Tenerife Day 6; Las Galletas & departure

   Our flight was in the afternoon, so we had rescheduled our whale watching trip from the previous morning to this morning before our flight. Instead of departing from the more popular port of Los Cristianos, from where we had departed the previous afternoon, we instead headed out from the port of Las Galletas on the southwest corner of the island, with the company Biosean. I had hoped that going from a different area might produce some different species, but sadly it did not. 

  It actually took quite a while before we managed to find any cetaceans at all, but in the end we did manage to encounter a group of Short-finned Pilot Whales. They once again came close to our small vessel, and we even got to see them spy-hopping at one point. An excellent way to finish off our trip. It was also nice to see a couple of wader species, with a Turnstone and two Whimbrel in the harbour as we departed. 

  And after that we headed to airport, handed back the car and prepared to return to Paris. An enjoyable short trip, with some pleasant birding and nice marine mammal action. 

-Short-finned Pilot Whale

Tenerife Day 5; Teide National Park & Tamaimo

   Today was very much not a birding day, with all the targets wrapped up I had no need to drag Laura around trying to find any outstanding species. We booked a cable car trip up the Teide volcano in the centre of the island. While the views from the top were spectacular, because of the incredible levels of snowfall we could not walk to the caldera, and the actual area we could explore was very limited. For the price we paid it was disappointing. At least there were three Berthelots Pipits in the car park.

  In the afternoon, we returned to the area we had hiked the previous day, near the town of Tamaimo. Instead of climbing the mountains we walked the valley bottom and enjoyed the warm weather before we returned to Paris. It was enjoyable, with more Tenerife Lizard action and nice common species. A very relaxed way to spend our final afternoon on the island.  

-Tenerife Lizard

Tenerife Day 4; Corona Forestal National Park & Tamaimo

   We had booked another whale watching trip this morning, but sadly it had to be rescheduled because of high winds. So we took the opportunity to track down my one remaining target, arguably the most important; the Tenerife Blue Chaffinch. This was in the pine forests below the volcano and the lava fields. Although there were a few locations where people seemed to see them, the Las Lajas campsite of the Corona Forestal National Park seemed to be the most reliable so that is where we searched.

  All the intel I had suggested the bird was very common here. That was not our experience, and despite an hour exploring around the car park and campsite we found no sign. There were a few birds of interest, including the local flavour of Great Spotted Woodpecker and African Blue Tit, but no Blue Chaffinch.

  Laura suggested we go for a short hike, taking the trail heading east from the campsite, and eventually on this trail we managed to find the bird. In the end we had three individuals, two males and a female, and the male especially showed phenomenally well, perching right next to us in a young conifer. Sadly I was a little slow on the camera so I didn’t manage any photos of this moment, and was generally restricted to photos when the birds were perched above us in the trees. Still a superb bird and a great one to see.

  In the afternoon, after returning to the AirBnB for lunch, we hiked the hills above the town of Tamaimo. This was not for birding at all, but was still an enjoyable walk and obviously it was not possible to escape from the birds. At the top of the mountain we found two Berthelots Pipits, and at the bottom there were a few Sardinian Warblers. This was also the only place where we found Tenerife Wall Lizard, which we had expected to be common. 

-Tenerife Blue Chaffinch

-African Blue Tit

-Great Spotted Woodpecker

-Berthelots Pipit

-Tenerife Lizard

Tenerife Day 3; Barranco de Ruiz & Los Cristianos

   Thanks to yesterday's 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.  

-Laurel Pigeon

-Bolle's Pigeon

-Goldcrest

-Common Bottlenose Dolphin

-Short-finned Pilot Whale

Tenerife Day 2; Monte del Agua & Masca

   For our first morning on Tenerife we decided to go for a walk on the Monte del Agua. This is a typical location for birders visiting the island to try and see the two Canary Islands endemic pigeon species; Bolles Pigeon and Laurel Pigeon. We arrived nice and early and parked in the town of Erjos. 

  From there it was a short walk uphill to the Laurel forest where we hoped to search for the pigeons. The path went through an area of scrub and farmland, and here we found more Canary Islands Chiffchaffs and had brief views of the second target for the trip; the Canary Islands Chaffinch. Sadly it was a flight view only, and we could not find it perched. Also in this area we saw Atlantic Canary and our first Blackbird. 

  Once we reached the main track through the forest we very quickly found our first Bolle’s Pigeons, with a group of five perched in the bushes near the antenna. However, these were the only pigeons we were able to identify. We walked the trail but the canopy was too enclosed and we were only able to spot a few pigeons flying away as we flushed them from their silent perches. It was a little frustrating, as many eBird lists reported double figures of Bolle’s Pigeons as well as a few Laurel Pigeons, but we did not have anywhere near that many. We added the local flavours of Goldcrest and Robin on the trail, but little else. 

  The afternoon was a bit more chaotic, as we drove the spectacular but narrow roads around the town of Masca. For the driver it was mostly stressful, but the scenery was undeniably awesome. We did a short walk at the Mirador Altos de Baracán above the town, but it was too windy for anything much. Still, despite being in the wrong habitat, we still had a brief flyby Laurel Pigeon. Because of the wind, we descended the mountain a little and walked on the Pista Monte Del Agua instead, passing along the edge of the Laurel woodland, but we saw nothing different except for a Sparrowhawk. 

-Bolle's Pigeon

-Canary Island Chiffchaff

-European Robin

Tenerife Day 1; Arrival

   Having been away for two months at the end of the year, Laura was keen to go on a short holiday with just the two of us to compensate for my absence. We eventually decided on a little less than a week visiting Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. Although it would not be a birding holiday, there were five new species for me on offer on the island and I made sure to incorporate some time into trying to find them.

  Our inbound flight from Paris arrived late in the afternoon, and it was a half hour drive to the small town of Alcalá where we would be staying, so there was no time on the first afternoon for any exploring, but I still recorded my first target with a Canary Island Chiffchaff singing in the airport car park. We settled in at our AirBnB for the evening, ready for this new adventure. 

Rochdale Canal at Todmorden

  Whilst I was away in the news came through of a European Shag on the canal in Todmorden. While opportunities to increase my Halifax list are few and far between these days as a consequence of my spending most of my time away, this was a species I really want to see but had to anxiously wait to see if it would linger. There was a few days break in sightings about a week before I returned, before it was relocated further up the canal, before apparently going AWOL again. Fortunately on boxing day it was reported again, and so I headed down on my first morning back to try track down this Halifax rarity. 

  Unfortunately I misread the location of the bird, so I parked at the Haugh Street Bridge then proceeded to walk all the way to lock 21, instead of bridge 21 which was the complete opposite way. Once I realised my error and had walked all the way back to where I started, it became apparent that bridge 21 would mean another hour walk on the canal, but that I had no choice if I actually wanted to see the bird.

  Fortunately as I passed under the Haugh Street Bridge, I spotted the bird sitting on the bank below Lock 16, right next to the footpath! It was completely unconcerned by my presence and I was able to get a fantastic look and photos as it sat there, alert but relaxed as people passed by. To my knowledge this is only the third Halifax Shag in my lifetime, and an excellent species to connect with for the area. 

 

Oceanwide Day 18; Ushuaia

   For the final time we left the Plancius and headed into Ushuaia. It was not a particularly exciting morning, grey and drizzly. We had a flight early afternoon, so first went for a drink at a coffee shop in Ushuaia with a few of the guys from the ship, before they headed off for their respective flights.

  Before we headed to the airport I returned to the lagoon near Ushuaia, hoping that the Red Shovelers that according to eBird data were supposed to be common there might have finally turned up. It took a bit of time, but we eventually walk round far enough and managed to pick out a smart pair of these ducks among the rafts of Yellow-billed Teals and Crested Ducks. It was a relief, and the final tick of our Tierra del Fuego adventure.

  The flight to Buenos Aires from Ushuaia was fairly uneventful, as was the evening we spent in the city. Obviously a disappointing end to our Oceanwide adventure, but it was still a relief to have the option to come to the warm sunny capital rather than Ushuaia! 

Oceanwide Day 17; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   The morning brought poor weather and more back-and-forth movement up and down the entrance of the Beagle Channel. With the required pilot not reaching us until midday, we had to kill the morning and consequently there was not much to report in terms of sightings. The poor weather did not help on this front, with strong winds and rain keeping us mostly indoors. Just before lunch there were several whale blows not far away from the boat, but we could not manage to see the animals making it very frustrating. 

  Fortunately, the afternoon was much better, with a stunning show from a pod of Peale’s Dolphin just after lunch. They were right in front of the boat and readily going under the prow. On two occasions we got to see an animal completely breach, it was probably the best dolphin encounter of the whole trip. Not long after the dolphins departed, we had a sudden appearance of a Sei Whale about 100 metres off the boat, giving us a clear view of the whole animal. However, the encounter was so quick that I failed to get a photo. 

  The main journey up the Beagle Channel was badly hampered by bad weather and we saw very little. A small group of Magellanic Penguins sat in the water and some Snowy Sheathbills distantly on a rock in the middle of the channel. 

  We finally docked in Ushuaia at 21:30, bringing to an end our enjoyable but also undeniably disappointing cruise around the South Atlantic, minus Antarctica. A few of us headed to the Irish bar in Ushuaia for a few celebratory drinks, and enjoyed an excellent night out. I returned to our lodging on the ship for the final time at 02:30 in the morning, before disembarkation in the morning. 

-Sei Whale

-Peale's Dolphin

Oceanwide Day 16; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   After two slow days at sea, today finally got interesting. Now within the sheltered waters of the mouth of the Beagle Channel there was good numbers of birds again, albeit mostly common species. Before lunch we had a few more Great Shearwaters, including an individual very close to the boat, and had some head scratching to do with some passing black and white shearwater species. Although we initially thought they were Subantarctic Shearwaters, the more we saw the more we began to think they were Manx Shearwaters, and that was our final decision. An unexpected surprise was a Least Seedsnipe that flew over the boat, a rarity out in the Atlantic and an excellent record for our trip.

  The highlight of the day also came in the period before lunch. After a few days without cetacean action, it really came back with a bang. We had a group of possibly up to eight, but certainly at least six Hourglass Dolphins playing in front of the boat for around 10 minutes. We rushed down to the bow and were able to watch them swimming right beneath us and surfacing frequently. We have seen Hourglass Dolphin four times on this trip when travelling at full speed, and they showed no interest in the boat. But as we trundled along at 6mph, the boat suddenly became of great interest!

  Because we arrived at the Beagle Channel earlier than expected, we had to kill most of the day going back and forth over about two kilometers distance, significantly reducing our chances of a new encounter. After lunch there was a lull in activity, so much so that I headed back to do my notes. A classic error, as about half an hour later a pod of dolphins was announced on the tannoy. Fortunately I made it outside in time, to get views of three Dusky Dolphins swimming behind the ship, although not close. 

  In the evening we returned to the deck and enjoyed a very pleasant evening. It started with some distant Peale’s Dolphins leaping into the air, followed by them bow-riding a large tanker ship. From there, we also spotted several distant whale-blows. We enjoyed watching the whale blows, but spotting the animals themselves proved very tricky. In about an hour we spotted the whale itself on just a couple of occasions, always very distant but enough to identify the animals of Sei Whales. 

  After this, we returned inside for dinner, and afterwards we enjoyed a fun karaoke evening with the cruise staff and participants, a fun end to our final full day on the Plancius.

-Hourglass Dolphins

-Hourglass Dolphin

-Dusky Dolphin

-Peale's Dolphin

-Sei Whale