Menorca 4 th 18 th May 2018 Trip Report By Bob Shiret Spring Flower meadow above Algender Gorge Introduction This was our second visit to Menorca, last October we visited Punta Prima (see cloudbirders report) and on that visit we had a day trip to Cala Galdana and decided that this would be a good place to visit as there are lots of walks and unspoilt countryside just a few minutes from the hotel. The trip was arranged through Thomsons (TUI) and cost just under 700 each for half board, flights and transfers. Our hotel was the Cala Galdana Hotel which was fine and can be recommended, be aware however that half the rooms faced a rock face at the rear of the hotel which some people did not like, it was fine for us however as it meant the rooms stayed cool. The weather for the first couple of days was poor, then it brightened up but not really hot enough for those wanting to regularly sit by the pool. The Balearic government has imposed a tourist tax of 36 euros each person for a 2 week stay, paid to the hotel on arrival. This trip was not a birdwatching holiday per se but a walking, wild life and culture holiday based in one place and using the local buses when needed. There were several other birders there and there was much sharing of information.
Birdwatching Sites Cala Galdana Town Cala Galdana is a small coastal town with a good beach and about four large hotels around the bay. A river runs into the bay from the Algender Gorge which is truly amazing for raptors. This section will deal with the birds seen within the town`s perimeter. Common birds seen here were: Wood Pigeon, Collard Dove, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Nightingale, Robin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Moorhen, Mallard, Yellow-legged Gull. One of the most interesting birds seen in the town were a pair of Scops Owls that appeared to be nesting in a tree by the small waterslide in a play area nearly opposite our hotel, I was made aware of them by another birder and sure enough on two out of four evenings I looked for them they showed. In the pictures below you can see the birds sitting on the metal structures in the play area looking for prey. They had become quite confiding and could be approached up to about twenty feet away. No flash was used to obtain the pictures so it was a case of trying to manual focus in the dark with an ISO of 8,000 and hoping for the best!
Scops Owl In the above picture you can see the owl has a large prey item which was an Egyptian Grasshopper which were quite common and seemed the size of a small bat when they fly! One bird that was surprisingly common in many areas including the town were Spotted Flycatchers, the bird pictured below was one of several in the scrub beside the river. Spotted Flycatcher
Algender Gorge To access the gorge walk past the hotel Cala Galdana for 10 mins until you reach a gate, to the right of this gate is a concrete style which can be climbed over, after about 200 yards the gorge path goes to the right and another metalled path continues up the hill straight on. The first 200 yards after the gate held a selection of birds including Woodchat Shrike, House Martin, Swallow, Cetti`s Warbler, Serin, Grasshopper Warbler and a large flock of Greenfinch. Woodchat Shrike House Martin gathering mud
The gorge path to the right is where things get really interesting, to the right of this path is a narrow stretch of farmland and on the left is highly wooded hillside, on this walk we were serenaded by the constant signing of Nightingales (probably the most common bird on our whole trip) and the burbling of Hoopoes. Also here were Whitethroat, Goldfinch and Spotted Flycatcher. Nightingale Although we heard hundreds on our trip, only two were seen! One animal we did not expect to see here was this False Smooth Snake (below) which I just managed to get a record picture of before it disappeared.
Raptors: on our first trip to the gorge on this trip we were lucky enough to see a number of raptors in the air at the same time, these were Peregrine, Booted Eagle, Red Kite, Egyptian Vulture and Kestrel, all except the Peregrine were seen regularly thereafter, Ravens were also seen regularly. Egyptian Vulture Booted Eagle
Red Kite Red Kites were seen daily along the gorge, sometimes at low level possibly hunting the big Egyptian Grasshoppers.
This picture shows a Red Kite being harassed by a Kestrel, a few minutes earlier the kestrel was seen doing the same thing to a Booted Eagle! Little Egret We had lots of rain on our first few days, the gorge flooded and this bird was looking for some easy pickings.
Not too many butterflies were seen on the trip but along the gorge were: Small Copper, Clouded Yellow, Meadow Brown, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Small Heath and Large White. Small Copper Clouded Yellow
The metalled path that goes straight on up the hill at the beginning of the gorge continues up through woodland past some superb flower meadows (see picture on page 1) and then onto some low intensity farmland with a different set of bird species including: Thekla Lark, Tawny Pipit, Redlegged Partridge, Corn Bunting, Pallid Swift, Whinchat and a single Wheatear. On two occasions I came across Egyptian Vultures on the ground here, not sure if they were feeding. Fornells Thekla Lark This village on the northern shores of Menorca was visited on an excursion and we had an hour or so to wander round. Tawny Pipits were common here and some Rock Doves were seen on the coast. Rock Dove
Tawny Pipit This display of flowers was just behind some houses at Fornells and was typical of what we saw in many areas during our trip.
Mahon We visited Mahon on a day trip and took the boat trip which tours the harbour area, once on the boat two Common Sandpipers were seen landing on the key and soon taking off again. From the boat were seen: Cormorant, Grey Heron, Audouin`s and Yellow legged Gulls. Cattle Egrets were seen in fields en route to Mahon. Walk to the rear of Cala Galdana Audouin`s Gull To access this walk, instead of taking the coastal walk on the western edge of the town turn right where the steps for the coastal path go straight ahead, about 200m along there is a small car park, on the right hand side is a path which goes up into the woods, ignore the steps on the left. This is a pleasant uncrowded walk that had Turtle Dove, Hoopoe and Firecrest, a Swallowtail and Moroccan Rock Lizard were also seen here Swallowtail
Turtle Dove Firecrest
Moroccan Rock Lizard Summary Cala Galdana can certainly be recommended for a walking holiday, with some birding hotspots within walking distance. For very keen birders who wish to visit wetland sites such as Es Grau then a combination of bus/taxi or hire car would be essential. Keen walkers should note that the coastal path walks get very busy at the weekends
Species List Turtle Dove Collard Dove Wood Pigeon Rock Dove Grasshopper Warbler Whitethroat Nightingale Sardinian Warbler Cetti`s Warbler Blackcap Firecrest Serin Greenfinch Chaffinch Goldfinch Corn Bunting Spottred Flycatcher Whinchat Robin Wheatear House Sparrow Blackbird Tawny Pipit Thekla Lark Hoopoe House Martin Swallow Pallid Swift Woodchat Shrike Red-legged Partidge Raven Kestrel Peregrine Booted Eagle Red Kite Egyptian Vulture Scops Owl Cormorant Little Egret Cattle Egret Grey Heron Mallard Common Sandpiper Audouin`s Gull Yellow-legged Gull Mallard Total=46