Ardeidae

 

Part of the group of herons, with the two Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) visible in the centre

After a week´s absence from the island, I returned to Las Martelas this morning to find a mixed group of herons; the Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) featured in my previous post was nowhere to be seen.

The assembly of Ardeidae gave the impression of being a group of recently-arrived birds, made up of 14 Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), 2 Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), a handful of Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) and a single Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides).

Part of the group of Ardeidae, with the Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) in the foreground

Part of the group of Ardeidae, with the Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) in the foreground

Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)

Of the four species, the Squacco Heron (Ardeola Ralloides) appears least regularly on La Palma, followed by the ubiquitous Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), which breeds on the island of Lanzarote. Both the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) can be observed virtually all year round.

Records of Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Great White Egret (Egretta alba), Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), and Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) also exist for the island, though all but the first-named are very infrequent visitors.