Stone Curlew: end of March 2010

Four images of a Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)

As a change from seasonal migrants, the present post focusses on one of the island's scarcer resident birds.

I must confess to always having had a fascination for the enigmatic Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus). The species is fairly rare on the island of La Palma, where it is locally known - if it is known at all - by the onomatopoeic name "Pedro Luis". According to the "Atlas de las Aves Nidificantes en el Archipiélago Canario" (Ed. J. A. Lorenzo), the bulk of its population is to be found in medium-altitude zones of the Aridane Valley, in localities such as Tacande, La Montañita, Los Barros and El Barrial. Habitat loss and destruction, human interference in breeding areas, and depredation by introduced mammals are just some of the problems facing this lover of bare open spaces and steppes.

Eerily-wailing birds can be heard flying over El Barrial, where I happen to live, almost every night of the year, and a good spot to try and locate them is at Llano de las Cuevas, in the high part of El Paso. The above photographs were all taken there.

Mid-March 2010

Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)

Three images of a juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

On 17/03 a Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) turned up in an almost-empty irrigation basin in Las Martelas. This is the third example of this national rarity I have seen on the island, the previous two being observed in autumn 2009 (see corresponding posts).

The juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), photographed above, has now been on the island for over four months, and appears to have moved from the Dos Pinos area, in Los Llanos, to the banana plantations of Tazacorte, where there are dozens of irrigation basins stocked with carp.

In a water basin in Tazacorte, a pair of Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) hatched a brood of 7 chicks in early March which all died within a couple of days when the basin was filled, swamping their nest. The tiny chicks were unable to climb the steps to reach safety. The parent birds have now abandoned the basin.

The first brood of Moorhens detected in Las Martelas in mid-February, which was featured in the March 2nd post, is now down to 2 surviving chicks.

March 2nd 2010

Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)

Photo: Isidro Brito

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) at nest, with 5 chicks

The month of February was one of several storms on the island, with heavy rain and strong winds. Remarkably, a couple of Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus), oblivious to the elements, managed to hatch the first brood of the year in an irrigation basin in Las Martelas. The chicks, first detected on 19/02, were originally 6, possibly 8 in number, and are down to 5 at the time of writing.

A solitary Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) was detected in a small reservoir just south of Las Martelas by Isidro Brito. This species has been recorded in previous years on the island.

The Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) was last seen on 25/01 and despite thorough searching has not been re-located.

The Sandpiper (Actitis sp.) shown above, photgraphed at the saltpans in Fuencaliente, is probably the same bird featured in an earlier post. Although I still haven't heard it call, or seen the wing bar, I think this is macularia rather than hypoleucos.

There are still small numbers of common waders both in the fresh-water basins and at the seawater-flooded gravel pits near the airport.

Finally, the juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) has been seen several times in recent weeks and has now been on the island for over four months.

Mid-January 2010

Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)

The birding year has got off to a promising start with this sighting of a Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus). The bird was first located on 09/01, feeding in an irrigation basin in the municipality of Tazacorte.

As can be appreciated from the photos above, wader-style foraging is possible in full basins, provided the floating layer of pond weed is able to support the bird's weight. Snipe, Moorhen, and even Little Egret can often be seen "walking on the water" in a similar fashion.

Opting for Limnodromus scolopaceus rather than griseus is based on:

• Bill length, which I estimate at slightly over twice the head diameter
• Width of black bands on tail feathers, clearly wider than the white bands
• Freshwater rather than saltwater habitat

So far, the all-clinching call has not been heard, and the bird is still feeding (16/01) in an extremely secluded pond, where it is unlikely to be accidentally flushed.

Also of note this month, one Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus) on 15/01, a dark morph Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) on 16/01, a couple of Hoopoes (Upupa epops) on 09/01, and various sightings of Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides), both single birds and pairs.

End of December

As can be appreciated from the images above, the juvenile Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), featured in previous posts, seems to have acquired a taste for oriental food. Goldfish must be a lot easier to catch than native sea fish, so someone's garden pond has now become a convenient Chinese Takeaway for this young bird.

The photos were taken on 24/12, and the Osprey was seen again on 31/12, in the Dos Pinos area.

Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

Another repeat sighting at the end of the month (26/12) was this solitary Spoonbill. The surroundings in which the bird was photographed will probably appear incongruous to birders familiar with the usual haunts of this species. The edge of the concrete irrigation basin can be seen, together with a fleshy-leaved Kleinia nerifolia bush to the right.

On 18-19/12 I came across a single Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), feeding in the bottom of an empty basin, and spotted a Hoopoe (Upupa epops) calling from the top of an electricity pylon on 19/12, apparently getting off to an early start with its territorial behaviour.

Moorhen 2009 (Part 2)

June 6th, basin B: second brood of 3 chicks.

The following information is based on an observation period of 8 months (from early May 2009 to mid-December 2009), during which 5 different irrigation basins in the municipality of Tazacorte were regularly monitored.

As stated in the previous post, the Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a prolific breeder, but mortality rates are high due to a number of factors:

• Unpredicatble, drastic changes in water levels of 1 - 3 metres, dictated by irrigation requirements, can render nesting sites and available cover untenable.


• Chicks are easy prey for opportunistic predators such as cats, rats, Grey Heron, Little Egret and Common Kestrel.


• Inadequate breeding sites sometimes chosen by parent birds (basins with insufficient food resources, or with high, vertical sides and lack of floating material, so that flightless chicks are unable to leave the water once in).

The number of broods per basin is listed below, together with the number of chicks per brood, and the number of successfully-reared birds. Figures are given for breeding success in each basin, and for the overall breeding success in all 5 basins, expressed as a percentage.

Basin A had 3 broods of 4(June), 7 (July) and 5 (Sept) chicks.

None of the 16 chicks survived more than a few days.

Breeding success = 0%

Basin B had 3 broods of 5 (May), 3 (June) and 2 (July) chicks.
1 chick was successfully reared from the first brood and 2 from the third.
Breeding success = 3/10 = 30%

Basin C had 2 broods of 4 (May) and 1 (July) chicks.
1 chick was successfully reared from the second brood, none from the first.
Breeding success = 1/5 = 20%

Basin D had 2 broods of 4 (May) and 3 (July) chicks.
2 chicks were successfully reared from the first brood, none from the third.
Breeding success = 2/7 = 28.6%

Basin E had 3 broods of 1 (May), 5 (June) and 5 (July) chicks.
1 chick was successfully reared from the first brood and 3 from the third.
Breeding success = 4/11 = 36%

Overall breeding success = 10/49 = 20.4%

Moorhen 2009 (Part 1)

The Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is described in the Atlas de las Aves Nidificantes en el Archipiélago Canario (Ed. J.A. Lorenzo) as having a small resident population on the island of La Palma, and reference is made to recent observations of individual birds, evidence of both successful and unsuccessful nesting, and the detection of chicks and juveniles still attached to their parents at various sites.


The following notes are based on the monitoring of 5 different irrigation basins in the municipality of Tazacorte; each one was inspected approximately 70 times during an eight month period, from early May 2009 to mid-December 2009.


Observations show that the species is well-established at specific locations on the island, and is a prolific breeder, with 2 - 3 broods per year.

Two images of the only surviving chick from a brood of 5 born in early May.

This bird eventually left the basin in late July.

A healthy-looking juvenile Moorhen

There was remarkable brood synchronisation in mid-July: the breeding pairs in all 5 basins had either a second or third brood on, or very close to, July 16th.

Cooperative care of chicks by siblings from previous broods was observed in three of the basins (B, D, E).

Although floating platforms of pond weeds were built by some birds, final nesting sites were always on dry land in undergrowth, on concrete steps or manmade structures, or else well-concealed in Rumex lunaria bushes, with the floating platforms being used merely for temporary refuge or as resting areas.

Building a floating platform from water weed

Heading for the nesting site on dry land

A commonly-employed escape strategy when danger threatens. The sequence of 3 images shows a juvenile re-emerging, after remaining motionless for several minutes with only its head above water.