really strange call - tenerife (1 Viewer)

[pauljontaylor]

I´m living in Tenerife and there is a bird that flys overhead at dusk, which I think is white and about pigeon size.
It makes the strangest sound, at first I thought it was someone in one of the hotel rooms tuning in a radio and then thought it was the sound of a frog warming its croak up. Anyone who has heard it will tell you how strange it sounds, but am at a loss to know how to identify it as I´ve not actually seen it in daylight.......Please help!

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

nightjar sp for me?

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

nightjar sp for me?

Welcome too!!!

 

[Carlos U]

Have you considered a Barn Owl in hunting fly at dusk. The resident subspecies in Tenerife has white underparts and the strange sounds fit perfectly well with the observation.

BTW, no resident nightjars in the Canary Is.

 

[Mos]

Besides the owl I wonder whether there may be a seabird that flies inland at night. Not sure what species could occur there. Some Petrels have very strange calls.

 

[Carlos U]

Yes, it could be a possibility, not knowing where Paul lives in Tenerife.

The likely possibility then is Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea borealis).

If the observation happens to be near a breeding area, it is an obvious candidate.

It would help to know a better description of the strange calls, but the sounds like "a frog warming its croak up" could fit better with Cory's Shearwater than with Barn Owl's call.

 

[John Butler]

The likely possibility then is Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea borealis).

Unfortunately, Paul´s flimsy description,ie. "which I think is white and about pigeon size." does not seem to fit with Cory´s Shearwater.

Another possibility could be a male Long-eared Owl (ssp canariensis) which is smaller than the normal (Asio otus)

 

[jocateme]

There is a Barn Owl sound file here: http://xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/KOIEAHGHNX/32/a02.mp3

Hope this helps

 

[pauljontaylor]

It was very dark when I saw the bird, but I think it did resemble a sea bird, and I´m sure I´d have recognised a barn owl, the other thing to say is that there was a few of them, so they were in a flock. Aren´t barn owls pretty solitary.

 

[John Butler]

It was very dark when I saw the bird, but I think it did resemble a sea bird, and I´m sure I´d have recognised a barn owl, the other thing to say is that there was a few of them, so they were in a flock. Aren´t barn owls pretty solitary.

Hi Paul.

there is a bird that flys overhead at dusk,

the other thing to say is that there was a few of them

This information would have been very useful in the opening message. Perhaps Carlos and Mos are on the right lines with this one.

 

[KnockerNorton]

Sandgrouse sp.? They make dawn/dusk flights over Tenerife (Black-bellied).

 

[Jane Turner]

I was thinking that too (Sandgrouse)

 

[John Butler]

Sandgrouse sp.? They make dawn/dusk flights over Tenerife (Black-bellied).

Black-bellied Sandgrouse hardly fits the description of a "white" bird, as stated by Paul.

 

[KnockerNorton]

they hardly sounded certain about that though. At all.

 

[John Butler]

they hardly sounded certain about that though. At all.

You´re right there. Point taken.

 

[Carlos U]

Definitely a better description is needed before the full Tenerife bird checklist is invoked here.

(BTW, to my knowledge Black-bellied Sandgrouse is only resident in Fuerteventura, so not a likely bird in Tenerife)

 

[KnockerNorton]

Definitely a better description is needed before the full Tenerife bird checklist is invoked here.

(BTW, to my knowledge Black-bellied Sandgrouse is only resident in Fuerteventura, so not a likely bird in Tenerife)

I've had them flighting over maspalomas, Gran Canaria, so they're a possibility anywhere on the central/eastern islands if they're heading for fresh water. The inter-island distance is nothing for a sandgrouse.

 

[Steve Lister]

The most likely answer must surely be Cory's Shearwater. A non-birder asked me about a similar observation on Gomera.

(Has B-b Sandgrouse ever been seen on Tenerife?)

Steve

 

[Carlos U]

According to the Spanish Atlas of Breeding Birds, in the Canary Is the B-bS only breeds regularly in deserts and semi-deserts of Fuerteventura with only possible occassional breeding in Lanzarote.

No present in a regular basis in the other islands. Obviously the dry lowlands of Gran Canaria are the most likely place to see the species from time to time, but again not regular there and much less in Tenerife.

 

[Minory]

In Yer In Yer Ear Bird

We have just retruned from a 2 week break in Tenerife, and We also came across these birds.
We thought at first the were Birds on crack, but after some intensive investigation work we can confirm they are the 'In Yer In Yer Ear Bird'