My wife and I have recently returned from a second visit to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands. We first visited the island last year (2022), and I had a very successful day, bird-watching around the Tindaya Plain and various other locations. Managing to see virtually all of the local speciality species, with the exception of Cream-coloured Courser.
During last years holiday, a Red-billed Tropic bird was regularly seen, visiting an artificial lake close to our resort. Unfortunately I didn’t know the location at the time, so I never saw the bird.
We decided to spend another week this year, (2023), at the same resort and hotel, and armed with information on the Tropic birds favoured site, and despite not knowing if the bird was still around, I managed to see it on 2 separate occasions. A truly stunning bird, and I was so glad I managed to find it.
I also had a couple of days birding the Tindaya Plains and similar areas to last years visit, but disappointingly, we failed to find Cream-coloured Courser and Houbara Bustard, although I did have a brief distant view of a Houbara in flight. A drake Lesser Scaup, good views of Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Southern Grey Shrike, Laughing Dove, Spectacled Warbler, Egyptian Vulture, Black-winged Stilt, Berthelot’s Pipit, Hoopoe, Trumpeter Finch and Mediterranean Short-toed Lark, slightly made-up for the disappointment of missing the Courser and the Bustard. A few other species were also seen, along with many Barbary Ground Squirrels. Lots of Clouded Yellow butterflies on the plains, and several Monarch Butterfly were at other locations.
Fuertaventura is a lovely island and has some fabulous birds and other wildlife, although some bird species are not always easy to see, or to find. Weather conditions and time of the year seem to play a major part in locating the special birds on the plains. However, I was so glad I got the Tropic bird, a real nice bonus and a new bird species for me.
