Canary Time

Regular readers may not be surprised to hear that Sue and I have escaped the wet and wind of Lancashire to take the winter sunshine of Lanzarote, the northernmost of the Canary Islands, Spain. Don't forget to click on the pictures below for a better view of Lanzarote and its birds.

The Canary Islands

After four hours from Manchester Airport followed by a 10 kilometres drive from Arrecife Airport we’re quickly ensconced in our hotel close to Puerto Calero on the South-West coast of Lanzarote. 

The upmarket marina just 500 yards away at Peurto Calero is a great place to unwind, ogle the fabulous (and expensive) boats and boutiques while soaking up a bit of the luxury atmosphere that permeates the whole place. A few hours sat in one of the cafes or restaurants makes for a great place to relax away from the winter gloom of Lancashire. 

The Marina, Puerto Calero, Lanzarote

There aren’t too many birds in the immediate area but by including a walk over the headland to Playa Quemada and a slightly different route on the return journey the first couple of days produce a useful number of species. We clocked up Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Desert Grey Shrike, Sandwich Tern, Collared Dove, Spanish Sparrow, Yellow-legged Gull, Common Sandpiper, Berthelot’s Pipit, Little Egret, Kestrel, Linnet and Trumpeter Finch. It’s a sunshine list not to be sniffed at. 

Common Sandpiper

  

Little Egret

Desert Grey Shrike

The Lanzarote Desert Grey Shrike is a bird of open country but also something of a garden bird where it can be found on boundary walls, roofs and often singing from TV aerials. 

Desert Grey Shrike

Spanish Sparrow

Berthelot's Pipit

  

Playa Quemada

Turnstone

We're usually back from our walks for the afternoon when we grab some well earned sunshine.

Hotel Costa Calero, Lanzarote

Although we have a hire car the general idea is to gently relax and explore slowly rather than spend two weeks dashing about the island. 

There are several spots in the south and west of the island just a short drive away from base camp. Another day a route takes us through the tranquil town of Yaiza and then towards the salt lagoons, Salinas de Janubio. 

Yaiza

A trek around the salt pans of Janubio and the adjacent shore sees a good selection of waders and one or two wildfowl species including Black-necked Grebe, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Kentish Plover, Greenshank, Redshank, Grey Plover and Little Stint. Just yards from the shore, the salt pans can often be quite windswept making for a challenge in photographing the very active Black-winged Stilts and the good number of other waders which use the locality. 

Black-winged Stilt

Overlooking the salt pans the mirador (viewpoint) café is usually a good spot to see Berthelot’s Pipit, Trumpeter Finch and Spanish Sparrow while sat sampling the local apple pie.

 The Mirador - Janubio, Lanzarote

Trumpeter Finch

Apple Pie- Lanzarote Style

That’s all for now but there’s more from Lanzarote very soon, so stay tuned. 

More Canaries

Rained off today so here are more news and views from our recent holiday to Lanzarote 18th January to 1st February 2015. 

It was fairly blowy on the day Sue and I set off south to the working salt pans, Salinas de Janubio and the little lunch-stop village of El Golfo. It is often breezy or even windy in the Canary Islands which lie in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 kms off the coast of Africa. During the times of the Spanish Empire the Canaries were the main stopover for Spanish galleons on their way to the Americas because of the prevailing winds from the northeast. There is compensation for the breezes in the islands’ subtropical climate with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. 

The Canary Islands

Not far from our base of Puerto Calero and just off the LZ2 we stopped off to look for Lesser Short-toed Lark and perhaps more Houbara Bustards in a location they are reputed to use. No luck with the bustards however we did see Lesser Short-toed Lark, Berthelot’s Pipit and Kestrel, as well as finding a good crop of huge watermelons and strawberries growing in a seemingly inhospitable but well irrigated place. 

The Lesser Short-toed Lark is a bird of dry open country which is fairly common in Lanzarote and breeds in Spain, North Africa and eastwards across the semi-deserts of central Asia to Mongolia and China. It prefers even drier and barer soils than its close relative the (Greater) Short-toed Lark. As far as I know the Short-toed Lark is but a scarce passage visitor to the Canaries, and a species I am familiar with in the Mediterranean. 

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Watermelon, Lanzarote

From the high approach road the salt pans down at sea level often appear tranquil enough. There can be a different story at ground level where the wind whips the water into a frenzy of white as a display of how the salt pans create their valuable product. 

Salinas de Janubio

Greenshank

Greenshank

Berthelot's Pipit

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Turnstone

What with the wind and lack of places to approach birds, this is a difficult place in which to birdwatch and take photographs. Unfortunately I didn’t manage any pictures of the also-present Whimbrel, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Redshank, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper or Black-necked Grebe but it was good to see so many species in this one place.

A short drive away from Janubio is the famed Green Lagoon, something of a tourist hot-spot and a destination for crowded buses. It is easy to see why and to join in the endless photography which takes place. 

The Green Lagoon, Lanzarote

The beach itself is of pebbles and the cliffs behind the lagoon equally dramatic, having been wind eroded into fantastic shapes over the course of the centuries. The scenery is further enhanced by the large finger of rock which sits just off the beach and causes the sea to crash around it. The landscape here is so wild filmmakers used it as the backdrop for Raquel Welch wearing her animal skin bikini in the classic movie One Million Years B.C. 

El Golfo, Lanzarote

The weathered cliffs extend all the way along the walkway which goes in the opposite direction to the village of El Golfo, revealing different bands of rock smoothed and shaped by the forces of nature. 

Just along from the Green Lagoon is the village of El Golfo which has possibly the highest concentration of fish restaurants on the island. The morning’s catch is gutted and cleaned on the beach to a watchful audience of many dozens of Yellow-legged Gulls and the inevitable Common Sandpiper scurrying through the rocky pools. 

El Golfo, Lanzarote

Yellow-legged Gull

Common Sandpiper

We stopped off in the pretty town of Yaiza before heading back to the Hotel Costa Calero and a pre-dinner glass of Cava. 

Yaiza, Lanzarote

 

Hotel Costa Calero

Another successful day of exploration in Lanzarote. Previous posts about our holiday to Lanzarote can be found at "A birding-day Lanzarote style" and at Birding Lanzarote.

More birds soon from Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Skywatch Friday and Eileen's Saturday Blog.

 

A Birding Day Lanzarote Style

Today I’m posting more words and pictures from our Lanzarote adventures 18th January to 1st February 2015. Remember to click the pics for a light box slide show.

We drove north and west heading for the coast at Famara hoping to find Houbara Bustard, Cream-coloured Courser, Stone Curlew and other bits & bobs along the way. After breakfast we said goodbye to the hotel’s Collared Doves and Spanish Sparrows, the two species which dominate the grounds and where the few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs stay mostly hidden amongst the greenery. Passing Kestrels may take a brief look at what’s on offer. 

Collared Dove

Kestrel

The male Spanish Sparrow is a rather handsome chap who inevitably bears the brunt of camera clicks while the less photogenic females look on. 

Spanish Sparrow

Spanish Sparrow

We took the road via La Geria, the wine growing area with its traditional methods of cultivation. Single vines are planted in pits 4–5 m wide and 2–3 m deep, with small stone walls around each pit. This agricultural technique is designed to harvest rainfall and overnight dew and to protect the plants from the winds. The vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site as well as other sites on the island. This landscape is pretty much devoid of birds although the ubiquitous Berthelot’s Pipit or a patrolling Kestrel is often encountered. 

Lanzarote

La Geria, Lanzarote

Berthelot's Pipit

We passed through farmland near Teguise and drove north towards the spectacular cliffs of Famara, stopping or diverting the Corsa across rough tracks to look for the speciality birds of Lanzarote. Near Teguise a Stone Curlew flew across the road and landed in an uncultivated patch of land near to a half-grown chick - a nice find indeed. The chick crouched in an attempt to become invisible while the adult walked off and tried to distract me from its offspring.

Stone Curlew

Stone Curlew

Stone Curlew chick

Johnny Cash fans will know there was a Boy Named Sue. In Lanzarote there is also a place named Soo, not far away from the Riscos de Famara and it’s a good area in which to look for Houbara Bustards. With just a small population in the Canary Islands, this species is mainly found in North Africa west of the Nile in the western part of the Sahara desert region in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. 

A Town Named Soo, Lanzarote

Houbara Bustard

Near Famara, Lanzarote

Looking for bustards, Lanzarote

As you might expect from a species historically hunted in large numbers the Houbara Bustard is very shy and will either hide or run from a vehicle, the cryptic plumage giving a chance of escaping detection. 

Houbara Bustard

Houbara Bustard

We stopped at the windy Wild West town of Famara to survey the rugged cliffs and sandy dunes where we found Yellow-legged Gulls and a single Little Egret along the rocky shore near the jetty. We followed up with a light lunch before hitting the road back south taking detours along the many dusty trails in search of more birds. 

Little Egret

Sand dunes at Famara, Lanzarote

Lanzarote lunch

The Desert Grey Shrike was a lucky find, the bird diving into a grey, thorny bush that upon inspection held a newly built, lined nest ready for eggs, and which from the female’s behaviour were surely imminent. I took a number of shots and left the bird to her domestic duties. 

Desert Grey Shrike

Desert Grey Shrike

It had been a great day of exploration and discovery but time to head back to Peurto Calero and a well-earned rest. 

The LZ2, Lanzarote

There’s more news, views and photos soon from Another Bird Blog.

In the meantime linking to  Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.