A holiday rather that a birding trip with the wife and 12 friends staying in Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote for a couple of days. And they like a few drinks! I was allowed one day birding which with some incidental observations are described in my mini report. Thursday 3rd December
We arrived late afternoon and quickly picked up our hire car, which looked like it due for scrap soon and whizzed off to our accomodation in Puerto del Carmen. Two hoopoes and a kestrel ssp on the way. Our accommodation overlooked the harbour where dozens of yellow legged gulls loafed. We headed straight out for a very long session on the local beer and we ate along the way as well. Sometime after midnight I scrapped my plan to get up early and go birding in favour of a lie in with my hangover a few more beers later washed down with honey rum chasers I was sure it was the right choice.
Friday 4th December
After a late breakfast and not as bad a hangover as predicted we all headed up to the volcano park (Timanfaya) the first stop was at the lower visitor centre worth a little look but a small water feature was attracting some linnets ssp harterti and I got out the camera to get some photos. I was challenged by a member of staff, was I a professional photographer, which greatly amused my friends and he realised I was a complete amateur. After a few pics a trumpeter finch arrived very nice. We dropped in on the Camels where we had a few rock doves but little else so we headed up the volcano. In the car park we finally encountered some berthelot's pipits before going on the tour of the volcano and having a volcano cooked late lunch. We then visited El Golfo and paddled in the sea and hung round the beach eating ice creams etc. A bit of rockpooling produced some fish and a sea urchin, lots of yellow legged gulls on the beach and a few turnstones, several berthelot's pipits in the village. A comedy moment one of my friends could not find the car keys for his hire car and after all the rockpooling etc. they could be anywhere, but as luck would have it we found them in the drivers door of the car, a close escape! We all headed back to our accommodation on the way I noted a couple of trees with lots of birds in making quite some noise, its position was noted for a visit the following day. Another cracking meal and another load of beers and almost a repeat of the previous night but I manage to finish a little earlier.
Indulging in slightly less beer and other related concoctions than the previous evening I was able to get out with the wife quite early (well earlier than the previous day) for a days birding, we quickly found a couple of southern grey shrikes before arriving at the Rubicon plain just north of Playa Blanca, we explore the tracks in the area (we first headed west first but you should take the east track first as it actually goes somewhere so gets busier as the morning goes on) Around the tip we had loads of collared doves and a couple of barbary types and by the looks of things some hybrids. There was one laughing dove but it got flushed and was not seen again. We searched the tracks plenty of southern grey shrikes and berthelot's pipits but no bustards. The weather was on our side for a prolonged search being slightly overcast so heat haze was not a problem. After a couple of hours we decided to try the east track but just as we did I spotted a cream-coloured courser then two others and we got great views of them. The east track was unproductive due to the amount of traffic so we gave up and headed to the Salina de Janubio. There were plenty of waders mostly black winged stilts but I did pick up greenshank and redshank. We had chosen the wrong car park to scan from so moved to another and found the lone long staying greater flamingo, two black necked grebes and some knot check along with common sandpiper and plenty of turnstones. It was time for some lunch so we went to the salt pans restaurant where I could continue scanning but nothing else on the salt pans. A very nice meal was had and I picked up a raptor over the hillside in the background but it had gone by the time I had got to the scope. A raven passed the restaurant as we left. Our next stop was Rui Paraiso hotel in Puerto del Carmen where we quickly found the noisy ring-necked parakeets nesting in the palm trees, some roosting gulls were grilled but were all yellow-legged. A few pallid swifts were obvious overhead and we watched them while having a drink. Then on to Teguise golf course for a quick look where we found a Sardinian warbler but little else so for our final chance for bustards we headed to Munique and took the first track right on leaving the village north. Within 10 minutes I had spotted two houbara bustards but they had gone by the time I had got the digiscope ready. We relocated them hiding in a dip and I got a record shot but they vanished. We watched two hoopoes being chased by a southern grey shrike for quite a while although they were clearly no threat. We headed onwards exploring the tracks some which my clio was not really suited but I managed to stay out of real trouble. We had 4 lesser short-toed larks which flew off very quickly a couple of trumpeter finches before heading out on another track towards Teguise where we had a close Houbara bustard which was more photo co-operative. Well pleased we revisited the golf course finding 10 barbary partridges running around but a littel distant. The sewage works had a lone white wagtail and we headed back to Puerto del Carmen and the trees I had noted the previous evening, here was a large spanish sparrow roost with at least a thousand birds present. A very good day finished off with another evening of heavy drinking.
The last day, and after asprin, packing and the like we headed up to Tabayesco where at the edge of the village we parked up. Searching the village we quickly found several spectacled warblers, kestrel and many berthelot's pipits. I could hear a canary singing but could not find it and I could not rule out a cage bird. African blue tits were a bit easier and several were found in the village. Next stop was Jameos del Agua where Spanish sparrows almost mugged us for our lunch. We went into the lagoon where the endemic blind crabs (Munidopsis polymorpha) live. A couple were out of the water allowing for photography the others were easily seen on the dark rocks. I searched the car park for lizards with out luck, some of my friends later found some there just after I had left. I did catch up with some sandwich terns from the beach before a quick revisit or Tabayesco but still no canaries but I did see an Atlantic lizard - finally. A drive through a few villages did not produce anything else of note and we abandoned the car in the car park and got our flight home.
We did not see any mammals apart from feral cats, although a couple of roadkill rabbits and a hedgehog did not really count, only 3 butterfly species were seen and I only identified a red admiral so the trip was a bit poor on that front.
Birds - 35 species
Black-necked Grebe
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Greater Flamingo
Kestrel ssp dacotiae
Black-winged Stilt
Knot
Redshank
Greenshank
Common Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Yellow-legged Gull
Sandwich Tern
Collared Dove
Barbary Dove
Feral Pigeon
Rock Dove
Ring-necked Parakeet
Hoopoe
Lesser Short-toed Lark ssppolatzeki
Berthelot's Pipit
White Wagtail
Spectacled Warbler
Houbara Bustard
Barbary Partridge
Cream-coloured Courser
Raven
Buzzard ssp insularium
Pallid Swift
Linnet ssp harterti
Trumpeter Finch
Spanish Sparrow
Southern Grey Shrike
African Blue Tit
Sardinian Warbler
Other Stuff
Atlantic Lizard
Feral Cat
Red Admiral
Blind Crab
Fish
Sea Urchin
