Fuerteventura 10th - 11th March 2017 By Ashley Howe & Oliver Simms Having limited annual leave from work this trip was an intentionally brief weekend visit that was hopefully also going to be cheap. With 80 returns from London Gatwick the flights certainly delivered, but unfortunately were delayed slightly due to the French strikes on the outbound, and Portuguese radar failure on the return. There were three main targets on our 'smash and grab' trip that we both needed; Fuerteventura Chat, Houbara Bustard and the local race of Blue Tit. Oliver, who had not visited The Canaries before, had several more that we agreed we'd try for if time allowed. Our flight landed at 12:30pm, but it was closer 13:30 by the time we had our hire car and were heading in a North-Westerly direction. The plan was to aim for the Chat first so we headed to Las Peñitas where the Barranco running through Vega de Rio Palmas was reportedly a reliable site. Here we walked the 1.5km SW towards the dam finding Trumpeter Finches, Laughing & Turtle Doves, Ruddy Shelduck, Spectacled & Sardinian Warblers and the introduced Barbary Ground Squirrel. We soon realised that Desert Grey Shrikes were also common but we were struggling with the Chat. At the dam I found one of the local race Blue Tits (we also found another two near the carpark on the return walk) and an adult Egyptian Vulture flew over - at least one of our targets had fallen here. A Barbary Partridge was seen at the roadside between Betancuria and Llanos de la Concepcion.
Moving on, we arrived at Los Molinos at approximately 17:00 at the northern end of the reservoir near the dam (marked A on below map). Here we instantly found more Trumpeter Finch, Hoopoes & Berthelot's Pipit, before Oli called me back for a male Chat on rocky scree by the dam. However by the time I got there the male had been replaced by a female which showed nicely before too disappearing! A B Also on the reservoir were a load of Ruddy Shelduck and Black-winged Stilts; together making an offensive racket, which was amplified when a Barbary Falcon stooped in. Driving back towards La Oliva (where our accommodation for the night was), we frequently stopped along the FV 221; picking up a pair of the local race Stone Curlew at point blank range, Lesser Short-toed Larks and no less than ten Cream-coloured Coursers! No Houbara though, nor could we find anything on the plains to the NW of La Oliva in rapidly fading light except for two more Barbary Partridge.
The next morning we had only one thing in mind so we headed to Tindaya. The plains either side of the surfaced road leading NW from the town appear to be the most reliable place on the island and this morning was no exception with two Houbara Bustard seen very close to the track (in quite windy conditions) at dawn. To top this off we had 4 separate Black-bellied Sandgrouse fly over and another nine Cream-coloured Coursers. More Spectacled Warblers, Shrikes & Pallid Swifts were seen, and apparently a Red-rumped Swallow is a noteworthy sighting.
With all the main targets nailed on and nearly all Oli's additional species now seen, we decided to head to Los Molinos in an effort to find me a male Chat, but this time to the south end of the reservoir (access via B on the previous map). Within a short walk from the goat farm we promptly picked up three Fuerteventura Chats (2 males) that allowed some quick shots before descending the reservoir bank. The reservoir also held Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover & Common Sandpiper of note, 100+ Ruddy Shelduck and a handful of hideous Cat C Muscovy Ducks. An adult and immature Egyptian Vulture flew over allowing Oli to grip that one back on the trip. It was now 09:30; of the 30 hours we had on the island we had cleaned up in 21 and bearing in mind 12 hours of that was night - 9 hours we felt was quite impressive. Hopefully the details above could benefit other like-minded people to do a similarly time restricted trip.
We wasted the time following until our early evening flight by heading south to the beaches for Audouin's Gull. We found nine at Costa Calma loafing with Lesser Black Backs and Yellowleggeds. There were also a nice flock of a dozen or so Kentish Plovers. The only other thing of note if you are that way inclined were the Ring-necked & Monk Parakeets that flew across the main road at Morro Jable - needless to say we didn't stop.