Stopping for a quick chat

With a Hertz hire car eventually secured, we have been able to get out and about and see much more of the island, and more importantly, more birds!  On the 4^th, we headed up to El Cotillo for the night, stopping at La Olivia en route for a quick look for Houbara Bustards but none we showing, just a very fast running Cream-coloured Courser.  Next morning I headed out before light, actually in my enthusiasm, well before light in search of Bustards on the plains to the south of the village. After quite a bit of scanning, the distinctive head and neck of a male Houbara Bustard stood above the scrub but quite distant.  I manoeuvred the car to try to get a better look and completely lost him for several minutes until I noticed a white object moving in zigags up the hillside as he has fluffed his feathers up and was displaying, but unfortunately, becoming ever more distant.

After breakfast we headed south to Costa Calma, stopping at Los Molinos Reservoir where after a bit of a search, a pair of Canary Islands Chats, the only true endemic of the island were eventually seen and showed exceptionally well.

 Further south, a short walk round Betancuria where the island race of Blue Tit and a singing Sardinian Warbler were the highlights, a stop at a mirador on the Pajara road gave ample opportunities for photographing the local Barbary Ground Squirrels that climbed over you in the hope of some snacks, despite the signs asking folk not to feed them, not that many people took much notice!

 

 Also happy to pester for a bite to eat were a couple of very confiding Ravens and Berthelot’s Pipits.

This morning after a hearty breakfast we had a quick drive on the plains just north of Costa Calma, where again no bustards or sandgrouse showed themselves, just another lightening fast running Courser, a brief Spectacled Warbler and a stunning pair of Barbary Falcons. 

 

The rest of the day was spent around the Jandia peninsula at the southwest tip of the island, though wildlife was very sparse but for a handful of Atlantic Yellow-legged Gulls and Turnstones sharing our lunch.

Fuerteventura, by foot

Normally when going abroad, car hire is quite a straightforward thing to book, but for some reason, whether it be the New Year holiday or just a general shortage, we were unable to hire a car on arrival, and so have spent the last couple of days since arriving on New Year's day exploring on foot.  Based near Caleta de Fuste, there is apparently good birding locally though after 2 full days, the species list has staggered into double figures.  Thankfully, we do have a car from tomorrow morning and so will be able to explore much more widely. A 14km walk yesterday down as far as the Salinas to the south of the village failed to produce many of the local specialities, though a few flighty Lesser Short-toed Larks and a Southern Grey Shrike on the plains were of interest, though not in the slightest bit photogenic.  Much better were a group of 5 Trumpeter Finches waiting for crumbs from tourists as were several Barbary Ground Squirrels.

Ping-o

Yesterday lunchtime as he walked home for a coffee, Nick found a small group of Bearded Tits in a small reedbed on a settling pond just yards from the BTO's Nunnery.  Although not technically on the reserve itself, the flock of 2+ males and a female could be seen and heard pinging from within the boundary and so brought a welcome patch tick to a few members of staff, including myself.  Views however were brief and largely obscured and so this morning I went back before work and at least 3 males showed very well feeding on the reed tops, although could be frustrating to photograph as reeds and willow branches often obscured the view.

High as a Kite

The day started in a dull, misty Piethorne Valley on the edge of the south Pennines in Greater Manchester where a Shag had been present for the past week.  Normally, I wouldn't be too bothered about a species such as that, but before I moved the Norfolk, Piethorne Valley was my local patch for the previous 8 years and still holds a place of affection in my heart.  Thankfully, the Shag was still there, sitting along the water's edge along the dam before being disturbed by some workmen mowing the embankment and moved out onto the reservoir, but a fantastic patch tick nevertheless.

Following a three hour drive, I arrived in mid Wales at Gigrin Farm, just outside Rhayader, where I met up with Toni for an afternoon photographing the masses of Red Kites that are fed every afternoon.  Thankfully, by the time I arrived there the sun was shining and the kites certainly didn't disappoint with 350+ swarming around the area swooping in to pick up the discarded scraps.

Hail to the King

For a long time I've been trying to find a good spot to set up a hide and photograph Kingfishers.  Following an unsuccessful attempt earlier in the year where the birds didn't use the perch I had put out for them, but instead continually flew past, completely independently, Nick had recently seen a Kingfisher using a particular part of the river on the Nunnery Lakes Reserve and put a branch in and the birds took to it immediately.  Yesterday I set up a hide and this morning decided to have a couple of hours, though wasn't sure if they would take to the hide being there straight away.  However, within 15 minutes of settling in, a male bird landed on the perch and over the next 5 hours returned on several occasions, caught a few fish and performed amazingly, even the sound of the camera shutter didn't seem to bother him.

At one point, this Chiffchaff decided it wanted a piece of the action and sat on the perch for a few seconds.

Spec-tacular Return

Having rushed to see the Spectacled Warbler on its first day, it was perhaps typical that nearly three weeks later, it would still be there.  As photography on the first day was difficult, as most people will now have seen the bird and so fewer people would be there, I went back for another look.  Initially it was very mobile, ranging widely but eventually it returned to a small area where it sang and built a cock nest allowing much closer views with a dozen or so other birders and photographers.

Afterwards we spent a couple of hours fruitlessly looking for Montagu's Harriers at a regular spot and finally stopped at Lynford Arboretum where at least one Firecrest was singing and showing well, but typically active and showed best in shady areas making photography difficult.

Glad I went to Specky savers

One of the good things about working for a  bird organisation, and having a boss who is also a birder is that if something good turns up, providing you don't have any pressing deadlines, there's the opportunity to drop what you are doing and head off.  Today was such a day, when just as lunchtime began, news of a Spectacled Warbler on the Norfolk coast broke, and following a quick inter-office discussion, Nick and I headed off.  Arriving at Burnham Overy just over an hour later we headed along the seawall and joined the gathered crowd and after a few minutes, the warbler could be heard singing and over the next hour and a half, showed well, actively moving around the bushes.  On one occasion it did a brief song flight but often sang from exposed perches on top of the bushes.  With the crowd thankfully keeping a sensible distance from the bird, photography wasn't that easy, with heavy cropped record shots the only shots possible.