Balearic Spring Day 2 - Searching the Garrigue

A feint glimmer of orange appeared across the crop fields that surrounded the villa, as the dawn sun approached the horizon before it would quickly arc upwards in to the clear blue skies. I was having a quick look at out my bedroom window taking in my new surroundings before getting started for the day. A Zitting Cisticola (Fantail Warbler) in bounding song flight across the grassland caught my attention with its steady monotone of 'dzip, dzip' calls. In the distance the low flutey whistle of a Hoopoe.

We headed out after breakfast down to an area of garrigue on the east coast. Garrigue is a low growing coastal scrub and provides an ideal habitat for a range of warblers. It is very attractive in the spring with a diverse range of flowers mixed in amongst the shrubs. It certainly made a change photographing birds surrounded by the pleasant aromatic scent of rosemary.

The walk in to the garrigue was quite long and through an area of pine woods which provided occasional glimpses of birds such as Sardinian Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Crossbills, Serin and the electric song of Nightingale. As we approached the coast, the trees diminished and we were finally in scrub area that bordered the coast. I quickly found a Sardinian Warbler and decided to concentrate on trying to get some photographs of these birds. A bit of patience combined with the natural curiosity of the species produced a selection of images as the bird flitted between two low shrubs via a fence line.

The first clear sighting of a Sardinian Warbler, perched on a wire fence, singing with the sky and the Mediterranean sea merged in to one to form the background.

Typically for this type of warblers, they have a high curiosity for investigating visitors.

Once their inquisitive nature has been satisfied they usually return to normal operations which is singing a great deal.

After a very enjoyable encounter with the Sardinian Warbler, I moved further into the scrub and came across two larks perched on some rocky ground. By this point the heat of the day was really starting to kick-in and a visible heat haze forming. Of the few photos I managed to take of the larks only this one came out sharp due to the wobbling air between me and the bird, even at close range.

The debate then started if this was a Crested or Thekla Lark. We decided based on looks and song to identify the birds at Thekla Lark but of course at the point we did not realise that crested larks are not present on Mallorca!


By now the sun was high and harsh and the birds quietened down for a siesta. There was no sign or sound of one of the birds I was really hoping to photograph, the Balearic Warbler, so it looked like a return visit later in the week may be required. As we left the garrigue I almost literally stumbled across a Hermann's Tortoise. The first time I have ever encountered a wild tortoise and so a few photographs were required.

We decided to go and check a couple of sites near the southern end of S'Albufera marsh from a rather out of date bird watching guide. The first, a quarry, was now a woodland. Bird life in there was rather limited but there was a good number of Swallowtail butterflies. I must admit photographing insects is not really my bag but Steve pursues them and it is difficult to ignore the beauty of these large butterflies.

Time to get back to the birds and onwards to our next stop at the treatment works lagoons but the reported hide turned out to be a viewing platform and the photographic opportunities were zero. We then decided to return to S'Albufera Marsh and have a concentrated effort on the Cattle Egrets that were flying in to the colony with nesting material. The wind was still not in the ideal direction but we managed to get some photos after a while, a small selection of which are posted below.

To finish off the day, this loafing cormorant drying its feathers in the last of the sun caught my eye.

It had been a long and interesting day. We had covered a large distance on foot in hot weather along dusty tracks carrying heavy camera gear. On returning to the villa and before going through the days images, an essential need was to soak my aching feet in the pool with a cold beer in hand as the last of the light faded behind the mountains. Another moment of Mallorcan magic.

'Balearic Spring' Day 1 - Heading South

I was expecting a wake up call from the the alarm at 3 am and so I was somewhat startled by being roused from my slumber by the telephone ringing. Alarm clock failure is not a good way to start a journey when you have a flight to catch. 10 minutes later saw me stumbling out of the house in to the darkness with my bags to meet my friend Steve Round for our week long trip to photograph the birds of Mallorca.

The start of our journey southwards from Liverpool was remarkably uneventful and made easier by the EasyJet hand luggage policy which certainly favours the travelling wildlife photographer. This will certainly be my airline of first choice for future trips around Europe. A couple of hours later and the orange clad plane was sweeping over the south of the sun drenched island for a smooth touch down at Palma airport. We were greeted by warm sunshine and clear blue skies as we crossed the tarmac to the terminal at a time when most people back in the UK would just be starting their working day. Our passage through the airport and collection of the pre-booked hire car passed without difficulty. The Sat Nav was plugged in and we hit the road. Cars flashing their head lights as we headed up the wrong side of the road on existing the airport soon put us on the right track.

One of the good points about Mallorca is that it is relatively quick to travel the length of this small isalnd and so our accommodation in the north, near Pollenca, would only be about 50 minutes drive. As we could not check in to our villa until 3pm the plan was to stop en route and get some photography done. Well there was no point in wasting time. Given the early start and its close proximity to our villa, we decided to plant ourselves for the rest of the day in the S'Albufera Nature Reserve. Here we could quietly sit in one of the numerous hides and let the day bgently pass. I had been to Mallorca several years ago, when I was just starting out in photography, and remembered there being lots of potential photo opportunities during a brief visit to the reserve. This wetland reserve is enormous and you could easily spend many days there and this was the first of several visits made during the week. The walk in to the entrance alone, accompanied by the explosive song of Cetti's Warbler, takes about 20 minutes.

The first day was productive and not quite as relaxing as anticipated and a large number of species were photographed and a selection of these are posted below. The purpose of this first day was to get some images on the memory cards and hopefully refine the photos for different species over the coming days.

We settled down in the first hide and there was plenty of birds on view. However, conditions were not ideal as it was now late morning, the sun was high and harsh and anything at distance was partly obscured by a shimmering heat haze. As you open the hide flap the first birds that are very obvious are the Black-Winged Stilt. Very similar in behaviour to Avocets but with legs which almost border on the ridiculous in their length.

I was quite surprised by the variation in colouration of the Stilts, particularly the heads which ranged from the black markings above to the pure white in this following photo.

A bird coming in to land, after being put to flight by a Booted Eagle soaring overhead.

Close to the hide there were some low sparse rushes with half a dozen Snipe probing the muds in the shallow water. They are lovely little birds and thinking back it has been a while since I managed to put some before the lens.

Also feeding around in the mud at the edge of the reeds was a lone Spotted Redshank which was in transition between its pale winter and dark summer plumage.

Purple Gallinule were introduced in to the reserve as a conservation measure back in the 1990s and appear to have subsequently flourished. Regular readers will recall I photographed a persumed escaped bird in Chester not so long ago. These Mallorcan birds were quite different in colour and dwarfed any nearby coots or moorhens. Every so often a bird would appear out of the reeds.

These beautifully coloured birds would then stride across the open water in front of the hide to the sound of whirring camera shutters.

While all this activity was going on close to the hide an eye was kept on birds that were appearing at distance. Marsh Harrier fluttering in hunting flight across the shimmering reeds at distance. One of these 'birds' turned and started flying towards the hide and it was only as it approach we realised it was a Purple Heron. This is a bird I have longed to photograph and the close fly-by of a very well coloured bird was very welcome.

The other bird I was closely watching was a Spoonbill that was feeding at the back of the lagoon alongside some Little Egrets. This is a bird I have never photographed , except in a zoo, and I was hoping it would make its way over towards the hide. My patience was eventually rewarded.

It was interesting to watch these birds feeding as they scythe their partly open bill in broad sweeps back and forth through the water.

We decided we would have a quick look around at the other hides nearby to see what they had to offer before the reserve closed in the early evening.
The lagoon in front of the next hide was deserted but adjacent was an Egret colony. The gurgling noises from an Egret colony were bizarre and unfamilar.
A Cattle Egret in fine breeding colours perched in one the trees.

Numerous birds were flying in with sticks for nest building. We decided that we would return to these Egrets when the wind was hopefully in better direction and so just took a few photos of the in-coming birds. I will post some more of these flying Egrets in subsequent posts.

We wandered over to another hide which looked to be in a good direction for the late afternoon sun. It was fairly quiet here but it did provide us some opportunities to photograph both Little Ringed Plover, a scarce bird in the UK, and Kentish Plover at very close range.

I must admit I was quite taken by the Kentish Plover, which I have not seen before, and the males looked very smart with their rust coloured caps.

A great start to our trip although towards the end my energy levels were certainly flagging after the early start to the day. After leaving the reserve, we swung past Pollenca beach to check for Audouins Gull, a bird we would return to photograph later in the week. After a quick call in to the supermarket for some supplies we eventually arrived at the villa after a very, very long day.

I had no trouble falling asleep that night whilst being serenaded by the distant repetitive monotone hoot of a Scops Owl and occasional call of Stone Curlew. I was already looking forward to the early morning start the next day.

A Feast of Spring Warblers

Those of you who have been out and about in the UK during the last couple of weeks, will have found it difficult not to notice the bushes have become alive with the songs of recently arrived warblers. These range from the reeling cricket-like sounds of the Grasshopper Warbler to the hesitant scratchy song of the Whitethroat. I have a great fondness for warblers and always admire these tiny birds and the epic migration passage they have undertaken from Africa to reach our shores.

From a photography point of view these birds create quite a challenge due to their tendencies for skulking in dense undergrowth and often only giving fleeting appearances. The best opportunities usually occur when the birds first arrive and sing to establish their breeding territories. My main objective when trying to photograph these small birds is try and capture the birds on an uncluttered background when they visit the edge or tops of low bushes. However, this photography requires a good deal of patience and can be a frustrating business. Anyone who has tried photographing warblers will know what I mean when I say there always seems to be one small twig in the way! There is also a limit with what you can achieve with these birds as flight photographs are usually out of the question and therefore the best that can be achieved is a bird in full song.

For this post I have decided to post three images of five species from a series of recent short sessions. I will start off with the Chiffchaff which is usually one of the first to arrive and often a first sign of spring.

Chiffchaffs bear a very close resemblance to Willow Warblers but tend to have darker legs and less yellow - green colouration.

The main identifying feature however is their unmistakable rather monotonous song from which they derive their name.

The Whitethroat usually arrives in mid April and can easily be located from their rather angry sounding hesitant warbling song. They also tend to give their location away by the males going up in an occasional parachuting song flight.

From a photography point of view there are two features of the birds behaviour that can help with capturing images. Firstly once a male has set up a territory it will tend to use the same perches to sing from and secondly they seem to have an insatiable curiosity and usually will pop up out of a bush to take a look at you.

These are wonderful birds and always seem to be slightly 'angry'.

There seems to have been a big influx of Grasshopper Warbler into the UK this year. An early morning session is essential for these birds as often their insect like singing can be over by 8.am.
These are a particularly skulking species and the best time to see them is usually after they have just arrived following migration when the birds will appear on top of brambles to burst in to song.

The whirring song can last for several minutes while the birds turn their heads to project the sound whilst their whole body vibrates. However, I am often surprised by the number of people who are unable to hear their high pitched song.

There are two colour morphs of this bird a yellow and a brown version although the differences are quite subtle and is probably best left to the warbler identification experts.

The Reed Warbler is a species I am hoping to spend more time on this year. It is a bird that can provide a rapid route to baldness as it can have you tearing your hair out with the frustrations of trying to get an unobstructed view.

They look quite a different colour under overcast skies or in this case before the sun had risen. Not the most colourful bird but they have looks that are appealing but difficult to define why.

I will finish off this rather long post with the Willow Warbler. A bird that bears a remarkable resemblance to the Chiffchaff.

The song is very distinct on these birds, as they flit around in the trees catching insects, which is a gentle warble of descending notes.

I know the song of these birds well as I had one singing continuously through the perpetual daylight of 'night' outside my bedroom window in Arctic Norway last summer.

There is plenty more time ahead for warbler photography as they seem to arrived early this year. They may not be the most colourful birds but certainly make up for this in character and I look forward to many more happy hours in their presence in the coming weeks.

Stream 'Wrens'

Before I get to posting my journeys around Mallorca last week, I thought I would just post some images from a recent lunch hour project trying to photograph some dippers on a small stream close to my office.

For those who have encountered a dipper before they are like a large white breasted wren who are happy spending as much time under the water as they are above it. They are a fascinating bird to watch as they peer under water for invertebrates to eat and forage in amongst the tumbling water of the shallow riffles.

A bird swimming downstream to its next feeding shallows.

These photos actually took quite a bit of effort with eight days of lunch hours required to obtain the photographs in this post. The birds were being somewhat elusive which was further compounded by the very limited photography time a lunch hour offers after you knock off the travel time.

Dippers are quite a photographic challenge in terms of getting the exposure correct. This results from a combination of dappled and variable lighting falling on a woodland stream combined with their brilliant white breast feathers. You would think this white chest would make them easy to spot but it is surprisingly easy to walk right past a bird.

When you find a cooperative bird then the fact that they will spend long periods carefully preening their feathers allows plenty of opportunity to play with the camera setting and get the exposure right.

Hopefully I can call back in to have another lunch hour session with the birds soon before the tree canopy becomes too dense and sends their woodland stream into deep shadow. A wonderful and fascinating species to watch and photograph.

Spring Pheasants

I am currently in the middle of packing for very early departure tomorrow morning. I am heading south with the camera kit to Mallorca for a week of bird photography. So I thought I would put a post on the blog before I departed. The place where I am staying has a WIFI connection so hopefully I can give some updates on my progress with the Balearic birds either through Facebook or Twitter.

The subject of this particular post is pheasants. These are birds that I do not usually tend to go out for specifically but tend to be a by product of my brown hare photography as both share the same site. There is nothing better for lifting one out of the monochrome of winter than Pheasants in their full springtime technicolour glory.

I always think that these birds are a little overlooked by photographers which is a shame given the array of colours and variation, combined with some interesting call and dispute behaviour. The early morning sun hitting a spring pheasant in all its finery is an arresting sight.

These birds are great fun at this time of year with the males calling frequently and battles erupting between males if two should cross paths. I found these two birds in the middle of a dispute which went on for a full 10 minutes but unfortunately not in ideal light conditions. If you ever come across two male pheasants nose to nose, gently swaying, then prepare to watch the fireworks. The other interesting element of the behaviour is the explosive wing whirring call of the male. If you stay in the presence of a male long enough at this time of year it will at some point usually call. The more you watch, the easier it is to pick up on the subtle posture clues that indicate a call is about to take place. The main issue I find with photographing these birds is that the long tail can make for some awkward composing of the image. Often a bird coming towards the photographer at a slight angle is easier to accommodate in the viewfinder.

So next time you encounter a pheasant you may wish to pause and watch for a while and appreciate them for the beautiful and interesting birds that they are.