The main aim was to have a holiday in a destination that was new for both of us. I particularly wanted to record the Blue Chaffinch and, in the end, did it to death, see the previous blog here. I did the research and came up with a target list of 14 species which, of course, included the Tenerife endemics and a couple of bogey birds that I have never seen. Having read several trip reports we decided to stay up in Vilaflor, the highest village in Tenerife, altitude 4,500 feet and in the Canarian Pine forest. The Villalba hotel got the nod from Liz, I forgot to tell her how cool the air temperature might be at this time of year but emphasised the fact it was adjacent to the main sites for the chaffinch and that the garden had the potential to give at least five endemics,
Being retired has its advantages in that we can travel mid week and none of this early morning/late evening stuff. So we left Gatwick at around 0900 and some time after 1330 we were at Tenerife airport picking up the mobile hide from Avis. The temperature at the airport was a pleasant 19 degrees C but as we made our way up towards Vilaflor the temperature dropped rapidly, by the time we reached the hotel it was a cool 7 degrees and there was a deep shroud of mist cloaking the mountains. I was beginning to regret not bringing a fleece and a woolly hat.
I had got something right as the hotel was superb, the room was also spot on as we had asked for a veranda with a garden view. Whilst Liz simultaneously made a brew and unpacked I sat outside scanning the pines, the upshot was that I had four ticks in thirty minutes, first a blindingly obvious African Blue Tit, Cyanistes teneriffae, then an eye level pass of a Blue Chaffinch followed by vociferous Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Tenerife Chiffchaff.
As the light diminished we understood why the hotel central heating was full on and that the large log fire in the sitting room was necessary. Next morning the day dawned with a bright and crystal clear blue sky, sunshine and a white, frost covered landscape. I soon gave up a morning balcony vigil with the binoculars for a hearty breakfast and an early start.
Our first venue was the famous Las Lajas picnic site off the TF21 on the El Teide trail. Surprisingly we were the only people present and as we parked at the far end of the site, close to the drinking pool, the car thermometer registered 2.5 degrees but at least the sun was warm. The birds were up and singing and I soon got to grips with the song of the BC and the call is noticeably "croaky". Woodpeckers were drumming all over the forest and the ever present Chiffchaffs were obviously numerous. Nothing was using the drink so I took the camera for a walk into the scrub - small flocks of Canaries were searching the Canary Brooms and I got my first picture of the trip. Out of the wind the sun made it quite pleasant and the day was warming up, I was beginning to enjoy the trip.
Next, I spooked several BCs that were feeding on the ground, I expected them to fly a good distance, not a bit of it, up into the branches of the nearest tree and one of the males burst into full song whilst observing the photographic idiot below. I noticed that if I gave a quick burst, the noise of the shutter would cause the birds to cock their heads inquisitively, this became a ploy to get different poses when I was at another site.
By now the birds were coming in for drink so I hunkered down behind the ranger's hut and had a whale of a time until the car park started to fill up with tourists on the Teide Trail.
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| The famous drinking pool at Las Lajas |
First birds in were Blue Chaffinches followed closely by Canaries.......
..several Great Spotted Woodpeckers barged their way in and whilst they drank the other birds watched from a distance.
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| The mud brown belly indicative of ssp canariensis |
African Blue Tits followed and even the Chiffchaffs nipped in occasionally
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| Note darker head... |
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| ... and lack of wing bar. |
Having filled a memory card and at last removed my sweater I decided that it was time to move on to Pinar Chio, another picnic site on the road down from Boca Tauce to Chio. When we arrived there were BC everywhere, a few Woodpeckers and Canaries and a single Berthelot's Pipit, the only one that I saw over the seven days.
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| And a final Atlantic Canary |
On the way back to the hotel I dropped into the Pinar Chio site again, good move as the sun was now considerably lower in the sky and the light beneath the pines was ideal. I selected a drinking tap in the middle of the site, topped up the sump and sat with my back to the barbecue pit and snapped away. I didn't actually count the birds but I reckon that there were twenty BC in the vicinity of the drink and at least ten more on the outer periphery. The Berthelot's was still there but the Woodies declined to come and drink.
That night before dinner we rewarded ourselves with a drink in the sitting room, soaking up the radiant heat of a blazing Canary Pine log fire. Bliss
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| Not the normal Tenerife hotel feature! |
Scanning through the photographs I realised that both the Woodpeckers and African Blue Tits could be improved so I planned a repeat of Las Lajas.
Next day the weather was exactly the same and an early start meant that we had Las Lajas to ourselves. Having filled another memory card I felt it was time to move on, the weather was turning poor and there was an afternoon forecast of rain. So off we went to explore Erjos Pools. As it happened, a good choice, as we were able to bird from the comfort of the mobile hide.
Erjos pools are a collection of small ponds in the valley to the south of Erjos and can be found here. We visited this venue several times as it was a staging post to other venues and a handy place to drop into. The local council have done quite a bit of work, making a passable track and keeping the walks open by strimming back the scrub - just like the RSPB do. Another reason was that on our first visit we had seen a male Chaffinch of the "tintillon" form, just a short glimpse of what is a cracking bird. None of the illustrators of any of the bird books I own have done it justice, the plumage on the head and nape appearing much darker on the bird we saw. Alas, only one sighting and no photograph. I understand that the bird has been renamed as Fringilla canariensis - so another tick in the bag.
Other birds included a host of Coots and Moorhens, Mallards and Rock Doves. Although I did manage to record Wood Sandpiper, Snipe, Barbary Partridge and some nest constructing African Blue Tits. The Buzzards and Kestrels were always distant and though there are reports of Bolle's Pigeon coming to drink, none were seen.
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| Waders were a bit scarce |
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Water quality reminiscent of the great grey-green, greasy
Limpopo River - apologies to Rudyard
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However I did manage to record the Tenerife Robin, Erithacus rubecula ssp. superbus, noticeably paler on the belly and the presence of some Terrapins.
Saturday was a round trip, succumbing to the stunning scenery of Mount Teide but discouraged by the amount of tourist traffic. We ended the day at Alcala for a seawatch for Cory's - same result, in one hour we saw just one bird - a lone Yellow-legged Gull flying a long way offshore. I entertained myself photographing the Western Canaries Lizards, Gallotia galloti , that inhabited the walls around the beach area, the kids were feeding them bits of bread.
Sunday was what Liz calls a "snobs" day - doing virtually nothing. I didn't want to have to drive anywhere as the roads were extremely busy. Locally, it was the Vilaflor Marathon so we ventured off on to the local trails behind the hotel - very fortuitous as we managed to record another endemic the Tenerife Goldcrest or Kinglet, I say record but they were virtually impossible to capture on camera - I thought ours were fast moving but these were greased lightning.
Air temperature had increased considerably and at last we found a butterfly! Vanessa vulcania, the Canaries version of the Red Admiral. Most specimens, I think, were just out of hibernation and finding a good looking one was hard, not only that, they weren't willing to nectar whilst they could be searching for a mate. We also noted several "ordinary" Red Admirals, Vanessa atalanta.
Monday was the first day of the pigeon hunt, we spent ten and half hours searching the known sites for little return. Success at the Mirador el Lance where Bolle's were flying across the cliffs and disappearing into the trees below the walkway, but no chance of a photograph. There were quite a few Kestrels here, doing aerobatics on the uplift from the cliff and I paid them a cursory glance, then I spotted something different a very pale, dark wing tipped falcon, which I subsequently lost, However Liz relocated it sitting on an electricity pylon - at a great distance. With the scope I could discern a brownish nape and I was getting really excited, putting the 2x extender on the lens I captured as many shots as I could. This is what I got - after consulting the experts it just might be a Barbary Falcon - make your own mind up - it goes in my log as a 75% tick. That means we will have to pay another visit then - perhaps another search on Fuerteventura or Lanzarote may pay dividends.
We parked up at the Ruiz Gorge for our picnic lunch, our only company was a Grey Wagtail perched on the defunct restaurant. I could hear pigeons calling and plenty of flapping in the trees but not a single sighting - by this time I was losing heart so we dropped to the coast at Alcala for another go at the Cory's. This time a result! There were literally hundreds passing the point - absolutely amazing - I guess that it was just time of day as we were there much later. When we returned to the hotel I celebrated with half a bucket of Ginebra y tonico, Liz preferring her Copita de vino blanco.
Monday was also an opportunity to record some of the stunning ladscape, not a thing I am into but I have to say that Tenerife is magnificent. Everybody does the Teide trail but at 0830 on a clear day we had it virtually to ourselves. As we dropped down the mountain trail past El Portillo, towards Aguamansa, the road conditions turned a little hairy, a couple of kilometres of solid ice made it "interesting"
Tuesday dawned with the same sunny start but I was spent, the previous day was a bit too much, I just couldn't face sawing away at the steering wheel on all those hairpins. We stayed local searching for more butterflies and recording some of the flora on what was the sunniest and warmest day of the holiday. The reward being another nice vulcania and a reticent Green-striped White.
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| Canary Red Admiral, Vanessa vulcania |
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| Green-striped White |
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| One of the Blue Chaffinches at the hotel. |
Being the son of a seafarer and an ex-seafarer myself, there is a certain amount of irrational superstition in my life. At home as a youngster the word "rabbit" was forbidden, the portent of a disaster of "Titanic" proportions. We had to use terms like "underground mutton" or "Wilfred". Not really helpful if your first pet is a large albino rabbit. Anyway, Liz and I were sat in a glade adjacent to the hotel when I was aware of large black animal moving in the scrub - a rabbit, half the size of a dog, black and with pink ears - too much ginebra? Now black rabbits have a mystical quality for me even though it was just an escaped Flemish Giant and I was elated to record him/her.
Target Birds
Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea
Barbary Falcon Falco pelegrinoides
Barbary Partridge Alectoris barbara
Canary Islands Chiffchaff Phylloscopus canariensis
Tenerife Robin Erithacus rubecula ssp superbus
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopus major ssp canariensis
Atlantic Canary Serinus canaria
African Blue Tit Cyanistes teneriffae
Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, ssp canariensis
Cory's Shearwater Calonectris borealis
Bolle's Pigeon Columba Bollii
Laurel Pigeon Dipped!
Plain Swift Apus Unicolor
Canary Goldcrest Regulus regulus ssp teneriffae
Bouquets
The hotel Villalba was a perfect venue for birding, quiet and way off the tourist itineraries. The restaurant was just superb and the staff the most friendly I have met. Very comfortable and I love the hotel's theme - a stylized woodpecker.
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| Great garden |
Brickbats
Tenerife drivers - the white line down the middle of the road is to be ignored, the Avis sticker on the back window of the car translates as "get as close as you can" They act like spoilt children.
