Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Llanos de Tindaya and to the North, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain.

Thursday, 22 May 2025

Llanos de Tindaya and to the North, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain.

A full day out on the plains but our last day in the Canaries.

Deb and Ian, Day Twenty Eight.

Ebird List for Llanos de Tindaya.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis) male.

We started the day with and early breakfast out on the terrace and then went down to Tindaya again hoping for better views of Cream-coloured Coursers (Corredor Sahariano / Cursorius cursor) which we had seen but they were always distant and later in the day when the heat haze was horrendous.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis) female.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis) the pair.

We arrived on Dawn and spent a while tootling along the main track to the cliffs, on the way we came across a pair of Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis) which totally ignored us and carried on feeding whilst Deb and I took loads of pictures.

Houbara Bustard (Avutarda Hubara / Chlamydotis undulata).

Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (Terrera Marismena / Alaudala rufescens).

On the drive we added Houbara Bustard (Avutarda Hubara / Chlamydotis undulata), Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (Terrera Marismena / Alaudala rufescens), Berthelot's Pipit (Bisbita Caminero / Anthus berthelotii), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Great Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Norteño Koenigi / Lanius excubitor koenigi), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax) and Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Curruca conspicillata).

Laughing Doves (Tórtola senegalesa / Streptopelia senegalensis).

It was quite windy when we reached the coast so we turned around and went for a coffee in Tindaya, we then returned but just as we were heading out of the houses I saw a dark coloured Dove fly into an area of animal pens so we went closer for a look and soon found several Laughing Doves (Tórtola senegalesa / Streptopelia senegalensis) in amongst the Eurasian Collared (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto).

Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

We spent quite a while here, sat in the car waiting for the Doves to perch in a Prickly Pear plant but they never did, during this time we watched several Eurasian Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) including a couple of young birds.

Red-billed Tropicbird (Rabijunco Etéreo / Phaethon aethereus).

We drove out to the coast again and spent a couple of hours sat on one of the headlands to the south of the restricted area watching the beautiful Red-billed Tropicbirds (Rabijunco Etéreo / Phaethon aethereus) again which as usual passed by heading North towards the restricted area but always well off shore and a good number of Cory's Shearwaters (Pardela Cenicienta Canaria / Calonectris diomedea borealis) and Yellow-legged Gulls (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis).

Red-billed Tropicbird (Rabijunco Etéreo / Phaethon aethereus).

After a couple of hours we suddenly saw two birds flying much closer in and they did a couple of circuits of the cliffs nearer to us and showed very well, very happy we stated to make our way back along the track slowly looking for the Cream-coloured Courser on the way.

Cream-coloured Courser (Corredor Sahariano / Cursorius cursor).

We again saw a single Courser but as usual it was distant and I only managed hazy shots but still a great bird to see, as we continued we had a female Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), another / same male Black-bellied Sandgrouse show close to the track and another Houbara which was sheltering behind a small bush from the wind which was building.

Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) female.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis) male.

Houbara Bustard (Avutarda Hubara / Chlamydotis undulata).

When we reached the crossroad we took a left and we drove the tracks almost as far as El Cotillo but apart from a few plants we saw nothing new so we returned to the main track again and the headed back up to the accommodation.