La Palma, Canaries Islands - 21st - 28th February (Days 5 - 8)

Day 5 (25th Feb) - Birding took second fiddle today as we planned to walk to Santa Cruz and spend much of the day there. There were of course things to see on the way, but the most spectacular event was the enormous sea and the gigantic waves that were crashing ashore, and giving the island a real pounding. 

Crashing Waves - Santa Cruz, La Palma

Bird wise there were the usual species at the hotel, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Canary, Yellow-legged Gull, Sardinian Warbler, and of course the abundant Canary Island Chiffchaff. The same species were recorded throughout the day, with chiffchaffs even common in the city centre. Other species recorded were Red-billed Chough (5), Kestrel (3) and Turnstone (2). The day was somewhat soured by news of a drake Surf Scoter, back in my home County (Hampshire, England), a county tick for me, but never mind, there will be another. A couple of hours sea-watching from the apartment proved successful with 152 Cory’s and 31 Manxie’s past in 45 minutes.

Day 6 (26th Feb) - It was another dull and dreary day around Los Cancajos and so we decided to head inland to the National Park of Caldera de Taburiente. But before heading off we were treated to two new species for the trip, both fly-by’s; Little Egret and Sparrowhawk. The other regular species were of course also still present, although a scan out to sea produced only Yellow-legged Gulls.

We set off to the sight of the volcano at Caldera de Taburiente shrouded in cloud and as we headed up the mountain-side the temperature dropped from 18 on the coast to only 9 centigrade. We had wrapped up warm expecting the worst but as we exited the tunnel we were greeted to full sun and a very acceptable 26 centigrade.....which we weren't dressed for. We arrived at the visitors centre and enquired about taking our car to the viewing area at La Cumbrecita. It was a 2.5 hour wait so we booked in and headed off to El Paso and beyond for some birding. 

West Canaries Lizard (male) - El Paso

After a bit of exploring we eventually found ourselves heading south on the LP-212 towards San Nicolas de Abajo. Approximately a kilometre out of the village we pulled over and took a path which was signposted Coladas de San Juan (PR - LP14-1). This was a steep unmade path next to an old larva flow, that was full of Western Canaries Lizards, well actually, every where we stopped was! As we set off a flock of over 50 Red-billed Choughs took flight in the distance, and circled overhead. At least five Kestrels were also present, along with Canaries and Chiffchaffs. I followed the track for about a kilometre into some pines and picked up a couple of Barbary Partridges, and as I turned to head back to the car a flock of at least 30 Plain Swifts passed over. There were also at least three species of butterfly present here, Small White, Canary Speckled Wood and a blue that would just not settle.

With time now ticking on we headed back to the Information Centre in readiness for our slot to drive to the viewpoint. The car park at the centre was full lizards, including some cracking males with full blue throats; whilst watching them a Grey Wagtail briefly landed on the roof of the information centre. The drive to La Cumbrecita was uneventful, in fact I don’t recall seeing a single bird, but that is probably because I was concentrating on the road which was narrow and winding. We arrived at the car park and were greeted by two Berthelot’s Pipits, the first of the trip, and a Chaffinch. A few Chough’s were calling in the distance and a couple of Ravens circled overhead.

Berthalot's Pipit - La Cumbrecita

Berthalot's Pipit - La Cumbrecita

Back at our resort I finished the day with another scan out to sea, this time just a brief one, which resulted in 19 Cory’s and six Manxie’s.

Day 7 (27th Feb) - We awoke to dull, dreary and wet weather this morning which was brightened slightly by the appearance of a single House Martin. With the weather looking so grim we decided to go back over the mountain to El Paso in the hope that it was sunny. I was also keen to catch up with Tenerife Goldcrest, which despite being reported as common in pine woodlands I was yet to connect with on this trip. The trip up the mountain was wet and even when we emerged the other side, it was still shrouded in cloud. Back at the information centre though it was sunny, but very windy. We headed down the road to La Cumbrecita, but stopped in the first area of pine forest past the crossroads. Several Chaffinch’s, Chiffchaffs and three Kestrels were present, but no Goldcrests. Two Red-billed Chough’s and a Raven drifted over at one point, but there was nothing else to report.

Our next stop was the town of Tazacorte, primarily for a coffee, but also because we had not been there before. We found a small square near the centre where we ordered our coffee and enjoyed the 27 centigrade temperature. According to a couple of locals, the west coast is usually warmer as the mountain holds back the bad weather, so if it is sun you want El Paso or Tazacorte may be the places for you. The only birds of note were a Grey Wagtail, and a Blackcap, both the second of the trip.

After Tazacorte, we decided to travel down the west coast of the island along the LP - 2 and re-visit the salt pans at Fuencaliente. It was a long and winding road and we stopped several times en route where the habitat looked good for Goldcrests. Several Canary’s, Chough’s, Chaffinch’s, Kestrels and a couple of Buzzards were seen, but the most notable species was a flock of 30+ Plain Swifts, but once again no Goldcrests.

Plain Swift - Mirador de Charo on LP-2

Plain Swift - Mirador de Charo on LP-2

It was so windy at Faro de Fuencaliente and so any sensible passerine would have been keeping low. A few waders were once again present, but the same species as my last visit; Sanderling (1), Turnstone (15) and Ringed Plover (1), there were also several Yellow-legged Gulls loitering.

Ringed Plover - Salt Pans at Fuencaliente

Turnstone - Salt Pans at Fuencaliente

We were back at Los Cancajos for 6pm and so I decided to have another scan of the sea, since it was my last night. I scanned for 1.5 hours and recorded 342 Cory’s Shearwaters, 43 Manx Shearwater and 10 Northern Gannets.

Day 8 (28th Feb) - Our final day so we decided to spend the time walking around the Los Cancajos resort. We headed south out of the resort, then north along the footpath beside the main LP-2, before heading back down into the town. Before starting, a scan out to sea produced around 20 Cory’s Shearwaters, all heading south this time and the usual Yellow-legged Gulls. The typical species were once again present around the resort with Canary Island Chiffchaff the most obvious and Canary and Sardinian Warbler also present. 

Canary - Los Cancajos

We stopped off at a small banana plantation where a female Blackcap showed briefly, and then headed back to the coast. The most notable species was Grey Heron, with a flock of eight heading south, followed by a single bird about 10 minutes later. A male Blackcap was singing in the hotel grounds just as we were leaving, and a final look out to sea produced another handful of Cory’s Shearwaters.

Grey Heron (5 of the flock of 8) - Los Cancajos

By the end of the trip we had recorded 33 species, including most of the target species, but the notable exception being Tenerife Goldcrest. Some species that had been reported as common, such as Berthelot’s Pipit I found decidedly scarce, whereas others, Red-billed Chough appeared to be everywhere. To make my trip complete, I returned back to Hampshire to find that the drake Surf Scoter was still present, so an early morning start on Sunday 1st March and it was on my Hampshire list!

Species List and Locations

Birds

Barbary Partridge - 2 (26/2 - San Nicolas de Abajo at PR LP14.1)

Cory’s Shearwater - 100+ from Hotel, Los Cancajos 22/2, 30 - 23/2, 2 - 24/4 (in morning), 152 - 25/2 (45 mins), 19 - 26/2 (10 mins), 342 - 27/2 (1.5 hrs)

Manx Shearwater - 30+ (22/2 Los Cancajos), 2 - 23/2, 31 - 25/2, 43 - 27/2

Northern Gannet - 10 (27/2 Los Cancajos)

Grey Heron - 9 (28/2 Los Cancajos)

Little Egret - 1 (26/2 Los Cancajos)

Buzzard - 2 (24/2) Los Tilos

Sparrowhawk - 1 (26/2 Los Cancajos)

Kestrel - Seen daily

Ringed Plover - 3 (23/2), 1 (27/2) Salt pans at Punta Fuencaliente

Sanderling - 1 (23/2), 1 (27/) Salt pans at Punta Fuencaliente

Turnstone - 12 (23/2), 15 (27/2) Salt pans at Punta Fuencaliente, 2 (25/2) Los Cancajos

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 5 (24/2) Laguna de Barlovento

Yellow-legged Gull - Common

Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon - Common

Bolle’s Pigeon - 7 (24/2) Los Tilos

Laurel Pigeon - 20+ (24/2) Los Tilos

Collared Dove - Common

Plain Swift - 30+ (26/2 - San Nicolas de Abajo at PR LP14.1), 30+ (27/2 Lp - 2 Mirador el Charo)

House Martin - 1 (27/2 - Los Cancajos)

Berthelot’s Pipit - 2 (26/2 - La Cumbrecita)

White Wagtail - Los Cancajos (22/2)

Grey Wagtail - 1 (26/2 Centro de Visitantes del Parque National Caldera de Taburiente), 1 - 27/2 Tatacorte

Blackbird - seen daily

Sardinian Warbler - seen daily

Blackcap - 3 (22/2, 2 on 28/2) Los Cancajos, 1 (27/2 Tazacorte)

Canary Islands Chiffchaff - Common

Blue Tit (la Palma) - 10+ (24/2 Los Tilos), 2 (26/2 La Cumbrecita)

Red-billed Chough - Seen daily - 50 (23/2) Los Canarios, 50+ (26/2 - San Nicolas de Abajo at PR LP14.1)

Raven - 1 (24/2 Los Tilos), 2 (26/2 La Cumbrecita), 1 (27/2  information centre near El Paso)

Chaffinch (La Palma) - 30+ (24/2 Los Tilos), 2 (26/2 La Cumbrecita), several by information centre near El Paso

Serin - 2 (23/2) San Antonio Volcano area

Canary - Los Cancajos, San Anotino Volcano area, 50+ Laguna de Barlovento (24/2) generally common

Butterflies/moths

Red Admiral - 2 (22/2 Los Cancajos Information centre), 2 - (27/2 - El Paso)

Small White - 1 (24/2 Laguna de Barlovento), 2 (26/2 - San Nicolas de Abajo at PR LP14.1), 2 (27/2 - Tazacorte)

Monarch - 1 (25/2, 28/2 Los Cancajos)

Canary Islands Speckled Wood - 1 (26/2 - San Nicolas de Abajo at PR LP14.1)

Canary Islands Brimstone - 1 (23/2)

Reptiles

Western Canaries Lizard (Gallotia Galloti palmae) - Common everywhere

Other Bits

Mottled Shore Crab (Grapsus grapsus) - common on coast

La Palma, Canary Islands - 21st - 28th February (Days 3 - 4)

Day 3 (23rd Feb) - The usual suspects were again present in the scrub around our hotel, with Blackbird, Canary Islands Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler and Collared Dove recorded, whilst Yellow-legged Gulls were patrolling the cliffs. We decided to head to the south of the island today, and to the salt pans at Punta Fuencaliente. It was quite cloudy with occasional rain at our hotel but as we headed south the weather improved. En-route we saw several Kestrels, and occasional Red-billed Choughs but otherwise just Feral Pigeons, Collared Doves and a few unidentified little brown jobs that we passed at 50kph!

Red-billed Chough - Los Canarios

We had headed south on the LP-2 and as we exited it to join the LP-207 at Los Canarios, a flock or at least 50 Red-billed Choughs were wheeling around overhead. I quickly pulled over to grab some shots. According to my Bird Watchers’ Guide to The Canary Islands (Tony Clarke and Dave Collins), La Palma is the only one of the Canary Islands that supports Red-billed Chough, so a visit here is a must if you want to add it to your Canary Island list. A Cleopatra, of the endemic form Gonopteryx cleopatra palmae, was the only new butterfly species of the trip. 

Red-billed Chough - Los Canarios

Red-billed Chough - Los Canarios

The salt pans at Punta Fuencaliente are open to the public and it is possible to do a circular walk taking in all of the pans. The majority of the pools were completely devoid of birds, well life in general actually, but eventually we came across two that had some waders present. The list included Ringed Plover (3), Turnstone (12) and Sanderling (1). There were also a handful of Yellow-legged Gulls roosting and several others flying over…but that was it. This site was also meant to be a good seawatching and location and so I scanned it for a few minutes, but only saw Yellow-legged Gulls.

Ringed Plover - Salt Pnas at Punta Fuencaliente

Ringed Plover - Salt Pnas at Punta Fuencaliente

We decided to make a circular route of the headland and continued on the LP-207, through Las Indias and onto the LP-209 and back to Los Canarios, where we re-joined the LP-2. Before passing through Los Canarios we stopped at the San Antonio Volcano. It was very windy here but we did see a few Canaries, two Serins and a couple of Kestrels. Back at our hotel, another scan of the sea produced 50 Cory’s Shearwaters and two Manx Shearwaters and once again the usual species in the scrub.

Day 4 (24th Feb) - The first bird of the day was Cory’s Shearwater, a couple of birds were foraging distantly offshore. The Canary’s were showing very well this morning, as were the Chiffchaffs, but the Sardinian views were limited to tantalising glimpses. It was a dull and overcast start to the day, and the hillside was shrouded in cloud, possibly not a good day for heading up there in search of pigeons, but we decided to give it a go.

After breakfast we headed north to Los Tilos, the best known site on the Island for the two endemic pigeons, Bolle’s and Laurel, plus the other endemics, Blue Tit and Chaffinch. We arrived to a hillside shrouded in cloud, but that did not stop the Chaffinch from putting in an appearance, nor the Blue Tit. The Chaffinch was, as expected, remarkably tame, with at least 20 birds present around the cafe and information centre looking for a tasty snack. The Blue Tit, was not enticed down for food, but still showed very well in the surrounding woodland.

La Palma Chaffinch (male) - Fringilla coelebs palmae

La Palma Chaffinch (male) - Fringilla coelebs palmae

La Palma Chaffinch (female) - Fringilla coelebs palmae

La Palma Blue Tit - Cyanisties teneriffae palmensis

I was expecting a long trek in search of the pigeons, but as it turned out there was no need to walk anywhere as both species showed very well from the road behind the information centre. The Laurel Pigeon was seen regularly high overhead displaying above the canopy, and the Bolle’s Pigeon showed well lower down, with several birds perched and flying around mid-way to the canopy. Within a fairly short space of time I had seen both species well both perched and in flight, albeit with the aid of my scope. Other new species for the trip included Raven and Buzzard, of the subspecies B.b. insularum.

Laurel Pigeon Columba junoniae - Los Tilos

Laurel Pigeon Columba junoniae - Los Tilos

After our visit to Los Tilos we headed north to the Lagauna de Barlovento, which apparently is one of the best known birding sites on La Palma. It was wet and windy when we arrived and the water level on the Laguna was low. Despite this there were a few gulls roosting and bathing on the lagoon; the majority were Yellow-legged Gulls but there were also five Lesser Black-backed present. A stroll around the surrounding habitat was fairly fruitless, with the only notable species being a flock of 50+ Canary’s. The journey home produced a couple of Red-billed Chough and several Kestrels.

Canary - Serinus canaria

Another American Wader In Hampshire!

Whilst many hardcore British twitchers were heading north to Pembrokeshire in search of the probable Western Orphean Warbler, I headed west along the south coast of Hampshire to Lepe Country Park in search of yet another American Wader. This bird, a lesser yellowlegs, had been found on a brackish pool last Sunday, 10th November, but Friday 15th was the first chance I had to go.

I arrived at the site around 09:30 and headed off towards the scrape located to the east of the car park. I had been confused by the directions, since despite having lived in Hampshire all my life, I hadn't know of this scrapes existence, or if I had I'd forgotten about it, which is a distinct possibility. I was part way to the scrape when I met a couple of birders that I knew, they were off to look at another patch of water to the west of the car park and know as 'Dark Water' since the bird was not on the scrape.

I tagged along, since I figured three pairs of eyes searching would be better than one. Apparently the Dark Water river and marsh drains Beaulieu Heath, and reaches the sea via a tunnel and sluice gate. The river is flanked on either side by a large expanse of reed bed and wetland habitat, a large body of water and other scattered pools. Viewing is difficult as there are loads of areas where birds can loiter out of sight, but there are three main areas to try. The first is from the road, where birds are distant but identifiable, from the west from a footpath which crosses an adjacent field, and from the east, from a boardwalk that passes through a small area of woodland.

We started from the road and recorded common redshanks, black-tailed godwit, common snipe, wigeon, common teal, lapwings, black-headed and Mediterranean gulls...but no lesser legs! After a good hour and half of scanning from the road and the footpath to the west, I decided to head back east to check out the other pool. The tide was high and as I wandered back a noticed a small, mixed flock of waders on the beach. They were trying to roost right in front of the car park, but were being continually disturbed by dog walkers.

Roosting Dunlin Calidris alpina and lone Turnstone Arenaria interpres

There were about 100 birds in the flock, pretty much equally split between dunlin, turnstone and ringed plover. While the others headed back to the eastern scrape I spent a few minutes scanning through the flock.

Roosting Turnstone and lone Dunlin

Despite my best efforts there was nothing unusual in the flock, but it was nice to see a few juvenile birds in the flock. When I eventually got to the scrape there was still no sign of the lesser legs, but six Med gulls, a grey plover, a couple each of black-tailed godwit and redshank kept me entertained for a while. After about another half an hour I decided to wander again. There is a small patch of woodland that runs along the western bank of Dark Water. It consists of mainly broad-leaved species including oak, a small area of beech,  willow, yew and holm oak. The wood was fairly quiet, with a few goldcrests, coal tit, treecreeper and blue and great tit, but just as I was coming to the end of the trail, a couple of firecrests jumped out.

Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavips

Just as I got to the end of the woodland trail, new broke that the lesser legs had just flown back onto the scrape. I quickly headed back over and there it was, the closest bird to the shore. It was feeding along the south-western edge of the scrape, and with the sun behind me the bright yellow legs really stood out. 

Lesser Yellowlegs

In comparison with the nearby common redshank, the yellow legs had greyer upperparts, a shorter and finer bill, which was mainly dark, but slightly paler at the base. The bird also gave the impression of being daintier, more elongated and elegant than the redshanks.

Lesser Yellowlegs

The upperparts seem fairly plain, with faint spotting along the feather edges and therefore this bird looks like an adult to me, as juveniles are usually more distinctly marked. There have been several previous records of lesser yellowlegs in Hampshire, but the last one I saw was at Farlington Marshes in 1986. I have of course seen the species regularly on my many visits to America and Canada, but it's always nice to catch up with one on home turf.

Wader Ringing - Farlington Marshes 18th August 2012

With the tide again right, and the weather set fair, we headed off to Farlington Marshes for another wader mist-netting session. We arrived early and set a couple of nets on the scrape in the hope of catching another Common or Green Sandpiper, before heading off to the lake, and our main ringing site for the evening. A Spotted Crake had been reported earlier, so on the way to the lake we stopped to chat to a couple of local birders, and timed it just right to catch up with the Spotted Crake, plus a Little Stint, several Green Sands and a Spotted Redshank, but a reported Wood Sand was not in view. Whilst some of the group set the nets on the main lagoon, I headed back to the scrape and was pleased to see a new Common Sandpiper in the net along with six Starlings, not what was expected on a wader ringing session.

Colour-ringed Common Sandpiper

The Common Sand was colour-ringed, the third of the autumn to be so, and it was released to go on its way. 

We were fairly optimistic tonight, the tide was high, and there was no moon, but as the sun set the wind picked up and a heavy sea mist drifted in, which was certainly not expected. Presumably the conditions weren't right for some birds, such as Dunlin since we only caught one, and there were none on the lake, when normally it would be teaming with them. However, it was better for others; Common Redshank was the most numerous species with 12 new birds and one retrap, all adults again, but for me the bird of the night was Greenshank. This species has long been a favourite of mine, and tonight we caught three; all adults and all colour-ringed as part of an on-going study.

Adult Common Greenshank

Adult Common Greenshank

Being adults they were of course in primary moult, which is usually carried out in a progressive manner, in that one feather is dropped and starts to grow before the next is dropped. One bird however had dropped all of its secondaries, and was moulting its primaries, and so didn't have many feathers left in the wing to fly with!

Wing of Adult Greenshank

Our total also included a Black-tailed Godwit, a Ringed Plover and Eurasian Curlew, the latter two species were also colour-ringed, so I hope that readers of this blog will keep their eyes peeled for any colour-ringed waders and make sure you report them to the BTO.

Adult Curlew

Ringed Plover (Duncan Bell)

We ended our session on 27 birds, which included six starling, so a lower total than expected, but a much better variety, and a 3am finish, which was earlier than I expected.