Fuerteventura
28th November
by
Bob Shiret
My wife and I decided
to make a winter trip to Caleta de Fuste for the mild climate (72°f)
sunshine, walking and hopefully a few birds!
I have split this
report into four sections, the immediate local area around Caleta de Fuste,
North, South and Inland from the coast. We
did not hire a car so the areas mentioned are walking distance from base or bus
rides.
1. Local environs: The coast here is generally rocky with occasional sandy bays, the beach at Caleta de Fuste is a good for families and has imported sand. Birds seen in the area were: Sanderling, Turnstone, Trumpeter Finch (pic below), Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Egret, Redshank, Kestrel, Raven, Grey Plover (pic below), Spanish Sparrow and Greenshank. Other animals of note within the town were Algerian Hedgehog and Monarch Butterfly (pics below).
2. Puerto del Rosario: This is the capital of the island and lies about 6 miles north of Caleta de Fuste. We took the regular bus there and walked back along the coast past the airport. Different birds seen on this walk were: Southern Grey Shrike (3) (pic below), Black-bellied Sandgrouse (4) and Berthelot's Pipit (common) (pic below).
3. Barranco de la Torre: This dry riverbed valley is about 2 miles south of Caleta de Fuste and is easily walked to along the coast. Birds seen here and en route were: Fuerteventura Stonechat (pics below), Cream-coloured Courser (2), Spectacled Warbler (pic below), Lesser Short-toed Lark (40), Spanish Sparrow (100+) and Barbary Falcon. Note: We expected to see Egyptian Vultures here in the protected bird reserve but found only shotgun cartridges.
4.
Our final trip was by bus to
Trip Tips
The Canary Island
Birdwatchers Guide by Tony Clarke and David Collins was very
useful as was our newly acquired “Dog Dazer” (www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk)
to zap those pesky vicious dogs at the Barranco
de la Torre!