The Canary Islands Naturetrek Tour Report 11 - 18 November 2017 Blue Chaffinch by Andrew Bray Dragon Tree by Andrew Bray Tenerife Lizard by Martin Beaton Fuerteventura Chat by Martin Beaton Report and images by Andrew Bray and Martin Beaton Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report The Canary Islands Tour participants: Andrew Bray and Martin Beaton (leaders) with 14 Naturetrek clients Day 1 Saturday 11th November We arrived at Tenerife South airport to join the throngs, and meet up with the earlier arrivals. After lunch at a small cafe called Casa Pedro in Las Chafiras, we went to a small reservoir where we saw our first Little Egret (one ringed with a yellow Darvic ring) and Spanish Sparrow. The landscape here is a semi-desert plain, typical of the south coast, with plants like Canary Islands Candle Plant or Verode (Kleinia neriifolia), Canary Island Cactus- spurge (Euphorbia canariensis), Balsam Spurge (Euphorbia balsamifera), Canary Samphire or Schizogyne (Schizogyne sericea), Barbed-wire Bush (Launaea arborescens) and Balo or Plocama (Plocama pendula). From here we drove to Amarilla Golf Course and Golf de Sur which were teeming with golfers and one Little Egret. We moved on to the dam to the north of Los Abrigos, but there was no water at all and the only bird seen was a Kestrel. As it had been a very early start for the group, we headed up the mountain to our hotel at Vilaflor, stopping only for cold water from the garage at San Isidro. At the hotel we saw lots of birds, including Tenerife variants of Blue Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Robin, Chiffchaff and Chaffinch. There were also the endemic Blue Chaffinch and Atlantic Canary. That night we dined early at 7pm and soon retired to bed. Day 2 Sunday 12th November After breakfast at 7.30am, people went birdwatching around the hotel, watching Blue Chaffinch, Atlantic Canary, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Robin and Tenerife Kinglet, while a picnic lunch was being organised. We left at 8.30am for our first stop, at the popular picnic site of Los Lajas. The picnic area is situated amongst the extensive forest of Canary Island Pine (Pinus canariensis) which clothes the southern slopes of the hill side. Here we found lots of Blue Chaffinch, Atlantic Canary and one Great Spotted Woodpecker in their classic habitat, which is enhanced by the presence of water in a small pool at the rear of the picnic site where birds drink. Beneath the open canopy of pine, we found the Teide White Broom (Spartocytisus supranubius), Sticky Broom (Adenocarpus foliolosus), a Carline thistle (Carline xeranthemoides) and the Canary Island Wallflower (Erysimum scoparium). Continuing northwards, we moved above the tree line and entered the Teide caldera, stopping at Mirador de Boca Tauce and Mirador Llano de Ucanca for photographs. This stark volcanic landscape contains only scattered bushes of the Flixweed Descurania bourgeauana and Teide White Broom, though at our second stop we also had excellent views of a confiding Berthelot’s Pipit, along with a Canary Chiffchaff, which is darker then the continental birds. It was then a long drive down the other side of the caldera and along the coast to a small layby at Mirador de Lagrimona. It was very quiet except for a Laurel Pigeon which flew by, as did a Kestrel, but generally, the only birds in place were feral pigeons; some may be proper Rock Doves, but one can never be sure and thus they are not recorded. In addition to the birds, we found numbers of basking Tenerife Lizard. In the steep cliffs adjacent to the layby we saw the dock Rumex lunaria, Periploca (Periploca laevigata) with its unusual seed heads, Giant White Bugloss (Echium giganteum), and the Marguerite Argyranthemum gracile. We stopped at a garage not too far along the road for a comfort break, and pushed on to Buenavisata del Norte for lunch, where a few families were already having their picnic in the shade. In the tree over our picnic table there was a Blue Tit and Sardinian Warbler. After lunch we continued along the road to the barrier across the road for Teno Point which is now only open to local traffic. We had a look for birds, but once again Chiffchaff © Naturetrek December 17 1 The Canary Islands Tour Report dominated. We did, however, find a substantial colony of Cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus) on a Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indicus). We made our return to the hotel via Masca, on the very scenic route to the main road, stopping at the col above Satiago del Teide. Once back at the hotel we found a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chiffchaff and Blue Chaffinch in the hotel grounds. After dinner we reviewed our checklist for the past two days in the quiet of the lounge. Day 3 Monday 13th November There was an early start in the dark for our day trip to La Gomera, travelling by ferry to San Sebastian from the port of Los Cristianos. At the port there were a pair of Turnstone on the internal pier, along with numerous Yellow-legged Gulls. At sea we saw numbers of Cory’s Shearwater and two Manx Shearwater following a fishing boat. There were various pods of Short-finned Pilot Whales along with a single group of Common Bottlenose Dolphins leaping high out of the water. Stopping at San Sebastian to collect supplies for a picnic lunch, we saw a Barbary Falcon taking centre stage, as well as a Spectacled Warbler. We drove up the GM1 route through the tunnels and up to Mirador El Rijo where we saw Bolle’s Pigeon and had a great view of a Sparrowhawk. Further up the hill we stopped at Mirador El Bailadero for lunch, during which we saw with lots of Bath White butterflies, a Small Copper and found some early flowers of the Gomeran Bugloss (Echium acanthocarpum). The northern slopes of these mountains are covered by Laurel forest, a relic of a one much more widespread and unique subtropical humid forest dating back to the Tertiary Period, when it occupied vast areas of southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin.This is the habitat of the endemic and rare Laurel and Bolle’s pigeons, which are difficult to see in this evergreen canopy of trees. The principal tree species is the Azores Laurel (Laurus novocanariensis). In addition, we found Portuguese Laurel (Prunus lusitanica, so not a true laurel), Canary Laurel or Barbusano (Apollonias barbujana) and, as shrubs in the lower canopy, Capitana (Phyllis nobla) and the Canary Island Guelder Rose (Viburnum rigidum) along with the magnificent Chain Fern (Woodwardia radicans) and Hare’s-foot Fern (Davallia canariensis). We returned the same way as we had gone up the hill, stopping again at Mirador El Rijo, mainly to see if we could get better views of the Pigeons; unfortunately, all our sightings were quick and even in the trees they were hard to see. We were back at the port at 3.30pm for a 4.30 sailing, so we took time to have a welcome ice cream in the café. We had a great return trip on the ferry with lots of Cory’s Shearwater following a fishing boat and the possibility of two Manx Shearwater in the distance. We reached our hotel as it was getting dark. Day 4 Tuesday 14th November We started the day with a long drive to the Anaga Peninsula. Our first stop was at the Llano de los Viejos picnic site, where there was a dearth of pigeons but great views of Kinglet and the local Chaffinch. This site contained some sizable Laurel Trees which provided a useful sense of scale to this habitat. In addition, there was Broad- leafed Holly (Ilex perado subsp. platyphylla) and Picconia (Picconia excelsa). It was then on to Chinamada for a short walk to Mirador Ugaide, though not everyone made it as sometimes the birds in the valley, especially the Black Redstart, proved too popular. At the Mirador we looked down on two Buzzard soaring below us. On our walk we found the small and very rare succulent plant Monanthes wildpretii and the equally rare Tenerife Sea Lavender (Limonium fruiticans) with its spectacular blue flowers. In addition, there were lots of Canary Twayblade orchids (Habenaria tridactylites) in flower covering one of the banks. 2 © Naturetrek December 17 The Canary Islands Tour Report After our walk, we had lunch at the parking site, with most people hunting the butterflies, including Painted Lady, Plain Tiger and Macaronesian Red Admiral. From the picnic site there were views of one of the few Dragon Trees (Dracaena draco) remaining in the wild. Our next stop was at the Information Centre, Cruz del Carman for a comfort break, ice cream and views. They had put barriers up by some of the paths, so the European Robin could not be found. We then headed down the road for a couple of kilometres to Mirador Zapata where we found lots of Plain Swift flying above the forest. Our final stop was back at the picnic site where we had first stopped in the morning, but there were people with grills and music. However, moving further away, we did manage to see Bolle’s and Laurel Pigeon plus the local Chaffinch, Robin and Blackbird. It was then a long drive back to the hotel along the motorway. Day 5 Wednesday 15th November This was our last morning in Tenerife. We drove down to the Amarilla Golf Course and parked near the stables as directed by a helpful professional from the club.