American Golden Plover, Sept. 2010

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)

As reported in the blog of the Canary Island SEO Delegation (see: avescanarias.blogspot.com), an American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) was discovered in Las Martelas on September 10th, in a basin very close to where a juvenile of the same species appeared in October 2009. The present specimen, however, is clearly an adult in the process of moulting from breeding to winter plumage.

In the image above, the long primary projection beyond the tertials can be appreciated, typical of the American (dominica), rather than the Pacific (fulva) Golden Plover.

The buff-greyish axillaries shown below allow both the European Golden Plover (P. apricaria) and the Grey Plover (P. squatarola) to be discounted:

Despite persistent attempts to get as close as possible in good light conditions, the following images are the best I have obtained of the bird's critical tail area: according to the literature there should be at least 4 primaries projecting beyond the tertials, two of which should also project beyond the tail. Unfortunately, none of the photographs allow this characteristic arrangement to be distinguished.

Depending on the state of the bird's moult, such fine details may, apparently, be partially concealed or difficult to appreciate, but, judging from the raised-wing shot above, none of the primary feathers seem to be missing.


Still on the island at the time of writing, this rare North American migrant may well resume its journey in the next few days.

All in all, an interesting sighting which will eventually be submitted to the Spanish Rarities Committee for expert appraisal.

First half of September 2010

Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) are fairly regular on all main islands in small numbers, on passage and in winter, and have been featured in previous posts. On Sept. 13th I saw 2 birds in Las Martelas, and photographed the one above in rather unflattering surroundings.

Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

The above species is no stranger to these pages either: a Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) also appeared in a couple of entries last autumn, first in Las Martelas and then at the Fuencaliente saltpans. A fairly regular, if uncommon passage migrant, this particular specimen was found feeding in an almost empty basin in Las Martelas on Sept. 11th.

The next bird is certainly the highlight of the present post! I could hardly believe my eyes when I came across this solitary Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) foraging ravenously in a weed-choked irrigation tank in Tazacorte, late in the evening on Sept. 12th.

The species has a fragmented breeding range across Southern Europe and parts of Asia, and winters in Africa , India and around the Mediterranean. There are now resident breeding populations in certain parts of southern Spain, and the Glossy Ibis has become a familiar sight, often in large flocks, in swampy habitats such as those of Doñana.

To quote from "Birds of the Atlantic Islands", Tony Clarke, Helm 2006:

"Martín and Lorenzo (2001) consider it a scarce and irregular passage migrant and winter visitor. However, only on Lanzarote is this species recorded regularly, and it is certainly a vagrant to other islands on which it has been recorded. Records from La Graciosa, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife."

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

Early September 2010

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

The post-breeding migration season is now underway, and my first visit to the Fuencaliente saltpans on Sept. 4th revealed small numbers of common waders typical for the site: 2 Curlew Sandpipers (Calidris ferruginea), 2 Little Stints (Calidris minuta), 1 Sanderling (Calidris alba) and 1 Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula).

There were also about 10 Turnstones (Arenaria interpres), a species found all year round.

By Sept. 7th, water-levels had changed in the basins and only the Turnstones and Plover were still present.

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

At the seawater pools near the airport, there were 2 juvenile Ringed Plovers (Charadrius hiaticula), one of which is shown above, 1 Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), 1 Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus ) and 1 immature Dunlin (Calidris alpina), together with about 25 Turnstones (Arenaria interpres).

Again, the typical species array present throughout the autumn-spring period.

In the irrigation basins in and around Las Martelas, there are already small contingents of Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) and Greenshank (Tringa nebularia).

Coots (Fulica atra) should start arriving this month and, hopefully, an occasional rarity...

For descriptions of the above-mentioned birding locations, return to the Nov 2nd 2009 post entitled "Observing Sites" by clicking on "entradas antiguas" below.

Recent Developments at the Fuencaliente Saltpans

One of the island's key birding sites - the saltpans at Fuencaliente - has recently been equipped with lectern-style interpretation panels to create a self-guided, 30-minute walking tour of the complex.

Birders need not worry about possible access restrictions however, as entrance to the protected area is possible at all hours, no admittance-fee is charged, and the sign-posted route skirts all the pools of ornithological interest.
The official conservation status of the complex, as displayed at the entrance.
Above, the first lectern, dealing with general norms and advice, provides an overview of the self-guided route. The standard of the information found throughout the itinerary is generally high, with succinct accounts in three languages (Spanish, English and German) covering biological aspects of the saltpans, details of their construction and design, and an explanation of the salt-making process itself, etc.

Only one of the seven panels refers specifically to the significance of the saltpans for migratory birds. The English text is shown below:
Puzzled by that reference to the Snowy Plover? So was I. Apparently, it is the North American nivosus race of the nominate, European Charadrius alexandrinus or Kentish Plover. So, wrong side of the Atlantic, I'm afraid.

As to what a "strider" is, the translator was obviously looking for an equivalent English term for the Spanish andarríos, applicable to some of the Actitis and Tringa species. Unfortunately, I don't think there is one...other than "sandpiper".

And, of course, the small birds do not "remove mud from the bottom of the ponds": that is a classic mistranslation of the Spanish verb remover, which simply means to move, turn over, or "stir up" something -mud in this case - but not to take it away or clean it off!

These inaccuracies apart, the self-guided route makes an interesting addition to the island's tourist infrastructure and will prove highly instructive to most visitors.

The position of the birding panel, together with its contents, can be appreciated in the remaining images.

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!