Red-throated Pipit

 Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus) 1w

Among the resident Bethelot's Pipit (Anthus berthelotii) observed at the saltpans this morning was a first winter Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus).

 Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus)

While hardly the most spectacular of birds, this little creature nevertheless deserves credit for somehow making it to La Palma after a long, hazardous journey from northernmost Europe. The Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus) is a passage migrant to the Canaries with records from all main islands except El Hierro. It winters in Africa.

 Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus)

Followers of this blog may recall previous entries featuring Anthus cervinus. In fact,  over the years, I have seen several Red-throated Pipits on La Palma, but always at the freshwater irrigation ponds in Las Martelas (Los Llanos de Aridane), where many of the semi-abandoned ponds contain a layer of sand or mud providing suitable habitat for this cryptic, ground-forager.

Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus)

On the present occasion, photography was made difficult by the bird's erratic movements along the rough stone walls of the salt complex, and the impossibility of getting closer to my subject.

In addition to the Red-throated Pipit, there were 2 x White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) and the usual small numbers of common waders.

The White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), featured in my previous post, was still present.

White-rumped Sandpiper

 White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

The White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) is a long-distance migrant which breeds in NE Alaska and N Canada east to S Baffin Island. It winters in SE South America from CE Brazil to Tierra del Fuego. With a total of around 40 records, this species is the second most-detected Nearctic vagrant to the Canary Islands (after the Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos).

The bulk of records have been between September and November, peaking in October. A spectacular influx (by Canary Island standards) was recorded in October 2005, when more than 50 birds were found on almost all of the islands (nine birds together on La Palma). [Rare Birds of the Canary Islands, Eduardo García-del-Rey and Francisco Javier García Vargas, Lynx Edicions, June 2013].

 White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

The present bird was found at the saltpans at Las Salinas (Fuencaliente) this morning, Oct 20.
It was foraging by frenetically picking insects from the water surface, hardly stopping to rest.

 White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

In the above image, the white upper tail coverts can just be seen between the bird's slightly parted wings, Also, note the overall elongated body shape and very long primary projection, with wing tips reaching beyond the tail.

 White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

The pale brown lower mandible is also clearly visible in the present series of photos.

 White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

This is my 7th record/9th individual of White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) on La Palma, my last one dating back to October 2014.

White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

The present sighting will be forwarded to the Spanish Rarities Committee in due course.

Spoonbill

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

A visit to the saltpans at Las Salinas (Fuencaliente) this morning yielded the juvenile Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) featured in the present post.

The bird was found foraging in one of the shallow pools, but retired to roost later in the morning in the nearest thing it could find to a "secluded corner". However, people and a few vehicles were passing within 30 metres of the resting migrant. The dog belonging to the complex was also out and about...

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

This species is a fairly regular visitor to La Palma during autumnal (post-breeding) migration. I have seen small flocks at the same location in previous years, and there have been sightings of single birds at the airport pools, the Laguna de Barlovento reservoir, and at some of the irrigation ponds in Las Martelas.

 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

Identification of banded birds has shown that most of the Spoonbills recorded on the Canary Islands come from the Netherlands.

 Eurasian Spoonbil (Platalea leucorodia)

Although the present species is no "rarity", sightings of Spoonbill always provide a welcome change to the usual waders at the saltpans. This morning, they included 5 x Dunlin (Calidris alpina), 2 x Sanderling (Calidris alba), 2 x Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), 1 x Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) and 1 x Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea).

Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

At the irrigation ponds in the area known as Las Martelas (just outside the town of Los Llanos de Aridane), there were the usual small numbers of Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), and Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), plus 6 x Coot (Fulica atra) and 1 x Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca).

I have not seen the Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes, see previous post) since October 10.

Lesser Yellowlegs

 Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

After a prolonged "slack" period on La Palma, with only common waders to observe,  I found a juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) at an irrigation pond in Las Martelas (Los Llanos de Aridane) this morning. This is only my second sighting of this Nearctic wader on La Palma, the previous record dating from October 2011.

 Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

Note the long primary projection, and wing tips extending well beyond the tail. Other useful identification features visible in the present images include the pale supercillium restricted to the front of the eye, and the thin, mainly dark bill.

 Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

The Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) is a long-distance migrant which breeds in Alaska and Northern Canada, and winters in Florida and Central and South America. It is classed as a "rarity" on this side of the Atlantic.

However, it is one of the more frequent Nearctic waders recorded in the Western Palearctic, with several records from the Canaries (all main islands except La Gomera and El Hierro), mostly between September and November.

According to data in "Rare Birds of the Canary Islands" (Eduardo García-del-Rey and Francisco Javier García Vargas, Lynx Edicions 2013) the present sighting would be the 4th for La Palma, and about the 15th for the Canaries as a whole (although there have probably been a few more records since the book was published in 2013).

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

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