Island Tour - Part 4 - Tindaya Plains and Houbara Bustards!

 Apart from the Fuerteventura Chat, the other bird that was high on our "wish list" was Houbara Bustard. The bird lives over much of the island, but the most reliable spot to see it is an area called the Tindaya Plains, near the village of Tindaya, in the north of the island. Although the roads are pretty dodgy, if you drive very carefully (!) you'll be ok! whilst there, we used the car as a hide, and got all the photos from there.

Mount Tindaya (Montana de Tindaya)

It was about a half hour drive from Corralejo, so we set off early to arrive on site form sunrise (7.30am). At the start, it was quite frustrating, as it is a very large area to cover, and there were no birds at all (except the ubiquitous Rock Doves/Feral Pigeons and Collared Doves) but, as the day warmed up, so did the birds! The most numerous were Berthelot's Pipits and Mediterranean Short-toed Larks, followed by Plain Swift, Swallow(2), Raven, Trumpeter Finch (male and female) and Egyptian Vulture (1).

Mediterranean Short-toed Lark

Trumpeter Finch

After the best part of three hours, we were just about to give up, when we spotted a large white object spinning around, about a kilometre away, on the horizon! We got the binoculars on it, and realized that we'd found a displaying male Houbara Bustard! We were able to watch it for about half an hour, and managed to get some very distant (!) photos and video footage.

Houbara Bustard

Houbara Bustard

Houbara Bustard displaying (amazing!!!)

Island Tour - Part 3- Morro Jable

 Our last stop on 30th March was the seaside resort of Morro Jable, on the south coast of the island. We parked on the outskirts of the resort, by the old abandoned zoo, where we were able to see a couple of the island's more exotic species; Hadada Ibis and Monk Parakeet.

Morro Jable lighthouse and boardwalk

Hadada Ibis

Monk Parakeets (waiting to be hand fed!)

Other birds seen on a walk around the beach and lighthouse were: Cattle Egret (adult and juveniles), Plain Swift (2 over), Spectacled Warbler (our only sighting!), House Martin (2 over), Yellow-legged Gull, Goldfinch and our first Great Grey Shrike (ssp koenigi). 

Great Grey Shrike

Barbary Ground Squirrels were also seen here.

Linacre - 7th April 2026

 This morning was my first visit to Linacre since our week away. I had a walk around all three reservoirs, and added two new species to the 2026 Year List.

The first new species was Blackcap (118), with 2 birds heard singing. The second species was Willow Warbler (119), with 1 seen and heard singing in fields by the top reservoir.

Other species today were: 21 Mallard, 20 Mandarin Duck, 8 Coot (including the first nest of the year), 2 Moorhen, 62 Tufted Duck, 6 Great Crested Grebe (a pair on each reservoir), 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Cormorant, 2 Canada Goose and Pied Wagtail (1 on the muck heap by the entrance, and another, or the same bird, singing on the top reservoir.

Pied Wagtail

Later in the day, Jayne and I went back up to Barbrook Reservoir, where we spotted another Year Tick; Swallow (120), when 2 flew overhead.

Island Tour - Part 2 - Betancuria

 After our morning visit to Calderon Hondo, Jayne and I drove across the island to the beautiful village of Betancuria, where we spent a few hours discovering the old own and church, whilst also adding two new bird species to the list.

The first new bird species seen was a single, male Atlantic Canary (8th lifer), that was singing in a tree above the car park. Unfortunately, this was our only sighting, and he flew off before I could take a photograph! The second new species was African Blue Tit (9th lifer). One adult and 2 juveniles were seen, around the car park. Again, I only managed very fleeting views, and these were the best shots I got.

Adult (top) and juvenile (bottom)

Juvenile African Blue Tit (ssp.degener)

Next to the car park there was a freshwater pond. A single Emperor dragonfly and about a dozen Scarlet Darter (or Broad Darter, as they seem to be now named) were flying around.

Pond in Betancuria

Scarlet/Broad Darter

We walked on, into the village and the church, were we added our first Sardinian Warbler (heard though not seen) and Spanish Sparrow.

Betancuria Church

Spanish Sparrow on the church roof

Heading back to the car park, we spotted an egg-laying Geranium Bronze butterfly, and our first live (!) Atlantic Lizard of the trip.

Geranium Bronze

Atlantic Lizard

Island Tour - Part 1 - Calderon Hondo

Monday 30th was the first day that Jayne and I had a car, so we set off to explore the island. By the end of the day, we'd seen 7 new species of bird!! This blog will cover the first site of the day, our trip to Hondo Volcano (Calderon Hondo).

The Hondo Volcano, just a short 15 minute drive from our base at Corralejo. I'd discovered a great blog, giving lots of details about the walk, which you can check out here. Most of the drive was on slightly dodgy roads, but we took it easy, and got there without any difficulty. Our first  bird sighting of the day was a Barbary Partridge (3rd lifer) that ran across the road in front of us, followed by a brood of c.10 chicks! Unfortunately, there was no time for photos, as they all disappeared into the rocks. On arrival at the small car park, we were joined by a pair of Raven, who flew down as soon as we parked the car. Obviously used to being fed!! 

Calderon Hondo and Raven

Following the details from the blog, we set off from the small car park, and walked along the well-maintained footpath to the base of the volcano. Berthelot's Pipits were seen here (4th lifer), and it was here that we also got our first, and as it turned out, only sightings of Fuerteventura Chat (5th lifer) Three birds, with at least 1 male, were seen flitting about, and I managed to get a flew, distant shots.

Calderon Hondo

Fuerteventura Chat

Carrying on up the path, we soon got to the top of volcano, where we had amazing views of the island.

View from Calderon Hondo

Walking back down to the car, we came across the remains of some farmer's buildings, where we had our first encounter with the island's (in)famous Barbary Ground Squirrels. The animals we saw looked like youngsters, who had just woken up, and were walking around the old buildings, yawning, stretching and getting ready for a new day!

Barbary Ground Squirrels

As we were watching the squirrels, we had our first, very brief, views of a pair of "trumpeting" Trumpeter Finches (6th lifer), as they flew past us.

Our last bird at this site was the Mediterranean (Lesser) Short-toed Lark (7th lifer). This bird, a singing male, was spotted on the drive down the volcano.

Mediterranean Short-toed Lark

Corralejo- March 28th and 29th

 Jayne and I arrived in the resort of Corralejo on Saturday afternoon. We spent the rest of the day, and the Sunday in the resort.

The first species seen on the island was.... Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon. This species was seen on everyday, at every location visited. Other species seen on the journey to the resort were: Kestrel, Yellow-legged Gull, Collared Dove (very common everywhere) and Buzzard (our 1 and only sighting).

On arrival at the hotel, we saw many more Collared Doves, Spanish Sparrow (very common across the island), Barn Swallow and Whimbrel (common on the rocky foreshore, and seen on every visit).

The next day, Sunday 29th, we walked around the town, and recorded the same species, as well as our first "lifer", Plain Swift, with 2 over the hotel. Other species added were: Turnstone (common, in small groups on the foreshore), Common Sandpiper (seen on every visit in 1s and 2s), Ringed Plover (3 seen), Sanderling (5 seen), Raven (1 over) and Little Egret (1 fishing on the shore).

Little Egret

Back at the hotel, we spent time by the pool, and had fly-over Ruddy Shelduck (2), a Kestrel (hunting the Atlantic (Haria) Lizard in the grounds, and, best of all, a couple of Laughing Dove (2nd lifer), that also flew over our heads. Unfortunately, this was our only sighting of the trip, so no photos.

Kestrel and half a lizard!

Fuerteventura 2026

 Jayne and I have just back from a lovely week's holiday on Fuerteventura, on the Canary Islands. It's an island I've wanted to visit for many years, as it is home to its own endemic chat, Fuerteventura Chat, as well as some much sort after desert species.

Fuerteventura Chat

We flew out with Jet2, and stayed in the HD Lobos Natura complex (on a self catering basis) in the holiday resort of Corralejo, on the northern most tip of the island. The books used to help find birds were: the Crossbill Nature Guide to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the WildGuides Wildlife of the Canary Islands and Madeira, and, because I'm trying to learn Spanish too, I got hold of a brand new book called Todas las Aves de Canarias.

Whilst there, we hired a car, from CirCar, for 3 days (101 euros), and travelled around the island, recording a total of 45 species, 11 of which were "lifers".