Gran Canaria, Canary Islands - 25/2/23 to 4/3/23

This was a short winter break with my wife to Puerto de Morgan, a nice fishing port on the SW coast of Gran Canaria. (Our first trip abroad since Covid.) We did limited excursions, as my old paper Driving Licence is no longer valid to rent a car (even though it is still legal for driving in Spain !). So my wife drove on right for first time, and was not too keen on the precipitous narrow mountain roads. We spent most days going for a walk in the countryside, though (from the ‘Rother Walking Guide’ (Izabella Gawin) which was very good).

The birds that are easy to see in most places are: Blackbird, Kestrel, Blue Tit (ssp. teneriffae) and Canary Island Chiffchaff, Common Buzzard and Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon. I had 15 Common Swift over the apartment most days and best spot there was a Long-legged Buzzard over the escarpment above. Also had a pair of Raven and a Great tit. Canaries are fairly common, and easy to find when singing.

Sunday 26th Feb 2023 - Maspalomas, Lagoon (La Charca) (part of Walk 44).

The Lagoon has a hide (with an open front) and the waders were using the scrape right in front of it. I had a couple of visits for about 15 minutes each, and birds were different each time.

The best was a juv. Purple Heron in the reeds on far left of hide.

And 3 Spoonbill on edge of reedbed on left.

Also, 1+ Cattle Egret nest and 3 Little Egret. Nearer the hide were: a Glossy Ibis, 3 Greenshank, a Whimbrel, 2 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover scraping a new nest.

Others were: a Hoopoe flying over the lagoon, 2 Moorhen, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Black-headed Gull, a few Ring-necked Parakeets, Spanish Sparrows, 1 Goldfinch, 3 Greenfinch and a Coot sp. heard deep in undergrowth.

Monday 27th Feb 2023 - Arteara (Walk 43).

A lovely quiet (almost abandoned) village and archaeological cemetery dating back to 600’s AD.

2 Berthelot's Pipit around the volcanic rock of the cemetery and a Sardinian Warbler heard. A pair of Trumpeter Finch near the village and a Turtle Dove heard purring. A surprise was a pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker in the Date Palms.

Butterflies which are common everywhere: Canary Speckled Wood (below – photo from Tenerife), Small White, Marbled White, Small Copper and Clouded Yellow (all of which are disappointingly nominate race, I believe). Also Emperor Dragonfly and dark brown Grasshoppers with bright red underwing and a warning stridulation.

Tuesday 28th Feb 2023 - Tasarte to Mogan (Walk 48).

Got the bus to start of walk, and back again at end, no problem. A walk across pretty remote semi-desert, but with a small brook (‘barranco’) in the bottom of the valley and nice village lunch stop at Venegueras, where there are cliffs with multi-coloured rocks.

The best birds by far were a Great Grey Shrike calling at us partly obscured by a rock, and 2 Barbary Falcon circling above the mountain cross (‘Cruz de Mogan’). Also, a pair of Sardinian Warbler showed well briefly (female below), a Grey Wagtail by the brook and Perez’s Frogs (below) in a small farm reservoir.

At the edge of Mogan is a place that was used to sit and wash clothes, and also some Papaya trees.

Also had some tiny blue butterflies (probably Pea Blue or Canary Island Blue), and 3 Monarchs, which were encountered most places in small numbers. The Canary Island population is thought to originate from migrants across the Atlantic, which survived in enough numbers to establish the now stable population. The photo below is of a Monarch on the rarer blue form of Echium decaisnei (the normal form is white).

Wednesday 1st Mar 2023 - Ayaguares (part of Walk 45).

A walk beginning around two small reservoirs, which were completely devoid of life, apart from a Grey Heron. Then up into a hilly pine forest, which only produced a Raven a Buzzard and a Red-legged Partridge (heard). But the flora was very interesting, including Brown Bells (photo below), with a distribution across N Africa, Middle East and to Asia.

Stopped at Puerto Rico (town in Gran Canaria !) on way back where there were 4 Ring-necked Parakeet.

Thursday 2nd Mar 2023 – Jardin Canario (Walk 62).

This is a large and interesting botanical garden not far south of Las Palmas. A Red-legged Partridge was singing from the top of an aquaduct and a Blackcap was seen and heard singing. Also a male Sardinian Warbler, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Kestrel and 2 Robin (ssp. Superbus). Another 3 Monarch butterflies, plus Talapia, Carp and more Perez’s Frogs in the ponds.

Just outside Las Palmas, there was a raft of 100+ Yellow-legged Gull just offshore.

Friday 3rd Mar 2023 – Puerto de Mogan marina.

The port and marina area of Puerto de Mogan are lovely. The marina is well worth walking round, as the water is incredibly clear. Grey Mullet are always around, but below them are Parrotfish (photo below – called Vieja on the menu !), Trigger Fish, White Bream, Palometa and many others. The best spots I had were a Trumpfish, which hung vertically in the water to hide, and a 2 foot long Barracuda.