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 birding...

         Spain Balearic Islands

 







Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus ©Joël Bruezière http://www.eyesonsky.com/birds.php

You will notice that there is no introduction to this section yet.

I would like to fill this gap with an introduction from a local birder [or someone who is a frequent visitor] for every on of the geographical pages. The many thousands of birders now regularly using these pages prefer to read something written by someone who can see the place from an insider's point of view. They know the best spots, not just the ones that first time overseas visitors usually visit or that are on the normal birding trip itineraries.

Each introduction carries the e-mail address of the contributor so that birders can get in touch with them if, for example, they are planning a trip [unless the contributor is unable to do this].

Please get in touch if you feel you can contribute an introduction to this page - you don't have to be an expert; I'm not!

  top sites

 

Parc Natural De S`Albufera De Mallorca

The Albufera is a real model for reserves in Europe, not least because every Majorcan schoolchild has to visit at least once a year... a great policy we should all adopt.

Basically the reserve is a large wetland with very extensive reedbeds, scrapes, canals and scrub and hosts many breeding birds such as the purple gallinule and is a magnet for passage migrants - almost anything can turn up! It is possible at the right time of the year to see literally dozens of Eleanora`s falcons in the air over the marshes whilst surrounded by birdsong and delighted by everything from purple heron to great reed warblers. There is a supporting cast of hoopoes, roosting night herons and much more. What is more it is within walking distance (for the fit) of many hotels and allows vehicular access to blue badge holders. Visit! Fatbirder

Salinas de Migjorn - South Mallorca

Salinas de Migjorn is popular with local birdwatchers with a great number of prey species, attracts raptors, including marsh harriers, kestrels, and ospreys.

  numbers

 
Number of bird species:315

  numbers

 
Number of endemics:1 Breeding Endemic
Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus

  useful reading

 

A Birdwatching Guide to Mallorca

Graham Hearl, Jon King Paperback (1995) Arlequin Publications
ISBN: 0952201976
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Gosney in Mallorca - Video

A Birdwatching Adventure to the Mediterranean in Spring Dave Gosney Col photos of over 40 species, 31 min. Gostours 1994
ISBN: 42565
Buy this book from NHBS.com

The Birds of Menorca

Enric Ramos 168 pages, col plates, b/w line illus. Editorial Moll reprint under consideration
ISBN: 8427307616
Buy this book from NHBS.com

  clubs

 

Balearic Group of Ornithology Mallorca

http://www.gobmallorca.com/
The GOB (Balearic Group of Ornithology and Defence of Nature) is a non governmental organisation and registered charity, legally founded in 1973. The objectives of GOB are the conservation, dissemination and study of nature and the environment of the Balearic Islands. The organisation is structures in four sections, one on each island (Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa and Formentera) and in local delegations (currently 18)

Balearic Group of Ornithology Elivissa

http://www.gengob.org/
Elivissa branch of GOB...

Balearic Group of Ornithology Menorca

http://www.gobmenorca.com/
The Balearic Group of Ornithology and Defence of Nature, known as G.O.B. - acronym of Grup Ornitologic Balear-, is a non-governmental, non-profit association dedicated to the study, the popularization and the defence of the environment in the Balearic Islands (Spain). It is sustained by the donation of members and sympathizers, the production of services related to environment and the sale of books and other promotional materials.

Institut Català d`Ornitologia

http://www.ornitologia.org/
L`Institut Català d`Ornitologia (ICO) és una entitat sense ànim de lucre, que des de la seva creació, l`any 1975, s`ha dedicat a estudiar la biologia i la migració dels ocells mitjançant l`anellament científic...

  reserves

 

Archipiélago de Cabrera

http://el-mundo.es/larevista/num143/textos/par3.html
Un 85% de la superficie de este Parque Nacional es mar. Unas aguas limpias y transparentes que reflejan la belleza de las islas y dan cobijo a una fauna absolutamente única y fascinante.

Menorca Reserva de Biosfera

http://www.cime.es/ca/crb/crb.htm
La diversitat ambiental i paisatgística de Menorca és deguda en primer terme a la varietat de roques que es poden trobar i a la forma en que estan disposades. En conjunt, açò es tradueix en l’existència de 3 grans zones o unitats de paisatge : Tramuntana, Mitjania i Migjorn, que presenten un ventall d’ecosistemes diversos. El clima mediterrani, la situació peculiar de l’illa i el mateix fet de la insularitat han conformat la seva vegetació, no tan sols litoral, fent arribar el sabor a mar i vent molt més endins...

Parc Natural De S`Albufera De Mallorca

http://www.mallorcaweb.net/salbufera/
Albufera Natural Parc is (+34) 971 89 22 50. S`Albufera is a famous, almost mythical place: its birds, eels, water and canals. It is also notorious for mosquitoes, strong smells and occasional and violent floods. S`Albufera has been used for many purposes: as a hunting-ground by privileged minority - as well as by poachers - and the origin of delicious eels. On a dry island like Majorca the contrast of a landscape of bridges and canals is especially attractive. S`Albufera offers a diverse and plentiful fauna; a particular flora of its own. S`Albufera is a unique place on the island and its natural value is appreciated as such. This recognition was confirmed with the declaration of the area as a natural park by the Balearic Government in 1988. It is one of the most valuable ecosystems of the Balearic islands and enjoys the strictest protection.

Puerto Pollensa

http://www.puertopollensa.com/FloraFauna.html
Puerto Pollensa is a well known base for bird watchers. Read the two reports below. Click on the bird links and you will see and hear them!

Reserves Marines Formentera

http://oliba.uoc.edu/eivifor/a2_cat/e4/cos_03.html
Proposta del GOB Formentera. Creació de Reserves Marines al llarg del litoral, com a signes de protecció, ordenació i gestió dels ecosistemes marins costaners, amb els objectius de...

S`Albufera de Mallorca

http://www.uib.es/depart/dceweb/rem/albufera/albIntro.html
On this page there are photos of 4 of the 128 species of birds to be found at s`Albufera. More details of the birds of s`Albufera will appear on this server soon.

  trip reports

 

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

1992 [April] - Mallorca - Paul Wetton

http://www.paulos.uk7.net/index.html
We visited Mallorca at Easter in 1992. Our two week package provided flight and half board in Puerto Pollenca and we hired a car for the whole time...

1996 [March] - Mallorca - Gunnar Engblom

http://ebn.unige.ch/ebn/vo/vo_96_6.html
Working as guide for Scandinavian walking and nature travel-agency Temaresor I spent two weeks on Mallorca between 2-16th of March 1996. This was a bit earlier than usual, but I got a pre-notion of spring anyway. If you want to combine walking and birding you find most walks that we did in Landscapes of Mallorca and Herbert Heinrich`s 12 classic Hikes through Majorca. There are also specific guide-books for birding in Mallorca.

1998 [April] - Mallorca - Adrian Kettle

http://w3.kvalito.no/~inniarnstein/mapr98.htm
All species are listed with notes and numbers where of interest. At the time of writing there were some restrictions on access to some of the better known are these are listed below...

1999 [September] - Mallorca - Paul Wetton

http://www.paulos.uk7.net/index.html
Sarah and I visited Mallorca for two weeks in autumn 1999 arriving on the 11th and leaving on 25th of September.We stayed at the Bahia Apartments in Port de Pollenca...

2000 [April] - Mallorca - Dirk Raes

http://bedrift.kvalito.no/arnstein/mallorc100.htm
From 16 till 23 April I have been guiding a group of birders from the Belgian ornithological society De Wielewaal - in an organization of the tourist-agency Ro-Travel (ro.travel.twk@ping.be) all over Mallorca. After an late-evening flight, we dropped down after midnight at the Hotel Cala Marsal in Porto Colom, on the east coast of Mallorca. This hotel is just great situated: calm, good birding-surroundings, good food and sure a good price. Being with a group of 45 people, we could easy afford daily a coach to bring us all over the most interesting places on the island.

2000 [October] - Pat & Judy Hayes

http://www.realbirder.com/menorca.htm
If I was asked to recommend a birding holiday in the Balearics for anybody who has more than a passing interest in birding, I would have to say Mallorca. Even with all its faults the diversity of habitats on Mallorca make it far superior to all the other islands. However we did visit Menorca on the 6th - 20th October 2000, although we did escape back to Mallorca during the second week of the trip for 4 days...

2001 [Easter] - Ibiza - John Girdley

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/balearics/ibiza1/ibiza2001.htm
Contrary to popular misconceptions, it is possible to have a free holiday out of a time-share scam. This was to be my second in two years. There are three simple rules:
(1.) Agree to go to the original presentation.
(2.) Say NO at the presentation. Very important this one! (If you are tempted, remember that prices come in at a 40% discount abroad.) After you say no, they then give you a free holiday voucher!
(3.) There are loads of catches. (e.g.. Perhaps you can only go on a weekend but the plane only flies on a Friday - Tenerife is like this.) Therefore read every bit of small print and act on it accordingly...

2001 [May] - Mallorca - Morten Bentzon Hansen

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/balearics/mallorca6/mallorca2001.htm
As most of the best birding sites are located in the north of the Island, it makes sense to be based in either Pt. Pollenca or Alcudia in the north. This allows all of the sites to be easily visited with minimal driving. When staying in one of the above mentioned towns, the Boquer Valley, Albufereta and S`Albufera can all be visited either on foot, by bike or public transport, if you do not wish to hire a car for the full duration of the trip...

2001 [May] - Menorca - Nick Pomiankowski

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/balearics/menorca4/menorca2001.htm
I went on a family holiday to Cala`n Bosch, Menorca, but nevertheless, with just a pair of binoculars, I did manage to get some really interesting birdwatching done. We landed at Mahon airport on the 6th May and transferred to a coach which took us to our resort in the southwest of the island. Since we had no hire car and were about as far away as possible from S`Albufera (the major nature reserve on the island); I never visited this site, and instead tried to find my own birding spots.

2002 [October] - John & Sue Roberts - Menorca

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/balearics/menorca8/men-oct-02.htm
...Menorca had had a very wet summer, with torrential rain for several days, just before we arrived. Consequently there were areas of open water visible in the reedbed from the highest dunes; the marshy area south of Cala Tirant had plenty of water showing and S`Albufera des Grau was probably too full for best wader watching conditions...

2003 [April] - Christopher Hall - Mallorca; the quiet side

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/balearics/mallorca8/mall-ap-03.htm
The village of Sineu in the heart of Mallorca, commemorates Good Friday night with a procession of icons, depicting the crucifixion and resurrection, which passes through the narrow streets, blocking all access to our hotel. As we watch the participants file slowly past, dressed in robes and tall pointed hoods, the white silhouette of a Barn Owl sweeps across the black sky above us. We are off to a flying start even before we have checked in to our hotel...

2003 [October] - Pat & Judy Hayes

http://www.realbirder.com/mallorcareport.htm
The trip commenced on October the 11th and terminated on October 25th. The weather broke from dry and sunny on the 15th to wet and stormy with high winds...

2003 [October] Mallorca

http://www.tiu.nl/na/nieuw/index.php?afdeling=reisverslagen&item=126
In Dutch

2003 [September] Ashley Beolens - Mallorca

http://www.beolens.co.uk/trip-reports/mallorca2003.html
The problem with having a young family is, they want so much of your time! Now don`t get me wrong I love my Wife and Son, but when it comes to getting away from it all, they will not be budged, it has to be hot, sunny and fun (for them). They don`t believe me when I tell them that two weeks in an Ecuadorian rain forest will be good or that Finland is not that cold, the great grey owls seem to like it! This year however we reached a compromise, and decided on the Balearic island of Majorca, Puerto de Alcudia to be precise, or, as I like to think of it, right slap bang in front of the Albafura nature reserve!

2004 [April] - Menorca - Honeyguide

http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/menorca-2004.pdf
Pdf

2004 [October] - Hans Schick - Mallorca

http://www.ornithos.de/Ornithos/Trip_Reports/Spain-Mallorca2004/Mallorca2004-Excursions.htm
From October 24–31, 2004 I spent 7 days for birdwatching in Mallorca (Spain). I arrived by plain at 15:00 on the airport of Palma de Mallorca. There I took over a prepaid car and drove to Alcúdia at the north-eastern coast of Mallorca..

2005 [April] - Honeyguides

http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/Menorca-2005.pdf
pdf

2005 [March] - Mark How

http://www.hows.org.uk/inter/birds/mallorca/mallorca.htm
Upon arrival and eventually getting the hire car we booked into the Hotel and then headed off to Salinas de Levante, parking by the saltworks. Kentish plovers, avocets, black winged stilts, coot, white wagtails, shelduck, shoveler, gadwall, little grebe were on the flats and pools. The scrub near the pools produced serin, corn bunting, meadow pipit, stonechat, whinchat, redstart, linnet, black redstart, song thrush and lots of sardinian warblers. We moved to Eddi’s track but nothing to add apart from Kestrel and Swift...

2005 [October] - Stephen Burch - Mallorca

http://www.stephenburch.com/trips/mallorca/mallorca.htm
This is a brief report on the birding highlights from a one week family holiday to Mallorca in October 2005. Opportunities for birding were limited, but I did manage to see a reasonable number of species, and do some digiscoping on a couple of days...

2006 [April] - Robin & Rachel Hamilton - Menorca

http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/2006Menorca.pdf
Honeyguides tour - pdf

2006 [October] - Stephen Burch

http://www.stephenburch.com/trips/mallorca06/mallorca06.htm
This is a brief illustrated report on birding during a one week family holiday to Mallorca in October 2006, which follows on from a visit at exactly the same time last year, to the same villa...

2006 [September] - Paul Lawrence

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/balearics/menorca-9/Menorca%2002-09%20sept%202006%20holiday.pdf
pdf

2007 [April] - David & Amanda Mason

http://www.realbirder.com/Mallorca2007.htm
Never having been to Mallorca before, when our friends Pat & Judy Hayes asked us in November 2006 if we wished to join them for a few days at a villa they were going to stay in for 2 weeks the following spring, we naturally jumped at the chance. They have been to Mallorca on many previous occasions, leaving us with no research to do and providing as much or as little guiding as required...

2007 [April] - Honeyguide

http://www.honeyguide.co.uk/pdfs/2007-Menorca.pdf
Pdf

2007 [October] - Stephen Burch - Mallorca

http://www.stephenburch.com:80/trips/mallorca07/mallorca07.htm
This is a brief illustrated report on birding during a one week family holiday to Mallorca in October 2007. This was our third and probably last visit to the same villa at the same time in consecutive years...

  local guides

 

Birding Pal

http://www.birdingpal.org/Spain.htm
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...

Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays

http://www.honeyguide.co.uk
If you are looking for a quality natural history holiday, this is a great place to start. The Honeyguide programme offers a mix of the very best of wildlife in fascinating parts of Europe..

Naturetrek

http://www.naturetrek.co.uk/europe/mallorca_holidays.html
An 8-day birdwatching tour of Mallorca`s finest sites, concentrating mainly on the spectacular north-east...

Sunbird Tours

http://www.sunbirdtours.co.uk/brochure_2003/europe/spain/mallorca.html
The ornithological richness of a spring visit to Mallorca has made the island famous as one of Europe`s prime birdwatching destinations...

Travel Club of Upminster

http://www.travelclub.org.uk
Join one of our birdwatching holidays in Northern Mallorca...

Wings

http://wingsbirds.com/tours/view/60
The ornithological richness of a spring visit to Mallorca has made the island famous as one of Europe`s prime birdwatching destinations...

  places to stay

 

Hotel Playa Esperanza - Mallorca

http://www.esperanzahoteles.com
S`Albufera Av., 4 - 07408 Platja de Muro, Mallorca - Phone: 971 890 568 / Fax: 971 890 938
Special offers for Birdwatchers Sept/Oct & March/April

Hotel Son Baulo - Ca'n Picafort - Mallorca

http://www.gotravel.nl/hoteloverview.php?actie=view&id=632&naam=HotelSonBaulo
Situated in the north-eastern part of the Island, between a natural park and a nature reserve, right on the beach. At one end of Can Picafort, but with everything close at hand...

Mallorcarural.com

http://www.Mallorcarural.com
Mallorcarural.com is a free booking centre offering stylish rural accommodation from simple farmhouses to the ultimate luxury hotel...

Scott's - Mallorca

http://www.scottshotel.com/eng/index.html
...a charming small hotel in the centre of Mallorca...

  other links

 

Birding in Mallorca

http://w3.kvalito.no/~inniarnstein/mallorc.htm
Mallorca is the perfect holiday destination to obtain an introduction to Mediterranean birdlife and despite the package tour image is essentially av very attractive island, boasting magnificent coastal scenery, rugged montains, and a largely unspoilt interior. The island was one of the first destinations to become popular with birdwatchers from northern Europe who relished the opportunity to get to grips with the impressive migrations of the Mediterrianean and with the localised breeding birds of the area. Altougether 340 species are recorded in Mallorca. (updated 1999)

Birds in Menorca

http://www.bridgestomenorca.com/?pg=birds
Son Bou is an amazing place for bird watching. Even a "non bird watcher" could not fail to be impressed with the sight of the migrating birds leaving the marsh at day break and then another mass of them arriving at dusk. We have spent many an early evening in the Jacuzzi waiting for their arrival - we are right under their flight path!

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