Spoonbill

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

A visit to the saltpans at Las Salinas (Fuencaliente) this morning yielded the juvenile Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) featured in the present post.

The bird was found foraging in one of the shallow pools, but retired to roost later in the morning in the nearest thing it could find to a "secluded corner". However, people and a few vehicles were passing within 30 metres of the resting migrant. The dog belonging to the complex was also out and about...

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

This species is a fairly regular visitor to La Palma during autumnal (post-breeding) migration. I have seen small flocks at the same location in previous years, and there have been sightings of single birds at the airport pools, the Laguna de Barlovento reservoir, and at some of the irrigation ponds in Las Martelas.

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

Identification of banded birds has shown that most of the Spoonbills recorded on the Canary Islands come from the Netherlands.

 Eurasian Spoonbil (Platalea leucorodia)

Although the present species is no "rarity", sightings of Spoonbill always provide a welcome change to the usual waders at the saltpans. This morning, they included 5 x Dunlin (Calidris alpina), 2 x Sanderling (Calidris alba), 2 x Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), 1 x Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) and 1 x Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea).

Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

At the irrigation ponds in the area known as Las Martelas (just outside the town of Los Llanos de Aridane), there were the usual small numbers of Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), and Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), plus 6 x Coot (Fulica atra) and 1 x Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca).

I have not seen the Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes, see previous post) since October 10.