Butterflies of the Canary Islands, 2022-2023 (1 Viewer)

[Jos Stratford]

26 December. Punta del Hidalgo & Barranco del Rio.

The anticipated storm arrived, perhaps with less ferocity than I had been expecting (that would be the following day!), but extremely heavy rain in the early hours and a very grey dawn with intermittent rain continuing. Didn't expect any butterfly action this day!

Crossed to the east of the island and started with a couple of birding stops - pools at Tejina and the rocky headland at Punta del Hidalgo. Wetlands are a true rarity in Tenerife, so the handkerchief-sized Tejina pools are nevertheless almost quarantined to hold some birds and indeed they did - along with a motley collection of Coots and Moorhens, 35 Cattle Egrets, one Night Heron, one Garganey, three Common Sandpipers and a Snipe. Almost all of these were new for the trip. Two Plain Swifts overhead too. At another pool nearby, added 14 Ruddy Shelducks. The Punta del Hidalgo coast was looking wild and rough, no seabirds noted. Did however see more new species for the trip - three Grey Plovers, one Ringed Plover, one Whimbrel and one Turnstone.

Fortunately here, the skies brightened briefly and the sun even made a very weak appearance. Hmm, thought I, not very far from Barranco del Rio. Another locality for Plain Tigers, I went more in curiosity than expectation - in sun barely bringing any warmth, I thought I would see no butterflies. However, totally impressing me, I arrived and almost immediately found myself surrounded by Plain Tigers! Not highly active due to the conditions, these were an absolute treat - flying back and fro to a degree, but mostly simply sunning and resting on plant stalks. Rare to see the Plain Tigers being anything except highly mobile, it was a nice opportunity to get good photographs. With some effort, also added four Small Whites and three Painted Ladies, plus one Canary Speckled Wood.

Plain Tiger 25
Small White 4
Painted Lady 3
Canary Speckled Wood 1

Soon after, cloud again thickened and the wind began to increase, nothing more seen this day.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Barranco del Rio

 

[Jos Stratford]

27 December. Storm Day.
Winds gusting at 80 km/hr, occasional rain, snow higher up. Day off from birds and butterflies.


28-29 December. La Orotava & Barranco del Rio.
Storm was over, sun back in control, albeit only 24 C and punctuated by occasional patches of cloud. Spent most of the two days wandering the lush slopes above La Orotava, butterfly highlights, along with upward of 30 Monarch, a total of six Canary Brimstones and a good number of both admirals - seven Red Admirals and at least 15 Canary Red Admirals.

La Orotava
Monarch 30+
Small White 150+
Canary Brimstone 6
Canary Blue 1
African Grass Blue 3
Red Admiral 7
Canary Red Admiral 15
Painted Lady 8
Canary Speckled Wood 40+

More impressive, however, was a return trip to Barranco del Rio …hoping to see the Plain Tigers again, I certainly was not expecting the spectacle that awaited - at least 65 Plain Tigers in a colony, these stunning butterflies sunning and feeding on Canary Lavender, almost all in fresh pristine condition.

Barranco del Rio
Plain Tiger 65
Small White 25
Bath White 1
Canary Brimstone 2
Small Copper 1
Painted Lady 1
Canary Speckled Wood 3


One bird highlight also to mention - from my accommodation in La Orotava, an apartment on an orange farm, a spectacular late afternoon gathering of Plain Swifts, no less than 270 hawking at low height, repeatedly zooming over the orange orchards. Very high number for winter. One House Martin also in the midst, my only hirundine of the trip.

 

[Jos Stratford]

And a quick visit to Tiede, many folk enjoying Canary snow! No butterflies it has to be said ...

 

[Jos Stratford]

30 December. Palmatum, Santa Cruz & Crossing to Gran Canaria.

Final morning on Tenerife, dropped the car off, then walked to the excellent Palmatum for a return trip of a few hours - pretty similar butterfly mix to two weeks earlier, eight species in all, chief among them hordes of African Grass Blues, a couple of dozen Monarchs and both Canary Blue and Lang's Short-tailed Blue. And with that it was time to say goodbye to Tenerife, a grand nineteen species of butterfly notched up, plus all the endemic birds.

Palmatum
Monarch 25
Small White 50
Canary Blue 1
African Grass Blue 250+
Lang's Short-tailed Blue 1
Canary Red Admiral 1
Painted Lady 16
Canary Speckled Wood 1

At 1.30, I boarded the ferry to Gran Canaria for the two hour hop to Las Palmas. Winter ferries are generally hopeless for seeing seabirds and indeed it was - one single seabird noted all trip! However, rather remarkably, it was a good one - approximately midway between the islands, flying in from the side and then to the rear of the boat, one neat Barolo Shearwater! This is the third time I have taken this ferry in late December …and each time I have seen one noteworthy seabird and absolutely nothing else - the previous two trips both produced a single Madeiran Storm Petrel on the Tenerife half of the journey.


Over on Gran Canaria, picked up a new car and quickly zipped up to some arid hills overlooking Las Palmas. Had seen the endemic Gran Canaria Green-striped White here in the previous year, but zilch in that category this time, perhaps partly due to the relatively late hour. Did add Canary Blue however.

Las Palmas
Small White 10
Canary Blue 1
Red Admiral 2
Painted Lady 10

And with that, travelled down to La Garita and checked into rather plush accommodation on the coast, home for the next week.

 

[Jos Stratford]

31 December. Forestal de Pajonales & Barranco de Arguinequin.

Top day, but not for the reasons I had been expecting. After poor views of a female Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch the previous year, top target this day was to see a nice male. What I had not expected to find instead was a new species of butterfly for me, along with two other very difficult species of butterflies to find on the island.

La Garita pre-dawn, a pleasant 18C, walked to the car. Arrived at Llanos de la Pez about 40 minutes later to a decidedly chilly 6 C, the sun still firmly hidden behind the high peaks. Jeepers, shorts and teeshirt were perhaps not the best attire. Anyhow, time to start the hunt for Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch! The population of this island endemic is critically low, split between about 70 in the extensive pine forests surrounding Llanos de la Pez and perhaps 360 in the more remote Forestal de Pajonales area. So it was, walking at Llanos de la Pez, I began my day's search by wandering the same area that had been largely fruitless the year before for me! And results were about the same - Atlantic Canaries chirping around, a bunch of Ravens strutting their stuff, several Rock Doves wandering around, no sign of any chaffinches of any description.

No big deal, my main destination for today was the Forestal de Pajonales area, some 15 km to the west, I was 'sure to see' some there. A small rocky track the last few kilometres, I parked and began to walk, now happily bathed in early morning sunshine. Highly scenic area with open pine and mountain peaks, Canary Islands Chiffchaffs were in song here and there, Great Spotted Woodpeckers tapped away, a couple of Common Buzzards soared overhead. I was in prime areas that the Blue Chaffinches are often seen in, I was fully confident. To cut a long story short later, the next hours passed without a single Blue Chaffinch! Walked and rewalked various tracks, zilch.

But hey, the sun was shining, temperatures were rising to a pleasant 20 C and butterflies were appearing on the wing. Plenty to distract me from the lack of a certain bird. A half dozen butterfly species seen in short order, Small Whites and Painted Ladies the most numerous, before I then ventured upon a small rocky outcrop with a relative abundance of small flowers. Immediately looked good, a couple of Small Coppers and Southern Brown Argus flitting about, Red Admirals too. But then my first surprise of the day, flying low and fast around a rock face a very small white butterfly …'hmm', thought I, 'that looks like a …' And indeed it was, as it finally settled on small flowers right on a cliff edge, I was looking at a very fine Gran Canaria Green-striped White. Endemic to the island, I had previously seen this near the coast the year before, but they had been highly mobile and I had failed to photograph it. Quite mobile this time too, but as I realised there were two present, a half hour of scrambling around the rocks finally got me face to face with this most delicate of whites, a very nice butterfly.

Chuffed with this, I then resumed my quest for Blue Chaffinch. Still no success on that front, but I did stumble across an even greater reward for me - the second of the island's endemic butterflies, Gran Canaria Greyling. A pretty common species in mid-summer, rare individuals do occasionally appear from January, though I really was not expecting it. There it was, however, simply sunning on the track, 21st butterfly species of the trip. Unfortunately, one record shot of the butterfly and up it went, cruising off through the pines never to be seen again. Fortunately, a half hour later, I found another, slightly more cooperative and this did allow a couple of reasonable photographs.

Bored with looking for Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch, I decided to then quit the highland forests and try to find one more rare butterfly. A predominantly African species, small populations of Desert Babul Blues were discovered some years ago in arid valleys in the far south of Gran Canaria, though I actually had no information if any had been seen in the last couple of years. Never common and an absolute midget of a butterfly (the smallest butterfly species recorded in Europe), finding would be near impossible except for its absolute habit of sticking to acacia trees, these trees not very common in the area. So it was, I stopped on cactus-dotted slopes in the lower Barranco de Arguinequin, spied an sprawling acacia in full flower and scrambled up to begin the search. In reality, I didn't expect success, but in barely 15 minutes, I had found one Desert Babul Blue quietly feeding on flowers immediately adjacent to the acacia. And then up it flitted to settle on the acacia itself, a thousand spikes and thorns separately the butterfly amd any possibility of a good photograph. By now late afternoon, butterfly action was beginning to due down, but I did find a second Desert Babul Blue on the same bush, again in an intrenetable area of thicket. Happy with this success, I vowed to return next day to find more and photograph.

So, day result, still unfinished business on Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch, but success on the two endemic butterfly species of the island and Desert Babul Blue. Good enough for me.


Forestal de Pajonales
Small White 200+
Bath White 5
Gran Canaria Green-striped White 2
Clouded Yellow 10
Small Copper 6
Southern Brown Argus 2
Red Admiral 15
Painted Lady 80+
Gran Canaria Greyling 2

Barranco de Arguinequin
Small White 40+
Clouded Yellow 8
Small Copper 2
Desert Babul Blue 2
African Grass Blue 1
Southern Brown Argus 1
Painted Lady 5

 

[Jos Stratford]

Habitat of Gran Canaria Green-striped White & Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch

 

[Jos Stratford]

1 January. Little Big Day.

As traditional for 1 January, I decided to do a Big Day and try to see as many bird species as possible. On bird-limited Canary Islands, this is quite a challenge, but combining the Charcas de San Lorenzo in the north (some of the island's only freshwater pools), Charca de Maspalomas in the south (a small coastal wetland) and assorted stops in arid hills above La Garita and finally the pine forests at Llanos de la Pez, I did manage to notch up 50 species, some of the highlights being Stone Curlews, Common Waxbills and an assortment of waterbirds at the two charcas. I would add Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch as a highlight, but having finally located one by call, the bird resolutely refused to show, sitting calling somewhere deep in a high tree, then slipping off unseen! Still unfinished business!

In between birds, not bad for butterflies too - failed to find a sought out Greenish Black-Tip, but did manage another Gran Canaria Greyling in the pine country and, back in the Barranco de Arguinequin, found yet three more Desert Babul Blues at another area of acacia. And these being on smaller acacias and frequently feeding on adjacent flowers, also managed to photograph.

La Garita Hills
Small White 15
Bath White 10
Clouded Yellow 10
Small Copper 4
Southern Brown Argus 2
Painted Lady 3

Barranco de Arguinequin
Monarch 1
Small White 40+
Bath White 35+
Clouded Yellow 30+
Small Copper 8
Desert Babul Blue 3
African Grass Blue 2
Southern Brown Argus 5
Painted Lady 4
Gran Canaria Greyling 1

 

[Jos Stratford]

2-3 January. La Garita Hills & Viera y Clavijo Botanical Gardens.

Work days, punctuated by a couple more attempts on Greenish Black-Tip in the arid hills above La Garita and a visit to the excellent Viera y Clavijo Botanical Gardens. Zilch on the Greenish Black-Tip, but a positive bonanza of butterflies in the lush tropical gardens - no less than 12 species in all, several dozen Monarchs one of the highlights, Canary Blue, Lang's Short-tailed Blue and 40 or so Long-tailed Blues also of note.

La Garita Hills
Monarch 1
Small White 280+
Bath White 25
Clouded Yellow 35
Small Copper 25
African Grass Blue 3
Southern Brown Argus 1
Painted Lady 12
Red Admiral 1
Canary Speckled Wood 4

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 2
Splurge Hawk Moth 1


Botanical Gardens
Monarch 45+
Small White 50+
Bath White 2
Clouded Yellow 2
Small Copper 6
Canary Blue 1
African Grass Blue 20
Lang's Short-tailed Blue 1
Long-tailed Blue 40+
Red Admiral 3
Painted Lady 5
Canary Speckled Wood 5

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 1

 

[Jos Stratford]

4 January. Forestal de Pajonales, Cueva De Las Niñas Reservoir & La Garita Hills

Attempt number three on this trip for Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch! After a quick look round at Llanos de la Pez, ever present Ravens and Rock Doves just about the only birds seen, I then crossed over to the more scenic Forestal de Pajonales area. Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Atlantic Canaries and Canary Island Chiffchaffs two a penny, but a bit of déjà vu as I walked all of the best chaffinch areas for a couple of hours without any sign of the desired birds …didn't even see Common Chaffinch. As the sun began to warm the slopes, Red Admirals drifted by, a meadow down yonder seemed full of Clouded Yellows and Small Whites. In the absence of success on my unfinished business, I decided to scramble down the steep slope to check out the butterflies …Canary Blue down there, plus many Painted Ladies and Small Coppers. At this point, being quite lazy to climb back up the slope, I decided to follow a valley down through the pines, also reckoning my chances of Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch were as good here as anywhere. And that is where my luck finally changed …picked them up on call to begin with, somewhere further down the slope calling from high pines. And then, before I got there, silence, they had vanished! Sat and waited a while, then slowly continued down the valley …ten minutes later, they were calling again, then bingo, there they were - sitting on a low branch in shrubbery below the pines, two male Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinches! Delicate blues, nice conical bills, sitting proud to allow unfettered views, superb … finally I could consider my unfinished business now finished. Then they dropped to the ground and began to feed under thick bushes, a female also present with them, she sporting colour rings. Very difficult to follow them thereafter, all three very elusive as they moved along a well-vegetated dry stream bed.

These birds would not have been seen or heard from the tracks that wind through the area, perhaps they tend to favour the valley bottoms in winter and hence the difficulty in finding (I met several other persons over these days who had also failed to find any).

With that, I then hiked up to the rocky outcrop where I had seen Gran Canaria Green-striped White some days before, two seen this time, along with several Southern Brown Argus and Small Coppers, then departed the area to head for for lower altitude.

Forestal de Pajonales
Small White 150+
Gran Canaria Green-striped White 2
Clouded Yellow 40+
Small Copper 18
Canary Blue 1
Southern Brown Argus 6
Red Admiral 4
Painted Lady 60+

Just a few kilometres away, passing Cueva De Las Niñas Reservoir, a positive flush of greenery around the inflow was more than enough to persuade me to stop. And superb it was, an abundance of flowers and, with it, an abundance of butterflies. Positively clouds of whites, impressively including at least 20 Gran Canaria Green-striped Whites, plus plenty of Clouded Yellows and Painted Ladies, along with several other species.

Cueva De Las Niñas Reservoir
Small White 300+
Bath White 40+
Gran Canaria Green-striped White 20+
Clouded Yellow 60+
Small Copper 15
African Grass Blue 3
Southern Brown Argus 4
Painted Lady 50+

Having finally seen my unfinished business on the bird front, one butterfly now took that honour - Greenish Black-Tip. Though I have previously seen one on Fuerteventura, this was my final target butterfly on this trip. Three attempts so far without success, but in terms of habitat I was fairly sure I was searching in the right area. With that in mind, I returned to the same area again, this time choosing the area below Cueva de Cuatro Puertas caves. One hour of walking, Small Whites, Bath Whites and Clouded Yellows in no short supply, then as I started to return to the car, a small butterfly flew past, low over the ground, zigzagging across the slope. Had to be a Greenish Black-Tip. And indeed it was, albeit very mobile and rarely settling. All too soon, when momentarily distracted by another butterfly, I lost this individual. I would return next day.

Cueva de Cuatro Puertas Caves
Small White 40+
Bath White 10
Greenish Black Tip 1
Clouded Yellow 35+
Small Copper 8
Red Admiral 2
Painted Lady 6

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 1

So a successful day, my final bird and butterfly targets seen. I could now leave the Canary Islands

 

[Jos Stratford]

5 January. La Garita Hills, Charcas de San Lorenzo & the Botanical Gardens.

Only one real priority this day, to return and try to photograph Greenish Black-Tip. Couldn't find one at the locality where I had seen the previous evening, but knowing this species likes hilltopping in the mornings, I climbed to a summit above the Cueva de Cuatro Puertas caves. And low and behold, within minutes, two Greenish Black-Tips appeared highly intent of chasing each other high into the sky. Mobile would be an understatement, but every now again one would settle briefly. Lots of running around the rocks, finally got reasonable photographs. Also hilltopping, three African Migrants, my first on Gran Canaria, plus a couple of Painted Ladies.

Thereafter, headed for Charcas de San Lorenzo and the Botanical Gardens for more butterfly action - a very good day all in all, five Geranium Bronzes of note, plus two Lang's Short-tailed Blues, three more African Migrants and at least 200 African Grass Blues. Beating the usual average by two species, I saw 14 species of butterflies during the day, my best total of the trip.

Cueva de Cuatro Puertas
Small White 50
Bath White 15
Greenish Black Tip 2
Clouded Yellow 40+
African Migrant 3
Small Copper 10
Painted Lady 2

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 1


Charcas de San Lorenzo
Small White 150+
Clouded Yellow 40+
Small Copper 6
African Grass Blue 150+
Painted Lady 25
Canary Speckled Wood 1


Botanical Garden
Monarch 35
Small White 40
Clouded Yellow 20
African Migrant 3
Small Copper 4
African Grass Blue 50+
Lang's Short-tailed Blue 2
Long-tailed Blue 40+
Geranium Bronze 5
Red Admiral 8
Painted Lady 10
Canary Speckled Wood 5

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 1

 

[Jos Stratford]

Greenish Black-Tip habitat (outside, not inside 🙂)

 

[Tiraya]

Oh do I wish that was a portal I could just step into from my home in California, and right into the Mediterranean of Europe! That habitat looks very fun.

 

[DMW]

Oh do I wish that was a portal I could just step into from my home in California, and right into the Mediterranean of Europe! That habitat looks very fun.

You might want to check your geography 😉
The Canaries are noted for having very low land bird diversity, but a fair proportion of those are endemic. The islands are an easy an affordable destination with cheap flights from many European cities, so you could easily combine with a birdier destination such as mainland Spain.

 

[MKinHK]

Congratulations on finally nailing the GCB Chaffinch.

Disappointed the Greenish Black-tip is not a cave -dweller.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Tiraya]

I know where they are, but they fit into the Mediterranean zone. Not the geographic zone, the ecological one. We have our own Mediterranean here in California...

 

[THE_FERN]

I know where they are, but they fit into the Mediterranean zone. Not the geographic zone, the ecological one. We have our own Mediterranean here in California...

And, of course, contain remnant flora which once did occur in the Med.

 

[Jos Stratford]

6 January. Charca de Maspalomas & Santa Cruz.

Birding day and a twitch. A pleasant morning in the far south, notching up odds and ends here and there, including several species not seen so far on Gran Canaria. Among birds seen, a pair of Northern Shovelers, 30 Ruddy Shelducks and at least 40 Grey Herons on pools near Vecindario, Grey Plovers, Whimbrels and Ringed Plovers on rocky coast nearby and an impressive flock of 40 low-flying Plain Swifts at Charca de Maspalomas.

However, the day's highlight was a twitch to the north. Having decided not to twitch a Red-billed Tropicbird a couple of days earlier (a short flight hop away on a pool on Fuerteventura), I came to realise my twitching priorities are somewhat warped - for some strange reason, the arrival of a Hooded Crow in Santa Cruz did appeal, despite this being a common everyday bird back home (whereas I have never seen a tropicbird of any description). Even better, I thought I could also double up and try to find one of the Pied Crows that have been resident in the Santa Cruz area for some years. So it was, a twitch to the urban delights of Santa Cruz. No sign of the Hooded Crow in the parks and port area that it had been seen, so I decided to walk out on a jetty and take some time to scan the fairly vast area of the harbour and associated part facilities, perhaps a Pied Crow would have the good grace to fly by. Nope, Sandwich Terns and Black-headed Gulls were the only birds seen.

Hmm, double dip thought I. Can't say I was too upset, but I decided to walk back to the car via the Hooded Crow area. And then, half way back, I spied two corvids in aerial pursuit, spiralling high, repeatedly diving. Very nice indeed, it was a Pied Crow and the Hooded Crow! And for the next ten minutes, their aerial display continued, the appreciably larger Pied Crow seemingly not too amused by the arrival of this interloper on his stamping grounds. I was surprisingly mesmerised by these birds, the Pied Crow really a stunning bird.

And with that, just enough time for a few butterflies in the parks of Santa Cruz before heading back to La Garita.

Santa Cruz
Monarch 30
Small White 50+
Bath White 3
Clouded Yellow 2
Small Copper 3
African Grass Blue 2
Painted Lady 5

 

[stevieb]

Any update on photos Josh?

I can't access your report on your website. It comes up with "You are not authorised to view this resource"

Kind regards

Steve

 

[Jos Stratford]

Any update on photos Josh?

I got a little sidetracked and forgot to finish this report off. On another trip at present, back in a couple of weeks - will do this one too