Osprey KL9: a brief summary

Migrant Osprey KL9 perched amid banana plantations, Sep 20

As 2020 draws to a close, I thought I would include a post to briefly recap on the most interesting birding event of the year: the long stopover on La Palma of KL9, a ringed juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) from the north of Scotland.

I discovered this first-time migrant near the Dos Pinos reservoir (Los Llanos de Aridane) on Sep 20, in rather exotic surroundings for a Scottish osprey. See photo above.

The blue Darvic ring became visible when the bird took flight, and the relevant details were duly reported to The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, who traced the ringer. 

One of the first shots of KL9 in which the alphanumeric code can be read

For the next 6 weeks, the young bird settled in the area around the reservoir, and very quickly learned to catch the introduced Tilapia fish. Initially it devoured its catch in situ, on the concrete banks, but later tended to carry its prey off to a nearby utility pole, outside the reservoir fence. KL9's fishing expertise reached the point where success often came at the first attempt.

The migrant Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) KL9 in action

I made regular visits to the reservoir from Sep 20 onwards, observing KL9 for the last time on Oct 28. A local family whose house overlooks the reservoir reported seeing the bird around Nov 4, which must be the approximate date on which KL9 decided to leave the island, after an unusually long sojourn.

Let's hope that KL9 has a successful onward flight to its probable destination in West Africa, and eventually makes it back to the north of Scotland to breed.

Barbary Falcon

 

Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides)

It's not easy to get close enough to a Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides) for decent photographs, but this morning a combination of stealth and good luck got me to within 50 metres of my subject. This particular bird hunts over an inland territory that contains a large pigeon colony and provides habitat for resident passerines.

Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides)

It's a rather slim individual, only slightly larger than one of the island's abundant Common Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus canariensis), and must therefore be a male.

Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides)

First discovered back in October, I have observed this bird several times since then. Initially, identification of the dark silhouette against a bright sky was something of a challenge. The body shape looked right, but the bird seemed too small, compared to other Barbary Falcons I have seen on the island.

Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides)

According to a 2017 study, there are an estimated 30 breeding pairs of Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides) on La Palma. The species is difficult to observe since it favours high coastal or inland cliffs for breeding, and spends long periods in inaccessible terrain.  However, it often hunts closer to inhabited areas, where feral pigeons form the basis of its diet.

Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides)

Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides)

Meadow Pipit

 

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

On December 7th I found this inconspicuous pipit foraging among the weeds in the bottom of an irrigation pond. Thanks to recent rainfall, there is now a shallow layer of water in several of the abandoned ponds in Las Martelas (Los Llanos de Aridane), and vegetation has started to sprout in the mud.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

It was difficult to get clear views of the bird as it crept in and out of the undergrowth at the foot of the inner walls of the pond, and I first assumed it was a juvenile Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus), based on previous observations in the same area. 

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

This was not the case, however: despite the bird's worn plumage, the photos clearly show the key field marks of a Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis). 

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

Meadow Pipit (A. pratensis) has been recorded a number of times on La Palma, typically by visiting observers at the Laguna de Barlovento in the northeast of the island, where more suitable habitat for this species is found.

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

This pipit is classed as a regular winter visitor to the Canary Islands in general, and this is my first record for La Palma.

Osprey, Day 39

Osprey KL9 was observed fishing at the Dos Pinos reservoir this morning, Oct 28. 

The bird circled high over the water for  about 7 minutes, carefully searching for suitable fish, before it eventually dived in to make a successful catch at the first attempt. Practice makes perfect.

It then flew off to a nearby telephone post to devour its prey. 

Anyone interested in the plight of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on the Canary Islands, and the conservation challenges posed here, might like to check the Youtube link below. The talk is a summary of a Canary Island Government project co-financed by the European Union. It is in Spanish, but contains plenty of graphic material and photographs.

https://youtu.be/g0v1F4BE1Fc

Osprey, DAY 28

The juvenile Osprey marked KL9, first detected on Sep 20, has now been on the island of  La Palma for 4 weeks. During this time, I have been regularly checking its movements and have also received regular updates from a local family who observe the Dos Pinos reservoir from their terrace (thanks Íñigo!).

The regional delegation of SEO/Birdlife on Tenerife, and La Palma's environmental authorities have been informed of the bird's presence. It appears there has been at least one previous case of an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) overwintering on Gran Canaria, rather than continuing its migration to Senegal and Gambia. So, perhaps KL9 will be here for a while!

I found KL9 (whose sex is unknown) resting on a utility pole near the Dos Pinos reservoir this morning, Oct 17.

Osprey KL9 (Pandion haliaetus)

The above photograph was taken from a distance, and I was careful not to disturb the bird by trying to get a better shot. Instead, I headed for the reservoir to await arrival of the young Osprey. The bird soon appeared as expected, beginning its activity with an exploratory flight over the water.

Without attempting to fish it then spent a few minutes resting on the bank of the reservoir. I had my tripod set up this time, hoping to improve on my previous photographs. The Osprey took flight again, and after briefly surveying the water, dived towards its prey:

The following shots were all taken with a 400mm lens and a fairly high ISO 400, to get a fast shutter speed. The pictures are all heavily cropped, but are probably at the limit of what my gear can achieve, given the distance from the subject (c 200m).

Osprey KL9 making off with its catch

It took the bird less than 2 minutes to catch its first meal of the day, after only one dive...a 100% success rate.

Osprey KL9, DAY 14

The ringed Osprey KL9 was at the Dos Pinos reservoir this morning, where I watched it fishing. The bird dived towards prey on three occasions, with complete immersion the second two attempts. The last of the three attempts brought success in the form of a sizeable catch, the whole process having taken just over two minutes. Thus, a 1-out-of-3 success rate after a couple of minutes of strenuous activity...not bad for an inexperienced, first-time migrant!

So, contrary to my earlier comments (see previous posts), to the effect that the reservoir basically functions as a safe refuge for birds, it is now clear that the site is also providing the juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with an abundant, easy-to-catch food supply. 

The following action photos are all heavily cropped, but are certainly an improvement on my previous ones. 

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) landing with catch

The fish themselves (Tilapia sp.) got there as a result of an unsuccessful fish-farming project. It is not clear whether they were deliberately introduced into this particular reservoir, or were accidentally transferred from other ponds involved in the aquacultural experiment.

Citrine Wagtail, part 2

The 1w Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) was still present at the saltpans in Fuencaliente this morning, Oct 2. The bird was making short runs to snatch insects off the ground, and springing to catch flying ones.

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

I particularly like the impression of movement in the middle image above, which was shot at 1/400s  ISO 400  f5.6.

Citrine Wagtail at the saltpans

A visit to the saltpans in Fuencaliente this morning (Sep 30) yielded the first-winter Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) featured in the present post.

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

The bird was foraging for insects along the rocky embankments, on the access track, and in the salt-production pools. This is my third record of citreola on La Palma: the first was in Sep 2013 at an irrigation pond in Las Martelas (Los Llanos de Aridane), and the second at the saltpans (Fuencaliente) in Sep 2015.

Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)

The above images show most of the key fieldmarks: all-dark bill, broad white wing bars, all-round pale cheek surround, and tinges of yellow below eye, etc.

This sighting will be submitted to the Spanish Rarities Committee in due course.

Osprey KL9, DAY 9

KL9 was still at the Dos Pinos reservoir this afternoon. Between about 14:35 and 14:45 the bird made a prolonged effort to catch fish, repeatedly wheeling over the water, and plunging in on five occasions. The fifth time it was lucky, flying off with a moderately large Tilapia in its talons.

I expected KL9 to land on the edge of the reservoir to devour his catch, but instead he flew off west and dined atop a utility pole.

KL9's daily meal had taken ten minutes of strenuous flight, and five dives into the reservoir, with a 20% success rate. 

My photos were unfortunately disappointing:

Migratory Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with its takeaway meal

Osprey KL9, DAY 8

KL9 was located in the same area this morning, and again at the reservoir itself this afternoon, where the bird was seen dining on another fish.

The ringer has confirmed that KL9 was ringed as a nestling on July 9 this year at a site about 25km north of Inverness (Scotland).

Osprey KL9, DAY 7

KL9, the migrant Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), was still at the Dos Pinos reservoir this evening, and was devouring a fish when I arrived.

This is the third time I have seen the bird feeding.

Osprey KL9, DAY 6

I found Osprey KL9 at the Dos Pinos reservoir again this morning! On my arrival at the site, the juvenile bird was feasting on a freshly-caught fish...so I had missed the actual catching yet again: must get there earlier next time.

Juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with a recently-caught Tilapia

Perhaps the bird's soaring southbound flight the day before had been a practice run, to see what lies over the horizon further south; perhaps it didn't like the prospect, or decided conditions were unsuitable for long-distance travel; or maybe it opted for further calory-intake. Who knows? 

After its meal, the visiting Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) tried to make itself comfortable on the perimeter fence.

But it wasn't long before it left the fence in favour of a utility pole outside the reservoir to the west, in the area where I had found the bird on Sep 20. Photos were now into the sun, taken just for the record.

Monitoring will continue.

Osprey KL9, DAY 5

I arrived at the Dos Pinos reservoir this morning at 11:30, just in time to see Osprey KL9 gorging on a fish. The bird was on the far (W) side of the reservoir with its back to me. After a few minutes, and a change of position, I was able to get the following shots:

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Although safe on the far side of the reservoir, the bird has little privacy:

Given its present location, I imagined KL9 would sleep the siesta for the rest of the afternoon, so I made myself comfortable for a period of inactivity with perhaps a few photo opportunities. Then came the surprise...

The bird suddenly took to the air and began gaining altitude in leisurely spirals, taking advantage of the local thermals. It initially headed east, a few hundred metres up, only to suffer brief harassment from one of the local Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus canariensis). The Osprey reacted by veering south without losing altitude. 

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), probably departing La Palma

KL9 continued southbound at a considerable height until it eventually disappeared from view. Everything points to KL9 having ended its stopover on La Palma, but I will check the reservoir and surroundings over the next few days.