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Atlantic canary8/29/2023 Historically best seen from the short ferry crossing over to the island of La Gomera, they are not seen with any regularity there any more (we tried without success). I had particularly wanted to see Barolo (Little) Shearwaters but the population has crashed over the last 10-15 years and they are now very hard to see (some commentators have even suggested they may be on course for extinction in the not too distant future). The real highlight of the trip for me was the seawatching. Great Spotted Woodpecker – the local race canariensis, only found on Tenerife, looks and sounds similar to ours Another subspecies which could be upgraded in the future, and already has by some Tenerife Goldcrest – the black band across the fore-crown distinguishes it from ours. ![]() Rather short-winged compared to our Chiffchaff, and vocally very different Easy enough to find, but hard to see well in the dense treesĬanary Islands Chiffchaff – this one has recently been given full species status by many authorities. Laurel Pigeons – the other key endemics to see are the two species of pigeon, Bolle’s and Laurel, both residents of the native laurel forest. It looks and sounds rather different to our birds so perhaps a future candidate for full species rank? Stunning birds!Ĭhaffinch – at lower altitudes in the laurel forest, the Blue Chaffinch is replaced by the local subspecies tintillon of Common Chaffinch. A chance to look at speciation in action!Ītlantic Canary – the name says it all, endemic to Canary Islands and Madeiraīlue Chaffinch – another endemic, breeding in pine forests at higher altitude. Several of these could even arguably be candidates for full species in their own right – where the dividing line lies is somewhat arbitrary. Even some of the birds more familiar to us have local subspecies, some of which are more distinct than others. The Atlantic islands are interesting because years of isolation have resulted in a number of species which are found nowhere else in the world. The species also occurs in Puerto Rico, but is not yet established there.In early July, I travelled to Tenerife in the Canary Islands to look for some of the endemic birds on the island and to spend some time seawatching. Birds were introduced to Bermuda in 1930 and quickly started breeding, but they began to decline in the 1940s after scale insects devastated the population of Bermuda cedar, and by the 1960s they had died out. It was also introduced to neighbouring Kure Atoll, but failed to become established. It has become established on Midway Atoll in the northwest Hawaiian Islands, where it was first introduced in 1911. It is found from sea-level up to at least 760 m in Madeira, 1,100 m in the Azores and to above 1,500 m in the Canary Islands. It frequently occurs in man-made habitats such as parks and gardens. It is most common in semiopen areas with small trees such as orchards and copses. It occurs in a wide variety of habitats from pine and laurel forests to sand dunes. The population has been estimated at 80,000-90,000 pairs in the Canary Islands, 30,000-60,000 pairs in the Azores and 4,000-5,000 pairs in Madeira. In the Azores, it is common on all islands. It is common in Madeira including Porto Santo and the Desertas Islands, and has been recorded on the Salvage Islands. In the Canary Islands, it is common on Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, but more local on Gran Canaria, and rare on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where it has only recently begun breeding. ![]() It is endemic to the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira in the region known as Macaronesia in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
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