Fuerteventura 12-19th April 2011
(A non-Birding Trip Report)
This is a short summary of a strictly non-birding holiday to Corralejo, Fuerteventura. Non-birding because the holiday was payback to my family in order to compensate for me going off to the Pyrenees this coming June.
Obviously, before booking, I researched the best places to go to give the best chances of bumping into specialities such as Houbara Bustard, Cream-Coloured Courser, Black-Bellied Sandgrouse and Fuerteventura Chat while not actually birding. Unfortunately the best places turned out to be completely the other end of the island but the best package deal for there was over £600 more expensive.
Giving up on the specialities, I went with very low expectations and so was pleasantly surprised by the list I finished up with. All (non) birding was early mornings before the rest of the family awoke ie. before 9am.
Ok, here’s the list in order of sightings:
Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon – Common. 1 or 2 looked good for Rock Dove but who knows?
Yellow-Legged Gull - Common
Spanish Sparrows – Common
Turnstone – Common on coast
Collared Dove – Common
Pallid Swift – Seen most days in small numbers
Robin – 1 in hotel grounds
Kestrel – 1
Turtle Dove – 1 in hotel grounds
Linnet – Fairly common
Berthelot’s Pipit – Fairly common on outskirts of town
Little Egret – 2
Sanderling – A few
Whimbrel – 3
Curlew – 1
Ringed Plover – A few
Greenshank – A few
Common Sandpiper – 4
WHITE-CHEEKED BULBUL – 1 singing outside apartment. Anyone know their status?
Hoopoe – 7 or 8 sightings
*LESSER SHORT-TOED LARK – Lifer. Fairly common in the dunes to the south
Booted Eagle – 1 over dunes. A complete surprise as I didn’t realise they occur there.
Southern Grey Shrike – Fairly common
Swallow – A small passage one day only
Ring-Necked Parakeet – Occasional fly overs
Chiffchaff – 1 in hotel grounds most days. Bright individual so not Canary Island Chiffchaff. Don’t know if Iberian occurs. Didn’t sing anyway
Common Swift – Only 1 positively identified
Egyptian Vulture – 1 sub-adult seen while walking up the local volcano
Trumpeter Finch – Fairly common on volcano
Raven – half a dozen seen in various places
*FUERTEVENTURA CHAT – Lifer. Pair seen in the volcano crater
Spoonbill – 2 seen on beach
*BARBARY FALCON – Lifer. 1 seen killing a pigeon in dunes south of town. Unfortunately then mugged by pair of Ravens.
Grey Heron – 2
Common Buzzard – 3
So there we have it. Not the best list in the world but 3 lifers so can’t complain. Also saw a few nice butterflies including Monarch, Greenish Black-Tip, Lang’s Short-Tailed(?) Bath White and African Grass Blue(?) Plant-wise not great apart from a couple of nice Broomrapes, Cistanche and a small purple one I haven’t been able to put a name to yet. Just 2 mammals, a Ground Squirrel and (Algerian?)Hedgehog.
Corralejo itself is a fine place for a holiday and with a small amount of effort, I’m sure a much better list could be achieved.