Vacation-birding in Mallorca, July -15

Second trip abroad, with the family, was also a decicion taken more or less out of the blue. Very much like the decision to go to Lanzarote, in April. When Linda suggested Mallorca, I was not difficult to persuade as I had just read a guide to birding in Mallorca, written in "Vår fågelvärld". Seemed like a nice place for birding, even though this was not supposed to be a birding trip. 

The choice of town for the hotel proved to be difficult, birding wize... The hotels in the northern region were quite a lot more expensive than the one we finally decided on. Instead we ended up just south of Palma in S'Arenal. 

After arriving I realised that the hotel was a good hotel for the family but perhaps not so good for me. There was, however, a small forest not too far away. Worth a check, I thought. 

As both my wife and I can get pretty restless, just spending time in a hotel complex, we decided that we should rent a car for one day. She knows that I really want to do some birding at one point or another during a trip like this so it seemed a good compromise. This meant that a couple of days in to the vacation, we rented a car and drove north. Again, I had done a little bit of homework, just as with the trip to Lanzarote. So, while my wife and the kids got some sun on the beach by Alcudia, I got to go to the national park of S'Albufera.

I had some 2-3 hours so I didn't get around very much but here are some photos of some of the species. I would really like so spend some more time there at one point or another. Preferably not in July but rather in the end of April or beginning of May, of course. Ok, let's go...

Kentish Plover (svartbent strandpipare, Charadrius
alexandrinus)

First I went to one of the hides. I could see a few waders from there and this Kentish plover was the first to catch my eye.

Little Ringed Plover (mindre strandpipare, Charadrius dubius)

This Little Ringed Plover really showed the benefit of photography in a hide, as it got really close. However, the sun was not in the best position...

Start

Black-winged Stilt (styltlöpare, Himantopus himantopus)

The Black Winged Stilt was a new lifer for me during my first trip to Dubai in 2012 but since then it has become a quite common species.

I left the first hide and walked among the paths to see more of the park. I found more hides in other places (I had no map so I didn't know what to look for) and it was actually quite hard to get a good look overview of the place as there was reed pretty much everywhere you looked. In the hides you could see a little more. Now, this was of course because I never walked very far. There are paths out of to the more open parts of the park. 

Sardinian Warbler (sammetshätta, Sylvia melanocephala)

I found this Sardinian Warbler just by one of the hides. On the way there, I had seen both a Zitting Cisticola and the Swamphen, both new lifers for me. This hide, where the warbler was, and the pond which you saw from the hide, didn't have the Marbled Duck unfortunately but on the other hand, there were several beautiful Bee Eaters flying over the surface. I also met this really nice English birder there, but I cannot remember his name...

Crossing the paths were a couple of canals. Quite a few Moorhens could be found but one of the target species of the S'Albufera park was the Red-knobbed Coot. Together with the Swamphen, this was supposed to be the highlights during the walk in the park. Then suddenly... there it was. And close! And fearless! It didn't care the least that I was just a couple of meters away.

Red-knobbed Coot (kamsothöna, Fulica cristata)

One of the adult Red-knobbed Coots. The knobbs were easy to see and also the colour of the bill differed from the common Coot.

Red-knobbed Coot (kamsothöna, Fulica cristata)

I was informed before the trip that the Red-knobbed Coots were recently relocated to the S'Albufera park and that the original individuals (coming from the mainland of Spain I presume) could be identified by the white "necklace".

Western Swamphen (purpurhöna, Porphyrio porphyrio)

In largest of the canals I found this Swamphen. Actually there were two and both of them were fully engaged in trying to find something edible in the mud. I was running out of time so I didn't have the patience to wait for better photo opportunities than this.

Cattle Egret (kohäger, Bubulcus ibis)

This was just a beautiful view... Two Western Cattle Egrets och the back of this horse. Fascinating.

This was is from S'Albufera. Though a couple of other species were noted, but didn't want to appear long enough for me to take photos of them. Other species, which are uncommon in Sweden, would include Squacco Heron (rallhäger, Ardeola ralloides), Little Egret (silkeshäger, Egretta garzetta), Purple Heron (purpurhäger, Ardea purpurea), Moustached Warbler (kaveldunsångare, Acrocephalus melanopogon) - new lifer, Red-crested Pochard (rödhuvad dykand, Netta rufina), Cetti's Warbler (cettisångare, Cettia cetti) - new lifer. and Great Reed Warbler (trastsångare, Acrocephalus). 

After S'Albufera I went back to the beach to chech on my wife and kids and to drive on. Were were heading towards the mountain rage and hopefully some interesting species there. But, while on the beach I kept looking for Andouin's gull, which didn't want to show itself... In a last effort to get the gull, we drove close to the see to keep lookout for it. At one place, I saw a couple of gulls beside the road. We pulled over and there it was. Nice!! 

The trip to the mountain range was not what I had hoped for. Well, that's a bit unfair as I got two new lifers up there, Booted Eagle (dvärgörn, Hieraaetus pennatus) and Eurasian Crag Martin (klippsvala,  Ptyonoprogne rupestris). The main target was nowhere to be found however. Moltoni's Warbler is found in not so many places and the Cuber damm is supposed to be one of those places. This was not the right season for it though and I never got a glimpse of anything resembling the warbler.

Audouin's Gull (rödnäbbad trut, Ichthyaetus audouinii)

Next to a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls, this Andouin's gull was relaxing in the sun

The trip by car didn't produce anything further so what I had left was to explore the neighbourhood a little. The forest close to the hotel, which I mentioned earlier, proved to be quite worthless however... It was just the Spotted Flycatcher everywhere. Though, I have myself to blame... I didn't go there in the mornings, just in the evenings. We all know what that means birdwize.

Last full day on Mallorca, I decided to go a little bit further than just to the small forest and I also decided to do it in the morning. That was a decicion which I'm glad for, in retrospect. First of all, there were suddely quite a few Sardinian Warblers in the little forest but on the other side of the motorway, when I got out into the fields, I was very different when it comes to birds. See photos.

Spotted Flycatcher (grå flugsnappare, Muscicapa striata)

Well, the Spotted Flycatcher was common both in the forest and pretty much everywhere.

Start

Stonechat (svarthakad buskskvätta, Saxicola rubicola)

Not the best shot but immediately on the other side of the motorway, I found this Stonechat. This was the first find which showed that there were other kinds of birds here. Beside this I found a Serin.

Red-legged Partridge (rödhöna, Alectoris rufa)

A little further on these two partrigdes suddenly appeared. They were shy and ran away quickly. But a new lifer for me. :-)

Eurasian Stone-curlew (tjockfot, Burhinus oedicnemus)

Another very cool find was this Stone-curlew. A species I had hoped to see on many previous occasions, not the least in Croatia. Suddenly, here it was. Again a new lifer!

European Serin (gulhämpling, Serinus serinus)

Serins were quite common

Thekla Lark (lagerlärka, Galerida theklae)

After checking the guide I arrived at the conclusion that this must be a Thekla lark.

Zitting Cisticola (grässångare, Cisticola juncidis)

After hearing quite a few at S'Albufera it was a little bit of a surprise to see this Zitting Cisticola appear suddenly. Much better view than any of the sightings in S'Albufera.

Zitting Cisticola (grässångare, Cisticola juncidis)

The total number of species on Mallorca was about 50, which is ok for a family vacation like this. I know that I missed out on several target species but perhaps I will be back some time... 

 Below is a list of some of the species during the trip.

Linnet (hämpling, Linaria cannabina), Zitting Cisticola (grässångare, Cisticola juncidis), Squacco Heron (rallhäger, Ardeola ralloides), Little Egret (silkeshäger, Egretta garzetta), Cattle Egret (kohäger, Bubulcus ibis), Kentish Plover (svartbent strandpipare, Charadrius alexandrinus), Little Ringed Plover (mindre strandpipare, Charadrius dubius), Black-winged Stilt (styltlöpare, Himantopus himantopus), Common Tern (Fisktärna, Sterna hirundo), Marsh Harrier (brun kärrhök, Circus aeruginosus), Osprey (fiskgjuse, Pandion haliaetus), Purple Heron (purpurhäger, Ardea purpurea), Red-knobbed Coot (kamsothöna, Fulica cristata), Western Swamphen (purpurhöna, Porphyrio porphyrio), European Bee-eater (biätare, Merops apiaster), Sardinian Warbler (sammetshätta, Sylvia melanocephala), Moustached Warbler (kaveldunsångare, Acrocephalus melanopogon), Red-crested Pochard (rödhuvad dykand, Netta rufina), Cetti's Warbler (cettisångare, Cettia cetti), Great Reed Warbler (trastsångare, Acrocephalus arundinaceus), Red-backed Shrike (törnskata, Lanius collurio), Blackcap (svarthätta, Sylvia atricapilla), Yellow-legged Gull (medelhavstrut, Larus michaellis), Audouin's Gull (rödnäbbad trut, Ichthyaetus audouinii), Booted Eagle (dvärgörn, Hieraaetus pennatus), Eurasian Crag Martin (klippsvala, Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Nightingale (sydnäktergal, Luscinia megarhynchos), Spotted Flycatcher (grå flugsnappare, Muscicapa striata), Wren (gärdsmyg, Troglodytes troglodytes), European Serin (gulhämpling, Serinus serinus), Barn Swallow (ladusvala, Hirundo rustica), Stonechat (svarthakad buskskvätta, Saxicola rubicola), Red-legged Partridge (rödhöna, Alectoris rufa), Eurasian Stone-curlew (tjockfot, Burhinus oedicnemus), Thekla Lark (lagerlärka, Galerida theklae)

Lanzarote 3-10/4-15 (my 40th birthday)

Well, to celebrate my 40th birthday, I wanted nothing more than to run away from home and just be with my family. The plan, or rather my wife's plan, was to go to Bornholm... but about a week before this trip, she told me that I could choose, as a birthday gift,  between a new camera house or a longer trip. To the Canary Islands and Lanzarote in particular. The choice was easy. I mean, my camera might be old (bought in 2006) but it still works fine, so I didn't take me five seconds to decide.

Of to Lanzarote and the town Costa Teguise. I had done some homework as to which birds might be possible to see. However, it was never going to be a birding trip but a social trip instead. Though we planned for at least one day with a rental car to see some of the island. Because of the quite cold temperature we actually rented a car twice.

So, as for birding, there were definitely some interesting birds to see. I thought that I should be able to get possibly three new lifers and perhaps as many as five. Well, three I managed but five proved difficult.

First there are some photos from the area surrounding Costa Teguise and then some from other parts, which we reached by car.

Whimbrel (småspov, Numenius phaeopus)

First day after we arrived, we went to the beach to check it out. The beach was really nice and as for birds, this Whimbrel was the only thing that showed itself.

Yellow-legged Gull (medelhavstrut, Larus michahellis 
atlantis)

Another day we rented a four seat bike which took us along the scenery road by the coast. This Yellow-legged Gull, which must be of the atlantic varian (atlantis). This photo might be fooling the eye a little bit but the wings and back does seem quite a lot darker compared to the Yellow-leggs I've seen in Croatia.

Ruddy Turnstone (Roskarl, Arenaria interpres)

During that bike ride, we saw this little group of Turnstones. My wife told med that I couldn't shoot photos of the birds as bathers were close by and they would think I took photos of them...

During this bike ride I also saw a large Tern. Probably a Caspian but I could never get a good enough look at it.

Clouded Yellow Butterfly (rödgul höfjäril, Colias croceus)

On the other side of the town, in towards land, there was a playground for the kids. We went to this playground several times and I brought my binoculars and my camera. I tried to shoot some photos of butterflies as well as I've started to learn butterflies and dragonflies as well. I hope I got the species correct...

Willow Warbler (lövsångare, Phylloscopus trochilus)

Beside the playground, there were some bushes and som trees and there were actually some birds flying around. This little Phylloscopus warbler was one of them. I really wanted to see an Iberian Chiffchaff or a Canary Islands Chiffchaff but, if I'm not mistaken, this is nothing but a common Willow Warbler...

Willow Warbler (lövsångare, Phylloscopus trochilus)

Swift sp. (seglare, Apus ??)

Now this is where I got a bad feeling after coming home from this trip. I had apparently not done my homework good enough...
This is the only photo I have of this Swift and when I checked my Collin's guide after the trip I realised that there is this Plain Swift in the Canary islands. This could very well have been one but I didn't think to check while still on Lanzarote. Not good...

Spanish Sparrow (spansk sparv, Passer hispaniolensis)

Together with the omnipresent Collared Dove, the Spanish Sparrow was definitely the most common bird.

Southern Grey Shrike (iberisk varfågel, Lanius meridionalis)

Some 50 meters from the playground, mentioned above, I found this beautiful Southern Grey Shrike. As always, Shrikes are alluring to me and I just stood there and watched it for a long time. Turned out to be quite a common bird on Lanzarote, but I didn't mind.

Berthelot's pipit (kanariepiplärka, Anthus berthelotii

One morning I awoke quite early so I could walk about a bit. As soon as you get out of the town and into the lava fields the Berthelot's pipits starts to make themselves heard. Difficult to shoot photos of though... at least the ones I tried to shoot.

Trumpeter Finch (ökentrumpetare, Bucanetes githagineus)

The same morning I saw this Trumpeter Finch. Actually I had already seen one on this trip (photo below) but this was a new lifer for me. During this shart walk I saw at least four Southern Grey Shrikes and at least four Berthelot's pipits.

Other birds close to Costa Teguise were Linnets, Kestrels, House Martins, Feral Doves and one White Wagtail

As I mentioned, during two days we rented a car and drove around the island. We visited the market in the town Teguise (where I saw a Hoopoe) and then drove around the norhern part of the island. First thing after Teguise was to drive over the plain of El Jable. The obvious target species being the Houbara bustard, of course. Well, I wasn't lucky... no bustards could be seen. But plenty of Berthelot's pipits and Lesser Short-toed larks. On the other side of the plain, just by the town of Sóo, I finally saw my first Trumpeter finch. 

Overview of the plain of El Jable from the town Teguise

The scenery on Lanzarote is spectacular almost everywhere. Old volcanos can be seen in many places. You are seldom out of view of one.

The plain between Teguise (from where this photo is shot) and the town on the other side is supposed to be one of the best places for the Houbara bustard

Tja

Hoopoe (härfågel, Upupa epops)

After crossing El Jable, we closed in on Sóo and stopped at a some stone walls, close to some vegetable patches, where this Hoopoe was feeding.

Tja

Trumpeter Finch (ökentrumpetare, Bucanetes githagineus)

My first ever Trumpeter Finch. Not in the nice, male plumage but still...

Tja

Lesser Short-toed Lark (korttålärka, Calandrella rufescens)

The Lesser Short-toed Lark is easy to find on the El Jable plain.

Tja

Egyptian Vulture (Smutsgam, Neophron percnopterus)

As we didn't see the Houbara bustard, this Egyptian vulture was a little bit of consolation :-)

After the El Jable plain, we drove to the lookout point of Mirador del Rio. I got my first really good view of a Berthelots't pipit here but didn't manage to take a photo of it.

Painted Lady (tistelfjäril, Vanessa cardui)

At Mirador del Rio, I saw this nice butterfly.

On my 40th birthday, I drove again to El Jable plain. I didn't want to give up on the Houbara bustard so we rented a car the evenening before so I could get out early in the morning. 

Berthelot's pipit (kanariepiplärka, Anthus berthelotii

As mentioned before, the Berthelot's pipit is common on the plain and this time I managed to get some photos.

Tja

Berthelot's pipit (kanariepiplärka, Anthus berthelotii

Tja

Houbara Bustard (ökentrapp, Chlamydotis undulata)

Houbara Bustard (ökentrapp, Chlamydotis undulata)

Finally!! There it was. In the morning sun. The Houbara bustard. The third lifer for me on this trip.

Tja

Cream-colored Courser (ökenlöpare, Cursorius cursor)

When I drove on after the Houbara, I saw a flying bird which resembled a large shore bird. I drove down a side road to see if I could find it. I had a notion in my mind that it could be a Cream-colored Courser and when I found the bird again I was proven to be right.

I've seen the Cream-colored Courser before, in Dubai, but never as close as here.

Tja

Cream-colored Courser (ökenlöpare, Cursorius cursor)

When I got out of the car to shoot some photos of the group of Coursers - there were at least 7 individuals - I more or less stumbled upon this one. I shot some quick photos before receding, in order to not disturb the bird more.

Tja

Cream-colored Courser (ökenlöpare, Cursorius cursor)

Some of the birds in the group.

Tja

The dramatic view of the west coast of Lanzarote. Beautiful!

Lanzarote is definitely not only for birding, you can do that without spending a hole week. The scenery is, as mentioned befor, spectacular.

Hej

We visitid the national park of Timanfaya, where the latest volcanic activity was recorded. Very interesting and beautiful in its own way. Is definitely worth a visist, even though there are many tourists here. There is also a restaurant here where you can eat volcano barbecue. Meat and vegetables grilled over volcanic heat.

Other birding spots which should be mentioned would include the Salinas de Janubio. We stopped very shortly beside the salinas but I soon realised that a spotting scope would be of great use here. I did see a family of Ruddy Shelducks but nothing more during my short stay. 

List of birds seen on Lanzarote:

Berthelot's pipit (kanariepiplärka, Anthus berthelotii)

Spanish Sparrow (spansk sparv, Passer hispaniolensis)
Collared Dove (turkduva, Streptopelia decaocto)
Whimbrel (småspov, Numenius phaeopus)
White Wagtail (sädesärla, Motacilla alba)
Kestrel (tornfalk, Falco tinnunculus)
Southern Grey Shrike (iberisk varfågel, Lanius meridionalis)
Linnet (hämpling, Linaria cannabina)
Swift sp. (seglare, Apus ??)
House Martin (hussvala, Delichon urbicum)
Willow Warbler (lövsångare, Phylloscopus trochilus)
Cattle Egret (kohäger, Bubulcus ibis)
Hoopoe (härfågel, Upupa epops)
Lesser Short-toed Lark (korttålärka, Calandrella rufescens)
Southern Grey Shrike (iberisk varfågel, Lanius meridionalis)
Egyptian Vulture (Smutsgam, Neophron percnopterus)
Trumpeter Finch (ökentrumpetare, Bucanetes githagineus)
Yellow-legged Gull (medelhavstrut, Larus michahellis atlantis)
White Stork (vit stork, Ciconia ciconia)
Ruddy Turnstone (Roskarl, Arenaria interpres)
Houbara Bustard (ökentrapp, Chlamydotis undulata)
Cream-colored Courser (ökenlöpare, Cursorius cursor)
Ruddy Shelduck (Rostand, Tadorna ferruginea)
Clouded Yellow Butterfly (rödgul höfjäril, Colias croceus)
Painted Lady (tistelfjäril, Vanessa cardui)

Liten brun fågel...

Trots att jag jobbat i Malmö så har jag ju skådat väldigt lite fågel i staden. Mest har det ju blivit de småintressanta arterna vid jobbet, som sidensvans i april, som jag stannat till för. Men tanken har ju hela tiden funnits där att det är många fågelskådare i stan och nån gång dyker det väl upp något som kan vara kul att se. Så i lördags dök det då upp en sån där liten sångare som jag hela tiden letar efter hemma i buskarna. En liten Phylloscopus. Ok, hemma hade jag ju definitivt varit glad för en tajgasångare men det som sågs i Malmö i helgen var strået vassare. En brunsångare! Visserligen oansenlig men väldigt kul.

Efter att ha hunnit med alla dagens uppgifter, söndagar innebär aktiviteter för barnen, så åkte jag iväg. MöX-larmet hade rapporterat om obsar ner till fem meter ifrån. Det visade sig stämma. Fågeln var mycket tillmötesgående under tiden jag var på plats. Den lockade också flitigt stundtals vilket ju var kul att lära sig. Det borde nu finnas en viss chans att jag klarar av att identifiera en om jag skulle upptäcka den själv.

Brunsångaren blev art nr. 281. Tolfte nya arten för i år. Nedräkningen har nu börjat på allvar... bara 19 arter kvar. :-)

1/11-14 Al Qua'a fodder field

Ok, it's been almost a year since I visited this place so it's about time I finish these blog posts about my days with Mark, birding in UAE in October/November -14. I'm soon off to a new birding trip, 10 days in Oman in the second half of November so more travel blog posts are to be expected. Though perhaps not quite as detailed as these ones have been.

Last major stop during my two days with Mark was the Al Qua'a fodder field. A place which I had looked forward to very much since my visit in UAE in 2013. At that time, there had been two Amur Falcons (amurfalk, Falco amurensis) at the fodder field and Crested Honey Buzzard (tofsbivråk, Pernis ptilorhynchus) I believe is a regular species found here.

This time though, there were neither Amur Falcons nor Honey Buzzards over the fields. Quite a few Kestrels (tornfalk, Falco tinnunculus), a Marsh Harrier (brun kärrhök, Circus aeruginosus) and some Western Cattle Egrets (kohäger, Bubulcus ibis) together with a lot of Tawny Pipits (fältpiplärka, Anthus campestris), a few Desert Wheatears (ökenstenskvätta, Oenanthe deserti) and Daurian Shrikes (isabellatörnskata, Lanius isabellinus) were the most obvious species around. We also found a Stonechat (svarthakad buskskvätta, Saxicola rubicola) and at least one Richard's Pipit (större piplärka, Anthus richardi) but what finally caught our attention was the Montague's/Pallid harrier (ängs/stäpphök) which showed itself from afar. After some studying some poor photos of the bird we could finally say that it was a Pallid Harrier (stäpphök, Circus macrourus), which was a new species for me.

Daurian Shrike (isabellatörnskata, Lanius isabellinus)

This Daurian Shrike should be viewed together with the Turkestan shrikes in the post from Dubai Pivot fields. The differences between the species (for 1cy birds) can be seen when compared.

Daurian Shrike (isabellatörnskata, Lanius isabellinus)

Marsh Harrier (brun kärrhök, Circus aeruginosus)

It took some time to get good enough photos to be able to identify this bird as a Pallid Harrier. But, then again, it was my first and it is not that easy to tell from Montague's...

The last thing we did before leavin Al Qua'a was to free this little Quail. We saw a man placing this trap (raptor trap) some distance away from us and Mark wanted to see if we could find it and I didn't mind, to say the least. This time, there was no raptor trapped but I guess they capture quite a few... even though it's supposted to be illegal. The trap itself was also destroyed. Not a very nice finish to this place.

Where this trap was placed we also spotted a Short-toed Lark (korttålärka, Calandrella brachydactyla)

Captured Quail (Uppfödd vaktel)

On the way back to Al Ain, a Brown-necked Raven (ökenkorp, Corvus ruficollis) flew over the road. A new species for this trip.

While driving back towards the west coast, it the sun set. Now, this was the plan all along as we were aiming for the Al Wathba Camel Race track. The obvious target species being the Egyptian Nightjar (ökennattskärra, Caprimulgus aegyptius). With the help of playing the call of the Nightjar and a quite powerful lamp, we managed to get a good view of the bird. A perfect ending to a very nice day and two excelent birding days, which I will always remember. Thanks Mark!!

New species during this part were the Pallid harrier and the Egyptian Nightjar.

In the end, I could count to some 25 new species during these two days and a lot of laughs on top of that. :-)