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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Paul Chapman" data-source="post: 3182126" data-attributes="member: 69491">The following is a list of sites visited with some random comments – all can be found commonly in Gosney and the usual trip reports:-‎TenerifeLas Lajas – very reliable for Blue Chaffinch, Canary, Great Spotted Woodpecker and African Blue Tit.Las Canadas visitor centre – pretty barren when we visited and I would not suggest going out of your way.Playa de Las Americas – an absolute tourist maze but Nanday Parakeet was tracked down off Paseo Cangrejo and even in the centre of town there were singing Canary Islands Chiffchaffs.Las Caletillas – not a site but where we stayed here and two Monk Parakeet and several Canary Islands Chiffchaffs seen.Ruiz Gorge – we visited three times and had great views of Laurel Pigeon from the road near the derelict Restaurant del Bosque but also a single Bolle’s Pigeon, Goldcrest, (superbus) Robin, African Blue Tit, Canary Islands Chiffchaff, Buzzard, Chaffinch, Canary, Blackbird, etc.  Erjos Pools – worth a check with at least some fresh water but only the usual passerines and Moorhen, Coot and Snipe when we visited – no sign of drinking Bolle’s Pigeons.Erjos Track – this is now barricaded and not driveable and totally engulfed in low cloud on our visit.Punta del Teno – very windswept when we visited but after the usual charade of driving through the no entry signs, the Barbary Falcons behaved excellently on the cliffs above the road just after the arch way. There is enough room to park just…..Pico del Ingles – this seemed an excellent site but engulfed in low cloud on both of our visits – nevertheless Bolle’s Pigeons performed on our second visit with more persistence than our first together with the usual passerines also present.Mirador de la Grimona – a superb site for Laurel Pigeon with good scoped views and a brief display showing off that white tail – no Bolle’s though.Chanajiga – totally engulfed in cloud on both occasions when we were tempted to visit.Zona Recreativa de la Caldera – one of my favourite sites with showy Blue Chaffinch and Tenerife Goldcrest as well as Chaffinch and Blue Tit coming to crumbs at the café but beware as our Robin here appeared to be rubecula – presumably a wintering bird?Mount ‎Teide – pretty barren when we visited and I would not suggest going out of your way save for the obvious tourist reasons!‎TF-24 Tenerife Observatory area – a very reliable area for Berthelot’s Pipit if you are not going to the south.‎Puerto de la Cruz – this seems a good reliable site for Plain Swift even in winter and Birds of the Atlantic Islands mentions the northern strip of Tenerife as one of the more reliable places at that time of year.Punta del Hidalgo – although we would have done Punta del Teno for the usual seawatches if we had not had such a pigeon chase, the raised road to the north east of the town seems a good location for some seawatching in my brief experience of it.If you do not suffer with low cloud, the north end of Tenerife can deliver the main targets you would wish to see (save for those of more barren habitat – Lesser Short-toed Lark, Southern Grey Shrike, Trumpeter Finch, etc). If you do suffer from low cloud, I would be tempted to have La Gomera as a back up plan for the pigeons – although ironically now more for Bolle’s than Laurel. How times have changed!!‎FuerteventuraAntigua Plain – a good site but I struggled to believe I was just about to bump into a Houbara.Tindaya Plain – the best site currently for Houbara viewing from the road between Tindaya and the coast.Los Molinos/Embalse de Los Molinos – the Chats were unco-operative but the reservoir is worth a look.Barranco de la Maley – currently a very co-operative pair of chats.‎Salinas del Carmen – the site did not deliver for waders or indeed for much else but Audouin’s Gulls have recently been seen. Windy and disturbed when we visited.Hotel Melia Gorriones – a Barbary Dove was our main quarry but not the time of year for waders. The habitat around the hotel does look good but we were only there briefly.‎Rosa de Catalina Garcia – it is dry and it looks like it has been for a while.Pajara – a good little town with habitat in the centre which produced passerines such as Yellow-browed Warbler, Chiffchaff, African Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Linnet, etc.Mirador near Betancuria – reliable for hand-fed Ravens and Barbary Ground Squirrels – despite the sign.Betancuria – we had Canary on our visit and African Blue Tit in the centre of the town.Rosa del Taro – a nice little wetland with breeding Canary Islands Chat on our visit.Currently Tindaya Plain and Barranco de la Maley appear the best combination for the Bustard and the Chat.All the best</blockquote>

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