LANZAROTE - AUGUST 2005

Volcanoes and Bananabirds

by Mike King

This was to be a summer holiday with my family and my sister and her family. As usual I would be birding, mostly in the early mornings because of the heat, and less frequently than usual because there aren't that many species on the island. Lanzarote is a harsh landscape of volcanoes and lava fields with little standing water. The weather remained hot and sunny throughout the week with temperatures in the upper 20's and once reaching 32°C, a daily breeze sometimes quite stiff made the temperature bearable. It did rain for three minutes in the mountains near El Golfo on the last morning!. It made for hard work birding but the rewards are good. I had set myself five lifers to find on this trip - Houbara Bustard, Trumpeter Finch, Barbary Falcon, Barbary Partridge and Cream-coloured Courser. How did I do? Read on.

DAY 1 - Thursday 4th August 2005

We flew from Bristol at 3pm with First Choice arriving at Arrecife in Lanzarote at around 7pm. We took just about 45 minutes from leaving the aircraft to being on the road in two Cicar (very good) hire cars heading for our destination at Heredad Kamezi. Our villas here were about half an hour away just west of Playa Blanca and were excellent. The roads throughout the island, with one exception, were very good. My first bird was a Pallid Swift¹ as we left the Airport. At Tías there were 12 Collared Doves² sat on wires and a Feral Pigeon³. There were two Kestrels⁴ of the island race dacotiae and four Spanish Sparrows⁵ near the turn off to Uga. When we arrived at our accommodation in the shadow of Montaña Roja (Red Mountain) we quickly unloaded and took a walk down to the rocky beach. We were situated directly opposite the island of Fuerteventura. A Yellow-legged Gull⁶ of the race atlantis was here. In the strait between us and Fuerteventura there were lots of Cory's Shearwaters⁷. In the short time we were there I counted 34 at varying distances from us, some giving reasonably close views.

Montaña Roja (Red Mountain) behind our villas

DAY 2 - Friday 5th August 2005

I got up as is usual on the first day in a new country and went out for a local walk to suss out the local birdlife. The first bird I saw outside the villa was nearly all white apart from a few brown flecks, it was an almost pure albino Spanish Sparrow. There were more Yellow-legged Gulls around this morning, six adults and eight juveniles, they were virtually ever present from mountain to coast. The next bird was a Berthelot's Pipit⁸, the first of 14. I had seen these previously on Tenerife and they were also common everywhere. A Whimbrel⁹ was on rocks along the shoreline. A harsh call alerted me to a bird sat on top of a rock pile, it was a Southern Grey Shrike¹⁰ of the race koenigi (part of the western race meridionalis group). A little further along at Punta Pechiguera two Turnstones¹¹ and a Sanderling¹² were on the flat rocks at the waters edge. After reaching the headland and finding no other birds I decided to walk towards Montaña Roja passing a flock of 50+ Spanish Sparrows and three Collared Doves in a garden on the way. Some of the sparrows showed splashes of their albino parentage. When I reached the foot of the mountain I thought "I could climb that" so I did. It was fairly rash as on this side there was no footpath and even more stupidly I gave little consideration to getting back down. It wasn't too bad going up as I was able to follow the lava pavements for a lot of the way. I and a Rabbit startled each other near the summit, he shot down the mountain at breakneck speed and I almost lost my balance and joined him. On reaching the trig at the top the views were breathtaking (literally) but the birding rewards were just four Berthelot's Pipits. I rang Michael from the top just to give the guys a wave, but in the event they couldn't see me and had to take camera phone pics to prove I'd done it. Going back down was a nightmare, the lava pavements were steep and slippery and the scree was sharp, loose and treacherous. I managed to fall six feet at one point gaining a selection of cuts and bruises as I concentrated on saving my bins. At the bottom a Pallid Swift flew over as I returned for breakfast. I also saw a Haria Lizard and three Small White butterflies. The rest of the day was spent just settling in and chilling by the pool. In the evening we sat on the rooftop patio of my sister's  villa and my brother-in-law and I did some damage to the local beer and wine. 20+ Cory's Shearwaters could be seen offshore from here, although the number seemed to double as the evening went on!

DAY 3 - Saturday 6th August 2005

Today we were heading into the volcanic Montañas del Fuego de Timanfaya, but not before I took a quick turn along the front whilst the family slept. There were no new species seen but two Whimbrel, three Turnstones, four Berthelot's Pipits and two close inshore Cory's Shearwaters were notable. 

The volcanoes at Timanfaya were spectacular and the only way to get into the heart of them and see the craters at close range was to take the coach tour, which we did. The area was almost, but not completely birdless. A Berthelot's Pipit was near the café, two Ravens¹³ circled overhead nearby and six Feral Pigeons searched for food dropped by tourists. A large Haria Lizard was in the gift shop.

A crater in the Montañas del Fuego de Timanfaya

After leaving here we parted company with my sister and family and dined al fresco at the excellent El Campo Restaurant in Yaiza. When lunch was over Bridgette and Michael agreed to stop at Salinas de Janubio for half an hour and frankly it was long enough in the afternoon heat. For the first time on the holiday I saw lots of birds and even gained a life tick. Because there is a distinct lack of standing water in Lanzarote, particularly in high summer, the Salinas and adjacent Laguna are a magnet for birds, especially waders. There were two Common Sandpipers¹⁴, three Black-winged Stilts¹⁵, three Greenshanks¹⁶, 15+ Redshanks¹⁷, two Ringed Plovers¹⁸, two Kentish Plovers¹⁹ and a Turnstone. There were also four of the ubiquitous Berthelot's Pipits and a Hoopoe²⁰ digging for food in a dried out saltpan. As I was walking back to the black sand beach at 3pm where the car was parked the whole lot went up in the air giving a variety of panic calls. I scanned quickly looking for a raptor and immediately locked onto a BARBARY FALCON²¹ barrelling through the middle of all the waders. It was a life tick for me and I didn't get much on it, other than thinking it looked like a smaller, sandier coloured Peregrine. It was gone in under a minute and I vowed to return for better views. Also here were 20+ Yellow-legged Gulls. As we drove back south towards the villa a small flock of four CREAM-COLOURED COURSERS²² flew up and alongside the car. These were also a lifer for me and pretty unmistakable but again I marked the spot to return to for better views because in busy traffic it was impossible to stop. Michael immediately christened them Bananabirds (a name which stuck) because they looked so yellow in the bright sunlight. A good day with two lifers, but I would have to do something about the views I got.

DAY 4 - Sunday 7th August 2005

I returned early to El Rubicón where we had seen the coursers. Despite a good search of the area all I turned up was a Berthelot's Pipit. I continued north to the Salinas arriving at around 8am. The first bird I saw was a Southern Grey Shrike which posed obligingly for pictures as did a Rabbit, but you've all seen Rabbits before.

Arriving at the Laguna's edge I could see three Black-winged Stilts flying around calling loudly and straight away I could see why. A Barbary Falcon came off of the ground just 50 yards away and was joined in the air by a second. I was then treated to some really excellent views as the pair flew in tandem around the lake occasionally taking a tilt at the waders, but without any real enthusiasm for a kill. The wader presence was much reduced today probably due to the havoc the falcons were creating. There were two Greenshanks, two Redshanks, six Ringed Plovers and pair of Kentish Plovers. The latter produced a broken wing display as I approached and I soon discovered why, a chick the size of a 50p piece was crouched amongst the rocks. It was very breezy but I managed to get a picture of one of the adults and a record shot of the chick below.

Also seen were 20+ Berthelot's Pipits, pictured below, and a Kestrel.

I drove back to El Rubicón where I again parked and scanned for Coursers. Nothing at all, then I saw a woman with two dogs coming towards me, and the bigger of the two looked like it was hungry so I got back in the car. Thinking that there was no chance with dogs about I started the car, only to realise that on the road in front of me were two adult and two juvenile Cream-coloured Coursers. They were standing tall and glanced between me and the dogs nervously. I turned the engine off and the birds ran into the desert-like landscape and tried to remain inconspicuous. They didn't fly when the dogs passed and I hastily set up the camera. Unfortunately now as well as a stiff breeze there was a heat haze to cope with so photography was a struggle. However I managed a couple of shots of Michael's Bananabirds (see below).

In the afternoon we all went to the beach at Papagayo and another six Cream-coloured Coursers were in flight along the approach track. A flock of 25 Collared Doves were in the centre of Playa Blanca later.

DAY 5 - Monday 8th August 2005

Today was going to be a long day out in the north-east of the islands visiting the Cueva de los Verdes and the Jameos del Agua (Green Cave and Underground Water Garden). An AFRICAN MIGRANT butterfly in the garden early in the morning was new for me, but very difficult to photograph, as it hardly ever settled (pic left). A Cory's Shearwater was visible from the rooftop patio. We left shortly after breakfast. The journey turned up a few birds, a Raven was at La Vega Nueva, four Berthelot's Pipits were at La Geria, Kestrels were at Masdache, Teguise and Teseguite, a Hoopoe flew over the road at Guatiza and 30 Pallid Swifts were in the air and finally a Southern Grey Shrike was at Mala. 

Our first stop was at Cueva de los Verdes. It is a part of the lava tube system between the volcano La Corona and the sea and at more than seven kms it is one of the longest lava tubes in the world. In the past the inhabitants of Lanzarote used to hide from pirates in the cave. We saw a House Mouse scurrying around a rock pile at the entrance and two Berthelot's Pipits were in the car park. After a picnic lunch we visited the nearby Jameos del Agua. "Jameos" means bubbles of lava. A jameo is formed when a tunnel ceiling collapses or when gases accumulate and explode. The Jameos del Agua was artistically developed for viewing by César Manrique in 1968. Two more Berthelot's Pipits were in the car park here. The underground salt water lagoon, Jameo Chico, is host to the small Blind Albino Crabs (Munidopsis polimorpha) that are found nowhere else. The Jameos was also attractive to many Spanish Sparrows, which were taking advantage of food dropped by accident or on purpose at the café. 

After doing the family tourist thing I was rewarded by persuading Bridgette and Michael to go back via the plains of El Jable, which were west of the 402 road to Caleta de Famara and NW of Teguise. This was a known Houbara Bustard site worked by driving the tracks left off of the 402 across the plain. There are three main tracks in the first couple of miles, which I will call Tracks 1, 2 and 3 in the order you come to them from the 402. First we drove down Track 3, the furthest from the 402, which was very profitable but produced no bustards. Along here we saw a pair of Stone Curlews²³, a huge flock of c100 Lesser Short-toed Larks²⁴, four Berthelot's Pipits, four Southern Grey Shrikes and a Pallid Swift. Then we drove back to Track 2 where there were three Stone Curlews, three Hoopoes, a female Kestrel, three Southern Grey Shrikes, 50 Yellow-legged Gulls and 30 Cattle Egrets²⁵ near a small farm. We didn't have time to do Track 1 but I vowed to return in the morning.

DAY 6 - Tuesday 9th August 2005

Rising early I left on the 35 minute drive back to El Jable. This time I decided to do Track 1 first, it was cool and the visibility quite good and there were quite a few birds about. There were three Kestrels, five Stone Curlews, two Berthelot's Pipits, two Southern Grey Shrikes and 20 Yellow-legged Gulls. Not a bad start but no bustard so I turned and drove back towards the 402. About 150 yards from the road I could see a large bird on the left, I could hardly believe it, it was a Houbara Bustard²⁶ and seemed to have materialised out of thin air because there was so little cover. I pulled up level with it but it was moving away from me. I got out cautiously and realised my mind-numbing stupidity in forgetting the cable release and bracket for my camera. However I had to make do and managed a couple of record shots. A brilliant lifer for me and all the better for being self-found. I realised that if I drove around to Track 2 I could "cut it off at the pass", so I did and obtained much better shots but unfortunately into the sun (see below, the first picture is my first shot and more of a habitat shot). 

I watched it for a good half an hour and was a very happy bunny. Tearing myself away I searched the rest of Track 2 and turned up two Berthelot's Pipits, three Southern Grey Shrikes and 14 Cattle Egrets. Finally I did Track 3 which produced two Southern Grey Shrikes, two Lesser Short-toed Larks and a Raven. At 9:25am I turned back towards the car and instinctively looked up to the ridge where I had walked with Bridgette yesterday and strutting along the top was another Houbara Bustard! I drove back down the picturesque but winding road through La Geria. The only birds I saw were a Kestrel and a Berthelot's Pipit. I was now becoming conscious of the lack of the "fairly common" Trumpeter Finch. A stop at Uga raised my hopes when I noticed a small flock of pinkish finches, but although new for the holiday it was just six Linnets²⁷. When I got back to the villa a Cory's Shearwater was just offshore. In the afternoon we all went to Puerto del Carmen, en route there was Southern Grey Shrike and a Kestrel at El Meson and a Monarch flew across the road at Yaiza. Although we weren't birding I noted 20+ Spanish Sparrows and a Whimbrel at Puerto del Carmen. 

DAY 7 - Tuesday 10th August 2005

This morning I decided to have another good look for Trumpeters, but again it was fruitless. I checked out the El Rubicón area first. A Hoopoe was perched on a road sign and there was also a Southern Grey Shrike, four Berthelot's Pipits, a male Kestrel and a Rabbit and that was it. I gave up and decided to drive to the Salinas where at least there would be a few birds. I was amazed to find a flock of 50 Black-winged Stilts (pics below), I thought that two of them recognised me . New for the holiday today was a juvenile Grey Heron²⁸, a summer-plumaged Knot²⁹ and a manic Dunlin³⁰ which flew round and round in ever-decreasing circles. Also present were two Redshanks, two adult and three juvenile Ringed Plovers, ten Turnstones, nine Greenshanks, a Southern Grey Shrike, a pair of Kestrels and three of the ever-present Berthelot's Pipits. I saw a Berthelot's Pipit and a Kestrel on the drive back south and yet another Berthelot's Pipit was in the garden together with an African Migrant butterfly. After breakfast we all spent a couple of hours snorkelling in the sea just off the villas where the fish were varied and colourful.

In the afternoon Bridgette, Michael and I set off for Fundación César Manrique, set into the volcanic rock near Tahiche. On the way we saw a Kestrel at Montaña Blanca and a search for Trumpeters at Hoya de Herrera failed but we did see another Kestrel, four Berthelot's Pipits, a Southern Grey Shrike, a Pallid Swift, 60 Yellow-legged Gulls and a Cattle Egret. At the Fundación there were 20 Spanish Sparrows and both SMALL COPPER and BATH WHITE butterflies pictured below, both new to me.

After this we drove the short distance to Tahiche Golf Course, to connect with a fourth easy and obliging lifer, BARBARY PARTRIDGE³¹, looking rather like a washed out Red-legged. I immediately saw six from the car park and then a seventh just inside the fence and by the time we had driven around the margins of the course had seen 27 in total, including a covey of twelve. Also around the course from outside the fence (there is no entry - you could ask at the clubhouse, but there is no need) we had seen a Hoopoe, a Southern Grey Shrike, four Spanish Sparrows, two Cattle Egrets and 10+ Rabbits. Finally a Kestrel was at Costa Teguise on the way out.

DAY 8 - Wednesday 11th August 2005

The final day and the last chance to find Trumpeter. I went to a lot of hopeful places early morning but drew blanks everywhere. I saw little, but notable were two Berthelot's Pipits at Montaña Roja and four at El Golfo, two Southern Grey Shrikes at  Montaña Roja, two at El Golfo and one at El Rubicón, five Black-winged Stilts at the Salinas and two Kestrels at El Golfo and one at El Rubicón. I returned home defeated and we all spent a good couple of hours rock-pooling and I managed to be captured in a "You've Been Framed" moment falling off a rock into a rock pool. I took a shot of an atlantis Yellow-legged Gull with Fuerteventura in the background (left). Also an AFRICAN GRASS BLUE butterfly around the villas was new for me. A walk out to the lighthouse turned up three Pallid Swifts, ten Spanish Sparrows and 15 Cory's Shearwaters. By mid-afternoon we were packed up and on the road to Arrecife Airport. Michael saw another "Bananabird" (Courser) from the car but I missed it. At the Airport I saw a Cattle Egret and my last birds were three Yellow-legged Gulls seen from the plane as we taxied down the runway. A very pleasant holiday in good company with good birds, but hard work finding them, though worthwhile when you do. The only disappointment was dipping the Trumpeters, maybe next time.

© Mike King    The Gloster Birder    www.birder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk