairs of Menorcan Ospreys are residents and do not migrate to and from Africa. At Addaia salt pans we saw two Ospreys hunting close together.

Osprey

The route to and from these localities provides a picturesque and untroubled route on quiet roads, plus a reason to stop for lunch on the way back to our south coast hotel. When necessary we would stop to note roadside shrikes, Turtle Doves and Red Kites.

Woodchat Shrike

Turtle Dove

Alaior, the home of the famous Mahon Cheese, is Menorca’s third largest town after Mahon and Ciutadella. With its narrow streets and white washed houses Alaior is a simply beautiful historic town, founded in 1304 by King Jaume 11 of Mallorca. Its church Santa Eulàlia was rebuilt in the 17th century and remains a wonderful example of Menorca’s historic past.

Alaior - Menorca

Alaior - Menorca

Alaior - Menorca

 Alaior - Menorca

 Alaior - Menorca

Potential visitors to the island should note that the need for siesta is respected in all of the inland towns and the two major cities, Mahon and Ciutadella. The sacrosanct hours are usually between approximately 1330 and 1730 hours. There’s much to be said for taking an early afternoon nap in the heat of the day and then enjoying the warmth of a Menorcan late afternoon and evening with a glass of Cava to hand. 

Alaior - Menorca

Alaior - Menorca

We're on our way south through the island now where Egyptian Vultures cruise overhead all day long and can be seen almost anywhere, often at a good height, occasionally dropping into the fields to search for food on foot. In most cases the cream and black adults seem to be in the majority with just occasional sightings of younger birds like the one below.

 Egyptian Vulture

A whistle stop less than a mile from the main road north to south and it’s those Bee-eaters again, this time with a Menorcan snail thrown in. 

Bee-eater

I will try and do some local birding tomorrow but the forecast is rather poor with heavy rain predicted.

Be sure to log in soon anyway as there will always be new birds to see on Another Bird Blog. In the meantime you can see more blue skys at Sky Watch Friday or birds on fences at Theresa's Run A Round Ranch. 

Sunny Days

Here's a post from 2 weeks in sunny Menorca. Brilliant indeed proved both the holiday and the birding with 14 days of unbroken sunshine and not a spot of rain. The island has a list of over 220 species throughout the seasons, so our two week birding list of 78 species is respectable but isn’t going to break any records. But bird watching is not the only joy of a Menorca holiday as blog regulars and/or visitors to the island will already know. Don't forget to click the pics for a colourful Menorca experience.

This year I met up with a Menorcan birder and ringer, Javier Mendez. Javier is extremely knowledgeable about birds and all things Menorcan, and for visitors to the island who prefer a guide, he does that too. You can contact him at  Javier Mendez.

I spent a morning with Javier at his Constant Effort Ringing site at Algendarat, an ecological farm near Mahon. Some lovely birds in the hand on Another Bird Blog soon, but for this post there are photos from birding mornings and exquisite places around the island. 

First port of call each year is to a Bee-eater colony on a farm close to the main road between the unspoilt, authentic inland town of Es Mercadal and the picturesque but touristy Fornells. The Bee- eaters fly to a roadside fence as long as there are not cars speeding by. Bee-eaters burrow into sandy soil to make a nest chamber, hence the dusty residue on this bird’s bill. 

European Bee-eater

Menorca

 European Bee-eater

We regularly see Hoopoes at the same location although they aren’t especially approachable, as Hoopoes tend to be. They have to keep a look out for raptors overhead, the common Booted Eagle or the ever present Kestrels that might rob them of their large insect prey. 

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Kestrel

Booted Eagle

In a nearby field we discovered this year a spectacular display of wild poppies. Menorca has over 1000 species of plants, 60 of them endemic to the island. In the background of the picture is the resort of Cala Tirant, a world away from the flower-filled fields of a Menorcan Spring where the song of Corn Buntings fill the air and farming is carried out in traditional ways.

Menorcan Poppies

Hay Making Menorca

Corn Bunting

Menorcan Foal

We found just a few pairs of Stonechat this year, and it seems that the Stonechat is not doing too well here at the moment, Menorca is not totally immune from environmental changes that threaten species worldwide. The island’s Stonechats are a little darker than the ones we see in the UK, just like one or two other species, for instance Goldfinch and Woodpigeon being particularly evident in showing darker shades. Perhaps it’s something to do with all that sunshine? 

On the way to lunch at La Palma, a favourite café in Fornells we found a male Stonechat along the roadside telling us he had a family nearby. But there’s no time to stop when tapas is on the menu so we piled back in the Panda and set off again. 

Stonechat

Menorcan Panda

Fornells- Menorca

Fornells - Menorca

Fornells - Menorca

There’s more birds and scenes from Menorca soon on Another Bird Blog.

Linking this post to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Back To A Patch

Two weeks in sunny Menorca meant Saturday was employed in catching up with family, a mountain of post, a long list of emails and then downloading and sorting hundreds of photos from the holiday. But this morning the local patch beckoned so a full Menorca post was postponed for now. Log in to Another Bird Blog soon for this year’s pictures from The Idyllic Isle. 

Remembering to drive on the “correct” side of the road I set off north in the direction of Pilling and Cockerham, first stop Conder Green where a goodish list ensued, waders, wildfowl plus “bits and bobs” of passerines. 

The huge passage of Black-tailed Godwits of April has left lingering individuals, 16 or so birds still having feeding success in the tidal creeks, their long bills buried deep in the mud to then pull out long worms. I am guessing that their prey was the lugworms and ragworms that anglers dig for here and then use for bait. 

Black-tailed Godwits

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Other waders are now limited to species which breed here but not necessarily all of those counted, although I did see an Oystercatcher sat tight on a nest. In addition, 9 Redshank, 8 Oystercatcher and 4 Curlew, the latter flying overhead. 

Wildfowl are scarce now with the counts of 2 Teal, 2 Wigeon, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Canada Goose, 16 Shelduck and 2 Grey Heron a reflection of Spring becoming the doldrums of Summer. For the small area surveyed I found a reasonable number of passerines in song, so numbers which represent the males alone and discount the quieter partners: 4 Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Greenfinch and 2 Goldfinch. 

There were reasonable numbers of Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins about but sadly no Swifts in evidence. A Swallow gave brief chase to a passing male Sparrowhawk, the hawk no doubt with a nest bound female not too far away. 

Last week on the Menorca patch I watched swallows, martins, Pallid Swift, Alpine Swift, Common Swift, Booted Eagle, Red-footed Falcon and Egyptian Vulture! Oh the joys of a local patch. 

Egyptian Vulture

I headed back to Pilling via Braides where a Sedge Warbler sang from the Cocker Channel and 18 Stock Doves scrutinised a recently sown field. Maybe the doves were finding undrilled seed? 

Stock Dove

Fluke Hall seemed almost silent, the warbler reduction since April very marked with now just single Chiffchaff and Blackcap in song and no Willow Warblers. Luckily the Whitethroats were in good voice my ear still tuned to their scratchy song rather than the machine-gun rattle of Sardinian Warblers. Whitethroats are passage migrants in Menorca, Sardinian Warblers ten-a-penny. 

Whitethroat

Sardinian Warbler

A male Kestrel hunted the freshly sown fields where I found no evidence of breeding Lapwings, the plough of April having done its job with great success. At least 4 Skylarks remain on territory and a pair of Tufted Ducks prospected for a breeding niche in the sea wall channel. 

A good morning’s work. There’s no beating a local patch, wherever it might be.

Almost Home

We’re almost at the end of Menorca for 2014. So here are a few more pictures of Menorca life until next year. Enjoy. 

On some evenings the Scops Owl comes for a close look at us just as we're enjoying a glass of wine.

Scops Owl

The common lark in these parts is the crested Thekla Lark. It makes a change from the humble UK Skylark.

 Thekla Lark

Adding a little interest to the sunbathing are regular sightings of ringed Audouin's Gulls. 

Audouin's Gull

Or watching the local Kestrel watching us from on high.

Kestrel

Spring in Menorca is just wonderful for seeing and painting the wild flowers.

 Menorca Poppies

A walk to the local shops even involves a spot of birding.

Spotted Flycatcher

Now that's what I call a Menorca walk.

Menorca

Menorca Horses

Another Bird Blog is back home in the UK any day now and will post new pictures from the last two weeks very soon.

I promise to catch up with all your comments soon.  Apologies if you are still waiting.

I hope everyone enjoyed Menorca as much as we did? Linking today to Anni's Blog, Camera Critters and Eileen's Saturday Blog.