Canary Islands

[spanishalex]

Does anyone have any experience of birding in the Canary Islands. What books do people use and whereabouts do they go?

[Michael Frankis]

¡Hola!

I've been to Tenerife birding (and looking at trees), one week in mid April a few years ago. Stayed in Puerto de la Cruz, and used the local buses and a taxi or two to get around; went up Teide, out to Faro de Teno (NW point of the island), down to Ladera de Güimar.

Bird list (38 spp):
Cory's Shearwater
Little Egret
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
Coot
Common Sandpiper
'Atlantic' (? Yellow-legged) Gull
Rock Dove
Bolle's Pigeon
Laurel (White-tailed) Pigeon
Turtle Dove
Plain Swift
Common Swift
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Berthelot's Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Robin
Blackbird
Spectacled Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Blackcap
Canary Is. Chiffchaff
Canarycrest
Blue Tit
Southern Grey Shrike
Raven
Spanish Sparrow
House Sparrow (& House x Spanish hybrids)
Chaffinch
Blue Chaffinch
Serin
Canary
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Trumpeter Finch
Corn Bunting

Also found all three Tenerife native conifers:
Pinus canariensis
Juniperus cedrus
Juniperus phoenicea
Some of my conifer photos from Tenerife:
http://www.pinetum.org/PhotoMPF4.htm

Michael

[Steve Lister]

Hi Alex

I have birded Gran Canaria once a long time ago, and both Tenerife and Fuerteventura several times. British birders tend not to visit Gran Canaria very much as its avifauna does not hold so many specialities as the more visited islands.

There are two very useful books for bird finding. One deals with just Tenerife - Where to watch birds on Tenerife, by Edouardo Garcia del Rey, and one covers the whole of the Canaries - The Prion Birdwatcher's Guide to the Canaries. There is also a book by an English birder on Tenerife, Tony Clarke, but I do not have the title to hand. For status and more detailed information there is a book in Spanish by, I think, Aurelio Martin and Juan Lorenzo.

If you want me to find exact details of these books send me a pm.

Best wishes, and welcome to Birdforums.

Steve Lister

[Ashley beolens]

I've birded Teneriffe I'll dig out my list and add it here. I was holidaying with a few friends (1 other birder) and we had a guided day out, which got us virtually every endemic and local speciality on the Island. I'll try and find the name of the person who showed us round if you would find it usefull.

[Ashley beolens]

I forgot to bring my list in to work with me, but it was 38 like Michael, however, the robin we saw was a canary island endemic! and the list does vary from his, it would appear that there is not a huge amount available, but it is quality.

[spanishalex]

Thank you all for your replies, they have all been very interesting. It is a sad reflection of the degradation of Gran Canaria that birders no longer visit the island. It is the most diverse of the seven islands and once held both the endemics of the western islands and the African specialities of the Eastern two. With the laurel forests down to 1% of their potential range and the arid southern plain now under greenhouses, industry or swimming pools, the island has lost much of its attraction.

The most recent information from the island is however quite promising. The woodpecker is coming back strongly thanks to replanting of the pine forests and the sparrowhawk has been confirmed as a breeding bird along with the woodcock. The Robins of Tenerife and Gran Canaria are distinct from the type but as yet, local experts do not accept them as a separate species. The exact status of the four Bluetit subspecies is also in doubt.

Cheers,

Alex

[david kelly]

Spanishalex,

It's just been reported in Birdwatch magazine that the Canarian Blue Tits have been included in the North African group which has been split from the European birds, which are genetically closer to the Azure Tit than the North African birds. The new species is called African Blue Tit (Parus teneriffae).

David

[Michael Frankis]

That's another armchair tick for me then thanks!

Michael

[spanishalex]

Cheers for the news. Do you know if there is anything on the internet about it. A few years ago, it was thought that thwe Canarian Blue Tits were half way between European Blue Tits and Coal Tits. I will try and find out what the local experts think about their status.

[david kelly]

I found this reference on the web at http://home.planet.nl/~by000012/SM/Split/SplitTits.htm

African Blue Tit Cyanistes teneriffae
Lesson 1831
sw Spain: Canary Islands; n,w Morocco; n Algeria; n Tunesia; nc Libya: Akhdar Mountains
split from: Cyanistes caeruleus
insert after: Cyanistes caeruleus
Walter Salzburger, Jochen Martens & Christian Sturmbauer,
Paraphyly of the Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) suggested from cytochrome b sequences
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24, 1 (2002): 19-25

David

[Nils]

Hello Alex!

It was interesting, that you´ve got special information on tenertife/bluetit.
I am german, living in Berlin, I will visit teneriffe in january an february for 4 weeks for birding, and I ´m searching informations for this special months, dealing on wintervisitors, migrants and spots.
Cheers,
Nils.

E=spanishalex]Thank you all for your replies, they have all been very interesting. It is a sad reflection of the degradation of Gran Canaria that birders no longer visit the island. It is the most diverse of the seven islands and once held both the endemics of the western islands and the African specialities of the Eastern two. With the laurel forests down to 1% of their potential range and the arid southern plain now under greenhouses, industry or swimming pools, the island has lost much of its attraction.

The most recent information from the island is however quite promising. The woodpecker is coming back strongly thanks to replanting of the pine forests and the sparrowhawk has been confirmed as a breeding bird along with the woodcock. The Robins of Tenerife and Gran Canaria are distinct from the type but as yet, local experts do not accept them as a separate species. The exact status of the four Bluetit subspecies is also in doubt.

Cheers,

Alex[/QUOTE]

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Nils,

Welcome to BirdForum!

Hope you have a successful trip - would you like any more detail about where I saw my birds in Tenerife?

Michael

[Ashley beolens]

I have a trip report (of sorts) on my website for my 1999 trip to tenerife, it might help get a feel of sites, although they may be a bit out of date.

http://www.beolens.co.uk/trip-reports.html

[Nils]

Hi Michael!

Thank You, - but I´m specifikly looking for reports from january an february (december), to prepare me for wintering birds. I´ve got enou general reports, but january, feb. are rare.

Nils.

Hi Nils,

Welcome to BirdForum!

Hope you have a successful trip - would you like any more detail about where I saw my birds in Tenerife?

Michael

[Bluetail]

Hi Nils

Have you tried the excellent Eurobirding site? They have several trip reports for the Canary Islands:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O35242FE6 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?O35242FE6)

Jason

[Nils]

hello jason,

thank you for this really good site-tip! I didn´t found this site before.

Nils.
Hi Nils

Have you tried the excellent Eurobirding site? They have several trip reports for the Canary Islands:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O35242FE6 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?O35242FE6)

Jason

[Joern Lehmhus]

Hi Michael;

If you have a trip report with the locations I would be interested.
I would also like to hear were you saw the trumpeter finches and how common they were?
Did you see any feral parrot populations on Tenerife?

Thanks,

Jörn

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Joern,

Here's where I saw the more interesting species:
Cory's Shearwater - Faro de Teno (northwest tip of Tenerife)
Bolle's Pigeon - forest road west from Erjos del Tanque (early morning visit essential)
Laurel (White-tailed) Pigeon - ditto
Plain Swift - common
Berthelot's Pipit - common
Grey Wagtail - La Orotava bus station (!)
Spectacled Warbler - scrub at start of trail to Ladera de Güimar
Sardinian Warbler - common, but hard to see!
Blackcap - common
Canary Is. Chiffchaff - very common
Canarycrest - frequent in pine forest with good shrub layer
Canary Is. Blue Tit - common
Southern Grey Shrike - scrub at start of trail to Ladera de Güimar
Spanish Sparrow - common in villages away from Puerto de la Cruz
House Sparrow (& House x Spanish hybrids) - Puerto de la Cruz centre only
Chaffinch - forest road west from Erjos del Tanque
Blue Chaffinch - frequent in mature pine forests
Serin - several around Puerto de la Cruz (watch out, not all the 'canaries' are genuine canaries!)
Canary - common; best site was the Jardin Botanico in Puerto de la Cruz
Trumpeter Finch - Malpaís de Güimar (area of dry coastal lava flow 4km east of Güimar; only saw one but didn't spend long there due to the need to get the last bus back to Puerto)

Parrots - saw a few escaped and/or feral parrots around Puerto de la Cruz, but didn't make any attempt to identify them

Pinus canariensis - abundant above about 1100m altitude up to 2000m; good old stands with Blue Chaffinch at La Caldera (1200m, above La Orotava), and on the west side of Tenerife on the road east from Chio to Teide
Juniperus cedrus - a few on La Fortaleza (northeast corner of the Teide National Park, at about 2000m alt.)
Juniperus phoenicea - a few on Ladera de Güimar, access via an old irrigation duct along the side of the cliff, access by path from Alta Vista, on the road 3km south of Güimar

Michael

[Joern Lehmhus]

Michael, many thanks!
Did you use a scope or did you only have binoculars there?

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Joern,

I only took bins, no scope (it was mainly a conifer study visit, with birding only secondary - and I wanted plenty of luggage space / weight allowance available for bringing cones back ;)). I suspect if I had taken a scope, I'd have done rather better on my seawatch at Faro de Teno

Michael

[Joern Lehmhus]

Yeah, probably;

but it is just in the same lines as my thinking, because I also have to have a look on the plants (Though not specially on the conifers) and also on the insects; therefore I will also have to carry some photo equipment and some books);

but so bins seem to be sufficient for some good sightings there?!

[spanishalex]

For anyone visiting the Canary Islands, there are a selection of great natural history books about the islands at:

http://www.balogh.com/rueda/editorial_rueda.html

[spanishalex]

So far, six parrot species have been recorded as breeding on the Canary Islands, although there are almost certainly more. A few year ago there was a confused sulphur crested cockatoo living at Corralejos on Fuerteventura. It would feed on dates in the morning and then sit on the rocks at low tide with the gulls. I think it genuinely believed it was a gull. I once met its former owner who said it had escaped and lived free for several years before we spotted it.

The parrot species recorded as breeders on the islands are:

The Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus recorded from Tenerife

Senegal Parrot: Poicephalus senegalus on Tenerife and probably Gran Canaria (Aldea de San Nicolas 2003)

Fischer's Lovebird Agapornis fischeri: Gran Canaria and probably Tenerife

Yellow-collared Lovebird Agapornis personatus: Gran Canaria

Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri: Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus: Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura and La Palma.

On Gran canaria there is an as yet unidentified parrot species resident and breeding in the Guiniguada Valley and the Botanic Gardens. It is olive green and larger than the other species present. If anyone has any ideas about what it might be please let me know.

[grundlersus]

Hello,
that is the first time I am hearing about Senegal Parrots breeding in the Canary Islands. Where do they breed in Tenerife ? I know that the Senegals are very shy parrots and if caught wild, they cannot be tamed.
I would like to know, why some parrot species can survive on the islands and others not.
Thanks in advance for your reply

[Swissboy]

Michael, many thanks!
Did you use a scope or did you only have binoculars there?

I was VERY glad I had my scope along when I visited Gomera and Teneriffa. Both for the endemic pigeons and for the marine birds.

And those special blue tits are so neat (whether considered a separate species or not)!

[steve west]

Does anyone have any experience of birding in the Canary Islands. What books do people use and whereabouts do they go?

This might be a bit late but...Toni Clarke's Book (Now where have I put it?) is as good a site guide as any you are likely to find, although Where to Watch birds in Tenerife by Eduardo García del Rey is focused on Tenerife and as such is more detailed for that particular island. Personally, I have been to the Canary Islands several times and my favourites are Fuerteventura and la Palma (although a short trip to Tenerife is really necessary for the Blue Chaffinch and perhaps the Barbary Falcon). On la Palma you have both the doves, canary, chiffchaffs, goldcrests,blue tits and chaffinches (spp-subspp), plain swift, etc. On Fuerteventura specialities are Houbara Bustard, CCCourser, BBSandgrouse, BArbary Partridge, Fuerteventura Stonechat, Trumpeter Finch, Ruddy Shelduck, LSt Lark, pallid swift etc.

I offer short trips to the Canary Islands in the summer months concentrating on these islands.

Regards
Steve West

[Allen S. Moore]

This might be a bit late but...Toni Clarke's Book (Now where have I put it?) is as good a site guide as any you are likely to find, although Where to Watch birds in Tenerife by Eduardo García del Rey is focused on Tenerife and as such is more detailed for that particular island. Personally, I have been to the Canary Islands several times and my favourites are Fuerteventura and la Palma (although a short trip to Tenerife is really necessary for the Blue Chaffinch and perhaps the Barbary Falcon). On la Palma you have both the doves, canary, chiffchaffs, goldcrests,blue tits and chaffinches (spp-subspp), plain swift, etc. On Fuerteventura specialities are Houbara Bustard, CCCourser, BBSandgrouse, BArbary Partridge, Fuerteventura Stonechat, Trumpeter Finch, Ruddy Shelduck, LSt Lark, pallid swift etc.

I offer short trips to the Canary Islands in the summer months concentrating on these islands.

Regards
Steve West
Although I saw my first barbary falcon with Tony Clarke in the NW of Tenerife in 2000, I saw the species twice in La Palma this October. The first was one flying N by the N end of the seafront in the capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma. That was in the late afternoon. Next morning, I saw two by the road close to Mirador El Time in the W of the island. That was my fourth visit to La Palma in 5 years, but I had not seen the species there before.

[Julian Bell]

I've had two holidays in December and January in Lanzarote, both without scope but picked up plenty of good birds. Not many species though.

I tend just to hire a bike and have a couple of hours out early in the morning.

More details / reports / list on my most recent visit to be found here: http://www.naturalbornbirder.com/travel/travel.php
There is a section on Lanzarote and a pdf file you can download.

There is an extremely rapid expansion of tourism going on down there. Scary.

[David Manley]

Does anyone have any experience of birding in the Canary Islands. What books do people use and whereabouts do they go?

New book just out. Checklist of the birds of the canary islands. (lista de las aves de las islas canarias) by Eduiardo Garcia del ray. I got the English version through amazon but as it is a Canarias publication it is most likely available in Spanish through

Publicaciones Turquesa S.L., 2001
Apartado de correos 686
38080, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Tlfno: 922 247 961