dan pointon
Can't Stop
I have just returned from a weeks birding on Tenerife and Lanzarote, and although I haven't written a full trip report yet, as this place is a popular holiday destination for birders with families, a bit of stuff we discovered/saw is probably of interest.
Aside from seeing the endemic and localised species (Bolle's & Laurel Pigeons, Blue Chaffinch, Houbara etc), the main focus of the trip was to hopefully see both Bulwer's and White-faced Storm Petrel, by following a similar itinerary to that of PhilW on his trip last year (http://wirralbirders.blogspot.com/ , see last July).
We spent 2.5 days on Tenerife, which was more than sufficient to gain great views of both pigeons in the Erjos area, with perched Bolle's at the ponds and numerous flight views of both (though mainly Bolle's) at Monte del Agua as described in most guides. Several Barbary Falcon were seen well at Punta del Teno in the NW of Tenerife, and Blue Chaffinch were easy at Las Lajas. On Lanzarote, we had good views of Houbara at both El Jable in the middle and El Rubicon in the SW, seeing 15+ Cream-coloured Courser in the former area, mainly in the north near the town of Soo.
As stated, the main target species of the trip were however seabirds. We took the long ferry from Tenerife (Santa Cruz) to Lanzarote, which stops and Gran Canaria en-route. We had seen many reports of scarce seabirds from this and other ferries, but unfortunately, on the return journey the ferry makes a stop on the southern coast of Fuerteventura, meaning it spends less time in the open waters to the north of the island. This is worth noting if hoping to sail with Transmediterranea, as it likely reduces the chances of observing seabirds.
Conditions on the ferry we took were rough, and there was lots of glare off the sea, and we only recorded 1 Bulwer's Petrel during the crossing. Our primary target, White-faced Storm Petrel, eluded us till just 10km to the SW of Fuerteventura, when a single bird was located at c20yds range feeding alongside the boat. It allowed superb views, and backed up the recent reports that these birds are easier than previously thought to come across in the archipelago. The best sightings of the trip came however during seawatching sessions in the NE of Lanzarote. We chose a position c2km S of Ozorla, between the km29 & 30 markers, parking in a small roadside car park and watching from a sheltered mound east of the road. In favourable conditions (NE force 5) we recorded 3500+ Cory's, 66 Bulwer's Petrel (some at very close range), a single Great Shearwater, 2 European Storm Petrel, Arctic Skua and a single Gannet.
It seems the possibility of seawatching from the NE of the island provides a high chance of seeing species such as Bulwer's Petrel, which are otherwise thought to commonly spend much time away from land in open water.
The only dissapointment of the trip was no Red-billed Tropicbirds, though I am not sure if they have been seen this year, unless others know otherwise? If you are heading out that way and want any more specific gen re seawatching sites, ferry logisitics, feel free to drop me a PM/e-mail. As somewhere that seems to have some severly underwatched coastline, seawatching from the Canaries may present more species possibilities than currently realised.
D
Aside from seeing the endemic and localised species (Bolle's & Laurel Pigeons, Blue Chaffinch, Houbara etc), the main focus of the trip was to hopefully see both Bulwer's and White-faced Storm Petrel, by following a similar itinerary to that of PhilW on his trip last year (http://wirralbirders.blogspot.com/ , see last July).
We spent 2.5 days on Tenerife, which was more than sufficient to gain great views of both pigeons in the Erjos area, with perched Bolle's at the ponds and numerous flight views of both (though mainly Bolle's) at Monte del Agua as described in most guides. Several Barbary Falcon were seen well at Punta del Teno in the NW of Tenerife, and Blue Chaffinch were easy at Las Lajas. On Lanzarote, we had good views of Houbara at both El Jable in the middle and El Rubicon in the SW, seeing 15+ Cream-coloured Courser in the former area, mainly in the north near the town of Soo.
As stated, the main target species of the trip were however seabirds. We took the long ferry from Tenerife (Santa Cruz) to Lanzarote, which stops and Gran Canaria en-route. We had seen many reports of scarce seabirds from this and other ferries, but unfortunately, on the return journey the ferry makes a stop on the southern coast of Fuerteventura, meaning it spends less time in the open waters to the north of the island. This is worth noting if hoping to sail with Transmediterranea, as it likely reduces the chances of observing seabirds.
Conditions on the ferry we took were rough, and there was lots of glare off the sea, and we only recorded 1 Bulwer's Petrel during the crossing. Our primary target, White-faced Storm Petrel, eluded us till just 10km to the SW of Fuerteventura, when a single bird was located at c20yds range feeding alongside the boat. It allowed superb views, and backed up the recent reports that these birds are easier than previously thought to come across in the archipelago. The best sightings of the trip came however during seawatching sessions in the NE of Lanzarote. We chose a position c2km S of Ozorla, between the km29 & 30 markers, parking in a small roadside car park and watching from a sheltered mound east of the road. In favourable conditions (NE force 5) we recorded 3500+ Cory's, 66 Bulwer's Petrel (some at very close range), a single Great Shearwater, 2 European Storm Petrel, Arctic Skua and a single Gannet.
It seems the possibility of seawatching from the NE of the island provides a high chance of seeing species such as Bulwer's Petrel, which are otherwise thought to commonly spend much time away from land in open water.
The only dissapointment of the trip was no Red-billed Tropicbirds, though I am not sure if they have been seen this year, unless others know otherwise? If you are heading out that way and want any more specific gen re seawatching sites, ferry logisitics, feel free to drop me a PM/e-mail. As somewhere that seems to have some severly underwatched coastline, seawatching from the Canaries may present more species possibilities than currently realised.
D
