Day 1 and 2 - Costa Calma - 17th and 18th December 2017

Day 1
​Our flight from Gatwick was moved in some ways usefully from 10 am in the morning to 2pm in the afternoon. So at 9 am we made a rather more sociable drive up to Gatwick with very little of note. It also allowed me to have a quick final look through the still snow covered garden, bringing up my last Greenfinches, Redwings, and Fieldfare for the next 7-8 days. 
​Our flight was stupendously quick and we arrived at Fuerteventura airport 45minutes earlier than previously expected.
​Although it was light when we landed by the time we had made it through passport control and out to get our hire car at the other end it was dark and therefore the first bird of the trip would have to wait till the morning!

​Day 2
A warm sunny Sunday was what I awoke to in Costa Calma. An interesting call was coming from outside and when I opened the curtains and scanned the trees that stood tall in front of our apartment I found that there was a Yellow-browed Warbler the first self found tick of the trip and a bird that has become increasingly common in the Canaries in recent years! The 2nd species of the trip was an expected one and is easily one of the most common birds on the island. A large flock of at least 20 Collared Doves descended on the trees. Next up to join the list was a party of 2 Ravens of the endemic race and their call could be heard echoing off the buildings and mountains surrounding the apartment.
​A flock of 25 Rock Dove/ Feral Pigeon flew through along the coast and was followed by a noisy group of Goldfinch descending on the Palm Trees in front of me. It makes a different to see these birds in a more tropical climate and in some ways it is rather strange seeing them in the tops of Palm Trees rather than Oaks. 
​I had another quick scan towards the small patch of sea that I could see from my balcony and here Lesser Black Backed and Yellow Legged Gulls had gathered alongside 3 Black Headed Gulls and a Sandwich Tern.
​Next up was a rather familiar bird with a Chiffchaff appearing in the overhanging tree mixed in with a flock of Spanish Sparrows.

Above: Goldfinch

Above: Goldfinch
​Below: Collared Dove

Above: Yellow Legged Gull
​Below: female Spanish Sparrow

Above: Goldfinch
​Below: Collared Dove

Next up was a quick trip down to the beach after breakfast to check out what the tide was like. It had clouded over quite a lot by now and the wind had picked up quite a lot too. 

Sanderling were literally running around people's feet by the water's edge and further along the rocky shoreline fed a Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, 3 Curlew, and 2 Little Egret. The Rock Pools themselves had several species of Fish, some Shrimps, and also ​Sea Anemones!

Above: Sea Anemones
​Below: Ropy phone Pics of Sanderling

Back to the room we went to get ready for the day ahead. I sat on the balcony for a bit watching the world go by when a Kestrel came and sat on the building opposite. I presumed that this endemic race of Kestrel (pictured below) wouldn't be as tame as some of the ones at home, however I was wrong and instead of flying away from me, it flew straight towards me at some pace too and only veered up at the last minute to sit watching me from a Palm tree. 

Above: Collared Dove
​Below: Goldfinch

The plan for this morning quickly turned into a walk along the beach and so learning from my previous mistakes I decided to take my camera with me. Unlike before there wasn't too much about - a Turnstone and a decent amount of fishing Sandwich Tern (pictured below) were the best birds seen, before we turned back to the hotel!

On the way back to our room in the garden the first lifer of my trip awaited me and was found by my Dad. He helpfully pointed out that there were some Wagtails, oblivious to the fact that they were White Wagtails, a first for me! It is actually quite interesting to see how pale they are compared to the race of Alba Wagtail in the UK (the Pied Wagtail)! 

A spare hour before lunch saw me take the opportunity to head into Costa Calma forest!
​Upon entering the forest 2 Ravens flew over calling loudly. We hadn't gone far when I found a group of 5 Hoopoe feeding underneath the canopy. These are some of my most favourite birds and one that I always look forward to seeing on my trips to this island!
​Some island firsts for me where next up, with 2 Robins and a flock of Song Thrushes, both of which are recent arrivals to the island's wintering list. We continued our trek through the forest and arrived at warbler paradise. Blackcaps were singing from almost every tree and bush in this section alongside Chiffchaffs hurriedly running up the branches looking for some small tasty insect prey!

Above: Hoopoe
​Below: Robin

Above: Hoopoe
​Below: Song Thrush

Above: Chiffchaff with insect prey

With lunch beckoning we made a speedy journey back to the hotel. Whilst we were heading through the hotel gardens, we flushed something out of a nearby bush. This bird proceeded to sit on top of a nearby lamppost! To my surprise it was a Southern Grey Shrike and what a beast it was too! (Pictured Below)

After lunch, the plan was to head back out into Costa Calma Forest, but this time with David rather than my Dad! A quick trip to the shops to get some large water containers saw a Cattle Egret on the main roundabout in town and some Yellow Legged Gulls hawking over the market place!
​At 4pm David and I went back into the forest after the heat of the day had died down a bit! We hadn't gone far when we found a group of 6 Linnets of the endemic race feeding amongst a now much larger group of Hoopoe. 

Above: Linnet
​Below: Hoopoe

Next was a bit of magic. David saw something fluttering about on the floor, but when we got closer we couldn't see anything. Eventually after a lot of scanning  I picked up the first Little Bunting followed quickly by a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and even 5th. What a treat this was. I don't think there is anywhere else in the Western Palearctic that you would be able to see a flock of 5 Little Buntings all in the same place. (Pictured Below)
​We watched them feeding in front of us for the best part of 20 minutes before all of a sudden they were off and up into the tree tops to roost as it was getting dark!

We continued our journey through the forest to see what else we could find. At the Southern end of the forest a flock of Goldfinch was in the canopy and a Siskin called out from somewhere near them. 3 Red Vented Bulbul were found feeding on berries in a bush next to us which also contained Spanish Sparrows and Blackcaps. The Hoopoe flock had also now managed to catch us up and were eating the fallen berries and seeds!

Above: Hoopoe
​Below: Red Vented Bulbul

Above: Red Vented Bulbul
​Below: Hoopoe

The sun was starting to disappear below the horizon so we decided to head over the main road and check the known spot for Yellow Browed Warblers in the forest. A Kestrel flying past was the only thing of note at this stage. When we reached the spot everywhere we looked there were Chiffchaffs and the flock must have numbered nearly 30. Unfortunately after looking and listening out for Yellow Browed Warblers we found none!
​After this we decided to call it a day and we headed back to the hotel and made plans for the next morning of birding on the local plains!