End of November

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Female Pintail (Anas acuta)

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)

On 28/11 a solitary female Pintail (Anas acuta) appeared in a basin in Las Martelas presently occupied by 45 -50 Coots. This "rare and irregular winter visitor, recorded on all main islands except La Gomera", according to Birds of the Atlantic Islands (T. Clarke, Helm), had gone by the evening.

After temporarily "losing" the Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), the bird was rediscovered at another irrigation basin together with the male Teal and female Shoveler shown in an earlier post (25-30/11).

Finally, on 30/11 I came across the juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), which has been on the island for a few weeks, being mobbed by gulls at the Dos Pinos reservoir. In the photo, the bird can be seen making off with the remains of a recently-caught fish.