Maristany, a birdwatching area and one that the town hall is reviving. | Teresa Ayuga

TW
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Alcudia, mostly known for sun-and-beach and sports tourism, wishes to also become a key destination in the Balearics for ornithological tourism, i.e. birdwatching.

Bloggers and tour operators from the UK and Scandinavia will be taking part next week in visits to some of the main areas for birdwatching in the town. Between 12 and 14 April, they will be covering the municipality's wide network of natural areas, which embraces Albufereta, Es Braçals (which is essentially the rural area behind Albufereta), the Puig Sant Marti, Alcanada, La Victoria and Maristany, the remaining part of Albufera near to the port of Alcudia which the town hall is keen to revive under the European "Life" project.

In promoting the town's birdlife as a new tourism product, a leaflet in six languages has been produced. This includes six birdwatching routes and a map of local ecosystems. There is also an app for smartphones. All of this includes reference to the some one hundred species of bird which are most commonly to be seen in Alcudia.

The Council of Majorca's councillor for finance and economic affairs, Cosme Bonet, was in Alcudia on Thursday to lend support to the town's initiative. The Council is currently preparing to receive powers for tourism promotion from the regional government. As part of this, it is drafting a tourism development plan which will include birdwatching.

The Alcudia initiative, it might be noted, complements that of Pollensa, where the ornithological visitors' centre (in La Gola, Puerto Pollensa) has recently reopened. Alcudia's two other neighbours - Muro and Sa Pobla - host the Albufera Nature Park with its abundance of birdlife.