Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
Not sure any other bird has given me quite this much trouble. Having spent a good deal of time on the Canary Islands before there were not many things I'd not seen. But the tropicbird was one of them. Being seen most days so didn't think it would be much of a problem. Fortunately I'm here for a month, staying about 45 minute walk from the shopping centre that has been this bird's incongruous home for the past few years. Six visits later and many chats with other birders (there were always a few present and most had seen the bird already) and I was still dipping. The bird would show well on the days I wasn't there, and even an hour before I arrived on Saturday.
Anyway yesterday I arrived earlier (advice was always to get there by 2:30) and at exactly midday there it was suddenly over my head. I'd got so used to turning up and not seeing it I wasn't quite sure what to do
but fortunately it circled around for a bit before heading off out to sea. Phew!
After that I went to check out the Las Salinas Golf Course where a long-staying Blue-winged Teal had been seen the day before. Unfortunately it was a hot cloudless day and by this time the heat haze was dreadful. Viewing is tricky from out side the fencing and although I found a group of 5 teal, I was unable to confirm the ID of the slightly larger-looking one there. In fact my very fuzzy photos seem to suggest it might have been a Garganey. I'll give that another go earlier in the day at some point, although I've seen the species before.
Very happy with how the day was going I thought I'd give the sea a go at the headland at Nuevo Horizonte. Wind was fairly strong from the NE and I was quickly on to a few Cory's Shearwaters, these passing both north and south at varying distances. I'd just shifted my fixed eyepiece down to 20x to cut down shaking as it was difficult to get right out of the wind when I picked up a petrel going south. Seen late it was already moving away, keeping very low to the waves and almost immediately lost to view. Saw no detail at all, just a darker, much smaller bird than the Cory's hugging the surface. Frustrating but encouraging at the same time. Petrels are rare this time of year here but reported from the ferries every now and then. Band-rumped or Leach's seem to be the options with the former perhaps being more likely. I'll be back out there this afternoon as the wind is picking up again.
Anyway yesterday I arrived earlier (advice was always to get there by 2:30) and at exactly midday there it was suddenly over my head. I'd got so used to turning up and not seeing it I wasn't quite sure what to do
but fortunately it circled around for a bit before heading off out to sea. Phew!After that I went to check out the Las Salinas Golf Course where a long-staying Blue-winged Teal had been seen the day before. Unfortunately it was a hot cloudless day and by this time the heat haze was dreadful. Viewing is tricky from out side the fencing and although I found a group of 5 teal, I was unable to confirm the ID of the slightly larger-looking one there. In fact my very fuzzy photos seem to suggest it might have been a Garganey. I'll give that another go earlier in the day at some point, although I've seen the species before.
Very happy with how the day was going I thought I'd give the sea a go at the headland at Nuevo Horizonte. Wind was fairly strong from the NE and I was quickly on to a few Cory's Shearwaters, these passing both north and south at varying distances. I'd just shifted my fixed eyepiece down to 20x to cut down shaking as it was difficult to get right out of the wind when I picked up a petrel going south. Seen late it was already moving away, keeping very low to the waves and almost immediately lost to view. Saw no detail at all, just a darker, much smaller bird than the Cory's hugging the surface. Frustrating but encouraging at the same time. Petrels are rare this time of year here but reported from the ferries every now and then. Band-rumped or Leach's seem to be the options with the former perhaps being more likely. I'll be back out there this afternoon as the wind is picking up again.
