Common Shelduck

 Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

This morning, I was alerted by Eduardo García-del-Rey that a Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) had recently been reported on La Palma. The author of this interesting sighting is unknown to me, and the bird's precise location on the island was not given either.

 Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

The logical place to search was at the saltpans in Fuencaliente. Mainly, because the habitat is suitable, and there had been a previous sighting of 5 Common Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna) way back in 2004, but also because it is a popular spot for visiting birders.

 Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

I arrived at the saltpans at about 5pm this afternoon, and found the Shelduck there, resting on one of the stone embankments in the middle of the complex. The bird was difficult to approach, and the light was from the wrong angle for satisfactory photos. I managed to take several of similar quality to the first picture above.

Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

I then moved to another position to observe some Nearctic waders (see forthcoming post), and was rather surprised to see a tourist with a camera moving around the saltpan complex, calmly entering the no-access areas and evidently about to flush the Shelduck. Sure enough, the bird took flight, but promptly landed in one of the pools, allowing me to capture the last three pictures in this post.

The Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a rare visitor to the Canary Islands, with only 13 records, mainly from Gran Canaria. All records are from October-January, but predominantly in November-December. (Note that there may have been a few more since this information was published in "Rare Birds of the Canary Islands" by Lynx Edicions in 2013).

Note: The latest SOC (Sociedad Ornitológica Canaria) checklist from 2017 gives 15 records altogether:

La Palma, n = 1; Tenerife, n = 1; Gran Canaria, n = 6; Fuerteventura, n = 3; Lanzarote, n = 4. 

There has apparently been a very recent record on Tenerife, so with the present one on La Palma (possibly the same bird as on Tenerife), the total number of records now stands at 17.