Early May 2010

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Moorhen chicks from mid-Februrary clutch (Gallinula chloropus)

Moorhen chicks from late April clutch

The solitary White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) appeared in an almost empty irrigation basin in the Las Martelas area on 07/05. Small numbers of this species turn up on the island almost every year at various locations, such as the rubbish tip north of Santa Cruz (Barranco Seco), where I saw a group of 3 birds in April 2007. There have even been sporadic breeding attempts in recent years, and the species possibly nested regularly on certain church bell towers in the past.

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) are fairly regular visitors to all the main islands and have been breeding on Lanzarote since the 1990s decade.

From the clutch of six Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) chicks born in mid-February, featured in a previous post, two of the young survive at the time of writing and are past the "critical period". The irrigation basin is located in Las Martelas and still has good water levels and plenty of cover.

The last photo shows 4 of the 5 chicks from a Moorhen clutch born at the end of April at a basin in Tazacorte. Even chicks of this size are able to reach dry land by climbing up the stalks of the overhanging tomato plant visible in the image.