Early December 2009

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Photo: Isidro Brito

Coot (Fulica atra)


Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)



Pintail (Anas acuta) + Coot (Fulica atra)

Nothing new on the island so far this month, but on 05/12 Isidro Brito managed to observe and get excellent photographs of the juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) which has been around for several weeks. The bird perched twice to devour two small fish caught in a nearby irrigation tank.

The solitary female Pintail (Anas acuta), first detected on 28/11, has been rediscovered in a neighbouring basin, in the company of a large domestic duck.

The female Shoveler (Anas clypeata) can be found at the same location in Tazacorte, but the male Teal (Anas crecca) was no longer there on the evening of 09/12.

Otherwise, there are small numbers of Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), and 45 -50 Coots (Fulica atra) in the Martelas area, with a single Redshank (Tringa totanus) at the saltpans in Fuencaliente.