Canary Islands

Days 1-2: The tour begins midday at the Lanzarote airport.  Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are  old volcanic islands, and it will become immediately apparent that they are quite flat and very arid, having eroded away over millions of years since their formation.  After leaving  luggage at our hotel, we’ll take lunch at a local restaurant and spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the northern part of this island. Here we’ll have our first looks at the open semi-desert areas, home to a few Black-bellied Sandgrouse and Great Grey Shrikes of the koenigi race, in addition to the widespread Macaronesian endemic, Berthelot’s Pipit. We’ll then drive to the northern tip of the island for the views over La Graciosa and to watch for birds from the clifftop, possibly including Eleonora’s Falcon. Time and tide permitting, the evening may be spent on the coast near our hotel where shorebirds such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied, Common Ringed and Kentish Plovers and ‘peeps’ concentrate. Night on Lanzarote.

Day 2: We’ll explore different habitats on Lanzarote, starting with the extensively sandy Famara area, famous for Houbara Bustard and Cream-colored Courser, but also holding a full suite of desert species including roving flocks of Trumpeter Finch and Mediterranean Short-toed Lark, plus the relatively dark insularum race of Stone-curlew. We’ll continue to one of the island’s only areas with permanent water to check working salinas for any shorebirds which may be around. After lunch in a local village, we’ll finish either by visiting the coast again for shorebirds and gulls, or by returning to the Famara area in case we still need to see any of its specialties. Night on Lanzarote.

Day 3: We’ll take an early morning ferry from Lanzarote to Fuerteventura giving us virtually all day to explore the island. The ferry trip (out and back) will hopeful encounter seabirds such as the abundant Cory’s Shearwater and possibly Bulwer’s Petrel, and perhaps even cetaceans. We’ll look for birds in the semi-desert, coastal and mountain areas in the north plus visit to the largest freshwater wetland which usually still holds water at this time of year. Raptors here include the endemic majorensis race of Egyptian Vulture, as well as Barbary Falcon and canariensis Common Buzzard. On the rocky slopes we’ll be searching especially for “buzzing” Trumpeter Finch and ‘bubbling’ Black-bellied Sandgrouse as they fly to and from drinking sites. However, the highlight of our visit to Fuerteventura will undoubtedly be the Canary Islands Stonechat, a dainty species now restricted to this one island. As on Lanzarote, we’ll also be on the lookout for the eastern islands’ races of various other species including Eurasian Stone-curlew, Spectacled Warbler and African Blue Tit, plus Ruddy Shelduck and Laughing Dove. With enough time, we also hope to visit coastal cliffs where a tiny colony of Red-billed Tropicbird has recently become established, in the hopes of seeing a late individual. Watered gardens and parks around holiday complexes act as magnets to off-course migrants as well as providing habitats for interesting butterflies such as the incredible Monarch and its look-alike, the Plain Tiger. Good populations of the attractive Atlantic Lizard, diminutive Saharan Bluetail damselfly, and the introduced but often amusing Barbary Ground Squirrels will also keep us occupied during our searches for birds. Night on Lanzarote.

Day 4: We’ll take a short morning flight across to Gran Canaria, dropping our bags at the hotel around midday. After a lunch stop on the drive into the center of the island, we’ll spend the rest of the day searching an area of Canary pine forest for the still critically endangered endemic Gran Canary Blue Chaffinch. While slowly increasing in number and range following intensive conservation efforts, it remains very rare and in low numbers, so we’ll give ourselves plenty of time for the search. The forest here is very dry, but it’s home to Common Raven as well as the scarce endemic bakeri race of Canary Islands Common Chaffinch and hedwigae race of African Blue Tit. In addition we should encounter the more numerous Canary Islands Chiffchaff, the endemic thanneri race of Great Spotted Woodpecker, often in good numbers, and  the introduced Red-legged Partridge which replaces the Barbary Partridge, found on all the remaining islands. Night on Gran Canaria.

Day 5: We’ll spend a full day exploring some of the key birding sites of this impressive island. We’ll try again for the Gran Canary Blue Chaffinch, if we weren’t successful yesterday. Otherwise, we’ll concentrate on seeing the marionae form of European robin, recently proposed for elevation to full species rank, as well as looking for the heineken race of Eurasian Blackcap, locally commoner here than on Tenerife. It is also worth the effort for the remarkable scenery and the presence of one of the remaining giant lizards on the islands, the now extremely scarce Gran Canaria Giant Lizard. Given time we’ll look for the latter in the south near the island’s main freshwater body, with hopes of finding stray bird migrants there as well. Night on Gran Canaria.

Day 6: We’ll start with a short internal flight to Tenerife, an island dominated by the massive volcanic peak of Teide, rising to a lofty 12,198 feet above sea level. This is the highest mountain peak in Spain and the third largest oceanic volcano in the world. It is in some ways the crowning glory of the island, being literally ringed below the almost bare summit and caldera by the endemic Canary Pine forest. After arrival at one of the island’s airports, we’ll head straight to the hotel to drop off bags and then explore a part of the island, perhaps even the caldera. En route our first birds should include some of the islands’ most widespread, but still sought-after endemic species, ranging from the rakish Plain Swift to furtive Canary Islands Chiffchaff and Atlantic Canary, a still quite colorful, but rather dowdy wild version of the familiar yellow cagebirds. The Canary Pine forest is home to several of the most range-restricted birds of the islands, including the emblematic Tenerife Blue Chaffinch, island races of African Blue Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker, plus the furtive Canary Islands Goldcrest. Time permitting, in the afternoon and evening we’ll head to the north coast to a viewpoint to look for passing seabirds, particularly the rare and declining Barolo Shearwater. While difficult to see, it’s far from guaranteed even on pelagic trips and we have as good a chance here as anywhere. Night on Tenerife.

Day 7: We’ll take our time exploring the various habitats of Tenerife, but particularly the island's forests in the center and north where the bulk of the island’s bird specialties occur. We’ll start with a dawn visit to the edge of the laurisilva, the rich laurel forest and its associated species. Several birds are all but exclusive to the habitat and we’ll search for flighty Bolle’s and Laurel Pigeons, the diminutive ‘Tenerife’ Goldcrest, colorful local races of Canary Islands Common Chaffinch and the ‘Tenerife’ Robin, as well as the decidedly uncommon granti race of Eurasian Sparrowhawk. The flora in this forest is very diverse and if we have time, we’ll try walking along tracks and roadsides allowing us opportunities to investigate some of this variety, which in turn attracts butterflies, many of which themselves are endemic; Tenerife Brimstone, Canary Speckled Wood, Canary Islands Blue, the rather rare Canary Red Admiral, and perhaps the rarer Canary Islands Large White ae all possible. With water constantly available in the reservoirs and irrigation tanks on these more western islands, thanks to the sponge effect of these forests, a few interesting damsel and dragonflies are also present, including the endemic Island Darter, and the impressively large and colorful Blue Emperor.

A particular feature of Tenerife is the clear zonation of habitats. These range from the arid lowlands, through the more humid middle mountains in the north to the very dry high peak of Teide. A remarkable range of Euphorbia spurge plants are present, ranging from tall cacti-like species to the low, bushy fat-stemmed tabaibas. With luck we may also see the stunning spikes of the Red Viper’s Bugloss which may still be blooming in the Teide crater, and is a member of another genus which has radiated into numerous species across the archipelago. Night on Tenerife.

Day 8: We’ll start with a short pelagic trip off the southwest of the island, before the day’s breezes set in. This will be our best opportunity for pelagic species, most of which will have returned in numbers, including the rakish Bulwer’s Petrel and tiny European Storm-petrel. Alongside the birds, a wide variety of cetaceans occur and with luck we might see the resident Short-finned Pilot Whale or Bottle-nosed Dolphin, while other dolphin species occur regularly and flying fish are commonly observed.

Depending on what we’ve seen previously, the rest of the day will be spent exploring different areas and habitats. In the arid scrubby lowlands we can look for some widespread species including the local races of Spectacled and Sardinian Warblers among the extraordinary endemic flora. We should also see perky Berthelot’s Pipits and the long-established but still scarce Barbary Partridges, while the koenigi race of Great Grey Shrike is sometimes present. Man-made wetlands in more arid areas attract resident and stray migrant birds, and should also reveal plenty of dragonflies, including the gorgeous ‘African’ Red-veined Dropwing and Broad Scarlet dragonflies, while the endemic Tenerife Lizard is also more abundant near these water bodies. Night on Tenerife.

Day 9: Time permitting, we’ll have a final look around Tenerife, before driving to the airport where the tour concludes in time to connect with afternoon and early evening flights home.

2024 Narrative

IN BRIEF: The Canary, or Fortunate Islands as they are sometimes called, given their largely ideal climate year-round, form a cluster within the NE Atlantic Macaronesian islands. Volcanic in origin they form an archipelago of seven main and several smaller islands lying along an east-west line off the north-west coast of Africa.

Starting with Lanzarote and Fuerteventura -the oldest islands with aerial structures since 20 mya-, their semi-desertic conditions reflect their proximity to the African mainland, being just some c. 100 km away at their closest point and their generally lower heights means that they generally receive hotter and drier air and less rainfall than further west. Gran Canaria (14.6 myo), Tenerife (11.9 myo) and La Gomera (9.6 myo) in the middle are much higher, with Teide on Tenerife in particular being the highest peak in Spain and the island being one of the largest oceanic shield volcanoes in the world (only topped by a few peaks in Hawaii). Their altitude and steep northern flanks means that the moisture-rich trade winds blowing in predominantly from the NE are forced upwards and the orographic effect leads to the formation of cloud on these slopes, with the correspondingly higher rainfall and cooler conditions having allowed the development of the species-rich evergreen laurel forests, plus on the former two islands, the ‘forest crown’ dominated by the endemic Canary pine in the drier and sunnier heights, which generally lie above the cloud layer. Finally, and like La Gomera, the slightly smaller islands of La Palma (1.7 myo) and El Hierro (1.1 myo) lie further out west in the Atlantic and while also housing their own endemic flora and fauna, including a few unique bird subspecies, do not house any endemic bird species, so are not visited by us.

The tour consequently visits four of the main islands where the greatest variety of endemic birds can be found. In the east we base ourselves in Lanzarote, given that the best chances exist there for seeing some of the desertic specialities in addition to it being one of the most attractive islands, making a day excursion onto Fuerteventura for its single endemic species and other specialities as well as chances to visit one or two of its wetlands and other key sites. Next we move on through Gran Canaria and finish in Tenerife, with the respective blue chaffinches of the Canary pine forests and other endemic species and subspecies of various habitats, including the unique laurel forests, of most note.

Given the shifting sands in the world of taxonomy, while some of what were formerly considered subspecies on the islands have been split, there are still a few cases pending further study. So, while the two blue chaffinches were split nearly a decade ago and the various endemic subspecies of common chaffinch present (and forming a nice clade) have only just been split off as the Canary Islands chaffinch, the situation with the two forms of European robin present, both visually and acoustically more similar to each other than to the mainland birds (and both with good evidence that they should also be split from each other as full species in their own right), remains pending, since full comparative information on their genetics, vocalisations and morphologies was only published in 2022. The diminutive Tenerife goldcrest, a clearly defined taxon of the laurel forests and adjacent humid habitats is generally included as a subspecies of the goldcrest, though some authors consider it is also a ‘good’ species… Of course it will now just depend on what criteria are employed for defining species limits, and they all remain as extremely interesting taxa worth seeing and enjoying!

We again celebrated this tour, though this time with completely new dates in order to get away from the both the increasing number of summer tourists and heat at that time, while it is also a good time for more off-course migrants, even though breeding seabird numbers have already declined. So what did we see in the end?

September 15

The group had arrived the day before, so after my early flight to Lanzarote, followed by picking up the vehicle, refuelling and picking up water, I was at the hotel just 10 minutes later than planned, albeit somewhat hot and sticky in the very sunny and humid conditions. Not bad!

After an introductory talk we headed out for a relaxing early lunch at a nearby restaurant-bar, then picked up our gear and were off at 1430h. After negotiating some of Arrecife’s new road layout we finally made it out into the open countryside, noting just how arid the landscape is, and headed out to a small goat farm. A Barbary partridge was a good spot as it ran off between the dead-looking Launaea bushes, with another joining it briefly later, kicking the birding off in fine style. A few feral pigeons flying as we approached the farm were then greatly bettered by a flighty Berthelot’s pipit flitting across our path before diving into the shelter of some rocks, though it managed to give a few of the group the slip. Not to be outdone however, in the large feeding and watering pen beside the farm, the presence of a small pool of muddy water, plus straw thrown out for the goats, was clearly highly attractive to the local birds. Indeed, numerous Berthelot’s pipits scurried across the ground beside crowds of feral pigeons, though three superb black-bellied sandgrouse trundling across the ground meant that despite the stiff breeze we soon got out of the vehicle for better looks, also finding a western yellow wagtail and a Eurasian hoopoe, plus two moulting ruddy shelduck all in the same area!

Careful watching also revealed plenty more of the sandgrouse, with almost 20 being seen in the end, as small groups came down to the water to drink and also, at one point, for a male to wet its belly feathers, before they either moved back off to feed, or took off and headed into the rough semi-desert surroundings. Another excellent find was a migrant whinchat feeding in the lee of a concrete wall.

We finally moved away and headed up along a small road winding up through an intricate arrangement of lichen-smothered lava stone walls, built to intercept the moisture in the breeze and allow it to precipitate out to water the grape vines, fig trees and other plants being cultivated. We stopped on the famous Famara cliffs, complete with a layer of cloud above and so giving us notably fresher conditions. While my favourite car park had been blocked off, no sooner had we got out of the vehicle at the ‘next best’ site than an elegant Eleonora’s falcon cruised past above us. Two more then appeared shortly afterwards, sparring in an elegant dog-fight for a few moments before carrying on N, with the island of La Graciosa below us as their backdrop. A pair of common ravens acrobatically played in the light wind blowing along the cliffs and our first dacotiae Eurasian kestrels acted similarly.

Another viewpoint along the cliffs afforded good views of the towering cliffs and saw us enjoying a small group of playful tumbling ravens and two more Eurasian kestrels, showing how good the numbers are along this stretch of the island.

To round the day off and ‘compensate’ for the later start, we headed back (with comfort stop on the way) to Arrecife, parked and then walked out to the rocky port area. This is something of a magnet for shorebirds and sometimes gulls and we were not disappointed, coinciding, ideally, with low tide! An adult lesser black-backed and a juvenile Audouin’s gulls among the more numerous atlantis yellow-legged were welcome additions, while common greenshank, sanderling, common ringed and Kentish plovers, grey (=black-bellied) plovers, ruddy turnstone, Eurasian whimbrel, common sandpiper and a single dunlin were all greatly appreciated in the scopes. With dinner time looming, we walked back, noting a couple of plain swifts speeding between the apartment block son the seafront to round of a great start to the tour!

September 16

Leaving at 0830h we headed first to the little park at the end of the road, where apart from a couple of abundant feral pigeons and a couple of noisy rose-ringed parakeets, a couple of Spanish sparrows were the only birds present, so we swiftly moved on. Indeed, given the rapidly clearing skies after overnight cloud, it was good that we only had a relatively short distance to start our drive across the sandiest part of the island with the temperature rising quite quickly and the sun beginning to warm the ground further. A couple of Eurasian Thick-knees beside the road were noted in passing, but without an easy spot to stop, we decided to continue on towards our main goal.

A preliminary roadside stop over a likely-looking area turned up trumps, with a large flock of Mediterranean short-toed larks moving in waves over a huge sparsely weedy field, their calls readily heard in the near still conditions. Watching them move down the slope, another movement caught our eyes, and though distant, the characteristic sandy colour and upright posture of a couple of fast-moving cream-coloured coursers were enjoyed through the telescopes. Often tricky to locate, these were part of a great start to the morning’s birding!

We started to approach them, again being distracted by more of the larks plus our first Berthelot’s pipit of the day, but a small group of coursers were spotted in the field off to our side and we stopped for lovely views of these extraordinary shorebirds before they ran off in short bursts over a ridge and disappeared.

I was also surprised by the number of people moving around the area, though one walker moving along a parallel track led us to spot a houbara bustard in low flight over a ridge and we continued to watch until it suddenly veered around and came down to land behind rocks in some broken ground. After allowing a large 4x4 to pass along a track close by to it and then thankfully continue onwards and disappear, and having already enjoyed the courser, we advanced slowly and once crowning the track with good views off to the side where the bustard had landed, stopped to scan the largely black lava landscape with abundant sand patches and a few scattered leafless bushes. Much to our delight a fine houbara bustard was quickly found, which started stalking off towards a small ridge, with another also present between the bushes behind, both birds allowing us to watch them with the scopes, before they finally walked off behind a small ridge.

Large sections of the terrain were completely devoid of birds, but as we drove slowly along different tracks, so we noted another huge flock of the Mediterranean short-toed larks, this time with several common linnets intermixed, a couple of smart great grey shrikes of the endemic Canary Islands koenigi race and finally, after much searching, a couple of lovely trumpeter finches. This included a fine adult which sat out in the open for some time, regularly turning its head so that we could appreciate the brightly-coloured bill, plus a buffy-headed juvenile.

After an about-turn on one track when it turned too deeply sandy, including some careful turning so as not to get trapped in the process, another call from the back of the bus produced a quick stop and afforded us excellent views of two close Eurasian Thick-knees resting beside their tiny bushes in the middle of a field right where we’d been watching larks earlier! They finally decided that we were no threat and started walking slowly off looking for a little more cover perhaps, their cryptic plumage making them extraordinarily difficult to see at times, though we were also struck on how dark the endemic race here is compared to NW European birds.

A refreshments break doubled as a comfort stop and we still had time to go on to another site before lunch, including passing over the impressive lava flow of the Timanfaya National Park, complete with dromedary trains for ‘normal’ tourists and also again seeing innumerable examples of how the locals used porous lava blocks in low walls to trap moisture from the passing air and provide water for the surprising numbers of grape vines, despite the harsh conditions.

A short walk to look out over a coastal crater lake and adjacent working salinas quickly produced a few new birds for the trip, including numerous noisy black-winged stilts, a rather tricky-to-see common redshank, three lovely adult greater flamingos, an immature and an adult black-headed gull, and a surprisingly large group of black-necked (=eared) grebes out on the open water.

Another tasty tapas-style lunch was taken at a small bar in a little tourist centre in a nearby town, topped-off with our first refreshing ice cream of the trip, before we headed back down to the coast in a little quest to find a few new birds, following recent reports of a few migrants. A high-flying peregrine falcon was a welcome surprise no sooner had we got out of the vehicle, even if it can now no longer be considered as a separate species, the Barbary falcon, but a fine adult Audouin’s gull on the rocks of a port breakwater was the first of this very scarce hoped-for species and thankfully, given the sun, found quite quickly, while we also took the opportunity to wander through a small clump of trees dominated by palms. This turned out to be a good choice, with a smart Eurasian hoopoe feeding in full view, then in quick succession, single spotted and European pied flycatchers appearing and perching in the same small dead tree. The discovery of a long-eared owl primary feather required a good wander round again to peer up into the crowns of the broad-leaved trees present, though not surprisingly, to no avail, though the search was naturally carried out with optimism! A laughing dove on the northern edge of the housing estate as we left was yet another welcome addition to the already healthy day and trip list!

It was still very warm when we came back to the hotel, with three of the group hopping off as we passed and the rest of us parking and then walking on to the nearby port area with its little rocky beaches and extensive rock-pool areas. Almost all of the same birds were present as the evening before, though another peregrine passing over was a bonus and a second Eurasian spoonbill had joined the first. A few dunlin were present today, while both a stunning juvenile common greenshank and a freshly moulted adult red knot were greatly enjoyed in the scopes, with the latter being the last new bird for the day and taking us over the 50 species for Lanzarote in just a day and a half. This might not sound much, but it’s a the highest figure I’ve reached on the island in that time and a fabulous solid start to the tour!

September 17

An earlier exit with picnic breakfast only heavily clouded skies saw us make a bee-line to the southern tip of Lanzarote and take poll position in the ferry queue! There was just enough time to grab a hot drink in the bar at the port and eat some of the picnic contents before needing to back at the vehicle, where after swiping our passports, which acted as our tickets, we were soon boarding and then out and up onto the top deck for the crossing.

The crossing was less eventful for birds than hoped, despite a few Cory’s shearwaters, though a small number of beautiful blue flying fish with purplish pectoral fin sheen and long black lower tail fin (Hirundichthys speculiger?) also helped keep us alert!

We drove as quickly as legally possible down towards our first site on the north side of the island, noting just how much bigger Fuerteventura looks than Lanzarote in the process and were aided by the persistent cloud keeping the temperature a little lower than usual. Unfortunately, soon after getting out, we noted how there was almost no water in reservoir we were visiting, and so the variety of birds usually present was simply not there! 

Persistence, or is it perseverance, is a supposedly a virtue however and after walking towards the centre of the largely completely dry bed, despite numerous ruddy shelduck paddling in black mud, a few other birds did appear. First a trumpeter finch sped past, followed by another, while a black-bellied sandgrouse was heard calling in the distance. We spotted a small bird in the bushes below us, a fine female Fuerteventura stonechat, which gave telescope views for most, but then promptly disappeared, while a male which popped up nearby, also quickly dropped out of view for good… A calling willow warbler couldn’t be located though, so after watching a little group of trumpeter finches at close quarters and enjoying fly-over views of two small groups of black-bellied sandgrouse, we decided to head off to get better views of the stonechat.

Dropping down towards the coast in a steep-sided gulley, a small bird popped up in flight and then immediately flicked down over the crash barrier and out of sight. A good sign! The little stream at the bottom was infested with Muscovy ducks -and it’s no surprise that they are now included as an established invasive exotic- along with a few domestic mallard, but a common sandpiper or two and a little egret tried to help redeem this unnatural balance, along with a couple of pairs of common ravens, noisily careering along the gulley’s cliffs. We enjoyed a short walk upstream along a stony track to the spot where the little passerine had appeared earlier as we had passed and to our delight we we suddenly entered into the territory of a pair of confiding Fuerteventura stonechats. Having enjoyed a good look at these we turned our attention to the variety of odonates present, including lesser emperor and broad scarlet, plus the diminutive Saharan bluetail damselfly, all of which seem perfectly happy to exploit the brackish running water with a little aquatic vegetation present here and also despite the presence of a couple of surprisingly large mullet in the largest pool! Much to our surprise, another female chat even appeared briefly on a post bordering the parking area just a metre or so in front of the vehicle once we’d all got back in!

With our principal target well seen, we continued on up into the mountains, entering into a beautiful small village and where despite surprisingly large numbers of tourists, the local bird life was flourishing among the numerous green trees and bushes. A female Sardinian warbler in the tamarisk over the van as I parked was our first, with a couple more in a nearby patch of larger trees, there also accompanied by a lovely African blue tit of the white wing-barred degener race, along with at least three European pied flycatchers, seemingly a little lost on migration here.

A fine lunch was taken under the shade of a (just) 32-year old tropical fig tree, the shade of which both we and the local birds, including a couple of Atlantic canaries and a pair or more of the African blue tits, enjoyed to the full!

With just a few hours left before we had to return to the ferry port for our homeward leg, I decided to take us own to the lowlands beside another gulley containing a little running water, though a hot breeze was now blowing along this corridor as it acted like a wind tunnel, so we rapidly decided to climb out again to look down from above instead onto some open pools. Success! A little ringed plover put in an appearance beside the trickle of water and a close common buzzard flew off noisily, clearly upset that we’d disturbed its siesta! New plans were made on the run to try further down the gulley, but the appearance of one of the island’s adult mensis Egyptian vultures overhead naturally led us into a quick chase in the vehicle along a dirt track to get closer, and after watching it circle up, saw how another adult and then two immature birds were also attracted in by its movements low over a small farm.

We rounded off with a trip out to a fine lighthouse on the NW coast, where despite hoards of tourists on the beaches in the only light breeze (which was bad for us), at least the tide had not dropped too far to expose too much of the coastal rock platform and participants noted quite large numbers of small shorebirds roosting on the rocks in front, while my eyes had been drawn to the small numbers of Cory’s shearwaters passing not far offshore! Indeed, moving to get a better light angle revealed almost 25 Kentish and over 30 common ringed plovers, at least 30 sanderling, two Eurasian whimbrel, plus single grey plover, common sandpiper and ruddy turnstone. The numbers of the former are notable for sure of this declining species.

Poll position again at the port enabled us to relax a little before getting back on the ferry, while once again, Cory’s shearwaters and flying fish were all that we saw apart from distant large gulls, though the low light highlighting the intricate patterns of the volcanic cones and lava fields of the southern tip of Lanzarote as we returned was a treat.

September 18

A normal breakfast was followed by a 0900h exit with our cases and after cramming everything into our little minibus (with everyone agreeing that there was no need for a separate taxi!) we made the ten-minute run to the airport, where we checked in our bags, went for a quick drink and then boarded for the short hop over to Gran Canaria. Hiring the vehicle in the airport there was mercifully quick and we were rapidly on our way to the hotel to check-in and leave the bags.

Unfortunately though, the local town council were pruning the trees near the hotel and I couldn’t find a way to reach it! A couple of phone calls later though, access was resolved and we drove up into the lovely old centre of Agüimes to our hotel, where we checked in, dropped our bags off and took our birding gear out to head up into the heart of the island.

A good pall of cloud sagged over the top of the island and it was noticeably (and pleasantly) cool on the slopes, where our first hedwigae African blue tit and Atlantic canary were sat in a tree opposite the front of the restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious lunch and excellent service. Fortunately, given that I hadn’t brought a fleece or coat out by mistake, the Canary pine forest at the top of the island it was partly in the sun, meaning the temperature was relatively stable (and not too chilly) and we walked a little circuit. Very few birds were present in the extremely dry conditions, but surprisingly a lovely grey wagtail zig-zagged across the road and a few noisy common ravens got the ball rolling. A small flock of African blue tits finally showed in the pines, while in the gap between the fruit trees in a small orchard, a few red-legged partridges were present, one repeatedly jumping up vertically with the aid of little wing flap to take pecks out of the fruit, though sadly it never climbed up to say that we genuinely had seen a partridge in a pear tree! A large mobile flock of singing and calling Atlantic canaries were also present, with some enjoyed at close range.

A short drive saw us walk a different area, this time along a much more open track, with abundant Atlantic canaries and a couple of common kestrels at first, then a surprise European pied flycatcher, a very brief willow warbler amongst a few Canary Island chiffchaffs, plus single spotted flycatcher and Eurasian hoopoe for further variety. Approaching a small farm, the sound levels of the local birds started to increase and a common blackbird and then a fine male bakeri Canary Island chaffinch appeared at close range. Lovely! A quite long wait then ensued as we realised that the birds were coming down to drink at a tiny source of water in the top of a vertical pipie, including a series of very smart thanneri great spotted woodpeckers and culminating, finally, with a juvenile Gran Canaria blue chaffinch drinking alongside a female Canary Islands chaffinch. A couple of smart European robins of the endemic marionae race, recently proposed as a full species in its own right as noted in the introduction, even put in a brief appearance in the surrounding bushes. A sudden drop in temperature meant that we called the watch off very slightly earlier than planned, but which also enabled us to (unwittingly, I admit!) drive down a rather more tortuous route from the top than we’d taken up, but so affording us some stunning views of the island’s impressive and ‘aggressive’ volcanic landscapes as we headed back to our hotel.

A tasty dinner was taken down at a little bar near the hotel, finished off with a honeyed rum chupito from the island’s distillery!

September 19

Rather than facing the tortuous roads to the top again in the outside hopes of seeing a male Gran Canaria blue chaffinch, we took the time instead to leisurely look at a few other birding hotspots on the island, especially in the hopes of adding a few more birds to the overall list, especially for those who’d not birded in Europe before, as well as looking for a few rare migrants and vagrants present.

Under crystal clear skies and with almost no wind the first site, a pair of large pools for irrigation water between a solar panel plant and agricultural fields shielding by windproof fencing, was hardly the prettiest, but with almost 30 grey herons, eight little egrets and half a dozen little ringed plovers on the wet sediment on one of them, there was clearly potential, while a couple of calling Canary Island chiffchaffs and Atlantic canaries reminded us of where we were and a pair of European goldfinches added a nice touch.

A large natural pool at the southern tip of the island is a magnet for birds, including scarce migrants and was our next stop. Walking down through the large adjacent park upstream was rewarding, despite large numbers of beach tourists walking from their apartments down to the shore and making me feel just a bit out of place! Plenty of plain swifts wheeled low over the scattered trees present and a huge female peregrine cruised fast over as it accelerated into a hunting run heading straight for the pool. Some calling monk parakeets were noted, as were some strange carpenter bees and a couple of wasp species feeding on a flowering tree, the female bees having a lemon-yellow thorax and the males looking pollen-dusted down to the middle of the abdomen. It turns out that these are an introduced species Xylocopa pubescens, so far only found on Gran Canaria but spreading fast there.

After Canary Islands chiffchaffs, calling, but unseen common waxbills and a good look at the numerous Eurasian collared doves, but no African collared doves in their various shades in the tamarisks and scrub along the ‘stream’ line, we finally reached the pool. A single European turtle dove was a nice find, but we soon switched our attention to scanning the shores and emergent vegetation along the edges of the water, where a group of little ringed plovers rested on a small island, a single Eurasian whimbrel slept in the shade of a bush, at least five common greenshanks stalked around and a few other scattered birds included single common sandpiper, sanderling, Eurasian hoopoe, adult black-crowned night heron and glossy ibis of most note. One participant’s suggestion of checking the beach end of the pool, despite my initial minor reticence given the large numbers of tourists milling around, was a good one, with a single common redshank and juvenile Audouin’s gull present and an immature lesser black-backed gull flew in to rest as we watched.

An extended drinks or ice cream break was called for, after which we looked a little further at the birds present, including finding a second glossy ibis and then walked back through the park again, with a few Spanish sparrows the most notable species added.

The Canary Islands are at an interesting location off the west coast of Africa, not uncommonly picking up vagrants from the desert and semi-desert areas of the Sahara and our next stop was to look for a long-staying individual of a species barely seen anywhere further north than here. Parking next to a little park full of small trees and ringed by a quite thick hedge, we started to scan the trees and bushes looking for a small group of Spanish sparrows, but decided not to enter given the presence of a few tents and plenty of rubbish of a few homeless people apparently living there. Plenty of Atlantic canaries could be heard, a couple of Eurasian hoopoes gave excellent views as they perched preening, a couple of common blackbirds were the first for some of the group, but given a certain degree of heat, it only seemed fit to turn around and try back near to the minibus where a gap in the bushes allowed us to see in better. A call from one of the group saying that they’d seen a bright yellow bird saw me turning round as I’d gone off to search nearby and there, right in front, was a tiny male Sudan golden sparrow preening in full view some 20-25 feet away! It apparently had come in after a quick wash somewhere and sat preening vigorously for the entire time we were there, but gave great views allowing us to appreciate the pale yellow head and underparts, blackish bill, and rufous back and wing coverts. Having apparently even bred on the island after a mini-irruption a few years ago, this is currently the only known individual on the islands, but seeing how discrete it was and how it was occupying a little patch of habitat of the huge number present in the built-up areas of the islands, one wonders if there aren’t more waiting to be found!

Just one main site remained to be checked, so we headed an hour north up the island (thankfully mostly on the excellent motorway) to find a restaurant for lunch. This however turned into something of a mini odyssey, with three of those checked closed and one along a small road where there was nowhere to turn around for a number of kilometres (!), another in a location impossible to park but, finally, and thanks for the local lady walking along the roadside, we found a simple bar with ample parking space on the roadside and enjoyed a tasty lunch outside listening to Gran Canaria robins, Atlantic canaries and Canary Islands chiffchaffs in the gardens opposite!

The extensive botanic gardens in the north make a pleasant visit was well as harbouring good numbers of smaller songbirds. That said, it was drier here than expected and the birdlife was quieter than usual, though with a bit of effort we managed to see and especially hear the Gran Canaria robin well, the only Eurasian blackcap of the trip was singing here, though escaped being seen, a few European goldfinches were enjoyed and the hedwigae race of African blue tit showed well too. In line with the eastern islands, a couple of spotted flycatchers and a single European pied flycatcher showed that there was good passage of these species. A few water features also allowed us to enjoy a number of other new species, though these were dragonflies, including red-veined dropwing and epaulette skimmer and the introduced Spanish pond frog, plenty of small individuals of which were peering motionless at us from lip of one pool. The tropical fish remained unidentified!

We returned in good time before heading down into town again for our dinner at the nearby restaurant-bar.

September 20

After our buffet breakfast we were away in good time to make the 30 minute trip to the airport. A quick drink was enjoyed once through security and then after a last-minute gate change we boarded before enjoying the views of the centre and west of Gran Canaria as we flew right over the top, when the clouds this morning allowed, that is!

There was thankfully almost no waiting time to pick up the luggage or hire the rental vehicle out in Tenerife, much to my relief and we were quickly on our way to our hotel, buried in the heart of the lovely town of Granadilla. The SATNAV took me to the back door, down a series of narrow roads, but we managed to park OK, wheeling our cases carefully down the steep slope to the hotel and its three different doors! The last door was of course the one we wanted, but we were quickly met and shown to our rooms, and after a 30 minute break to unpack and organise birding gear, we headed off only a little later than hoped to search for a nearby restaurant-bar. Fortunately, despite less than perfect parking options again, a table was quickly set up outside for us and we enjoyed another tasty tapas-style lunch in mild, but not overly hot conditions.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with the long drive up and over the Mount Teide caldera, punctuated by a few stops for birding in the Canary pine forest on both sides of the mountain, as well as for a few photos of the Teide peak and associated lava flows in the sunshine at the top.

A dripping pipe at the first site, albeit a little way up a very steep slope, is a major attraction for the birds of the forest here, especially the Tenerife blue chaffinch, our main target. The near silence reigning when we first arrived was not inspiring however, but we moved across to a better position from the car park where we’d stopped and once the convoys of noisy off-road buggies and Tui minibuses full of visitors had moved on or past, the soft chirrups of a blue chaffinch could be heard. Indeed, another then started calling as well from the other side of the road and a third from off to one side. These birds spend long periods motionless in the trees however, and this occasion was no different, though finally one flew across into the middle of a pine on the roadside and started calling, enabling us to get prolonged views, albeit at a bit of a distance. Fortunately, the calling bird opposite then flew up from near the water before moving down past us and into some bushes close to a paved walkway. We moved down and got good views, this time of a female, before all too soon it was off and lost in the thick bushes nearby. Other birds included calling African blue tits and Atlantic canaries, but these remained unseen.

The variation in lava flows and geological formations, including areas of greenish serpentine and shiny black obsidian combined with the sheer scale of the Teide caldera make it an impressive sight and it’s no surprise that most of the tourists visiting the island come to visit at least once during their stay. Fortunately this wasn’t today, however and we had a quiet drive over and eaasy parking for a few landscape photos!

Reentering the forest crown, we stopped again, this time in an area badly affected by the fires which ravaged the vegetation here last year.Canary pine however is highly resistant to fire and most of the blackened tree trunks were already densely clothed in bundles of bright green needles, except in some of the more sheerer slopes, where presumably vertical propagation of the flames led to longer and or more intense fire exposure. At first it seemed that there was nothing to see, with a small water source having been destroyed by the fire too and not a bird to be heard or seen. Persistence again paid off though, with a check on the opposite side of the road near some picnic tables paying dividends when a Tenerife blue chaffinch was heard calling. This was a fine adult male, much bluer below than the bird seen earlier and as it called, so more and more started to appear in the trees and even on the railings and tables! Nearly all were in moult and the scraps left over by picnickers were clearly an important food source at this time of heavy nutritional requirement, in addition to what was clearly available naturally locally. Remarkably, at least 10, mostly males, but with females and juveniles too, all came in to take a look and come down for crumbs, giving us a magnificent opportunity to see the species at point blank range!

Time was running on and there was plenty of distance to still cover, so we pulled ourselves away and headed down towards the coast, noting a surprising density of population on these moister northern slopes where some agricultural activity is possible. Turning off down along a very narrow road winding through banana plantations didn’t seem like a great idea, especially with several vehicles coming against us and requiring careful manoeuvring to navigate past, but we suddenly turned into a small car park overlooking the ocean and it had a couple of spaces thanks to those that had left!

A smart black male Tenerife lizard peering seemingly nonchalantly down at us from the top of a wall just in front, its green and blue flank markings very obvious in a clear view and made a lovely sight. Two Berthelot’s pipits also fed intermittently between the cars, but our attention was firmly focussed on the ocean and any possible seabirds. 

A couple of Cory’s shearwaters were cruising a little way out, but a much smaller black-and-white shearwater heading west was much more interesting! The strong sunlight and the distance made identification difficult, but it was most likely a Manx shearwater of the canariensis subspecies. However, it was past and gone, into the sun, before it was possible to check it properly and another was already in sight… Indeed this continued for a while, with ones, twos and even small groups appearing, batting their way past west and mostly a good distance out. Some confusion arose, since the faces of these birds looked very extensively white at certain angles, particularly two white showed good features for Barolo’s shearwater (and which I’m sure were), but when a group of 15 appeared together, it was obvious that these were Manx, and indeed the singles and small groups continued for the whole time that we were there, some of which we could definitely ID as Manx and sadly no others with Barolo’s characteristics appeared to be able to compare again. Although very few other birds appeared, a dark and chunky jaeger (skua) was noted leisurely beating its way quite high west, and the broad tail projections confirmed it was a surprise Pomarine!

With almost 90 minutes of driving to get back, we pulled ourselves away as late as we could and after negotiating the winding section of old road in the NW of the island, finally dropped onto the new motorway for most of the rest of the return, now in the dark. We turned around once back at the hotel as fast as we could to enjoy a big evening meal, including a very typical fish called cherne, or grouper, for the main course to round off a very successful day!

September 21

It was cool and quite cloudy overnight, especially so when we left at 0630h! That said, by the time we’d reached our viewpoint lookout in the N an hour later, it was just 11ºC! A female canariensis Canary Islands chaffinch was noted hopping along the wall in the twilight before we could even get out, with Tenerife robins, Sardinian warblers, Canary Islands chiffchaffs, common blackbirds and Atlantic canaries all calling from the abundant vegetation on the slopes below us. A good wait ensued, with sunrise (behind the N slopes of the island) producing a fine photographic opportunity, but when by 0810h we still hadn’t seen our quarry, I was beginning to get slightly concerned, especially when we spotted two Bolle’s pigeons perched on a telephone wire over tree heather forest, but at a distance!

Thankfully, a friendly little dog came to the rescue! The owner, who’d been walking up and down the section of road, sometimes calling loudly to his dog to follow him rather than coming to be fussed by us (!) suddenly asked me if we’d seen the pigeons! Every morning they are here and in numbers, in these trees, but usually from 0830h onwards… Eureka! So despite Toby lapping up our attention, we resumed our searching with new energy and almost immediately found three Bolle’s pigeons sat quietly in the middle of a small clump of large trees, on the sunny side, so with perfect light for us! A few more appeared, either diving into the trees or coming out at speed to dash off towards the heather forest (which was probably a good idea given a peregrine which had circled over a little while earlier), while one slightly larger and darker bird came past in the opposite direction and dived into the top of the tree where it remained invisible. Clearly it had to be a laurel pigeon, and indeed it was, the first of three we finally saw, with the last perched up near the top of one tree in excellent light to allow us to appreciate the subtle differences in bill shape and colour, overall plumage colour and, in particular, the pale-ended tail lacking the clear band of the Bolle’s pigeons.

A simple but tasty breakfast was finally taken at a nearby gas station, rather than trying to rush all the way back to the hotel (where we would have arrived late anyway), allowing us to then carry on along the N side of the island to look for one or two more new species. Indeed, there was much more variety than expected at a large concrete-lined reservoir which we had to scan from on high, but with good numbers of Eurasian coot, ruddy shelduck and common moorhens, plus 11 common sandpipers and dozens of plain swifts in front and overhead all quickly visible it was a good location! A few ducks were also present, including an escaped male red-crested pochard, a similarly escaped female tufted duck (both bear colour bands, though we didn’t see them) and a wild-type plumage unbanded male mallard (with wild birds here a rarity, but plenty of domestic birds now resident on the island). At least two pallid swifts were found amongst the milling plains, while a single sand martin (AKA bank swallow) and then a fine red-rumped swallow overhead were excellent further additions. A number of Tenerife lizards along the roadside also kept the cameras clicking, including a really fine large female at the viewpoint itself.

There was just enough time to take a quick look at two laurel forest sites for one last bird. Or so we thought… 

Winding up towards the Anaga peninsula we hit traffic. A jam in fact, so before realising it was due to roadworks a little ahead and exacerbated by the increase in number of visitors trying to also drive up to the area shortly before lunch, it was frustrating to see how time started ticking away. Indeed, we were sat in the queue when I heard Tenerife goldcrest calling off to one side… After whistling back for a few minutes, we finally picked first one, and then two of these diminutive kinglets out at eye level in the heather opposite, and while we were unable to photograph them, they gave surprisingly good views as they noisily mobbed something!

I was finally able to move ahead and on the bend in front, turned off and into a large rough car park amongst the laurels, though it was almost choked with cars already! We persisted though and I decided that not only would we not try to continue up the road afterwards, in order to avoid the traffic and roadworks, but that we’d try to see the goldcrest again here, plus any of the other forest-dwelling birds which were resisting the onslaught of picnickers in the barbecue area ahead! It took some time, but after a couple of lovely canariensis Canary Islands chaffinches, a Bolle’s pigeon which sped past over the canopy, fleeting views of Tenerife robin, even though we heard it singing well for some time and a few Canary Islands chiffchaffs flitting through the trees, we finally latched on to another Tenerife goldcrest, even though it was much further away than those we’d seen from the vehicle, so completing the ‘hit-list’ of endemic species and forms I’d wanted the group to see.

We started the drive back towards the hotel, to try and get a siesta in after the early start, stopping at the first highly-rated restaurant indicated by GoogleMaps, and this was a treat! Service was a bit slow, it being a very busy day, but it was well worth the wait and we ate a delicious tapas-style lunch again.

After a decent break, we headed out again at 1630h for our last main excursion. Half an hour to the car park adjacent to a small port, we just had time for a quick drink before shoes off and we boarded a small craft for a 2h pelagic trip in the seas between Tenerife and La Gomera. The cloud was building inland and spreading down south, though it was very warm and humid on the coast, with the onshore breezes having unfortunately raised a significant swell. We motored carefully out into the deep water however, with some getting a fair spraying, but with the captain’s skill, we avoided the worst of the waves and ‘slops’ and were even able to get a small amount of chum out overboard, where we hung around in parallel for some time in hopes that the fish oils would entice something other than the frequent Cory’s shearwaters in for a look. It was not to be, and it was peculiar to see how the waves were moving with the wind from N to S, yet the ‘slick’ was spreading northwards given the light prevailing current! We finally moved away to try our luck elsewhere and look for slightly calmer conditions, finding a Cory’s shearwater dining on a squid on the surface and, of particular note, watched and moved along with a small pod of short-finned pilot whales as they surfed the waves and occasionally breached and even passed under the boat on a couple of occasions! We finished off by cruising to the N, now with the wind, which had switched direction and kept more towards the shore in the hopes of possibly crossing with a passing Barolo’s shearwater as they skirt round the island in the evenings, a much larger number of Cory’s now also present, but drew a blank despite the skipper’s efforts.

Fortunately, no-one was unwell, despite the conditions and the journey back was easy, but unusual in that it started to rain lightly on the basal vegetation zone. Indeed, we’d seen a few of the native thick-stemmed succulents either in flower or with a flush of fresh leaves suggesting that it had rained recently before and so thankfully breaking the drought conditions which were such a feature of 2023.

Another large meal rounded off our last full day of the tour and we retired to bed for a good night’s rest with light rain still falling outside, which continued for an hour or two, providing relief to the seemingly parched landscapes.

September 22

After a normal 8 a.m. breakfast five of us headed out to do a little birding before continuing with to the Tenerife South airport for several flight drop offs. It was a lovely sunny and clear morning after the rain the evening and night before and given very little wind the sun was warming things up nicely.

A random stop was going to be made at a good-looking spot in the tabaiba scrub on the slopes as we headed down towards the coast, but when I spotted a shorebird on the edge of a mini reservoir beside the road, we decided to take a look and so I turned around and quickly pulled in to a handy parking spot just in front. Creeping round from the back of the van we noted a fine juvenile common greenshank, with two grey wagtails close by adding a lovely splash of colour. A wall at one end was crowned by single yellow-legged gull and (yet another) muscovy duck, plus a grey heron behind. Opposite, a Eurasian collared sat sat on a wire, but another dove behind it looked small. Indeed, it was a lovely, but flighty laughing dove, which flew to land on wires further away where it was briefly joined by a second. Not a bad little haul at all thanks to one shorebird seen out of the corner of one eye!

The random spot a little way ahead was chosen where there was relatively untouched open scrubby patches on both sides and easy parking. Typically, being out in this hot, semi-desert basal zone means it was very parched-looking, but several Berthelot’s pipits, looking particularly pale and grey in contrast to the richly coloured soil following the rain, moved about noisily and after a little searching, a weird and highly repetitive call (so I should have known quicker!) was tracked down to a rather distant great grey shrike. Fortunately, just as we were about to turn and head back to the vehicle, a call went up for a small bird atop a bushy Euphorbia, and there sat a gorgeous male spectacled warbler, our hoped-for quarry and not only did it start to call, but also came much closer towards us, giving excellent views in the end.

“Job done” we still had time to take a quick look at the greenery afforded by one of the island’s golf courses, though we couldn’t see any birds about on the vivid green fairways. However, a remodelled pool with plenty of water was clearly a great aid to attracting some local birds in, with a common sandpiper and common moorhen beside the water, two European turtle doves in the adjacent trees and of most note, at least five Barbary partridges moving around on the open tracks and calling from cover and, of course, a couple of Canary Islands chiffchaffs and at least one Atlantic canary as fitting species to round off the last site visited during the main part of the trip.

Part of the group safely dropped off, the rest of us continued to a small pool on the edge of an industrial estate, which despite its location and foul water (!) held a few birds and dozens of dragonflies! A small group of Muscovy ducks included a couple of half-grown young (illustrating once again why they are considered an exotic invasive species) alongside a large group of domestic mallard. Single little egret, common sandpiper, Canary Islands chiffchaff and grey wagtail rounding off the typically discrete list for the site, apart from a tremendous group of plain swifts wheeling low down off to one side.

It was time to call an official end to proceedings, so we headed back to the hotel where a few participants were staying on until their early flight out the following morning, while I headed up to the Tenerife N airport to drop them off directly for their flight, while I went out for a short while afterwards until returning for my later flight, discovering in the process that one of the sites that I had wanted to visit with the group now requires a significant walk, so it was good to get up to speed on yet another change on the islands!

I would like to thank you all for helping make this such a successful, interesting and enjoyable tour! While the pace of the tour and near-absence (now) of slow ferries between the islands -making it far harder to see seabirds compared to a few years ago- means that it’s extremely unlikely to see all of the possible endemic species and subspecies in just one trip, the September dates meant that we actually also recorded significantly more species than any other previous WINGS tour here as it coincided with fall migration and some off-course migrants. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed as much as I did!

                                                                                                                                                                     -          John Muddeman

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