[edenwatcher]

Back in the autumn Sue decided that she would need to escape the gloom of a Scottish winter for a week's sun and preferably some good birding. We initially looked at Tenerife as there are flights from Edinburgh, but decided that searching for pigeons in laurel forests with 2 small boys (3 and a half and 14 months) might be a bit tricky. I then suggested Fuerteventura (flights from Glasgow) on the grounds that desert birding might be easier, being mostly car based ... Next question was which part of the island. We settled on Costa Calma, being adjacent to arguably the best bit of desert habitat (certainly for sandgrouse) and a resort with little nightlife. We were too late to find a suitable villa, so took our chance on an apartment at the Costa Calma Beach Resort (most guests on all-inclusive packages). In the event this turned out to be very good, with a nice flat with sufficient facilities for self-catering and an adequate supermarket within easy walking distance. The sofa beds that Sue and I slept on were beds that convert into sofas rather than the other way about, hence perfectly comfortable. The hotel is at the north end of the sandy beach and had a suitable kiddies pool and play area. The beach was good for both waders and sandcastles!
We hired a car for the week (VW Golf) which was entirely adequate and coped well with the desert tracks (doubtless in violation of the terms and conditions!). The roads are excellent, having presumably been blessed by the EU money fairy!
In additions to the ubiquitous Clarke and Collins we used a variety of internet gen, of which I would single out Rich Bonser's 2003 report for good site info., and thanks to Woodchatshrike for information from his trip in December. With 2 small boys this could never be a dawn-to-dusk birding extravaganza but here's how we did...

Rob

[tjbirdofprey]

cant wait to hear what happens

[markgrubb]

Looking forward to hearing what you saw-am heading there in June-but with a grumpy teenager in tow rather than 2 small kids

[edenwatcher]

A bit of a slow start to the week ...

January 28th
Our flight landed shortly before 14:00 (20 minutes early). Baggage reclaim and collecting the hire car was remarkably painless and we were soon on our way south along the FV2 to Costa Calma. The journey took about an hour, with few birds seen en route. The rest of the day was spent getting sorted out at the flat and doing the shopping, though on the latter excursion I saw a couple of ravens and a chiffchaff.

January 29th
This was a quiet day around the resort, to allow Andrew to let off steam etc. We began on the beach where there was a tame little egret, several bar-tailed godwits, a greenshank, common sandpiper and a very confiding whimbrel. The gardens contained an obliging pair of hoopoes. We had a minor hiatus after lunch when Daniel woke up in distress, with intermittent bouts of screaming. Fortunately he recovered within the hour, but it was not what we were looking for on the first full day of the holiday!
In the afternoon we went for a walk in the "Costa Calma woods" which run the length of the resort on either side of the main road. For those who like dodgy feral species we found a red-vented bulbul outside the hotel entrance. We were to hear it most days during the week. The woods were full of linnets plus a few goldfinches and more tame hoopoes.

Photos will follow when processing is complete ...

Rob

[edenwatcher]

January 30th
Our first foray in search of the specialities, with a short drive across the isthmus to La Pared. This is where the black-bellied sandgrouse typically gather to drink in gullies in the cliffs. After a few false casts we located the site described by Woodchatshrike, but unfortunately there was no sign of a sandgrouse. The rock doves looked fairly pure however. We then had our first drive into the desert from the road between La Pared and Costa Calma (described in many trip reports). All was quiet apart from a number of singing lesser short-toed larks (a lifer for Sue). Not a very auspicious start really.
The wind then got up (a feature of Fuerteventura's weather) so we went to the zoo at La Lajita, around 8km north of Costa Calma. As zoos go, it was quite a good one. Whilst quite expensive for a one-off visit, it had an excellent deal whereby you could get in free for the the rest of your holiday (lasts 60 days). This is supposed to be the Fuerteventura stronghold for laughing dove, but we never encountered one here. There was another red-vented bulbul on the wrong side of the fence, we saw our only blackcap here (though we head them elsewhere) and there was a roost of grey herons and little egrets on the hillside overlooking the zoo. I suspect this was no coincidence and they raid the zoo out of hours for handouts...
Back at base I went for a wander along the rocky shore to the north, encountering a high tide roost which included over 40 sanderling. On the way back I found a small flock of trumpeter finches. Since this was a lifer for Sue I returned to the flat and we went back out to look for them. They were still around but unfortunately she only managed flight views.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

January 31st
A change of tactics saw me head out early to La Pared on my own. After an hour or so as the sun came up I was able to determine that sandgrouse were not using the gullies at the time of our visit! I then revisited the desert, seeing a Berthelot's pipit at the roadside as I left La Pared. At my furthest point I parked and scanned over the desert seeing ... 2 more pipits plus a raven making weird noises. Things were looking rather grim! However on the way back I picked up two birds on my right - black-bellied sandgrouse! Unfortunately they took umbrage when I turned the engine off and flew away, but it was a start. A little further on I stopped for another scan down the slope towards the sea on the La Pared side. Through bins I picked up what looked like a houbara. Looking through the scope confirmed a superb displaying male houbara, albeit somewhat distant. I was able to get rather closer in the car, then decided to try to advance on foot (not generally recommended for close views). Surprisingly it let me get within 100m, giving excellent views as it gave its hilarious display. Each time it went it went into full display it tended to run away from me, so I returned to the car. It's amazing how much better the world seems after 2 lifers (thanks to the split of Macqueen's bustard) albeit that Sue still needed them ...
I met Sue and the boys on the beach and we set out down the Jandia peninsula for the day. The lagoon at Casas Risco del Paso was devoid of interest (too late in the morning) and we drove on to Jandia/Morro Jable. The feral population of monk parakeets was ridiculously easy to locate. After lunch in a cafe a walk to a playpark produced plenty of swifts feeding over the salicornia. Initially I thought they were all pallid, but then I began to pick up a few smaller plain swifts amongst them. Also here we added house martin and cattle egret to the trip list. On the way back to Costa Calma we investigated what looked a promising barranco, but the road was chained off and all we managed was a Berthelot's pipit. Back at Costa Calma we went directly to the trumpeter finch site and scored immediately, with at least 15 birds present. Plenty of close range photos were obtained (but you'll have to wait until I've processed them).
We had a short break and made some sandwiches for the boys' tea before setting out for a different bit of desert, accessed from the S end of Costa Calma (see Bonser 4 iii). If taking this track the first bit is the worst - don't give up! Whilst this suffers from disturbance by people walking to and from the beaches on the west coast (and dogwalkers) we did well on our visits here. Southern grey shrike was seen within about 200m and after about 800m I picked a pair of cream-coloured coursers. They ran across the track in front of us and soon after went into a highly stylised display, including copulation. They gradually wandered off after a post-coital fag (or the courser equivalent) and we drove on. Another shrike soon followed, before we encountered a close pair of sandgrouse. These did not spook although they walked further away. However we were near to intersection of 2 tracks so we were able to keep with them (and herd them back to the first track!).
So ended a successful day - at last we were up and running.

Rob

[Stephen Dunstan]

As I have mentioned here before I had a Yellow-browed Warbler when taking kids round the zoo at La Lajita. I have video of it where I am trying to keep it in the area by pishing, and on the commentary you can here my youngest saying 'are you bird charming daddy'.

Stephen.

[edenwatcher]

February 1st
We headed NE up the FV2 as far as the Barranco de la Torre, perhaps the best known site for the endemic Fuerteventura chat. We parked by a ruined building on the S side of the FV2 and walked down into the barranco. I picked up a male Sardinian warbler and there were a number of Berthelot’s pipits present. Before we had gone very far, a nice male Fuerteventura chat popped up on some rocks – result! It showed well, but was a bit wary – perhaps me having Daniel on my back didn’t help my fieldcraft! We also saw our first buzzards of the trip. We then visited the Salinas del Carmen which had plenty of Berthelot’s pipits, a redshank and a common sandpiper but little else. We headed back south and visited the wetland site of Rosa de Catalina Garcia. On the entrance track we met a couple of Danish birders and exchanged news. Incidentally the track here was probably the worst we encountered – a higher clearance vehicle would have been desirable! Whilst we were talking, a pair of Egyptian vultures drifted over, which was nice. The pool held 3 spoonbills, 10 ruddy shelducks plus numerous coots and a few moorhen, whilst a spectacled warbler sang from the nearby scrub.
By now it was lunchtime and it was time to entertain the boys once more, so we spent the afternoon at the zoo. On the way back to Costa Calma we called in at the La Pared section of desert, partly to show Sue the place where the bustard had been displaying - in case she needed to make a last-ditch attempt on our final morning. Needless to say we didn’t see a bustard, though I did have flight views of a pair of sandgrouse.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

February 2nd
This was a day for heading up into the mountains, so the return of strong winds was not particularly welcome. As we were driving past we had another try in the desert on the way to La Pared. We picked up 2 sandgrouse about 100m in front of the car and edged closer. Unfortunately we had not seen another pair right beside the track and all 4 flushed. Driving on, we encountered another male Fuerteventura chat just beyond Pajara. We stopped at Vega de Rio Palma, at the start of the Las Penitas track, though we did not plan to go as far as the Embalse de las Penitas as we had seen from above that it was dry. Having parked the car, we were waiting for Daniel to wake up(!) when Sue picked up a pair of African blue tits of the endemic race degener. These cracking little birds were our main target for the day and it was great to encounter them so easily. Also seen at the bridge were southern grey shrike and Berthelot’s pipit. Once Daniel stirred we set off down the barranco, seeing several Sardinian warblers and a grey wagtail. We turned back once the vegetation thinned out and there was less shelter from the wind. Back at the bridge the blue tits were still around and we heard Barbary partridge – unfortunately the closest we got to the species.
We drove on to the picturesque old island capital of Betancuria for lunch. African blue tits were easily seen here near the church, including a singing bird in the museum grounds. The song is totally different from European blue tit. We then drove back to Pajara and on to Toto, where Woodchatshrike had given me a site for Barbary falcon. Unfortunately the wind was funneling through the site and no falcon was forthcoming. We drove on to Rosa de Catalina Garcia on our way back to Costa Calma. This proved rather disappointing with only the ruddy shelducks and a single Egyptian vulture of note.

Rob

[Andrew]

It is nice to revisit Fuerteventura vicariously through you. I have also just been looking through my pictures.

I never saw barbary partridge either and likewise, found the Rosa de Catlina Garcia track too rough for the car. Walking to the lake scared pretty much everything to the far end.

I wish I had bothered with the Monk Parakeets now!

[edenwatcher]

Cheers Andrew.

February 3rd
Our last full day, so the pressure was on to find Sue a houbara! Accordingly we began the day by visiting the desert on the way to La Pared. Unfortunately all we could muster were lesser short-toed larks so we went to the alternative access at the south end of Costa Calma. Here we encountered a party of 4 coursers in the same place as the pair had been earlier in the week. Again some display was seen. Despite driving much further into the desert there was no sign of a houbara. We returned to the hotel and spent most of the rest of the morning on the beach, where a little egret was particularly obliging and Andrew fell in the sea!
Later in the afternoon we made sandwiches for the boys and went out once again. Like the morning we began by visiting the desert between Costa Calma and La Pared, and once again we saw little on the way in. Also there were several people out on foot, which was discouraging. We turned round and began to drive back to the road when suddenly, there was a male houbara with neck plumes raised around 50m in front of us. We were able to drive right up to it (within about 15m!) for mindblowing views. It went into full display and ran down the slope a bit, after which Andrew woke up (both boys had fallen asleep). Andrew often wakes up crotchety if he has a sleep during the day, but the sight of a displaying houbara with head invisible amongst plumes soon had him chuckling. When the bird had wandered away we left him to it and went on our way punching the air. We finished the day in the other bit of desert, this time with a party of 9 coursers (same place once more) and 3 pairs of sandgrouse (great views again). What a way to finish the day.

February 4th
The day dawned wet and windy. I managed to see a laughing dove from the balcony but it did not hang around. After checking out around 9:30 we headed to La Pared. No sandgrouse came to drink but a brief seawatch turned up some kittiwakes feeding offshore. We drove north along the FV2 to Salinas del Carmen, where we spent a pleasant hour or so without seeing much. It was then time to head for the airport. Despite worries about the UK weather we left on time and landed some 40 minutes early. Glasgow had a little snow, and more falling. Overall we saw just over 50 spp. with 4 lifers for me and 7 for Sue. We seemed to balance the requirements of birding time and keeping the boys happy pretty well.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

A few pics a last.

Some from the beach to start.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

Some from Costa Calma and a singing Lesser short-toed Lark from La Pared.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

A few more, mostly from the rocky shore N of the resort.

Rob

[Jos Stratford]

Nice report there, still need to drag mysef out to the Canaries

[edenwatcher]

Cheers Jos. Not really your sort of place though ...

First houbara action, then some from the south.

Rob

[Jos Stratford]

Originally Posted by edenwatcher

Cheers Jos. Not really your sort of place though ...

Any place with a big fluffed up Houbara like in your photo could be my kind of place

[edenwatcher]

Fair point.

A few trumpeter finches ...

Rob

[edenwatcher]

Mmm... coursers.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

Some sandgrouse.

Rob

[Barred Wobbler]

Great photos Rob. I'm assuming that other than the swift, these are digiscoped, right?

I'm off to Fuerteventura in 4 weeks, let's hope I can get some shots like yours.

[markgrubb]

Great pics Rob (ever thought of offering Dr W some lessons )and a good report- I'm looking forward to going in June but I suspect there will be a bit less variety about-look forward to the coursers and bustards though

[edenwatcher]

All shots taken with DSLR (Canon 20D & 100-400L).
I fear Dr. W. is beyond help Mark.

A few endemics. Best I could do with the chat, sadly.

Rob

[Barred Wobbler]

Thanks Rob, that's what I hoped you'd say. I suggested digiscoping because it seems that the subjects were very close otherwise (and the shallow depth of field on the courser). I was puzzled by the image quality, though. It was too high to suggest digiscoping.

Let's hope they are as confiding when I get there. Were you using the car as a hide?

[edenwatcher]

Yes I used the car as a hide. More or less essential to get close to the desert species (though the houbara was stalked on foot). The MUCH closer houbara pics I will post later were from the car.

Rob