Despite this being a family holiday with the missus and India our 7 year old daughter, as all avid birders know there is no way you can suppress the addiction. The World in the eyes of a birder is like an off license is to a boozer or like a brothel is to a Tory Member of Parliament. As long as you are outdoors there's an aviform based fix to be had everywhere....... even in the barren wastelands of Fuerteventura.
We stayed in the Brit-packed village of Caleta de Fuste just south of the airport on the east coast of the island. If there are any Star Wars fans reading this, the place it is not too disimilar to Mos Eisley on the planet of Tattoine, there are similarities with a few of the inhabitants too. Fortunately we stayed in the Hotel San Jorge which was very nice indeed and it was situated well away from Brit-bars such as the Red Lion! Why ever folks would want to travel abroad to sit in an English style pub, eating bangers and mash and swilling pints of over priced Carling whilst watching EastEnders I'll never know. What's wrong with these people?
Caleta de Fuste area
Anyway back to the birds..... of which there are some pretty bloody good ones on this small desert island thank you very much! On the day of our flight out I raced over to Focus Optics in Corley (much to the dismay of her indoors) where I managed to pick up a copy of Dave Gosney's 'Finding Birds in The Canary Islands'. Despite only eight pages of this booklet being dedicated to Fuerteventura and despite the information being nearly 14 years old it proved well worth the £5.00 I paid for it, with some very useful information and some excellent hand drawn maps.
The most common and widespread speciality of the Canaries to be found was the endemic Berthelot's Pipit. The natural habitat for this species are the dry desert plains but it could be found almost anywhere from inside the grounds of hotels to children's playgrounds. The typical Pipit type call usually gave away it's presence before it was actually seen. Other common species around the resort included Kentish Plover, Collared Dove, Spanish Sparrow and the debated atlantis race of Yellow-legged Gull. Another easy species was Cory's Shearwater which could be seen offshore throughout the day. I tended to seawatch from 4.30pm onwards though when passage was at its heaviest and the sun was much less 'scorchio'. On one particular day I recorded an impressive 737 Cory's Shearwaters heading north in just one hour, put that in your pipe and smoke it Porthgwarra! On the same watch I also recorded a single Macaronesian Shearwater, the only one I have ever seen. I will now definately know if I'm ever lucky enough to see this species in British waters, the jizz alone is pretty unmistakable given decent views. Less common birds around the resort included Hoopoe, Southern Grey Shrike, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Raven and Trumpeter Finch.
In order to see the best of the rest it was necessary to hire a car. I rented a Nissan Micra for 3 days for around £80.00 inclusive of insurance. Make sure you shop around as the difference in rates from one company to another varies greatly. Also ensure that you book plenty of days in advance as the most reasonable firms soon run out of vehicles. Despite being advised that you will not be insured on any 'non-asphalt' tracks don't let this worry you as most tracks are passable without any problems, besides this is where the best birds are AND you get to see the real Fuerteventura too.
Barranco de Rio Cabras
The main target of the trip was obviously FUERTEVENTURA CHAT. As it says on the tin this is the only place on the planet where this smart little bird can be found. The species is alleged to be far more common over on the west side of the island but this particular site is just so convenient as it is just next to the airport. Eager 'Western Pal' twitchers could quite easily get a cheap flight over, catch a cab to this site then be back on the same plane within a hour. Obviously that would be ridiculous bearing in mind the other good stuff there is on offer but it is possible. I visited 'Willis's Barranco' (as it's also known) twice and on both occassions I connected with this species. On my first visit during late morning I saw two pairs of adult Fuerteventura Chats and on my second visit during early morning I saw just a single juvenile. Despite showing very well on and off I found this Chat to be far more restless than our familiar Common Stonechat in Britain. Fuerteventura Chats can also prove to be quite elusive and can easily disappear without a trace amongst the rubble and the stunted vegetation. This area was also excellent for Spectacled Warbler and the expected Berthelot's Pipit. Other species recorded were Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel and Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon.
Trinquivijate area
The next species on my 'wanted list' was Houbara Bustard and this area was supposed to be as good as any. There were even road signs up asking you politely not to run them over but guess what? Despite hours of scanning at different times during the day I failed connect with a single bird in this area. I did however find my first adult CREAM-COLOURED COURSER at this locality, a superb species to watch go about it's business whilst relaxing in your air conditioned car. Other species recorded were Egyptian Vulture (adult & sub-adult), Hoopoe (several), Raven (common), Southern Grey Shrike (several), Lesser Short-toed Lark (flocks of up to a 100 birds), Berthelot's Pipit (everywhere), Spanish Sparrow (several), Linnet (several), Trumpeter Finch (several) and a male Fuerteventura Chat. Nearby I also tried the 'red desert area' north of Antigua for the elusive Bustard but to no avail. Even more heart-breaking was driving over a long dead Houbara on the main road, could these busy roads be blamed for me not connecting? Were they extinct?
Jandia Area
I wasn't really expecting to see many birds in the south of the island and I didn't. Mind you our trip to this area was mainly for my daughter to play on the golden sands and for the missus to soak up a few UV rays. As always though my optical equipment was always close at hand and I quickly picked up a dodgy new 'Western Pal' tick around the hotels of Playa de Butihondo in the form of Monk Parakeet. Several pairs of this noisy introduced South American species were seen weaving nests in the tops of palm trees. In the same area I also saw several Sacred Ibis but I suspect these birds were part of an animal collection belonging to one of the hotels rather than being recent colonists. A quick stop at the windsurfing beach at El Paso produced a male Barbary Falcon and a Little Egret. Another brief visit to Las Salinas provided a Common Redshank and another Little Egret. Still no b*stard Bustards in suitable habitat though!
Los Molinos area
Another good site for Houbara Bustard was supposed to be the Los Molinos area but once again they were absolutely nowhere to be seen. Whilst scanning the plain around Las Parcelas however I was lucky enough to have 3 adult Cream-coloured Coursers trotting around the car. A quick trip to the rapidly drying out reservoir proved worthwhile with a flock of 32 thirsty Black-bellied Sandgrouse being the highlight. There were also 55 Ruddy Shelduck, 28 Common Coots, 11 Black-winged Stilts, a Barbary Partridge, a single Ringed Plover and a single Common Sandpiper. Also in the area were 3 adult Egyptian Vultures, several Southern Grey Shrikes and dozens of Berthelot's Pipits.
La Oliva area
I was beginning to get desparate! The car was due to be returned first thing in the morning and I still had not connected with any Bustards, apart from a roadside corpse of course. I therefore had no alternative but to sweet talk my girls into letting me take them up to an old roost site near La Oliva. We finally reached the site at around 5.30pm and I started scanning a nice little cultivated area with my scope immediately. I quickly picked up a covey of 5 Barbary Partridge and a pair of European Bee-eaters. It was whilst I was enjoying these birds that Sam (who was inside the car) claimed to have seen a 'kind of big grey chicken type bird' on the edge of one of the fields. I quickly searched the area but didn't see anything except a flock of Feral Pigeons. As I continued scanning Sam studied the Bustards in my battered Collins field guide, she was convinced her bird was a Houbara and even had the cheek to age it as a juvenile. Yeah right it was a fekkin' pigeon I thought to myself. A few minutes later she lifted my bins and shouted "Look, what's that?" I swung my scope around, focused and there it was my first ever HOUBARA BUSTARD! I was absolutely ecstatic, Sam and India found it hilarious. Then there was another....... and another..... three stunning birds pecking around the lower branches of a line of fig trees. As I savoured the moment more birds started to appear. In all a minimum of seven different birds were seen to come into roost providing excellent views and memories I will never forget. Other species at this site included Kestrel, Hoopoe and Berthelot's Pipit.
So there you have it, an excellent family holiday location with some superb birds to see. To birders out there with young families I would definitely recommend this island as a place to visit. The range of species you'll see is not that great but the quality is top notch. If you are planning a visit feel free to e-mail me on bigbadadd2001@yahoo.com for any further info.
Please visit my blog at www.surfbirds.com/blog/archie69asbo