La Gomera - Peter Gibbon
Holiday in La Gomera ( Canary Islands )
This account is based on my four visits to El Balcon. Three of these were for a single week at Easter time (26/3-1/4/02, 11to17/4/08 and 7-14/4/09) and one of two weeks in August 04.
At first it appears that there is little to see and although you can say the variety is limited, the quality of bird life makes up for this. Finally it is worth saying that the Eastern Islands of the Canaries get more visiting migratory birds than the Western Islands like La Gomera, that are further away from Africa.
The most important geographical features for the birds at El Balcon are the sea, the cliffs, the rough ground behind and the beautiful lush gardens. In Spring the two most common birds you hear singing in the grounds are Blackbird and Blackcap like home in the UK but you can also add Canary to that list and one had a nest in a small cypress tree outside our apartment this year. Five other small birds can be seen flying around the site and they are Trumpeter Finch( seen above), Chaffinch (with a more bluey back than ours but not the famous Canary Islands Blue Chaffinch), Berthelot's Pipit ( which is very confiding and comes round living areas and is the only pipit to be seen on the island) , Spanish Sparrow (to be seen around the entrance to El Balcon and in the ‘garden' behind) and finally Spectacled Warbler (which looks similar to our Whitethroat but has a white line round the eyes like spectacles). This last one is not as common as the others.
The Trumpeter Finch and Pipit are also to be found in the area being dug up between El Balcon and the cemetery but there is one other small bird there as well and that is the Rock Sparrow , which has a bigger head than other sparrows and a small yellow bib on adults. It is a very uncommon bird to see but always seems to be around this area. Also in this area, especially at the back of the cemetery around the airport perimeter you can find Barbary Partridge, which you will hear before seeing. I have also seen Hoopoe in this area a few times.
One group of birds that deserve a mention in their own right are doves and pigeons. Three are found within the grounds of El Balcon. The first one to look for in summer is Turtle Dove , which breed in the Canary islands in small numbers but are fast disappearing at home and suffer amazing losses due to shooters in many parts of southern Europe. Secondly there are Collared Doves (like the ones we have back home or an African one which is smaller and paler). Finally the most common of all is the Rock Dove , which breed in the cliffs and mostly seem to be genuine rock doves and not feral ones. Of course, the two most important birds of La Gomera are pigeons as well and they are Bolle's Pigeon and White-tailed Laurel Pigeon . Both these are to be found in the laurel forest in the centre of the island and both are endemic to Tenerife and the western Canary Islands .
There are also two types of Swift to be seen, unlike one at home. The slimmer and much darker one is called a Plain Swift and again this is endemic to Madeira and the Canaries. The other is the Pallid Swift , which is paler with an even paler throat patch. They fly constantly around the area, especially close to the cliffs, which can be swift nesting areas. This year there were a few House Martins also around, which is unusual for the western islands
For most people, however, the most exciting birds are Raptors or birds of prey and this year El Balcon had some excellent birds. There is always the pair of Kestrels around near the cliff edges but on 11 th April I was walking the cliff side path at 11.15 and when I reached the little white building I paused to look out to sea and heard a falcon screaming. Quite literally at eye-level and only 15 yards from the fence a male falcon flew past and stooped down to the sea to catch a Rock Dove. It brought it up again to eye-level where a screaming female joined it and flew upside down to accept the dead pigeon. This performance is called a ‘food pass' and is used mainly during courtship. Unfortunately the female dropped the food and both went flying after it. All this happened so quickly that I just watched and didn't even have time to get one of my two cameras working. I immediately thought it was a Peregrine falcon (like those on our nearby Derby Cathedral) but they are rare migrants in the Canaries and it had ginger on its head. It was a Barbary Falcon , which is the native species but still rare. I have never seen one hear before but it must be nesting on these cliffs somewhere. They are supposed to lay eggs from late April to March. This would mean hatching April to May and that they will be more active feeding young May and June. So they are worth looking for.
I walked on but walking back saw an Osprey at close quarters also. I have seen one here before in 2002 but this one then turned into a pair a day later and was then seen everyday. One day one of the birds circled low over El Balcon calling in its high pitched way and this is never done unless it's near a nest site. These birds like all Ospreys in the Canary Islands only nest on sea cliffs and will have similar breeding times to the falcons. Keep an eye out for them especially around the little white hut and all along these cliffs.
The only two other raptors on La Gomera are Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, which will be seen inland in the forested areas. Buzzard in particular should be easy to see on a trip to the laurel forests.
Finally sea birds are represented by mainly two species. The gull that are seen all the time around El Balcon are Yellow-legged Gulls , which are similar to our Herring Gulls but with yellow legs! In Britain they appear from time to time and cause some excitement amongst bird watchers. But the possible star of all these birds is another truly pelagic or sea-going bird. When crossing on the ferry, especially the slow-going old one you should see truly ocean going birds gliding effortlessly just above the surface of the sea. These will mainly be Shearwaters and the most common of these is also the biggest and is called Cory's Shearwater . At the end of the day they will gather in rafts opposite El Balcon and once night comes they fly around the area with their unmistakeable eerie calls being made loudly as they come to their nest-sites around the property. They will be present from February but egg-laying does not start till the last week of May and continues until late July. They only have one egg and fledging is mid to late October into November. They nest under boulders and vegetation and in caves. When I was hear in August 04 they were very active and in the star-lit nights could be seen in their hundreds over El Balcon. Many a birdwatcher would give a lot to see such a spectacle!
At certain times of the year you could see other pelagic birds on the ferry crossing, including Bulwer's Petrel, Madeiran Storm Petrel or the only other one I have seen Little Shearwater , which is much smaller that the Cory's.
The last bird I saw for my list this year was a British favourite, the Blue Tit , but they are darker here and are called African Blue Tits . I saw them down in Playa de Santiago near the bananas.
All of this goes to show that it is ‘quality' not ‘quantity' that can make a holiday.
Peter Gibbon - April 2009