Great Egret and more...

 Great Egret (Ardea/Egretta alba)

At last a photo of a Great (White) Egret (Ardea/Egretta alba) on La Palma! I think this is the first record for the island backed with photographic evidence...

I had a brief glimpse of one at in irrigation pond in Las Martelas, back in March 2018, but the bird took flight before I could capture it with my camera. In September the same year, a visiting British birder (Dave Steel) informed me of a sighting of two birds seen in flight from the balcony of his room at the Princess Hotel in Fuencaliente: no pictures either.

 Great Egret (Ardea/Egretta alba)

Other visiting birders may have submitted records of this species to SEO/Birdlife, the Sociedad Ornitológica Canaria (SOC), or wherever, but I am unaware of these sightings.

So finally, this evening at the Dos Pinos reservoir (Los Llanos de Aridane), where I was counting Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) for the annual wintering waterbird census, I was able to get a few distant shots of the solitary Great Egret shown above.


Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

 Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

On Jan 11, I re-encountered the juvenile Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) at the same irrigation pond in Tazacorte where it was discovered on Jan 10. The photos are a distinct improvement on the previous ones, although the surroundings are far from idyllic.

 Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

2 x Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

Back at the Dos Pinos reservoir again, I spotted two Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) this morning, Jan 12. This is a difficult location for photography, due to the fence, and the limited access points.

In the evening, the birds were no longer there, but I was treated to a brief view of one of them in flight, just before nightfall.

 Spoonbbill (Platalea leucorodia)

Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)