Majorca 2015

Just a few shots of my recent visit to Majorca I have just selected a few at random and most are just as taken , spent most of my time at Son Real, Abufera, Boquer Valley area as much looking for flowers especially Orchids of which I found 8 species but considering there are 60 its just over 10% ,but hey I can always go back !

We based ourselves at Can Picafort its heavily patronised by the Germans so you would be better to brush up on your German as Spanish , the reserve at  Albufera ia walkable from here but you would only want to do it once  as is the deck at San Bosc and Son Real , buses where a bit hit and miss this early in the season but very reasonably priced a trip to the reserve is 1.55 Euro , I like to walk so we walked to Son Real twice ,the reserve once , Son Bosc  3 times and around the reserve path once .

Some reasonable numbers of waders around despite it apparently being quiet , Spotted Redshanks , Wood Sandpipers, Ruff, Common Sandpipers , Little Ringed Plovers , and Kentish Plovers  ,  Greenshanks  with a couple of Little Stints , Temminck's  Stints  , and Collared Pratincoles  and large numbers of Black Winged Stilt . Reading what had passed over the Island while  I was there was rather impressive though I had made the decision not to hire a car and chase all over the place  after birds  

 

Audouin's Gull 

 

 

 

 Orchids, some are in huge numbers these we only found a couple of plants

Several Tortoise  where encountered , I did not even know they had them  1

 Climbers up the edge of Boquer Valley I did see much here and still have to find Balearic Warbler

 

Little Egrets although fantastic don't have the magic they once had, with frequent sightings around my home now a sight I never thought I would see   !!!

 Absolute carpets of flowers another reason to go earlier this year , this is White Star of Bethlehem  which grows like daisy do in England

 This is about 4 "  long only found the one

 First Encounter with the Golden Eagle , various stories of it's origin

An Epic bus trip to Port Soller , which held hundreds of Yellow Legged  Gulls , but the vast number of cyclists on the way up the steep mountain roads  meant the journey seemed to take forever , and it's no easier coming back down as they are going some pace and in packs , another reason I did not fancy driving 

 Cuber Dam

Most of the Flowers I came across  I as yet have no idea as to their names , but I can still enjoy them

 A few Marbled Ducks around the first week but only one on the second

Saw plenty of Bee-Eaters  but they where always distant , I love there bubbly call as they fly over

 Only found about 5 species of |Butterffly dispite it being to us very warm , and dragonflies only noticed in the last couple of days

 Audouin's  Gulls seen only along the coast a very smart Gull with a distinct call

Many of the |Bee Orchids seem very similar so I took lots of photos to help ID

 You just can't capture the sheer mass of Flowers I have never seen a meadow like this in the UK . the Cattle Egret just to give it some scale

 Encounter 2 with the Golden Eagle I did get a couple of shots of Marsh Harrier mobbing it showing the huge size differance

A lot of the Orchids had gone over in the strong sunlight so finding some fresher blooms was harder

 This Bee on a Mirror Bee Orchid  which once you got your eye in was found in the thousands

 I don't really have the photographic gear for Botany , one guy had screens , flash and tripod set up , this one looks stunning when you get down to it's level

 Several sightings of Tortoise encountered one only a couple of inches long amazing

PART TWO TO FOLLOW