Cala Figuera lighthouse, bird observatory
Palma
16/02/2016
Every first Saturday of the month, the birdwatchers members of the Birds and Marine Mammals Observatory Network (RAM) set off to the different vantage points of the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. In Majorca, the last 6th of February, Cala Figuera was the chosen observatory, where 306 seabirds could be identified, of which 256 were Balearic shearwaters, the only endemic seabird in Spain.
The observation of these birds is essential for their conservation. The Balearic shearwater, for example, is a very endangered species threatened with extinction. It only breeds in the Balearic Islands but its journeys can get to the Atlantic and Cantabrian.
Cala Figuera is an ideal vantage point due to its proximity to Dragonera and Cabrera islands, where these birds nest. The birdwatchers, in collaboration with the Balearic Islands’ Port Authority (APB) intend to repeat this activity every month.
According to the documents the seawatchers of Cala Figuera lighthouse have shared with the APB, that day 73 shearwaters per hour were identified, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. They moved mainly from east to west, looking for food in the area near Cala Figuera cape. Most of the birds were singled out from 8 to 8:30 a.m.
Apart from the Balearic shearwater, the census includes other 8 different species, such as the yellow-legged gull (83 birds), the sandwich tern (21), the European shag (24), the great cormorant (4), an Atlantic Northern gannet, a white egret and a peregrine falcon.
The census was done by volunteers of the Balearic Ornithology Group (GOB) in collaboration with members of the Friends of Lighthouses Association. Apart from Cala Figuera lighthouse, there are other interesting vantage points for the observation of seabirds in Majorca: in front of Cap Salines and from a cliff located approximately 1 kilometre away from Portocolom lighthouse.
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