Tenerife, The Canary Islands

20th – 27th February 2005

Report & Coolpixed Images by Gerald Segelbacher

Having some of last year's holiday to take before the end of February, my partner and I decided to try and escape the cold and find a warmer place to enjoy some relaxing time from work.

The last minute decision was Tenerife. We booked accommodation, flight and car then flew out from Gatwick the next week.

Although this was not going to be a birding holiday, I was hoping to pick up the endemic birds occurring on the island. Trip reports were numerous and easy to find on the net. The books; ‘Where to watch birds in Tenerife’ (by Garcia del Rey) and ‘A birdwatchers’ guide to the Canary Islands’ (by Clarke & Collins), provided valuable information on the best and most reliable birding sites. The main focus was on the endemic species confined to the Canary Islands (e.g. Laurel and Bolle’s Pigeon, Plain Swift, Berthelot’s Pipit, Canary Island Kinglet, Blue Chaffinch and Canary). Other speciality birds and everything else would be a bonus.

We stayed at the Aguamar Apartments in Los Cristianos in the south of the Island.

On the 22nd we went on trip to Los Gigantes, where we boarded a Whale-watching tour to see the resident Pilot Whales. We had fantastic views of a group of 15 whales which were joined by the same number of Bottlenose Dolphins. A few Cory’s Shearwaters put in an appearance as well. On the way back we saw another group of 8 Bottlenose Dolphins.

The next day we took the ferry for a day trip to La Gomera. The crossing on the slow ferry (ARMAS) provides a very good opportunity for sea-watching and takes about 1h 20 min. On the way out I saw about 60 Cory’s Shearwaters, 1 Little Shearwater and a group of 8 Pilot Whales. On the return I saw another 10-20 Cory’s Shearwaters but had to give up because of rough sea and heavy rain. Unfortunately neither the Bulwer’s nor any of the other petrels I had hoped for put in an appearance.

On La Gomera itself I hoped to find the two endemic Pigeons (according to literature the rarer Laurel Pigeon is much easier found on La Gomera than on Tenerife). It didn’t take long to find the Bolle’s Pigeon which I saw on our first stop approximately 20 minutes from the port. On the way to the Laurel forests in the Parque National de Garajonay we saw our first Canaries, a stunning flock of about 80 birds. The Laurel forests produced the Canary Island Kinglet and the local race of Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs tintillon). Full of anticipation we then moved onto the Laurel Pigeon hotspots in the El Cedro area only to be disappointed. The clouds were thick with strong winds making the visibility no more than 5m. An Osprey in the harbour on the way back was little consolation.

In the afternoon of the 24th I walked from the hotel up to Mount Guaza, which is described as one of the last strongholds of Trumpeter Finch. After reaching the area and looking for a good three hours I had Southern Grey Shrike and Spectacled Warbler. A little later I finally managed to find a group of about 15-20 Trumpeter Finches, what fantastic birds !

On the 25th we planned to take the cable car up to the top of Mount Teide (3700m above sea level) and on the way there to stop at Las Lajas, the famous picnic site to see the Blue Chaffinches. We only just managed to get to Las Lajas, the road further up was closed because of snow. Fantastic views of the local subspecies of Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major canariensis), Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus teneriffae), numerous Canaries and proper Rock Doves were obtained quite easily but it took us a while to get good but distant views of the Blue Chaffinch. This changed the minute we sat down on the picnic benches to have coffee. Canaries, Blue Tits, Woodpeckers and Blue Chaffinches came almost within touching distance, obviously hoping to get fed, and in due course allowing fantastic views.

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We did not visit any of the ponds and golf courses described in the literature or the North of the Island or the Laurel/Bolle’s Pigeon hotspots which explains why the species list is quite short. Species like Barbary falcon, Barbary Partridge, Lesser Short-toed Lark , Stone Curlew, Laurel and Bolle’s Pigeon should be found with a little more effort.

It was a pleasant holiday in every respect, seeing all of my target species but one quite easily. The Laurel Pigeon has to wait to be seen during the next visit.

Systematic List:

Cory's Shearwater*: 5 during a Wale-watching trip, 70-80 ferry to La Gomera

Little Shearwater*: 1 ferry to La Gomera

Little Egret: 3 Los Cristianos, 1 Las Galletas, 5 Los Gigantes

Grey Heron: 1 La Gomera

Common Buzzard*: 1 La Gomera

Osprey: 1 Los Gigantes, 1 La Gomera

Common Kestrel*: Tenerife, La Gomera, common

Whimbrel: 1 Los Cristianos, 1 Las Americas

Turnstone: 8 Las Americas

Black-headed Gull: 2 Harbour Los Cristianos

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 1 Las Americas, 1 Harbour Los Cristianos

Yellow-legged Gull (atlantis)*: Tenerife, La Gomera, common

Sandwich Tern: 10 Harbour Los Cristianos

Rock Dove: Tenerife, La Gomera, widespread

Bolle's Pigeon: 1 La Gomera

Barbary Dove: 4 Las Galletas

Collared Dove: Tenerife, La Gomera, very common

Monk Parakeet: 3 Los Cristianos

Plain Swift: 8 Los Cristianos, 1 Los Gigantes

Hoopoe: 3 Los Cristianos (1 pair breeding next to the hotel), 1 Mount Guaza

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Great Spotted Woodpecker*: 2-3 Las Lajas

Berthelot's Pipit: common in suitable areas (e.g. Mount Guaza)

Grey Wagtail*: Tenerife, La Gomera, common

Robin*: Tenerife, La Gomera, few

Blackbird*: Tenerife, La Gomera, few

Spectacled Warbler*: 1 Mount Guaza

Blackcap: Tenerife, La Gomera, few

Canary Island Chiffchaff*: Tenerife, La Gomera, very common

Canary Island Kinglet: 1 La Gomera, Las Lajas

Blue Tit*: Tenerife, La Gomera, widespread

Southern Grey Shrike* : 1 Mount Guaza

Spanish Sparrow: Tenerife, La Gomera, very common

Chaffinch*: 1 La Gomera

Blue Chaffinch: 10 Las Lajas

Canary: 80 La Gomera, 40 Las Lajas

Goldfinch: 2 La Gomera

Trumpeter Finch*: 15-20 Mount Guaza


*subspecies confined to Macaronesia / Canary Islands

All pictures were taken with the slightly unsteady combination of a Nikon 4500 and an EagleEye 5x lens (handheld).