This trip
to Tenerife was primarily a winter family holiday to chill out and relax in the
sun. Tenerife is not a classic destination for those looking for wildlife but
there again you never know what you might encounter … We arrived on the Sunday
and settled into our hotel in the Costa Adeje resort on the south west corner
of the island. The next day Josh and I headed off to Malpais de la Rasca which
is ca. 30 mins from Costa Adeje back towards the airport. Here we saw our first
Berthelot’s Pipit and a Southern Grey Shrike which was a nice bonus although too
far away for a decent photo. We also flushed a couple of Barbary Partridge and
saw a Kestrel. Around the hotel there were several Tenerife Chiffchaffs and a
Grey Wagtail.
 |
| Berthelot's Pipit |
 |
| Berthelot's Pipit |
The next day Sabine and I headed north to Santiago del Teide for a walk around the scrubland. Here we saw more Tenerife Chiffchaffs, a Sardinian Warbler, several Rock Doves and small flocks of Atlantic Canary. Also a Red Admiral Butterfly.
 |
| Atlantic Canary |
 |
| Collared Dove |
 |
| Rock Doves |
 |
| Tenerife Chiffchaff |
On the Wednesday Josh and I decided to go back to Malpais de la Rasca early in the morning to see if we could get closer to the Southern Grey Shrike. The plan worked and in the early morning sun we were able to get some great views of this very attractive bird. We walked all the way out to the coast this time and saw Berthelot’s Pipit, Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel and a Yellow-legged Gull.
 |
| Southern Grey Shrike |
 |
| Southern Grey Shrike |
 |
| Southern Grey Shrike |
 |
| Yellow-legged Gull |
The Thursday turned out to be a complete turn up for the books. We decided to stay close to the hotel and while Josh and Thomas lounged by the pool Sabine and I walked north along the coast. Close to the hotel there was a small area of rocks where we found a Whimbrel, two Dunlin, two Turnstones and what I thought were a pair of Ringed Plover (more about that below). A little further along there was a very confiding Hoopoe feeding on beetles. After lunch we picked up the boys and headed off to a café for a drink although I decided to hang back and have another look at the two ‘Ringed Plovers’ taking lots of photographs. Josh texted me to say that he had spotted some ‘small blue butterflies’ near the café. These turned out to be Canary Blues with a couple of Long-tailed Blues in amongst them.
Later that afternoon and evening I spent several hours on the internet trying to figure out the true identity of these two ‘Ringed Plovers’. From inspection of the photographs it was clear that they were not the same species. One bird had a distinct yellow/orange orbital eye ring as well as yellow/orange at the base of the bill. It also appeared to have a slightly rounder head. These all seemed to be characteristic features of a Semipalmated Plover, a rare migrant wader from North America. Interestingly in some of the photographs below you can clearly make out the presence of the semipalmations which are absent in the other bird which is a Ringed Plover. I posted the sighting on Facebook and it turns out to be only the 2nd ever sighting of Semipalmated Plover for Tenerife and only the 3rd for the Canary Islands!
 |
| Dunlin |
 |
| Hoopoe |
 |
| Hoopoe |
 |
| Ringed Plover |
 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
 |
| Turnstone |
 |
| Whimbrel |
 |
| Canary Blue |
 |
| Canary Blue |
 |
| male Long-tailed Blue |
 |
| Long-tailed Blue |
The next day Sabine and I took the ferry to La Gomera to see Sabine’s sister Birte who was staying there with friends on holiday. As the ferry docked we saw a peregrine flying around the cliffs. In the evening while eating dinner two Night Herons flew over the hotel on their way to roost. The final day before departure we booked to go whale-watching which was a superb experience. First up we saw a Saddleback Turtle then some Atlantic Pod Dolphins and a Bryde’s Whale. A flock of ca. 100 Sandwich Terns flew around in the distance and we also saw a lone juvenile Puffin. Getting decent shots of any of the wildlife was pretty difficult as their was sufficient wind to create some waves on the sea. Further out to sea we found our first Pilot Whales and some shoals of large Tuna. For lunch we stopped by the cliffs at Los Gigantos and saw an Osprey fly over.
 |
| Dolphin |
 |
| Dolphins |
 |
| Pilot Whale |
 |
| Pilot Whale |
 |
| Sandwich Terns and Yellow-legged Herring Gulls |
 |
| Sandwich Terns |
On the morning of our departure the weather changed with a dust storm blowing up. However a quick check revealed that the Semipalmated Plover was still present with the Whimbrel at the usual site.