In early June I visited Mallorca on a family holiday. From previous experience I had a very good idea that I would probably see Hoopoes and Spotted Fly Catchers and possibly Sardinian Warblers or even a Nightingale, so I took my camera. I got up early one morning and was lucky enough to come across a Hoopoe family feeding in one of the side streets in Cala D'Or. Being early morning it wasn't bright enough for a low ISO setting so unhappy with the quality but I was very happy with the subjects.
And here's the video! Hand-Held unfortunately, I had a mono-pod but it just wasn't flexible enough to keep pace with the movement.
I did see a Nightingale, only briefly as it dived from one side of a path to the other, but certainly the most visible bird in Mallorca is the Spotted Fly Catcher. They were everywhere and are possibly the reason why I didn't see a single fly!
I was unlucky with the Sardinian Warblers, I heard them but unlike my previous visit to the area, which was earlier in the year, they were not calling from prominent easy to photograph locations but rather from within trees and this shot was the best I could get.
Apart from the ubiquitous Wood Pigeons the bird that I heard calling the most was the tinkling call of the Serin; almost always from deep within foliage; however I finally saw one and got a short video of its call. This was cut short as I was standing in the road and a car came up behind me so I had to get out of the way!
Finally it's always surprising to find a familiar bird when you're in another part of the world. this Great Tit enjoying a feast on a telephone wire.
In addition to the birds I did see this striking Shield Bug. It turns out it's actually a Stink Bug called the Minstrel Bug or the Italian -Striped Bug - Graphosoma Lineatum - although 'Stink bug' is a really misnomer because it actually smells of apples!
Well that's it for my holiday snaps, hope they're of interest!