Back to my enchanted Isle Fuertaventura-Feb 5th-12th. (4 Viewers)

[KenM]

With almost permanent single digit temps under leaden grey clouds, me and the missus decided to “air the plastic” once more, via Gatwick into the wild blue yonder.
To get the sun on ye’r back again was pure heaven and that was without the birds.😮

Upon arrival at the Barcelo Mar (hotel) Caleta de Fuste, we dumped our bags and strolled the promenade.
Most of the usual suspects were there to greet us + a few notable absences (Dunlin being one) and “other gull” species, with the exception of YLG which is everywhere!

To be continued….

 

[KenM]

Thursday 6th February,

overlapping by two days with an old chum Mike with whom having previously arranged to have a boys’ day out on Thursday at the “Dwarf Bittern Barranca”, duly picked me up in the jam jar at 8.45 am and off we jollied!

Upon arriving (c.45mins later), looking down into the barranca we quickly espied Fuerteventura Chat, some not inconsiderable distance below (c200’).
Eventually picking our way down the gradient to the barranca floor we looked up, to see clouds of YLG soaring on high with “prucking” Ravens and drifting Egyptian Vultures.
A veritable “Lost World” of silence, with sun on your back and a tempered Easterly drift.
What else might be lurking one mused, soon the “emerald jewel” ribboned rivulet and the bouldered walls revealed FTV Chat, Trumpeter Finch, Laughing Dove, Berthelot’s Pipit, White and Grey Wagtails, although not seen but distinctly audible… the Wren like “churr” of Spectacled Warbler.
It was agreed that the trip had been extremely productive, with Mike adding FTV Chat to his life list…now if that’s not worth a glass in the evening.😉

To be continued…

 

[KenM]

Friday 7th February,

Mike’s last morning had us traversing the low tide rocks at the Southern end of the bay where we noted- Ringed Plover, Greenshank, Grey Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Grey Heron, Turnstone, Little Egret and Sanderling, before the next 400m South to the “Atlantico” haunt of the…(if you’re lucky)😮RBTropicbird!
Unfortunately it was not to be, being perhaps predictably unreliable at this time, hopefully later it may come to pass and with it…more air punching and smiley faces.

Heading South into the desert strip a “life tick” not one, but several, Desert Locust!
These really surprise and startle!…rocketing up from one’s toes, being as big as a small bird with wing span to match, making reconciliation with an invertebrate…not easy.😮
Further South we encountered 4 Kentish Plover and 5 Stone Curlew before Mike had to throw in the towel, as the Airport check-in was beckoning him for departure.
He certainly enjoyed his first trip and it probably won’t be his last….with RBT being high on his agenda, we exchanged goodbyes as we parted company.

Walking past the Atlantico, I caught a quick movement out of the corner of my eye…another lifer albeit one that I suspect is quite numerous during other months…Hummingbird Hawk moth?
Returning back to the hotel, I was looking forward to the morrow, as we were picking up the 3 day hire car, that might change the horizon somewhat.😊

To be continued….

 

[Richard Prior]

Lovely stuff Ken, did you note the ‘Louis Armstrong Finch’ is sporting a ring? I can’t decipher it on my device but hopefully you can read some detail….

 

[KenM]

Lovely stuff Ken, did you note the ‘Louis Armstrong Finch’ is sporting a ring? I can’t decipher it on my device but hopefully you can read some detail….

Yes thanks Richard…as does the Stonechat😮will attempt to decode later.
Am also attempting to nail a local Grey Wag, if successful, I’ll expect my “Bletchley” decoders badge in the post.🤣

 

[Richard Prior]

Good luck, I still haven’t managed to see our local Grey Wags from the garden this year despite my ‘obsessive’ (according to Nursie!) dung heap surveillance. I only spent four days on the Canary Isles but my increasingly defective memory banks tell me the Grey Wags there look different to mainland European birds?

 

[KenM]

Good luck, I still haven’t managed to see our local Grey Wags from the garden this year despite my ‘obsessive’ (according to Nursie!) dung heap surveillance. I only spent four days on the Canary Isles but my increasingly defective memory banks tell me the Grey Wags there look different to mainland European birds?

Only got brief cursory views (looking down on as it called, disappearing behind the cliff face).
Now that would be a split to look forward to.😮👍

 

[mike nesbitt]

Thursday 6th February,

overlapping by two days with an old chum Mike with whom having previously arranged to have a boys’ day out on Thursday at the “Dwarf Bittern Barranca”, duly picked me up in the jam jar at 8.45 am and off we jollied!

Upon arriving (c.45mins later), looking down into the barranca we quickly espied Fuerteventura Chat, some not inconsiderable distance below (c200’).
Eventually picking our way down the gradient to the barranca floor we looked up, to see clouds of YLG soaring on high with “prucking” Ravens and drifting Egyptian Vultures.
A veritable “Lost World” of silence, with sun on your back and a tempered Easterly drift.
What else might be lurking one mused, soon the “emerald jewel” ribboned rivulet and the bouldered walls revealed FTV Chat, Trumpeter Finch, Laughing Dove, Berthelot’s Pipit, White and Grey Wagtails, although not seen but distinctly audible… the Wren like “churr” of Spectacled Warbler.
It was agreed that the trip had been extremely productive, with Mike adding FTV Chat to his life list…now if that’s not worth a glass in the evening.😉

To be continued…

That was a great long morning out Ken. Your local knowledge was a godsend as I was running out of time to get the FTV chat.
Cheers.

 

[KenM]

Saturday 8th February,

picked up the hire car a Toyota hybrid x
(I think, if memory serves) 😮
and drove c40 kms South to Pajara, a small village nestled in the red ochre hills.
Which imo has one of, if not the best…church that I’ve ever seen!
Secreted in a tree-lined square, which often hosts Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler, African BlueTit and but rarely, Yellow-Browed Warbler, the latter having been found certainly twice in the last ten years!

Having “worked” the trees for circa an hour and found all but the latter and now getting the coffee shakes…as was the missus😮….I threw in “one more” circuit and Bingo!…the Gods answered!

Caught sight of a (beneath only) “hovering” white bellied Phyllosc high in the canopy, the endorphs soared!
As I “struggled” to image it, perhaps
a three digit number of bursts averaging c5 frames per burst, eventually retaining just 10 images.
By god, did that coffee taste good afterwards.😊
Heading back to CDFuste we called into the coastal village of Grand Tajaral where I unexpectedly found SGrey Shrike and Spectacled Warbler..the latter always being difficult for moi to find.

To be continued….

 

[KenM]

That was a great long morning out Ken. Your local knowledge was a godsend as I was running out of time to get the FTV chat.
Cheers.

Fantastic images Mike! 👍

 

[KenM]

Sunday 9th February.

A c45 minute drive South to Costa Calma and its famous narrow mile long Palm groves strip was the order of the day, as we left the hotel car park replete with fruit, tea and croissants.
I carried out my circa two hour due diligence…but alas there was nothing of note stirring, just the usual suspects…Blackcaps seemingly in profusion, the odd Chiffy/Cattle Egret, Goldfinch, Linnet and Red-Vented Bulbul with the latter seemingly not uncommon.
I suppose after Saturday’s excitement I needed a “day of rest”😉
Returning back to CDF for refreshment and my daily walk to the desert strip, produced only my 2nd ever Gannet!…a mile plus offshore heading North, add 8 Sanderlings on the rocks and 20 Sandwich Terns in the bay….and tomorrow’s another day.

 

[KenM]

Monday 10th February.

Today being our last day with the car,
I coaxed the missus into a trip back to the Dwarf Bittern Barranca.
Expecting a few moans and groans (there were a few), if only to view from above….the emerald rivulet below.
However, she reluctantly agreed to descend and was pleasantly surprised at the panorama.
This time round, there were no Egyptian Vultures, nor Spectacled Warblers and the FTV Chats much less confiding.
That said, I was “singing” a duet with the local North African Buzzard cirtensis as they wheeled over occasionally attracting the local Ravens.
When I noticed a Corvid, perhaps a 1/3rd smaller than the Raven with an apparant white bill…can only assume a runt of the latter?
Returning to base, I did my desert strip walk followed by a “long peek” into the Atlantico 😩
picking up only my second ever Eurasian Spoonbill sighting!…tomorrow proved to be more than just another day!

To be continued….

 

[KenM]

Tuesday 11th February.

Pulling back the curtains on the hotel balcony c8am…revealed (a looking down on) the only non YLG of the trip!…Lesser Black Backed Gull.
After breakfast, the usual strike out to the desert strip via the “drain” outlet at the end of the hotel block.
At last!…sighting my first two Hoopoes of the trip to date + an African Grass Blue and a Painted Lady…things were looking up!

Crossing the road, I traversed the Western side of the desert eventually hearing, then seeing up to 4 Lesser Short-toed Lark borne on the wind + an accompanying Spectacled Warbler, also two Egyptian Vulture interacting against the sandstone backdrop and wild blue.

Heading back to the Atlantico (praying for a second bite of the RBT), I unexpectedly achieved the seconds…albeit not quite the one that I was hoping for.😮
As I waited fully extended, I heard, a persistent strident (close in) “tsooeest” “tsooeest” almost deafening! (thank you Boots 🙏).
I thought…surely not…40kms away and 3 days apart?
Caught the movement….raised the bins and a 2nd YBW appeared.😮
Unfortunately thereafter, no amount of “hunting” allowed me an image, however a sound file was the next best thing.
So basically there was I hoping for a Tropical treat, instead having to make do with a Sibe substitute.😮
Believe this constitutes my 5th YBW in ten years, clearly if “looked for” they’re more numerous than one might think.
Minutes later a Dutch birder arrived enquiring after the RBT to which….I could only offer the YBW sound file and a BOC image of the RBT taken in March 2003 by a German photographer (if memory serves?) called Marten.
Back to the hotel for the last supper plus a 🍷

 

[KenM]

Wednesday 12th February.

With a taxi pick up from the hotel at 10.30am
I had a last stab at imaging the Atlantico YBW.
On station at 7.58 with it calling!
Apart from a brief distant sighting of this white bellied sprite, it avoided me like the plague.😩
However trudging back past the rocks at the Southern end of the bay, I espied only my 3rd different immature Eurasian Spoonbill….and a very rosey one at that!
Totalling 44 species for the trip, extremely pleased with the haul…looking forward to the return.

Cheers👍

 

[THE_FERN]

The raven bill is a lighting effect

 

[Scridifer]

Very enjoyable account as always Ken!

Chris

 

[KenM]

The raven bill is a lighting effect

It was not a lighting effect, it clearly had an all “light” bill.
The camera sensor has problems focusing on flying birds out of a bright blue sky, thus when eventually focusing, it was much further away than it should have been when I observed it through the bins.

 

[THE_FERN]

It was not a lighting effect, it clearly had an all “light” bill.
The camera sensor has problems focusing on flying birds out of a bright blue sky, thus when eventually focusing, it was much further away than it should have been when I observed it through the bins.

The incident light is shining off the bill. It's not pigmentation

 

[KenM]

Having previously watched groups of Ravens at that elevation cavorting through the sky with YLG’s for some time.
Then the “smaller” corvid coming into view sporting a pale white bill at all times through its trajectory…and the only Corvid to do so, with me being there and you not.
Think I’m in a better position to give comment?

 

[Richard Prior]

I think we should write a paper on this new subspecies Ken, an individual up here in the Alps today too !