Thanks to yesterdays very poor views of Laurel Pigeon, I took us around the north side of the island to the deep ravine called Barranco de Ruiz where it was supposed to be reasonably easy to find, at least according to eBird data. From the first viewpoint I could see many pigeons perched up in the trees below, but they were just too far to identify and all the ones I was able to ID were clearly Bolle’s Pigeons.
After an hour searching here we drove a little further to the road bend further up the ravine. Here the pigeons were closer, and every bird we saw was a Bolle’s! I tried so hard to find a Laurel Pigeon but with no success. There were other birds to keep us entertained here as well; Goldcrest, Sardinian Warbler, Atlantic Canary, Canary Islands Chiffchaff and some flyover Plain Swifts.
After a couple of hours we made tracks to move off, but called off at the first viewpoint for a short look before we left. No sooner had I got out of the car than a Laurel Pigeon flew alongside the top of the cliff at eye level, nice and close. I was not ready, but I followed the direction of the bird and not long after encountered it or another individual again. This time I managed a couple of poor record shots!
During the afternoon we decided to do a last minute whale-watching trip, not on a small vessel but a more relaxed larger boat from the town of Los Cristianos. Despite a rather chaotic parking situation, we had a very enjoyable time with a pod of Bottlenose Dolphin and a very showy pod of Short-finned Pilots. There were a few birds as well, with a Northern Gannet and a few Mediterranean Gulls close to shore. A very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.
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