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.

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.