A tale of two islands (part 3)

Having rushed around my first couple of days, I relaxed a bit once back on Gran Canaria, just doing some local birding and checking Maspalomas Bay every day since it was so close to where I was staying.  The Audouin's Gulls stayed all week, with varying numbers of Mediterranean Gulls and Greenshanks, and I even spotted a Gannet during an otherwise unproductive seawatch from the lighthouse.  My final day, however, was a full day spent with another local guide, Guillermo Bernal, with the aim of seeing the Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch.  Recently split from the Tenerife equivalent, this is now one of the rarest and most endangered birds in the Western Palearctic, with a total population of around 300 individuals, all of which live in one patch of native pine forest, which was almost destroyed by fire.  There is thus a relocation project underway, trying to establish a second breeding group elsewhere and it was there we made our first stop to look for the birds having first enjoyed the views from the highest point of the island all the way across to Mount Teide on Tenerife.

Sure enough, within ten minutes of stepping out of the car, Guillermo recognised its distinctive call and we were soon looking at a colour-ringed female from the relocation project.  I even managed to get a photo although, typically for this species, she remained high up in the trees. 

After that, we went in search of the much bluer males and heard several singing but didn't see any more at all, despite searching for eight long hours!  The scenery was breathtaking, however, and Guillermo really knows a lot about the geology and history of the islands so it was a wonderful day, with plenty of other good birds such as the distinctive, local subspecies of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch and Robin, finishing off with two Laurel Pigeons from the (re-)introduction project.  99% of tourists to Gran Canaria spend all of their time down at the coast but they are really missing the real splendour of the island up in the mountains so I can recommend Guillermo to give you an unforgettable tour.  Having clocked up a week's list between the two islands of 65 species, ten of which were lifers, I headed back to the cold of Brussels where it is minus 7 degrees Celsius as I write this.

A tale of two islands (part 2)

To see all the Canarian endemics, one needs to visit Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Tenerife.  I thus decided to do a short trip to Fuerteventura to get that island out of the way, so to speak, so that I could concentrate on Tenerife another time.  I was also hoping to see some seabirds from the ferry but the crossing was so rough and windy, with the boat rocking and rolling all over the place, the last thing I felt like doing was going out on deck!  I was, therefore, very relieved to set foot on solid ground and see my guide waiting for me.  Within no time at all, we were in the desert-like habitat of Tindaya plains watching both Houbara Bustards and Cream-coloured Coursers at close range.

These were both lifers and, although not specific to Fuerteventura, are much easier to see there than in North Africa.  My third target was the endemic Fuerteventura Stonechat but the wind had got even worse and the birds were simply hiding.  We tried several likely places and didn't see any, but several singing Lesser Short-toed Larks, a group of Trumpeter Finches by the roadside and four Black-bellied Sandgrouse feeding right next to the car provided some consolation.  Derek certainly knows where to find the local birds so I can recommend using his services if you are visting Fuerteventura.

I'll just have to make another trip as I'd only planned the one day on the island before heading back to Gran Canaria for the rest of my holiday. 

A tale of two islands (part 1)

I've long wanted to visit the Canary Islands, not least for the several endemics they hold, so, earlier this month, I had a week-long break based in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, for some birding and winter sun.  As you can see, the sun wasn't really co-operating; it was the coldest winter they'd had for years and I only made one visit to the beach where I forced myself to dip my toes into the very cold sea (I was on holiday after all)! 
As soon as I stepped out of the bus from the airport, however, I heard my first Canary Islands Chiffchaff with its distinctive, almost Cetti's Warbler-like song.  Around my accommodation, I then added Canary and African Blue Tit, as well as my first Plain Swifts, all within a few hours of arriving.  The following morning, I cycled down to Maspalomas Bay (above), enjoying the view back to the mountainous interior, and was surprised to find this adult Audouin's Gull, a scarce winter visitor to the islands.

Trawling through the immature gulls, mostly Yellow-legged and Mediterranean, I then discovered two more 1st-winter Audouin's, while a Ruddy Shelduck circled briefly overhead.  The rest of my first day was spent exploring the local area, seeing my first Berthelot's Pipits and Monarch butterflies (below), which colonised the islands from the Americas.  I then took the overnight ferry to Fuerteventura...

Arctic wanderers

A week ago, I was planning to do a full day's birding at the coast to bump up my year list and, as always, checked the local sightings to see what was around.  I also checked the Dutch website and, boom, a 1st-winter Ross's Gull had been found in Vlissingen harbour and stayed there all afternoon!  Ross's Gull is one of those near-mythical creatures of the high Arctic which very rarely turn up anywhere else.  There have been just 17 previous records in The Netherlands (none at all in Belgium), the last of which was in 2011, and on the rare occasions they do turn up, they don't usually stay for long.  Nevertheless, the following morning I made a three-hour journey by train, bus and finally ferry to Vlissingen in the hope it would still be there.  It was, and still is as I write this a week later.

What a beauty!  So, after starting 2017 with Siberian Accentor, 2018 has also started off with a lifer from an international, although considerably shorter, twitch.  During the ferry crossing, I also got to see Red-breasted Merganser, ten Pale-bellied Brent Geese and a brief view of a Guillemot, all of which are scarce in Belgium.  Spurred on by this success, I made a second attempt at the Red-flanked Bluetail, which is still in the province of Liège, a couple of days later and finally got to see it well, having previously glimpsed just one individual at a twitch in Holland eleven years ago.