27 January 2013

No it's not a mistake. We are headed back to January 2013 and a holiday in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain. With the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Island under strict lockdown, there's nowhere to go except a shopping trip or a delve into the archives for a blog post.  

Apologies to readers who were here in 2013 and for whom the pictures may look familiar but needs must.  I changed a few pictures, deleted some and added others, as well as updating the text.    

The post is an introduction to Fuerteventura, the birds and the scenery in the immediate area of our stay in Costa Calma January 2013. Costa Calma is a resort so named for the relatively sheltered nature of the area from the prevailing winds which seem ever present in the Canary Islands subject to the vagaries of Atlantic Ocean winds and currents. This relative calm of Costa Calma is due in no small part to the easterly geographical location and to the long belt of pine trees which give a degree of protection from the often strong winds.

It’s peculiar how the same bird species occur in the vicinity of many holiday places we visit, with Fuerteventura providing a similar hotel list to other places we know whereby sparrows, gulls, Kestrels, Little Egrets and a few wader species are to the fore. Don't forget folks, click on the pics for a better, bigger view.

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Sanderlings and Turnstones were ever present on the sandy and partly rocky shore. Turnstones can be fairly confiding here in the UK, but on Fuerteventura they are more so and approachable to within a few metres.  The Whimbrel is fairly common but not in the same numbers as the smaller wader species.

Whimbrel

Sanderling

Turnstone

After taking photographs of a Sanderling I noticed only upon examining the images later that the bird had a British ring on its right leg. With only a couple of shots I couldn’t get quite enough detail to send the record in to the BTO so as to find out where it had been ringed, so in the following days looked for the Sanderling but couldn’t relocate it.  Later I contacted the BTO ringing scheme with the few numbers and letters I had but the BTO confirmed the sparse information was not sufficient to find the original place of ringing.  

Sanderling

Kentish Plovers were usually around the shore although not in the same numbers as Sanderling and Turnstone.

Kentish Plover

Little Egret

Little Egret

An unusual hotel bird proved to be Raven, a pair of birds from the locality paying infrequent visits to the shore to steal monkey nuts from under the noses of the Barbary Ground Squirrels. Almost every tourist paid more attention to feeding the “cute” squirrels whilst ignoring the long-distance-migrant shore birds at their feet, the closeness of the huge Ravens, the feeding terns along the shore or the handsome Yellow-legged Gulls. 

Sandwich Tern

Raven

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Yellow-legged Gull

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

It was the quiet parts of the hotel grounds where I found the Spanish Sparrows, the pair of Hoopoes, the resident Kestrel and the White Wagtail, one of the latter in particular which followed the gardener’s watering hosepipe so as to locate the resultant insects. There were Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs about the grounds but they kept out of sight in the strong sunshine of most days.

Kestrel

Kestrel

Spanish Sparrow - Passer hispaniolensis

White Wagtail

Hoopoes mostly have that hair-gelled look, a sleeked back crest held in abeyance until some fool with a camera interrupts their feed and causes a moment of anxiety when the feathers fan up and out. 

 Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

As every birder knows, there’s a price to pay for a spot of birding, brownie points to be earned from SWMBO and then banked for another day when bins and camera are stored in the car. 

Near Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

In Costa Calma the African market is compulsory bartering or there's a heavy price to pay for the uninitiated.  Later in the day there's a glass or two of wine reflecting on the fading light and planning the day to come. 

African Market, Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Anyone For a Massage? African Market, Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

At the moment my glass is half-full with optimism.  In other words, I think that we are about to turn the corner of our 12 month long dark tunnel and see daylight very soon. 

Stay strong friends.  Don't let them beat you into submission and fill your glass to the top.

A Gentle Stroll - Stop And Stare.

We count ourselves fortunate that we live in Stalmine, a village less than a mile from the partly tidal River Wyre. A walk along country lanes leads directly to the Wyre salt marshes with paths that head south inland to Eccleston or north to the mouth of the estuary where the village of Knott End looks across to the once prosperous fishing port of Fleetwood. 

River Wyre, Lancashire 

There is little of the fishing industry left in Fleetwood. Fish now comes overland by truck and van where it is gobbled up by large wholesalers rather than fish landing by local trawlers that in turn provide jobs to town folk. Perhaps in 2021 when Britain regains its rightful fishing waters we may see a revival in the fortunes, finances and lost skills of the many coastal towns like Fleetwood. 

Fleetwood from Knott End 

After a number of weeks with little birding I headed towards the river, where I hoped to avoid crowds and vigilantes who might report me on social media for stopping occasionally and not walking briskly. I strolled alongside hedgerows, trees and farmland where I knew there would be birds to watch. For goodness sake, what is a walk without a stop and a stare? 

Just down the lane I found my first young Blackbird of the year as it scuttled noisily along neighbours’ fences. And it sat there until a male Blackbird came along to investigate the clicking of the camera. The youngster was so recently out of the nest it still had the remains of the egg tooth. The egg tooth is a small, sharp, protuberance used by youngsters to break or tear through the egg's surface during hatching. 

Blackbird 

Blackbird  

Buzzards are common over our house as they nest most years less than half-a-mile away. Without fail their circling flights above attract Buzzards from surrounding areas both from their calls and through their phenomenal eyesight. It’s not uncommon to have seven, eight or nine Buzzards overhead whereby if their calls don’t make me look up, the calls of the tormenting gulls surely will. This morning was three, yesterday seven. There was a Sparrowhawk too when a Starling gave the game away with a warning call as the hawk circled once or twice then flew off towards another copse. 

Buzzard 

Sparrowhawk 

Dunnocks, Wrens and Blackbirds were everywhere but just a single Whitethroat along lanes lined on both sides by trees and hedgerows, an ideal habitat for the usually noisy summer migrant. I’m hoping it’s just the northerly winds of the last few days that have held up the Whitethroats rather than a wholesale loss on their perilous journey. 

At New House there are always House Martins where seven or eight pairs nest every year without fail. As yet no martins and passing Swallows have been few with just six or eight today. Willow Warblers too are strangely missing, a species that often sings from local gardens on first arrival until they find their preferred place along the lanes. There was a singing Chiffchaff in the same spot by the old damson trees and where I’ve heard one in past years but rarely follow up as the season progresses. 

Compensation came with an obliging Sedge Warbler alongside a reedy ditch. It sang from inside the tree, at the very top and from down in the ditch as I followed it up, down and around about. This proved a morning of Sedge Warblers and a count of seven along the way. 

 Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler 

Further down the lane are gorse bushes and fields that once grew crops of vegetables but now grow grass. There’s no winter stubble with now zero counts of Yellowhammers or Tree Sparrows and very few Chaffinches but there are a few Lapwings that scrape a living on marginal land before the first cuts of silage. There was another Lapwing sat on eggs and the one below acting very much like the concerned parent. 

Lapwing 

At the river I surveyed the undulating marsh that has dozens if not hundreds of tidal channels, ditches that are both deep and dangerous to the unwary or inexperienced. The bund allows a glimpse in some of the closer channels where I found several Redshank, a Greenshank, several Curlew, two Whimbrel and a Reed Bunting. 

Burrows Marsh, River Wyre 

The Whimbrel flew quickly away with their characteristic and unmistakable call of seven rapid whistles. Why the Whimbrel always gives seven calls but not five, six, eight or nine is not entirely clear but is a unique call that once learnt is never forgotten. 

Whimbrel 

I retraced my steps back home with a Kestrel, Buzzards still above but no new Whitethroats. 

Back soon with more stop and stare. And there’s rain in the forecast, following an April that may be the driest on record.  There’s a novelty. 

More Canaries

I'm out of action. For today’s post I put together more archived material. This selection is from January 2013, a winter escape to Fuerteventura, just 60 miles from the coast of Morocco, North Africa.

Fuerteventura is the oldest Canary Island, formed about 70 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity. The geographical position of Fuerteventura means that for many tens of thousands of years sand from the Sahara has been deposited on Fuerteventura's shores, resulting in 125 miles of the world's finest beaches. 

Beach Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura Beach

Little Egret

I volunteered to check out a few beaches for waders and clocked up Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Sanderling, Whimbrel, Grey Plover, Redshank, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew.  Lots of Sandwich Terns buzzed along the shoreline too, West Africa being a hot-spot for seeing the species.

Sanderling 

Kentish Plover

Whimbrel

Sandwich Tern

Anyone planning a trip to Fuerteventura should be forewarned that the island is something of an exhibitionist paradise.  Couples of all persuasions think nothing of walking hand in hand along  the fine sand beaches.

Beach Bums, Fuerteventura  

Although holding a certain attraction, the beaches of Fuerteventura weren’t the sole interest of the holiday. A hire car for a few days gave a chance to explore the island although at approximately 650 square miles there’s a lot of ground to cover. A pure white car may not have been ideal for approaching cautious birds like Cream-coloured Courser, Stone Curlew or Houbara Bustard, the birds of the sandy plains.

Fuerteventura

Over the Plains Fuerteventura

Cream-coloured Courser

Stone Curlew

There were lots of Lesser Short-toed Larks on the dry, open plains with small gangs of Linnets and occasional Desert Grey Shrikes. The Linnets were very unapproachable, likewise the Goldfinches that can be glimpsed in greener parts of the island. The Linnets in the Canary Islands belong to the race/subspecies Linaria cannabina mediterranea, and in these desert islands have a sandy appearance. 

Linnet

Desert Grey Shrike

Lesser Short-toed Lark

We journeyed through the centre of the island through the village of Betancuria and on to the highest parts of the island at 600 metres, giving a spectacular outlook on the landscape below and distant views of an Egyptian Vulture. This species is apparently now rare on the island as they are elsewhere in its range and we had just two sightings of the vulture in two weeks.

Egyptian Vulture

Fuerteventura January 2013

Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, January 2013.

Inland birds and around the village of Betancuria proved to be Sardinian Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Kestrel, African Blue Tit, Spectacled Warbler and Trumpeter Finch. The latter three were all new birds for me with the wary Trumpeter Finch a particular favourite, due to its slightly comical appearance.

Betancuria - Fuerteventura

Betancuria - Fuerteventura

Trumpeter Finch

A few Spectacled Warblers were in song, and we guessed the breeding season to be early in these parts.

Spectacled Warbler

The so named Canary Islands Stonechat Saxicola dacotiae is found only on Fuerteventura where it is said to frequent dried up river beds, the "barrancos", dotted around the island. I found them in a couple of locations where houses ran down to the beach, one time finding one feeding on the tide wrack with Berthelot’s Pipits. This endemic species is very like a very dark-headed Whinchat rather than a Stonechat but it has the chat like habits of both.

Berthelot's Pipit

Canary Islands Stonechat - CC-BY-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

 

Fuerteventura

We enjoyed our single visit to Fuerteventura and Costa Calma, a large bay approximately 1.5 km long.  Southwards it is possible to walk along the beach to Morro Jable for approximately 21 km.  

Costa Calma Hotel

In the quiet parts of the hotel grounds were Spanish Sparrows, a pair of Hoopoes, the resident Kestrel and at least one White Wagtail, following  the gardener’s watering hosepipe so as to locate insects. There were Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs about the grounds but they kept out of sight in the strong sunshine of most days.

Hoopoe 

 Spanish Sparrow

Kestrel

African Market, Costa Calma

As very birder knows, there’s a price to pay for a spot of birding, brownie points to be earned and then banked for another day with bins and camera. Here in Costa Calma it’s the “African” market where bartering is the order of the day followed by a glass or two of wine reflecting on the fading light and planning the day to come.

Fuerteventura

More soon. Stay tuned.

Linking this post to Anni's Birding Blog and Eileen's Saturday.