A birding trip to Mallorca – Spain – Corsica

31/05/2015 – 08/06/2015

Stijn Raymaekers & Carlo Vanderydt

Spanish Eagle, Monfraguë National Park

Griffon Vulture, Monfraguë National Park

Introduction Goal of this trip was to find some southern bird species we were both or either one of us missing on

our life list.

This report focusses on these species. 155 species were recorded in total. For a complete list of all

observations one can have a look at this link.

The trip was pretty successful if you look at the short time we allowed ourselves in each target zone,

10 days in total from Saturday May, 30th until Monday June, 8th.

Itinerary and stuff We departed by airplane in Charleroi, Belgium and headed off to Mallorca were we stayed one day

and a half to focus on four species in the northern part of the island. We then continued our journey

by airplane to Sevilla in the southern part of Spain where we rent a car to cruise throughout

mainland Spain for the next couple of days. When we arrived in the north we took another plane to

Alghero, Sardinia (there is no direct flight between Girona and the island of Corsica), stepped on the

bus to Santa Teresa Gallura where we took a ferry to Bonifacio, Corsica. The final days we spent

looking for the islands endemic specialties. We took a plane back home at Figari Airport.

All flight tickets were bought in advance via Ryanair flight company. One should be aware when

ordering tickets online, that there will be an extra fee to be paid at the check-in desk for luggage to

be checked in which was not initially asked for during the online order. This could have saved us

some extra money if we had paid attention before..

Also, the car we used in mainland Spain, rented via Gold Cars, was by far not as cheap as we ordered

it. Extra money had to paid for a full tank, for the fact the car was returned at another station and for

extra insurance. The car itself was OK, but the company is really misleading customers on the

internet.

The weather in general was very hot, almost every day depassing 35°C in the sun, sometimes even

reaching 40°C. Birding was a challenge between 9:00AM and 7:00PM.

When looking for dinner, be aware that in Spain, in the non-touristic zones, dinner is not served

before 1:30PM and not a minute earlier. Spanish food in general is rubbish if you compare what we

are used to in Belgium. We had only one good meal during the entire trip, in a gas station restaurant

in the vicinity of Sevilla. Most Spaniards do not speak English, so speaking Spanish would be a real

added value for your own comfort. On the other hand, the local beer of Corsica, Pietra, is pretty

good.

Special thanks to Billy of Starling Reizen, who provided us with valuable coordinates of some target

species.

Target species

Marbled Teal –Marmaronetta angustirostris One individual was found at a rather big lake at Dehesa de Abajo together with three White-headed

ducks and a Ferruginous Duck. This was also a good spot to see Flamingo and Glossy Ibis.

Cory's Shearwater –Calonectris diomedea This one is very good to see on the afternoon ferry between Santa Teresa Gallura and Bonifacio. We

saw several individuals in superb light.

Yelkouan Shearwater –Puffinus yelkouan Very good to see on the afternoon ferry between Santa Teresa Gallura and Bonifacio. We saw several

individuals in superb light.

Lammergeier - Gypaetus barbatus Hoping to find this species in the higher altitudes of Corsica but we failed to see it.

Spanish Eagle - Aquila adalberti A superb male was seen posing on a rock in the Monfraguë National Park along with at least two

chicks on the nearby nest.

Purple Swamphen - Porphyrio porphyria Individuals were seen in Albufera, Mallorca and Dehesa de Abajo, Spain.

Red-knobbed Coot - Fulica cristata Individuals were seen in Albufera, Mallorca and Dehesa de Abajo, Spain.

Audouin's Gull - Ichthyaetus audouinii One individual was briefly but beautifully seen in Albufera, Mallorca.

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse - Pterocles alchata We looked for this one in the dry zones between Zaragoza and Lleida but failed to see it.

Red-necked Nightjar - Caprimulgus ruficollis We heard two of them in the area of Aznalcazar and saw one individual giving us a very nice show

with perching, singing and flying next to Camping Monfraguë.

White-rumped Swift - Apus caffer This rather difficult species was found at the same locality of the Spanish Eagle where we saw four of

them flying for about half an hour.

Eleonora's Falcon - Falco eleonorae Several individuals were seen at Albufera, Mallorca, hunting above the lagoon.

Azure-winged Magpie - Cyanopica cyanus Hard to miss in the southern parts of Spain.

Red-billed Chough - Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax Rather common between Zaragoza and Lleida.

Dupont's Lark - Chersophilus duponti One male very nicely singing in the Hoces del Rio Duraton National Park.

Thekla Lark - Galerida theklae Nicely seen on several occasions along the road.

Corsican Nuthatch - Sitta whiteheadi Easy to see at Col de Sorba.

Western Bonelli's Warbler - Phylloscopus bonelli One male singing in the canyon of the Hoces del Rio Duraton National Park.

Western Olivaceous Warbler - Iduna opaca Three males were found singing in one for bird watching accommodated park along Arroyo de la

Rocina at the Coto Doñana .

Moustached Warbler - Acrocephalus melanopogon Looked for this elusive warbler in Albufera, Mallorca and in the vicinity of Girona, but we didn’t

manage to see it.

Western Orphean Warbler - Sylvia hortensis We did found a pair between Zaragoza and Lleida.

Spectacled Warbler - Sylvia conspicillata One was heard between Zaragoza and Lleida.

Marmora's Warbler - Sylvia sarda Common on the higher altitudes of Corsica.

Balearic Warbler - Sylvia balearica One pair was found in the Boquer Valley in Mallorca.

Moltoni's Warbler - Sylvia subalpine Looked for it on Corsica, but failed to see it.

Dartford Warbler - Sylvia undata One was seen between Zaragoza and Lleida.

Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin - Cercotrichas galactotes Looked for it in the vicinity of Cáceres, but failed to see it.

Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush - Monticola saxatilis We saw one beautiful male at the ski station of Sierra de Bejar La Covatilla along with a nice male

Rock Bunting and some Ortolan Buntings.

Black-eared Wheatear - Oenanthe hispanica Rather common between Zaragoza and Lleida.

Black Wheatear - Oenanthe leucura We saw one nice individual in the mountainous area of La Serena.

Spotless Starling - Sturnus unicolor Rather common between Zaragoza and Lleida.

Corsican Finch - Carduelis corsicana Rather common on the higher altitudes of Corsica.

Italian Sparrow - Passer italiae Common in the city of Corte, Corsica and at the airfield of Alghero, Sardinia.

Bonifacio, seen from the ferry

Financials

Expenses

Transport

flight Charleroi – Mallorca 61,18 €

flight Mallorca – Sevilla 80,20 €

flight Girona – Alghero 75,46 €

flight Figari – Charleroi 239,50 €

car Mallorca 39,80 €

car Spain 289,06 €

car Corsica 190,37 €

bus Sardinia 34,00 €

Ferry 52,37 €

Subtotal 1.061,94

€

Accommodation

Hotel Amic Gala – Mallorca 41,50 €

Hotel Bellevue – Mallorca 36,96 €

Hotel El Lince Aznalcazar - Sevilla 40,00 €

Camping Monfraguë 65,00 €

Hotel Mari Carmen 43,40 €

Hotel Vilobi 68,20 €

Hotel de la Paix – Corsica 186,00 €

Subtotal 481,06 €

Fuel

Mallorca 20,90 €

Spain 77,00 €

Corsica 35,32 €

Subtotal 133,22 €

total per person 838,11 €