Temminck's Stint

 

Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii) showing diagnostic white outer tail feathers

I discovered my first ever Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii) yesterday morning (May 1), in an irrigation pond in Las Martelas (Los Llanos de Aridane). The bird was feeding around the edges of a shallow pool of freshwater, together with two Curlew Sandpipers (Calidris ferruginea).

Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)

The total number of records of Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii) on the Canary Islands is unclear. 

It is described as a vagrant to the Canary Islands in the "Field Guide to the Birds of Macaronesia" (Lynx Edicions, 2011), with records from Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Gomera. 

In another source, "Rare Birds of the Canary Islands" (Lynx Edicions, 2013), only the following records are given: 

La Gomera, n=1

Tenerife n=2

Lanzarote n=5

The SOC (Sociedad Ornitológica Canaria) checklist of 2018 classes the species as a vagrant and Regional Rarity, with a total of 11 sightings on the the islands of Tenerife (n=5), Fuerteventura (n=5) and La Gomera (n=1).

Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)

According to  SEO/Birdlife Tenerife, the present bird is the first record of this species for the island of La Palma. The same source added that another temminckii was found in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria) shortly after mine.

Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)

This long-distance migrant breeds in Scandinavia through NW Russia and Siberia, and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Autumn records have dominated so far on the Canary Islands.

Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)

This individual appears to be an adult with evidence of breeding plumage in the upperparts.