A short Minorcan Trip

I have spent the last 5 days  on the Island of Minorca, one of the beautiful  Balearic Islands so beloved by the British working man,  not quite ruined but definitely  scarred, I should imagine no different than just about every other Mediterranean destination.  Not quite "kiss me quick" hats and candy floss but very nearly.  There are some pockets of the original landscape but very few places where burgers and chips are not the  main staple.  Building regulations and planning seem to be totally absent and  the villas, apartments and hotels cling to the rock face like scabs on a pretty face. On the other side of the coin, the  people are friendly enough,  the beer and wine flows for a few Euros and the local bread tastes the way you hoped and expected. What is it that makes normally respectable people expose their nipples in the sun?   The ocean seems pristine, azure and almost tropical with clean fresh sand that is perfect for footprints and castles. Away from the sea sand and smell of Ambre Solaire, flowers,  bees and butterflies abound and Nightingales sing their song, vying with exotic Sardinian Warblers for the starring role.  When the sun has set, bats zip past and the evenings in May are very  pleasant.  Actually seeing the birds can be a frustrating affair but one or two species, due to their feeding habits, are interesting and easier to see.  I have already mentioned Sardinian Warbler, a really gorgeous little bird synonymous with the warm dry habitats of the med. They have the annoying habit of singing noisily from deep scrub and only popping out to fly off to another part of their territory before singing loudly and well hidden again. Although I was only on the Island for 3 full days, I quickly got to know the habits of one particular individual and hatched a plan to get a picture. I noticed that this bird's favourite singing perches included, unusually, a tall conifer, the top of which was at eye level with the neighbouring apartment's swimming pool..... Bingo. I camped myself hidden and close by, just after dawn on my final day, and it was just a matter of waiting for him to arrive.

A pair of Spotted Flycatcher  also liked to use this vantage point as well so during this pleasant last hour or so before throwing my gear back in the suitcase, I took photos of, and learned a bit about this species as well. In fact this was proably the most noticeable species of my short trip. The best place to see them was in the roadside trees where their habit of regularly returning back to the same perch made them easy to see.

The highlight of the trip for me (apart from my gorgeous little granddaughter) was my first encounter for many a year, with a pair of Turtle Doves.  What an outrage if we allow this species to become  even more scarce in the UK.  I knew that they were a pretty bird but watching this pair as they picked their way around me near a beachside carpark made me realise just how beautiful they really are. Having not seen them often enough in recent years it was good for me to hear their distinctive coo-ing, now when I hear them here in the UK I will have a better idea of what to listen out for.

Our apartment for the week was perched precariusly down 74 steep steps, half way down a steep rocky cliff. From this vantage point we had gorgeous views of the inlet and beach beneath us.  It was also, as it turned out, the best place for me to see birds and one species in particular was fantastic to watch. Particularly when it was windy, firstly one then two Black Kite came to try and take the eggs or chicks of the numerous nesting Rock Doves or more accurately Feral Pigeons nesting on the steep cliffs.   At first I wondered what the attraction could be but then I saw one dive steeply and land on a ledge.  From time to time they would glide right past my balcony at eye level, a real spectacle.  I always say that if you can't see the eyes of your photographic subject then you are not close enough so I was thrilled when I took this picture.

This is an Audouine's Gull, a lifetime first for me and when you consider that I have probably seen more than 1000 species of birds in my life, quite good to see one more new species.