Harsh reality

The image above shows one of the irrigation basins in Las Martelas, a fairly nondescript, semi-urban area on the outskirts of Los Llanos.

A pair of Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) have established themselves in this particular pond and have already had three broods this year, consisting of 6, 5 and 3 chicks respectively. Given the relatively good habitat, compared to certain other locations where the species attempts to breed, it has always baffled me that none of the offspring so far observed have ever survived.

The two domestic ducks in the next photo also inhabit this artificial pond on a more or less permanent basis. I assume they are Mallard x Muscovy hybrids (Anas platyrhynchos x Cairina moschata). Surprisingly, both birds can fly well, despite their large size, and they move around neighbouring basins freely.
On July 25th, partly concealed among the bushes, I was busy taking pictures of an adult Moorhen as it carefully passed tasty morsels to one of its three chicks.
It was a scene I had witnessed many times before, in which each of the progenitors takes charge of feeding one or more of the hatchlings. However, despite appropriate parental care, only one, or at most two chicks tend to survive per brood of 5-6, if any at all.

As outlined in two 2009 posts, among the possible causes for this relatively low survival-rate could be the drastically varying water-levels dictated by irrigation requirements - which destroy nests and render cover untenable - together with predation by rats, cats, herons and even kestrels, or perhaps simply the limited food resources in the basins themselves.

Whatever the case, during this particular photography session, another explanation for the hatchlings' high mortality was unveiled, and I was totally unprepared for the ensuing events...


Despite the rather blurred images - my ISO and shutter speeds were set for the placid, previous scene - the violence of this sudden attack by the smaller of the two domestic ducks, and the Moorhen's desperate attempt to rescue its helpless chick, can be fully appreciated.

A few minutes later, as if nothing had happened, the adult Moorhen resumed its parental duties. The remaining chick seemed to sense imminent danger, for as soon as the parent momentarily averted its head, the hybrid duck rushed in and grabbed itself another meal...







This gruesome sequence depicts an unexpected behavioural trait of what are, in most people's minds, docile water fowl, and it came as a sharp reminder of the often harsh reality of nature.

It can only be hoped that numbers of this particular duck variety never increase to the point where they pose a serious threat to the island's small nesting Moorhen population.

Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) - Late July 2010

This is my second encounter with the Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) on La Palma. From May to August 2009, one - occasionally two - birds were regularly seen at the same irrigation basins in Tazacorte where the present bird was photographed.

The species is described as a "rare and irregular passage migrant, recorded from all main islands except El Hierro", in Birds of the Atlantic Islands (Tony Clarke, Helm).

Regarding other Ardeidae on the Canaries, the Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) bred on Tenerife in 1997, and possibly sparodically since then; the Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) bred on Gran Canaria in 2008 and is a regular breeder on Tenerife; the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) has a nesting colony on Lanzarote, and the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) also breeds there, as well as on Tenerife.

In the case of La Palma, only the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and the Little Egret are seen all year round, although no evidence of either species breeding has come to light (Atlas de las Aves Nidificantes en el Archipiélago Canario, Ed. J. A. Lorenzo).
Above, the Squacco Heron uses its long, flexible neck and dagger-like bill to seize prey from a perch located some distance above the surface.
This particular basin is full of frogs: here the bird relishes a large tadpole.
When not foraging from overhanging branches, the heron stalks its prey in the water...

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) Early June

This solitary example of a Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) was discovered in a freshwater basin in Las Martelas on June 6th, perhaps a somewhat atypical location for a species described in most identification guides as being more inclined towards saltwater habitats.

On the Canaries considered a "regular passage migrant and winter visitor, recorded from all main islands" (Tony Clarke, "Birds of the Atlantic Islands", Helm), this was nevertheless my first sighting on La Palma.

The present images allow a number of key identification points to be appreciated: the shorter legs in comparison to the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), the pale supercilium extending to behind the eye...
...the obviously barred tail (!) and white rump...
...and the very slightly upturned bill, the length of which suggests a female.

The baueri, or eastern race of the Bar-tailed Godwit, holds the record for the longest-known non-stop migration flight of any bird. Satellite tagging showed that in 2007 one bird flew from North Island, New Zealand, over the Western Pacific to the Yellow Sea, a distance of at least 10,000 km.

Birds of the "lapponica group" generally breed on low-lying tundra discontinuously from northern Scandinavia through Russia to Alaska, and use coastal and estuarine environments when not breeding: lapponica largely in Britain, Ireland and Denmark; tymyrensis south down the Atlantic seabord to west and southern Africa ("Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere", Richard Chandler).

Reaching La Palma has not necessarily entailed an extended ocean crossing for the present bird, but it has meant a journey south covering approximately 40 degrees of latitude - no mean achievement!

Common Kestrel 2: brood of four (see previous post)

Being the first to reach the top of the wall has its advantages: there's no need to share meals, such as this juicy lizard, with other nestmates.
The tail is swallowed whole...
Parachuting down to the nest cavity again is no problem...
The first bird's advantage is short-lived: soon, all four fledglings can be seen perched expectantly along the breeze block partition...
When the young birds are not raucously begging to be fed, wing muscles are exercised...
Within a few days, all four birds have mastered active flight and low-altitude gliding over short distances.

Common Kestrel (Late May 2010)

The most abundant diurnal raptor on the Canary Islands, the Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), is encountered as two sub-species: canariensis on the central and western isles, and dacotiae on the eastern ones.

The species nests in cavities and ledges on rock faces, in pine trees and palms, in old crow and pigeon nests, in holes in the ground, and in derelict buildings, bridges and walls - such as the one shown above. In the photgraph, the nest cavity can be seen in the centre, roughly two thirds up the natural stone part of the wall, about 5 metres from ground-level at that point.
The four young chicks on the day the nest was first discovered (May 16th), with large amounts of fluffy white down still covering their bodies.
Only the male bird appears to deliver food to the nest, but all observations to date have been in the late afternoon. Perhaps mother feeds the chicks at other times of the day?
The fourth member of the family is hidden inside the cavity, which is becoming increasingly cramped as the birds grow.
Another meal is handed over: first come, first served!
Lizards form a basic part of the kestrel's diet, although mice and large insects, such as dragon-flies, are also caught. The latter are typically plucked from the surface of ponds, and moorhen chicks are also predated on in this way.
This recent image (May 25th) shows three of the young birds already clambering around on the wall outside the nest: the slightly less-developed runt is also visible inside the cavity. With luck, all four chicks will soon be fledged...

Note that all photgraphs (except the first) were taken from under a camouflage net at a distance of 20-30 metres, using a 400mm lens, to minimise disturbance.

Early May 2010

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Moorhen chicks from mid-Februrary clutch (Gallinula chloropus)

Moorhen chicks from late April clutch

The solitary White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) appeared in an almost empty irrigation basin in the Las Martelas area on 07/05. Small numbers of this species turn up on the island almost every year at various locations, such as the rubbish tip north of Santa Cruz (Barranco Seco), where I saw a group of 3 birds in April 2007. There have even been sporadic breeding attempts in recent years, and the species possibly nested regularly on certain church bell towers in the past.

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) are fairly regular visitors to all the main islands and have been breeding on Lanzarote since the 1990s decade.

From the clutch of six Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) chicks born in mid-February, featured in a previous post, two of the young survive at the time of writing and are past the "critical period". The irrigation basin is located in Las Martelas and still has good water levels and plenty of cover.

The last photo shows 4 of the 5 chicks from a Moorhen clutch born at the end of April at a basin in Tazacorte. Even chicks of this size are able to reach dry land by climbing up the stalks of the overhanging tomato plant visible in the image.

Barbary Falcon

A typical area of coastal habitat

Aerial acrobatics

Note that barring is absent on upper breast

Note the dark terminal band on undertail

The present post focusses on another of the island's scarce resident birds: the Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides), closely related to the Peregrine (F. peregrinus) and regarded by many authors as conspecific. On the Canaries it is found on all islands, including many of the islets and stacks at the eastern end of the archipelago.


The species usually breeds on inaccessible sea cliffs, and the present population on La Palma is estimated to be in the order of 20 pairs, with evidence of a moderate increase in numbers in recent years. Occasionally inland crags are also chosen as nesting sites, and locations of up to 15km inland and 2,000m altitude have been recorded ("Atlas de las Aves Nidificantes en el Archipiélago Canario").


The images above have been selected to illustrate a number of identification and behavioural points: the first photo gives an idea of typical coastal habitat; the distant shots of 2 or 3 grappling birds attempt to capture the spectacular aerial acrobatics; and the last three photos allow appreciation of the reduced barring on the underparts, the rufous or paler nape area, and the tendency to show a dark, sub-terminal band on the undertail, in contrast to the evenly-barred Peregrine's.


In the case of all La Palma birds I have seen so far, the width of the Barbary Falcon's facial "moustache" has never appeared to be as narrow as in the typical field-guide illustrations, but the pale cheek patch is certainly wide.