The Canary Islands, home to package tour holidays, all-inclusive hotels and budget airlines, a realm of the sun-seeker.
Thanks to their geographical isolation however, and due to a number of recent taxonomic splits, the islands also boost a whole raft of endemic and near-endemic birds, including such notables as Fuerteventura Chat, Houbara Bustard, Blue Chaffinch and both Bolle's and Laural Pigeons. And I have never seen any of them!
To stand a chance of seeing all the endemics, it is necessary to visit at least Tenerife and Fuerteventura, the former a relatively lush island harbouring the laural forest specialists and such birds as Blue Chaffinch and Canary Islands Kinglet, the latter semi-desert and key for Houbara Bustard, Cream-coloured Courser and, most critically, Fuerteventura Chat.
My basic plan was:
- three days on Fuerteventura, mostly in the north of the island.
- ferry to Gran Canaria, ferry to Tenerife.
- three days on Tenerife, exploration of the laural and pine forests, plus coastal areas.
Thereafter, taking a long stop-over in Barcelona on route home, I travelled up to the Pyrenees for a mini-break in the mountains, a winter fiesta of Lammergeiers and Wallcreepers in the mountains themselves and bustards, sandgrouses and larks in adjacent steppes.
DAILY LOG
In the Air. 19 December.
Blankets of snow, cars sliding all over the shop, temperatures already minus 12 ... off to the airport in Vilnius.
As Lithuania headed towards a Christmas of snow and sub-zero temperatures, a late evening flight rolled down the runway, next stop the rather warmer airs of Barcelona, touchdown 1.00 a.m. local time.
Fuerteventura. 20 December.
After a three-hour flight from Barcelona, we arrived in Fuerteventura in the early afternoon. to sun and temperatures rising to 28 C, most pleasant.
Arid and largely devoid of vegetation, Fuerteventura is a landscape of low hills and stony plains, jagged black volcanic rocks predominating and, at first glance, the whole island seemingly fairly devoid of birds too! Our drive across the island’s interior from the airport to Los Molinas on the west coast produced a mere two birds, both Collared Doves!
On arrival at Los Molinas however, this illusion of an island without birds was soon to be shattered. A couple of kilometres short of the Los Molinas reservoir, the birding kicked off in style - amongst flocks of Lesser Short-toed Larks scurrying across the sand adjacent to a goat farm, I encountered a Berthelot’s Pipit feeding just a couple of metres from the roadside - my first of the Canary Island endemics. Just yonder, two Ruddy Shelducks sat in the shimmering haze of the semi-desert and, amongst the goats behind us, Rock Doves wandered about, with two Common Ravens flying over.
Onward to the reservoir itself, a small body of water and, if not dried out, one of the few freshwater localities on the island. Not even sure there would be any water at this time, let alone waterbirds, my reason for visiting was primarily for the chance of Fuerteventura Chat, a species often seen below the dam. On arrival however, I was pleasantly surprised – plenty of water and packed out with birds! Getting out of the car, I was immediately ambushed by two inquisitive Barbary Squirrels popping up onto a ruined building, my first mammal of the trip. On the water, Coot and Ruddy Shelduck were by far the two most numerous birds, numbering about 160 and 70 respectively, but seeing assorted other species, I decided to walk around the entire reservoir, thinking this strategy would also find me a Fuerteventura Chat.
It didn’t! However, I was not complaining – one of the first birds I did find was a splendid Ring-necked Duck sitting with a couple of Tufted Ducks and a Shoveler! Less than one hour into my trip and I had bumped into an American vagrant, that was a bit of luck! Also a few Common Teal and three Eurasian Wigeon too, plus waders including Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Spotted Redshanks and Snipe. As for passerines however, virtually zilch – one Southern Grey Shrike, three more Berthelot’s Pipits and that was that, certainly no Fuerteventura Chat!
The nearby barranca rising from Puerto de Los Molinas is another potential chat site, but my relatively brief exploration of this site also failed to locate one here, a pair of Spectacled Warblers the main compensation, along with overhead Common Kestrels, Berthelot’s Pipits in the car park and my second mammal species of the trip, a Rabbit.
By now fairly late in the day, I then headed up to El Cotillo, a small town in the north of the island. Surrounded by stony plains that harbour all the island’s specialities, this would be home for the next three nights. With the sun setting, I made a quick rekkie onto the plains to the south, basically an orientation for the coming days. Only saw two species …but rather classy ones at that - the first was a Barbary Falcon powering over, the second was Houbara Bustard, four individual flying in to land some distance off.
A good finale to my first afternoon on the island!
Thanks to their geographical isolation however, and due to a number of recent taxonomic splits, the islands also boost a whole raft of endemic and near-endemic birds, including such notables as Fuerteventura Chat, Houbara Bustard, Blue Chaffinch and both Bolle's and Laural Pigeons. And I have never seen any of them!
To stand a chance of seeing all the endemics, it is necessary to visit at least Tenerife and Fuerteventura, the former a relatively lush island harbouring the laural forest specialists and such birds as Blue Chaffinch and Canary Islands Kinglet, the latter semi-desert and key for Houbara Bustard, Cream-coloured Courser and, most critically, Fuerteventura Chat.
My basic plan was:
- three days on Fuerteventura, mostly in the north of the island.
- ferry to Gran Canaria, ferry to Tenerife.
- three days on Tenerife, exploration of the laural and pine forests, plus coastal areas.
Thereafter, taking a long stop-over in Barcelona on route home, I travelled up to the Pyrenees for a mini-break in the mountains, a winter fiesta of Lammergeiers and Wallcreepers in the mountains themselves and bustards, sandgrouses and larks in adjacent steppes.
DAILY LOG
In the Air. 19 December.
Blankets of snow, cars sliding all over the shop, temperatures already minus 12 ... off to the airport in Vilnius.
As Lithuania headed towards a Christmas of snow and sub-zero temperatures, a late evening flight rolled down the runway, next stop the rather warmer airs of Barcelona, touchdown 1.00 a.m. local time.
Fuerteventura. 20 December.
After a three-hour flight from Barcelona, we arrived in Fuerteventura in the early afternoon. to sun and temperatures rising to 28 C, most pleasant.
Arid and largely devoid of vegetation, Fuerteventura is a landscape of low hills and stony plains, jagged black volcanic rocks predominating and, at first glance, the whole island seemingly fairly devoid of birds too! Our drive across the island’s interior from the airport to Los Molinas on the west coast produced a mere two birds, both Collared Doves!
On arrival at Los Molinas however, this illusion of an island without birds was soon to be shattered. A couple of kilometres short of the Los Molinas reservoir, the birding kicked off in style - amongst flocks of Lesser Short-toed Larks scurrying across the sand adjacent to a goat farm, I encountered a Berthelot’s Pipit feeding just a couple of metres from the roadside - my first of the Canary Island endemics. Just yonder, two Ruddy Shelducks sat in the shimmering haze of the semi-desert and, amongst the goats behind us, Rock Doves wandered about, with two Common Ravens flying over.
Onward to the reservoir itself, a small body of water and, if not dried out, one of the few freshwater localities on the island. Not even sure there would be any water at this time, let alone waterbirds, my reason for visiting was primarily for the chance of Fuerteventura Chat, a species often seen below the dam. On arrival however, I was pleasantly surprised – plenty of water and packed out with birds! Getting out of the car, I was immediately ambushed by two inquisitive Barbary Squirrels popping up onto a ruined building, my first mammal of the trip. On the water, Coot and Ruddy Shelduck were by far the two most numerous birds, numbering about 160 and 70 respectively, but seeing assorted other species, I decided to walk around the entire reservoir, thinking this strategy would also find me a Fuerteventura Chat.
It didn’t! However, I was not complaining – one of the first birds I did find was a splendid Ring-necked Duck sitting with a couple of Tufted Ducks and a Shoveler! Less than one hour into my trip and I had bumped into an American vagrant, that was a bit of luck! Also a few Common Teal and three Eurasian Wigeon too, plus waders including Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Spotted Redshanks and Snipe. As for passerines however, virtually zilch – one Southern Grey Shrike, three more Berthelot’s Pipits and that was that, certainly no Fuerteventura Chat!
The nearby barranca rising from Puerto de Los Molinas is another potential chat site, but my relatively brief exploration of this site also failed to locate one here, a pair of Spectacled Warblers the main compensation, along with overhead Common Kestrels, Berthelot’s Pipits in the car park and my second mammal species of the trip, a Rabbit.
By now fairly late in the day, I then headed up to El Cotillo, a small town in the north of the island. Surrounded by stony plains that harbour all the island’s specialities, this would be home for the next three nights. With the sun setting, I made a quick rekkie onto the plains to the south, basically an orientation for the coming days. Only saw two species …but rather classy ones at that - the first was a Barbary Falcon powering over, the second was Houbara Bustard, four individual flying in to land some distance off.
A good finale to my first afternoon on the island!
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with your trip so far?) Clearly a ''set of wheels'' is a pre-requisite for getting a better return! 
