SARDINIA, 4 -14 August 2010 Introducing Monte Albo

This year I went on a family trip to from 4 to 14 August with my girlfriend, my brother-in-law and my two sons of five and seven, so this holiday wasn’t intended as a genuine birding trip. However, since Sardinia could only produce three (resident) ‘lifers’ for me (Moltoni’s Warbler, sylvia subalpina, Marmora’s Warbler, sylvia sarda and Corsican Finch, serinus corsicanus), I did not have to do a lot of birding to make this trip successful. We booked a holiday appartment through travel agency Eliza was here in a small town called Maiorca near in the north-eastern part of this great island. A spacious car was pre- booked and picked up at the airport on arrival.

During this holiday two sites were well covered: the Budoni area with an attractive small river flowing through green hills and the Monte Albo area 40 kilometres to the south. Naturally most sightings are from these areas and that makes this trip report by no means a true reflection of the birdlife on this beautiful island. Most Sardinian roads are slow and it takes a lot of time to cover distances in mountainous terrain, so I did not reach the southern parts of this big island to go for species I had already seen before in other European countries, such as Western Swamphen and Eleonora’s Falcon. However, Gennargentu is a must-visit Parco Nazionale when on Sardinia, so I visited the area around Funtana Bona (about 130 kilometres from our apartment in Budoni) in the afternoon of August 10th.

Info on bird sites on Sardinia can be obtained from the website Birdwatching in Sardinia; http://www.members.tripod.com/kilnsey/birdwatching_in_sardinia/, but info on my favourite site Monte Albo is not included and therefore introduced in this report.

Monte Albo My friend Hiele, who had stayed in north-western Sardinia one week prior to my visit, recommended Monte Limbara as a good site, high enough to hold the endemics I was looking for. The (minor) roads from Budoni up to Monte Limbara however, would take more than two hours, so I decide to find a similar spot closer to our accommodation myself. I looked on the map where there was a mountain high enough, which is enclosed by a good road and decided to try the area between Siniscola, Lodé and Lula (over 1000 metres here), called Monte Albo (or Montalbo). I soon realised I had chosen the right area and I easily found a great site with low macchia scrub, lightly grazed alpine meadows and steep rocky cliffs.

I think for (family) birders on the east coast Monte Albo probably is the best and easiest site for Marmora’s Warbler and Corsican Finch, but its also home to Peregrine Falcon, Barbary Partridge, Wood lark, Crag Martin, Tawny Pipit, Blue Rock Thrush, Red-backed Shrike, Red- billed Chough, Raven, Corn and Cirl Bunting and several interesting (endemic) butterflies. I visited the site four times this holiday on 7, 8, 10 and 13 August.

Directions: Drive the highway from to Siniscola, then take the road to Lodé. After about eight kilometres take the road to the left to Lula. Drive 4,2 kms and you will find lots of room for parking where there is a waterhole for cattle and a kind of monument (four stone pillars). From here walk the path into low macchia scrub to find Marmora’s Warblers and Coriscan Finches. Other sites visited

Gennargentu The Gennargentu is the highest mountain range in Sardinia, reaching up to just over 1800m. There are several 'protected' areas, the largest of which is the Parco Nazionale del Golfo di Orosei just south of Nuoro. Some areas are very remote and are home to some of the last stands of primary holm oak forest in Sardinia. Funtana Bona has a good variety of upland species. As well as the birds, Mouflon Sheep, Sardinian Red Deer, Sardinian Wild Cat (both separate subspecies) and Pine Martin can all be found here.

To get to Funtana Bona, head for Nuoro, then follow signs for Oliena, then Orgosolo. In Orgosolo take the road that winds up into the mountains and keep going straight on to Funtana Bona. When the road turns into a track, keep going a little further. There is parking just ahead. A dirt road continues up through the holm oak forest into the hills. There is a nice mixture of forest, macchia scrub and 'grazed woodland' up here, with Marmora's Warbler and Citril Finch. Having already seen these birds at Monte Albo I searched the area for endemic butterflies and was very successful, although I could not find Corsican Fritillary, argynnis elisa.

Stagno di San Teodoro Stagno di San Teodoro is a fair sized lagoon south of Olbia about ten kilometres from Budoni. Most birds, including Greater Flamingo could be seen from the road off the S131 to San Teodoro itself.

Arcipelago de This archipelago is situated in north-eastern Sardinia, opposite the town of Palau. The islands hold large numbers of seabirds such as Mediterranean Storm Petrel, Yelkouan and Scopoli’s Shearwater and Audouin’s Gull. A boat trip, which we booked in Palau, gave us a boat loaded with Italian sunbathers who filled up small already crowded beaches on tiny islands, but no new birds.

Corsica Hiele (who had already been on the island for a week) and I met at Santa Teresa on August 6th and took the ferry to Bonafacio, . Our target was Corsican Nuthatch, which we hoped to find at Zonza. Unfortunately, things did not go quite as planned. We booked the ferry to Corsica well in advance as pedestrians, because our travel agency told us our car wasn’t allowed to cross the border. When I picked up the car at the airport they said it wasn’t a problem. I tried to make things right by phoning to a UK number, but they left me on hold for more than twenty minutes. We decided to simply drive up to the ticket office in Santa Teresa well before departure hoping to be able to buy a car ticket there. We could take the car out to Corsica, but we were out of luck when there wasn’t room for our car on the return passage. We took the ferry to Corsica and tried to rent a car at Bonifacio. (French) People were very rude and refused to help us, they said there simply wasn’t a car available in Bonifacio. We took a cab to Figaro airport 20 kms from Bonafacio, but all four rental companies there couldn’t be bothered; no cars for us. Our taxi driver asked over 200 Euros for a trip up and down Zonza and no one else would bring us, so we had to let go. No Corsican Nuthatch for us this holiday. We admired beautiful Bonifacio, tried for Marmora’s Warbler on the cliff tops above the town, saw some good birds and searched for butterflies, which saved the day.

List of species recorded:

1 Mallard, anas platyrhynchos; widespread.

2 Barbary Partridge, alectoris barbara; 15 at Monte Albo, adult and juveniles very close to the road, climbing up hill disappearing into the scrub on August 8th.

3 Scopoli’s Shearwater, calonectris diomedea; 30+ seen from the Santa Teresa Gallura – Bonafacio (Corsica) ferry. Twelve were seen during a boat trip from Palau to Arcipelago de la Maddalena.

4 Great Cormorant, botaurus stellaris; a handful at Stagno di San Teodoro.

5 Shag, phalacrocorax aristotelis; common at sea.

6 Little Egret, egratta garzetta; common.

7 Western Great Egret, egretta alba; one at a small marsh near Budoni beach.

8 Purple Heron, ardea purperea; one at a small marsh near Budoni beach.

9 Grey Heron, ardea cinerea; widespread.

10 Greater Flamingo, phoenicopterus roseus; eight at Stagno di San Teodoro.

11 Little Grebe, tachybaptus ruficollis; heard at a reedy pond just outside Budoni.

12 Eurasian Sparrowhawk, accipiter nisus; several seen in the Budoni area.

13 Short-toed Eagle,, pandion haliaetus; one hovering near Santa Teresa Gallura seen from ferry to Corsica.

14 Common Buzzard, buteo buteo; widespread.

15 Kestrel, falco tinnunculus; common.

16 (Mediterranean) Peregrine Falcon, falco peregrinus brookei; one at Monte Albo.

17 Common Moorhen, gallinula chloropus; common in the Budoni area.

18 Eurasian Coot, fulica atra; common in the Budoni area.

19 Black-winged Stilt, himantopus himantopus; four present along a small almost dry river in Budoni.

20 Eurasian Lapwing, vanellus vanellus; one at Stagno di San Teodoro

21 Little Ringed Plover, charadrius dubius; present along a small almost dry river in Budoni.

22 Green Sandpiper, tringa ochropus; two present along a small almost dry river in Budoni.

23 Common Sandpiper, actitis hypoleucos; one present along a small almost dry river in Budoni.

24 Slender-billed Gull, larus hybridus; juvenile daily swimming in small almost dry river in Budoni. On August 13th the juvenile was accompanied by an adult. An adult bird was flying over Budoni beach earlier that same day.

25 Black-headed Gull, larus ridibundus; one adult in small almost dry river in Budoni.

26 Yellow-legged Gull, larus michahellis; very common in coastal areas.

27 Audouin’s Gull, larus audouinii; one very nice close by at Santa Teresa Gallura and one at Palau harbour.

28 Common Tern, sterna hirundo; a few around Palau and Arcipelago de la Maddalena.

29 Common Pigeon, columba livia; common in rocky areas.

30 Woodpigeon, columba palumbus; common in the Budoni area, not seen elsewhere.

31 Collared Dove, streptopelia decaocto; common.

32 Turtle Dove, streptopelia turtur; fairly common around Budoni.

33 Common Barn Owl, tyto alba; calling near our apartment in Maiorca. One seen at 5.15 while driving to

34 Eurasian Scops Owl, scops otus; two, possibly three singing around our apartment in Maiorca every evening.

35 Little Owl, athene noctua; calling near our apartment in Maiorca. Alarm calls

36 Common Swift, apus apus; colonies with Pallid Swift (?) at Santa Teresa Gallura and Palau.

37 Pallid Swift, apus pallidus; see nr. 36. Big Pallid Swift flock containing at least 30 birds at Budoni on August 5th. Common at Bonifacio, Corsica.

38 Alpine Swift, apus melba; 10+ in a large Pallid Swift flock with House Martins and Barn Swallows over one of the hills just outside Budoni. Common at Bonifacio, Corsica.

39 European Bee-eater, merops apiaster; common.

40 Hoopoe, upupa epops; two birds in the Budoni area.

41 Woodlark, lullula arborea; singing at Monte Albo.

42 Crag Martin, ptyonoprogne rupestris; very common in the Monte Albo area.

43 Barn Swallow, hirundo rustica; common.

44 House Martin, delichon urbica; common.

45 Tawny Pipit, anthus campestris; common at Monte Albo.

46 Grey Wagtail, motacilla cinerea; widespread.

47 Wren, motacilla iberiae; widespread.

48 European Stonechat, saxicola rubicola; common.

49 Blue Rock Thrush, luscinia megarhynchos; singing at Monte Albo..

50 Blackbird, turdus merula; widespread.

51 Cetti’s Warbler, cettia cetti; common in the Budoni area.

52 Zitting Cisticola, cisticola juncidis; heard singing at Stagno di San Teodoro.

53 Marmora’s Warbler, sylvia balearica; the Monte Albo area held four pairs with juveniles. These birds prefer low macchia scrub below 60 cm in height, usually found at an altitude over 800 metres. For more site info see page 2.

54 Moltoni’s Warbler, sylvia subalpina; one was calling in coastal scrub near the tunnel to the Corsica ferry at Santa Teresa Gallura at 6.30 early morning..

55 Sardinian Warbler, sylvia melanocephala; very common.

56 Blackcap, sylvia atricapilla; common and still singing in the Budoni area.

57 Spotted Flycatcher, musicapa striata balearica; abundant.

58 Great Tit, parus major; common.

59 European Blue Tit, cyanistus caruleus; widespread.

60 Coal Tit, periparus ater; in forested areas on the way up to Monte Albo and at Gennargentu.

61 Red-backed Shrike, lanius collurio; several pairs at Monte Albo.

62 Woodchat Srike, lanius senator badius; widespread. A pair was hunting daily from roadside wires close to our appartment.

63 Eurasian Jay, garrulus glandarius; common.

64 Eurasian Magpie, pica pica; one in Budoni.

65 Alpine Chough, pyrrhocorax graculus; two on cliffs beyond Bonifacio, Corsica.

66 Red-billed Chough, pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax; according to the website Birdwatching in Sardinia I found the first confirmed population of this species on Sardinia. I saw the birds at Monte Albo: on August 8th I counted 19 birds, on August 10th I saw four and on August 13th I saw six. The choughs were very vocal while circling over the cliffs high up in the air. Two were near Bonifacio, Corsica.

67 Jackdaw, corvus monedula; several flocks in and around Budoni.

68 Hooded Crow, corvus cornix; very common.

69 Common Raven, corvus corax; two at Monte Albo.

70 Spotless Starling, sturnus unicolor; common. Large flocks in upland areas at Gennargentu associating with cattle.

71 Italian Sparrow, passer italiae; at least one male and very likely several more (females or immatures) at Bonifacio (Corsica).

72 Spanish Sparrow, passer hispaniolensis; very common on Sardinia.

73 Common Chaffinch, fringilla coelebs; widespread

74 Serin, serinus serinus; widespread.

75 Corsican Finch, serinus corsicanus, easy at Monte Albo. Often very flighty, but occasionally seen drinking from and bathing in a mountain stream and feeding on teasel. The diagnostic flight call helped locating the birds at Montalbo as they were constantly flying through the small valley. Corsican Fiches were seen on all three visits to the area: at least 20 on August 8th, 30+ on August 10th and five on August 13th.

76 Greenfinch, cardeulis chloris; common.

77 Goldfinch, cardeulis cardeulis; common.

78 Linnet, cardeulis cannabina; common at Monte Albo and at Gennargentu.

79 Cirl Bunting, emberiza cirlus; common, easy at Monte Albo.

80 Corn Bunting, emberiza calandra; seen at Monte Albo.

Butterflies Sardinia and Corsica also have several special and endemic butterflies.

1 Mallow Skipper, carcharodus alceae; at Bonifacio and at Monte Albo. 2 Swallowtail, papilio machaon; common. 3 (Small) Cabbage White, pieris rapae; common. 4 Bath White, pontia daplidice; at Bonifacio and at Monte Albo.. 5 Clouded Yellow, colias crocea; very common. 6 Cleopatra, gonepteryx cleopatra; at Bonifacio. 7 Brimstone, gonepteryx rhamni; at Monte Albo. 8 Purple Hairstreak, neozephyrus quercus; at Gennargentu. 9 Small Copper- lycaena phlaeas; Budoni and at Monte Albo. 10 Lang’s Short-tailed Blue, leptotes pirithous; in Maiorca, Budoni. 11 Holly Blue, celastrina argiolus; at Monte Albo. 12 Common Blue, polyommatus icarus; common. 13 Southern Brown Argus, aricia cramera; at Gennargentu. 14 Two-tailed Pasha, charaxes jasius; at Bonifacio. 15 Southern White Admiral, limenitis reducta; at Bonifacio. 16 Red Admiral, vanessa atalanta; widespread. 17 Cardinal, argynnis pandora; at Gennargentu. 18 Speckled Wood, pararge aegeria; at Monte Albo. 19 Corsican Wall Brown, lasiommata paramegaera; at Stagno di San Teodoro. 20 Corsican Heath, coenonympha corinna; at Monte Albo. 21 Small Heath, coenonympha pamphilus; at Gennargentu. 22 Gatekeeper, pyronia tithonus; around Budoni. 23 Southern Gatekeeper, pyronia cecilia; at Bonifacio, Budoni and Gennargentu. 24 Meadow Brown, maniola jurtina; around Budoni. 25 Sardinian Meadow Brown, maniola nurag; near Budoni and at Gennargentu. 26 Great Banded Grayling, brintesia circe; near Budoni and at Gennargentu. 27 Southern Grayling, hipparchia aristaeus; at Monte Albo.