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.

Stone Curlew 2: late April 2010

Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus): young chick (above), with anxious parents (below) The pair of Stone Curlews (Burhinus oedicnemus), featured in the previous post, were first detected on 22/03, and successfully photographed on 23/03 and 25/03. At least one, and often both birds were regularly observed in the same corner of the field for over two weeks, so it seemed likely that they were attempting to breed.

Finally, on 15/04, I was treated to a brief glimpse of the recently-hatched chick and its two rather anxious parents.
The two photographs above were taken from a well-concealed position behind a stone wall.
Since the first sighting, the young bird has been located by ear on a number of occasions at various points in the field, with one or other of the parent birds present in the vicinity. The chick itself is extremely difficult to spot in the lush grass between the Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus) bushes.
On the Western and Central Canary Islands, it is the distinctus subspecies which is found. According to "Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere" (Richard Chandler), in the nominate species: "the male has a more contrasting lower dark border to the white lesser-covert bar, and may have darker moustache and yellower legs than the female". The precocial young fly completely at 36-42 days.

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.