The Canary Islands

The Fortunate Islands, so named by early buccaneers and conquistadors, are remarkable for their wealth of unique plant and animal-life. These seven islands have been isolated for long enough to have evolved an endemic flora and fauna, and now provide one of the naturalist’s greatest opportunities to appreciate the evolutionary process first observed by Charles Darwin in the 19th century. From a botanical point of view, the Canary Islands constitute one of the most interesting areas of the world, not only because of the variety of flowers but also because of the large number of endemic species — more than 600 — and their unique origin. During this tour to the islands we will be certain to see many of the endemic Canary species of plants in flower. This is also the peak time to observe the five endemic breeding birds of this magnificent and diverse volcanic archipelago. On this tour we will visit three of the islands — Fuerteventura, Tenerife and Gomera — and cruise or fly between them. Our purpose will be to admire and observe all the endemic bird species and many of the endemic plants, not forgetting the fabulous marine-life!

We start our tour with a 3-night stay on Fuerteventura which, with its considerably more arid climate in comparison to Gomera and Tenerife, provides an excellent home for such north African bird species as Egyptian Vulture, Barbary Partridge, Cream-coloured Courser, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Spectacled Warbler, Southern Grey Shrike and Trumpeter Finch. The star attractions, however, are the endemic Fuerteventura Chat and the endemic race of Houbara Bustard, a species that is becoming seriously endangered over most of its range. We should see most, if not all, of these species.

Next, we travel westwards to Tenerife, our base for a 4-night stay. Tenerife presents an array of habitats of which the pine forest and high mountain zone of Teide National Park are the most interesting. The pine forest has only one native species of tree — the Canary Pine (Pinus canariensis) — and an undergrowth dominated by Myrica faya and heather (Erica arborea). Curiously, this pine’s closest relative is found not in Europe or north Africa, but in the Himalaya! It is in this unique forest that we will be able to look for the two endemic species of Canary Island passerines that occur on Tenerife — the Blue Chaffinch and the Tenerife Kinglet. We should also see the endemic subspecies of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Rock Dove, Kestrel and Chiffchaff (all showing a high degree of differentiation).

The high mountain zone starts above the pine forest at a height of about 1,980 metres. Teide National Park encompasses the vast caldera called Las Cañadas, with its inward-facing cliff walls that rise to about 500 metres, as well as two volcanoes which have obliterated the northern rim of Las Cañadas — Pico del Teide (3,718 metres) and Pico Viejo. The proportion of endemic species of plants in the high mountain zone is amongst the highest for any region in the world. About a dozen species of vascular plants are found almost exclusively in Teide National Park, whilst a large percentage of the other plants found here are either restricted to Tenerife alone or to the Canary Islands as a whole. The vegetation of this high mountain zone is dominated by two species of leguminous shrubs — Teide Broom (Spartocytisus supranubius) and Adenocarpus viscosus — both Canary endemic species. It is in this national park that we will look for the three Macaronesian endemic bird species: Berthelot’s Pipit, Plain Swift and Canary. The Canary Lizard is very common in this zone and Mouflon (Wild Sheep) can sometimes be seen.

From Tenerife we will cross by ferry to the tranquil island of Gomera, where we will spend a full day. On the crossing we will have the opportunity to do some sea-watching, for these waters are the year-round home of Short-finned Pilot Whales and Bottlenose Dolphins, as well as such seabirds as Cory’s and Little Shearwaters, and the rare White-faced Storm-petrel. On reaching Gomera we will explore the marvellous Garajonay National Park and its extensive ancient Laurel forests where a tremendous variety of flowers and butterflies may be found. This is also the home of two endemic birds — Bolle’s Pigeon and Laurel Pigeon — which we should see flying over the forest canopy.

The unusual, exotic and magnificent subtropical Canary Islands with their endemic flora and fauna and spectacular volcanic scenery will surely make this a memorable and rewarding tour. Above all, we will be able to observe and appreciate the fascination of these islands by exploring the countryside beyond the tourist resorts.