A bounty of buntings.

I have just sent off my weekly newspaper article to the Majorca Daily Bulletin this week featuring buntings. Please see the article below.

Corn Bunting

Majorca has a healthy population of buntings, three of which are resident species, the others, rare migrants.  Each has their own character and distinctive song, and can be found throughout the island in the right habitat.  

Majorca has an impressive list of bunting sightings to its name. Take the Snow Bunting for example – a bird of high altitudes which will also frequent coastal saltmarshes and shingle beaches in the winter. It is a rare vagrant here with only one recorded sighting on the island from Cuber Reservoir. When feeding amongst the shingle however, they can blend in incredibly well, and be easily overlooked. I wonder if it has indeed been overlooked on occasion.  The Cirl Bunting on the other hand is a bit hit and miss.  Although they are a resident breeder they can prove elusive.  The walk towards the finca at the Boquer Valley is a particularly good stretch for this species where they tend to favour the Olive copse to sing from. Similarly, in the valley itself can be another good section where they frequent anything from the Dwarf Palms to the Cistus bushes. They are a regular sighting at Cuber Reservoir, on the section towards the Dam where they tend to like to sing from the tall White Poplars adjacent to the tarmac path. It also breeds across southern Europe, on the Mediterranean islands and in North Africa. It is a resident of these warmer areas, and does not migrate in winter. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees, but has a preference for sunny slopes. In the summer they eat Grasshoppers and Crickets (found in abundance on Majorca) but in the winter they eat seed heads.

There have been three very rare buntings seen over the years such as a Yellow-breasted Bunting. This is a very rare vagrant.  It breeds in north-eastern Europe and across northern Asia. It is migratory, wintering in south-east Asia, India, and southern China. It is a rare but regular wanderer to Western Europe and has only been known to occur here once, whereas the Little Bunting has seen more sightings. In fact this year there was a few reports of one from the Albufera Marsh, reminding us all that Majorca can and still does throw up surprises.   First described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776, the Little Bunting is a monotypic species, with no geographical variation across its extensive Eurasian range. Another rare bunting here is the Ortolan Bunting which is a very rare migrant indeed. In fact the last recorded sighting was of one at Cases Velles on the Formentor road back in 1990.

The Rock Bunting is a rare vagrant here too, but in my experience, tends to be seen a little more now than previously recorded. I have seen this species at Cuber Reservoir and in the Arta area, and anywhere where there are water troughs for cattle or mountain pools are well worth checking, not just for this species which particularly enjoys drinking and bathing at such sites when on migration, but for other notable species too. Such key drinking spots have in the past also given me a Ring Ouzel having a drink, Subalpine Warbler and Common Crossbill.   

Male Rock Bunting

A male Rock Bunting is a handsome bird and often very obliging when viewing one. The male has a distinctive head pattern consisting of a bold white eye stripe contrasting with black, and a neat grey head and nape, giving them an overall smart looking appearance.  It breeds in northwest Africa, southern Europe east to central Asia, and the Himalayas. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mainly within the breeding range of the resident southern populations. It is a rare wanderer to Western Europe.

Not taking a species for granted.

One species of bunting here – the Reed Bunting, is a resident breeder with numbers boosted during the winter.  However, the Reed Bunting you will be watching is not quite what you may expect – it is in fact of the form ‘thick-billed’ (Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi).  This is another tricky bird to see not so much in that it hides in thick vegetation like the warblers but because it is restricted to the Albufera in low numbers.  Individuals you see between May and August will undoubtedly be this ‘thick-billed’ form whereas the ones that boost the numbers in the winter are of the race Emberiza schoeiclus.  It just goes to show that what seem like one race of bird may actually be something a little different. 

 Male Reed Bunting

Corn Bunting

A common resident breeder in both farmland and marsh areas. The Albufereta Marsh in particular is an excellent site for them and also around Siller (on the outskirts of Puerto Pollensa – turn in by the Habitat Apartments). This is an unusual bunting because the plumages of the sexes are similar in appearance. The male is approximately 20% larger than the female. This is a large bulky bunting at 16–19 cm long, with a conspicuously dark eye and yellowish mandibles. Males lack any showy colours, especially on the head. Both sexes look like larks, being streaked grey-brown above with whitish underparts. The underparts are streaked over the flanks and breast. The lesser wing coverts are distinctively dark and white-tipped. The tail is plain brown. For me it is the call of the Corn Bunting which I love to hear, and one of my favourite sounds when in the Albufereta Marsh is one singing, in its usual spot, on one of the Tamarisk tops near to the new hide. You can almost guarantee a male singing there and if not he is in the tops of the adjacent Pines by the dry stone wall. The ‘jangling’ keys song is quite distinctive.

Nothing looks more funnier than watching a small but stocky Corn Bunting belting out its song which is not the loudest by any stretch, against that of a neighbouring Nightingale which dwarfs out the buntings song. But they certainly persist as they will not give up their favoured territory. The summer breeding Nightingale here however is definitely the top one for its song, and therefore my chosen bird of the week.

Bird of the week on Majorca – the enchanting NIGHTINGALE

A beautiful, mellow musical song alerts one to the presence of a Nightingale, but spotting it can be another matter. How many times have I and others stared intently at a bush, listening to the song and trying to spot the bird? They almost vanish when in thick vegetation. I am sometimes asked if they can be easily confused with a Thrush Nightingale. First of all this species does not occur on Majorca, and secondly, the russet-toned plumage, brighter tail and clean underparts are diagnostic features of a Nightingale.

They are 16.5cm in length with a wingspan of 23 – 26cm and a weight of 20 – 28g.  They seem to love thick vegetation to sing from, and even if they are singing from the finer leaved Tamarisks they can still be tricky to spot. Scrub in woodlands, sunny hillsides and rivers form their habitat where they can search for food such as insects, Earthworms and Snails. They nest on or near to the ground where a bulky loose cup of dried material is constructed lined with feathers and fine grasses. Here, 4-5 pale blue eggs are laid which are finely mottled a red-brown.

The adult is a russet-brown on the upperparts with a warmer tone to the rump and under tail coverts. The tail is a bright chestnut brown with dark central feathers which is often ‘cocked’ when seen out in the open. The head is brown with a buff eye ring. The closed wings show dark brown centred flight feathers. The underparts are a dull creamy-white with brownish suffusion across the breast and down the flanks. The vent and under tail coverts are a brighter creamy-buff.  The bill is a dark grey-brown with a pale base and the legs are pale brown.  Juveniles to be seen here are very speckled and can have a short tail which will show the chestnut colouring.  It is the long broad chestnut tail of the adult which is the most diagnostic feature of a Nightingale – apart from the song of course.

If you are in the Albufera reserve by the small pool and information board where the introduced species are usually housed, then spend some time here looking over the Giant Reeds beyond. In most years, I get entertained by a Nightingale in competition with a summer breeding Great Reed Warbler which also likes this particular spot. Just listen to these two belting out their songs, and they really give each other a run for their money.

Nightingale.  All pictures copyright of N J Davies