måndag 18 december 2017

Birding on Tenerife - Oct/Nov 2017

So, it was time for another trip with the family, to the Canary islands. This time to Tenerife. 

A couple of days of birding was all I had time for, but this time my dad and my sister tagged along. But of course, we used a couple of the mornings to walk around Golf del Sur, where we stayed.

As this was my fourth visist to the islands, with Lanzarote being the first, Gran Canaria the second and Fuerteventura the third (I still have to write a blogpost from this trip), just 6 months ago, I had seen most of the Canary endemics, except for those which are not resident on those islands. And then, of course, the Blue Chaffinch was split into two species after I left Gran Canaria, so I still haven't seen that one. 

In any case, the definite targets of this trip were the Tenerife Blue Finch, the Laurel Pigeon and the Bolle's Pigeon. 

Despite quite some time spent at Erjos Pools, neither of the Pigeons were seen, unfortunately. We tried the La Grimonas Viewpoint as well, but it was quite late in the day and the clouds were heavy so we nothing beyond a possible Laurel Pigeon. However, the Blue Finch was relatively easy at the camping site of Las Lajas. 

I have added some photos below. 

Golf del Sur
Best thing is to walk to the northernmost part of the golf course. There you can see two ponds, which attract some birds. Quite a few of Black-capped Night Herons but also Lesser Egret and Cattle Egret. On the second visit we heard a Yellow-browed Warbler from the bushes inside the course and we also saw a Long-tailed Glossy Starling. The later was apparently an escapee... This is also a good spot for Barbary Partridge, which we saw on both occasions. 

The weather in Tenerife is great for excercise so I ran a couple of times. The first time I ran over to Montaña Amarilla and found a Barbary Falcon just sitting there on a rock beside the track. I was less than 10m from it before the track turned away. Cool bird... just sitting there looking at me (or perhaps staring at me...)

Black-crowned Night Heron (natthäger, Nycticorax nycticorax)
Las Lajas 

Just at the entrance, there are a couple of watering spots and this is where you find the birds.
Tenerife Blue Chaffinch (teneriffablåfink , Fringilla teydea)
Tenerife Blue Chaffinch (teneriffablåfink , Fringilla teydea)
Tenerife Blue Chaffinch (teneriffablåfink , Fringilla teydea)
Atlantic Canary (kanariesiska , Serinus canaria)
African Blue Tit (koboltmes, Cyanistes teneriffae)
African Blue Tit (koboltmes, Cyanistes teneriffae)
Teide

Before going up the cable car, we walked for a while on the plain below. This beautiful Northern wheatear showed itself nicely but otherwise, there were not many birds around.
Northern Wheatear (stenskvätta, Oenanthe oenanthe)
Northern Wheatear (stenskvätta, Oenanthe oenanthe)
Berthelot's Pipit (kanariepiplärka, Anthus berthelotii)
This Berthelot's pipit had taken the role of the House Sparrow up on the mountain.
Erjos pools
The pools were completely dried out when we got there, which might have been a factor in us seeing neither the Laurel or Bolle's Pigeon. We walked up the track to the top of the hill and down into the Laurel forest on the other side but nothing. Common Chaffinch was pretty common and we saw European Robin and Goldcrest a couple of times. All three have their distinct subspecies here and, who knows, mabye they will be split into species in the future.
Common Chaffinch (bofink , Fringilla coelebs)
Goldcrest (kungsfågel, Regulus regulus)
Goldcrest (kungsfågel, Regulus regulus)
Common Buzzard (ormvråk, Buteo buteo)
Golf del Sur, again...
Black-crowned Night Heron (natthäger, Nycticorax nycticorax)
[Long-tailed Glossy Starling (långstjärtad glansstare,
Lamprotornis caudatus)]
Barbary Partridge (klipphöna, Alectoris barbara)

Depending on which list you follow, I managed to see two or three different species. Barbary Falcon is no longer considered a distinct species in Sweden (if you follow the Swedish taxonomy commitée) but in my list tool (www.igoterra.com - check it out!!) I use the IOC list, and there Barbary Falcon is still a species. Confusing... ;-)

Species seen (in order of appearance):
Yellow-legged Gull (medelhavstrut, Larus michahellis)
Rock Dove (klippduva, Columba livia)
Eurasian Collared Dove (turkduva, Streptopelia decaocto)
Barbary Falcon (berberfalk, Falco pelegrinoides) (*)
Berthelot's Pipit (kanariepiplärka, Anthus berthelotii)
Barbary Partridge (klipphöna, Alectoris barbara) *
Cory's Shearwater (gulnäbbad lira, Calonectris borealis)
Black-crowned Night Heron (natthäger, Nycticorax nycticorax)
Grey Heron (gråhäger, Ardea cinerea)
Little Egret (silkeshäger, Egretta garzetta)
Common Moorhen (rörhöna, Gallinula chloropus)
Canary Islands Chiffchaff (kanariegransångare, Phylloscopus canariensis)
Common Blackbird (koltrast, Turdus merula)
Spanish Sparrow (spansk sparv, Passer hispaniolensis)
Grey Wagtail (forsärla, Motacilla cinerea)
White Wagtail (sädesärla, Motacilla alba)
Spectacled Warbler (glasögonsångare, Sylvia conspicillata)
Sardinian Warbler (sammetshätta, Sylvia melanocephala)
Goldcrest (kungsfågel, Regulus regulus)
Common Buzzard (ormvråk, Buteo buteo)
African Blue Tit (koboltmes, Cyanistes teneriffae)
Tenerife Blue Chaffinch (teneriffablåfink , Fringilla teydea) *
Atlantic Canary (kanariesiska , Serinus canaria)
Northern Wheatear (stenskvätta, Oenanthe oenanthe)
Common Kestrel (tornfalk, Falco tinnunculus)
European Robin (rödhake, Erithacus rubecula)
Common Chaffinch (bofink , Fringilla coelebs)
Northern Lapwing (tofsvipa, Vanellus vanellus)
Western Cattle Egret (kohäger (15), Bubulcus ibis)
Yellow-browed Warbler (tajgasångare, Phylloscopus inornatus)
[Long-tailed Glossy Starling (långstjärtad glansstare, Lamprotornis caudatus)]
Sanderling (sandlöpare, Calidris alba)