A birding experience that I will never forget
I write in response to your ‘best bird’ in Matt Merritt’s welcome section in the December 2016 issue of Bird Watching. Your description of seeing the Eleonora’s Falcon as a “lifer” hit a chord with me. In September 2016, I was visiting Mallorca with my family, and while there we visited the uninhabited island/parc natural of Sa Dragonera. We had visited the island previously but on this visit I had gone hoping to see the above mentioned Eleonora’s Falcon. It didn’t disappoint. The falcons are said to be present at the north-east lighthouse end of the island. We had only been walking for 20 minutes, when the first falcon flew into view. To be honest there seemed to be dozens of them, so my eyes were everywhere, especially as there was plenty of other bird-life to see along the route. On the way back from the lighthouse, I just ‘had a feeling’ at a certain point on the path, and made a very short climb to a place I felt would offer a view of the falcon(s) ‘wheeling’ above the cliffs and sea. What I got was an experience I will never forget and feelings that brought out such emotion, that I admit to having to wipe dry my eyes. I attach some photos of a couple of young juvenile falcons! David Turner