14th September 2012

I decided to try the long cycle ride (about 11 km) around the perimeter of the reserve on my last full day. It looked like being a bit of a mistake when by halfway the most exciting bird I'd seen was a Pochard. When I got to Sa Font things changed when I disturbed a large bird of prey from a small cultivated field it flew away low and it was difficult to make out any features but when it finally came into view it was clearly a Honey Buzzard. In the same area a single Tree Sparrow was associating with a flock of House Sparrows and along the track called Cami d'en Pep a Pied Flycatcher kept flying just out of camera range. I finally got a few poor shots.

The bird of the day though appeared a short while later as I cycled along the Ses Puntes track. A stunning juvenile Montagu's Harrier flew over heading towards the reserve. It attracted the attention of a pair of Kestrels which continually harried it as it flew back northwards. I managed to get a few photos but they are rather disappointing as I didn't have the chance to change the ISO setting.