Birds of La Palma, Canary Islands

This is a short report about a birding trip to the island of La Palma, on November 14th - 21st 2001. It wasn't a full-blooded birding trip, so this report just gives a glimpse of what birds can be seen in a week among other things.

You may also want to check a list of other sites about La Palma's birds. Harry J. Lehto gives also hints about maps, guides etc. on his trip report.

List of species seen

There's a disagreement about the species status of many of the subspecies/species endemic to Canary Islands. This list has been made according to Clements (2000), which favours the biological species concept. Subspecies are mentioned when they are endemic to Canary Islands or the nearby islands (Madeira etc.). If using the phylogenetic species concept, many (if not most) of the subspecies mentioned here would be considered species.

We stayed at Los Cancajos on the east coast (near Santa Cruz de la Palma (= S/C)), so many of the observations are from that area.

Species Scientific name Abundance etc.
Little Egret Egretta garzetta 1 flying S off Los cancajos, 1 at La Laguna
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 2 at La Laguna
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 3 at La Laguna
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 1 at La Laguna
Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus granti few here and there
Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo insularum few here and there
Eurasian Kestler Falco tinnunculus canariensis common
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 2 at Los Cancajos beach
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola 1 at La Laguna
Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus 1 at La Laguna
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 2 at La Laguna
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres a flock of 13 at Los Cancajos beach
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michaellis atlantis/michaellis common at seashores, about 200 at La Laguna
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus 1 at Los Cancajos
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus 2 at Los Cancajos, 5 at La Laguna
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis 1 flying S off Los Cancajos
Feral Pigeon Columba livia canariensis very common (+ few wild ? birds at Bco de las Angustias)
Bolle's Pigeon Columba bollii common at Los Tilos, 1 in a forest W from S/C
Laurel Pigeon Columba junoniae common at Los Tilos
Plain Swift Apus unicolor common: flocks here and there
Berthelot's Pipit Anthus berthelotii berthelotii common
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea canariensis 3 at Los Cancajos, 1 at S/C, 2 at Barranco de las Angustias
White Wagtail Motacilla alba 1 at El Dorador (a village W from S/C)
European Robin Erithacus rubecula common at Los Tilos
Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula cabrerae common at Los Tilos, few here and there
Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala leucogastra few here and there
Canary Islands Chiffchaff Phylloscopus canariensis very common
Canary Islands Kinglet/Goldcrest Regulus teneriffae common in pine forests
Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus palmensis (Parus c. p.) few here and there
Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax common (biggest flock had about 100 birds)
Common Raven Corvus corax 2 at Refugio El Pilar
Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis common
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs palmae few at pine forests
Island Canary Serinus canaria canaria common
Map
A Rough Map of La Palma
The Green dots shows some of the places mentioned in the text.

 

Other things...

  • Good places to see pine forest -species: Refugio El Pilar and Mirador de la Cumbrecita.
  • One possible Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus) was also seen at Los Cancajos, but it disappeared behind the cliffs too quickly...

Other sites about La Palma's birds

References