Birdwatching in Fuerteventura: Villaverde

“Fuerteventura is an extension of the Sahara”; a quote said by a good friend of ours in a recent staycation in the Cotswolds. Of course, he wasn’t wrong. Fuerteventura is tantalisingly close to the world’s largest desert and sand frequently blows over in Calimas. This is where the sky goes milk-white from the dust and temperatures soar into the high thirties. So why is birdwatching in Fuerteventura so frequent?

It is not explained by the vegetation. It hardly ever rains. Jack claims that he has only experienced rain there a few times, and he has been going there for the past twenty-two years. Because of these arid conditions, you would expect there to be very little wildlife, with the small resources remaining being reserved to snakes, lizards and cacti. In fact, whilst lizards are plentiful on the island, there are no snakes and the vast proportion of animal species are birds. All of which have adapted to live here.

This year, we wanted to go birdwatching in Fuerteventura and see what the fuss was all about. This is the story of our epic adventure.

Part 1: Grabbing Supplies

On a Sunday whilst we were waiting for a big family lunch, we had a few hours to kill and decided that we wanted to explore another mountain. We had climbed up the Hondo Crater (see here) and up the village’s main mountain, Escanfraga, but had never planned a trek to the Black Mountain, a smaller one that gets its name through the black sand covering it.

It is actually home to one of the island’s ‘goat graveyards’ which act as a dumping ground for local farmers to dispose of their dead livestock. Because of this, the Black Mountain is a great location for birdwatching in Fuerteventura. The chance to spy vultures, eagles and other birds of prey was too exciting to miss.

We left the villa at about 10am, just before the sun was too high in the sky. Nevertheless, we packed two big bottles of water for the four-mile trek. We also stopped at Mi Dolce Hogar again (readers of previous blogposts will understand our love of this place) and picked up some delicious donuts for a sugar-rush when we needed it. Stocked up on supplies and armed with Factor 50, straw hats and linen clothes, we began our walk.

Part 2: Off the Beaten Track

Once we were off the beaten track, which did not take long, it felt that we had been transported into the past. The shadow of Escanfraga was clear enough and in front of us was a forest. These trees though looked dead and were surrounded with prickly grasses and cacti.

You could hear the scurrying of lizards and barbary squirrels underfoot and every so often would get a glimpse of one. As for the birdlife, that remained sparse. Every so often a raven would land on top of a tree and give us it’s characteristic honk but other than that the path was silent. We really could have been in the middle of nowhere. It did not bode well for my birdwatching in Fuerteventura argument!

The wind needed to be in our favour for this. Vultures in particular have an amazing sense of smell and our scent would scare them off before we even saw them. In the far distance and at the foot of the black mountain, we could see a concealed pen which was where they would be. Fortunately for us, the wind was blowing in our direction. I say fortunately, it would mean that whilst we had the element of surprise, we would also be smelling a lot of rotting goats. I couldn’t tell which was the best outcome!

As we left the forest, it had become a lot hotter. In front of us there was a road that would lead down to the Corralejo national park. You often would see groups of tourists in their dune buggies around here. Luckily, they don’t drive near the protected goat graveyard for obvious reasons and so the disturbance to the wildlife is minimal. Rightly so, the only way to see the exotic species was on foot.

Part 3: The Birdwatching

The wind was still blowing in a favourable direction and the smell had started to waft our way. We had to try our best to block it out but, it was one of the worst things I had ever smelt in my life. The new path winded off the road and took us very much off-piste. The sand was a bright orange and was littered with large igneous boulders and dead pieces of thorny plants. It was a good thing that we had brought sturdy trainers. I can’t say that flip-flops would do the job here!

We were about 200m away and we could start making out large white shapes. These were the Canarian Egyptian Vultures, a species that used to be common but was now endangered due to habitat loss.

Out of nowhere, three large ravens betrayed our location and spooked the birds. The vultures took off and giant white shapes emerged from the enclosure. There must have been at least ten of them and they made our local Red Kites look tiny. We carried on walking closer, trying to change our directional approach so that the smell would go. Other birds started taking off. You had booted eagles, which were smaller than the vultures and had a completely different shape, colour and call, as well as other, smaller birds of prey that were likely buzzards. Birdwatching in Fuerteventura is amazing.

We just stopped and gave the birds space, allowing them to circle ahead. The vultures did not go very far and you could clearly see them coming in over the mountains, seeing where we were, and then perching on the rocks in wait. It was a very cool experience, and I was in awe at the sheer size of them. After ten minutes, we decided that we had disturbed their lunch enough and walked away. We also couldn’t bare the smell anymore.

Part 4: Back Home

After a good hour, we returned home and met up with Jack’s extended family. Whilst we were feasting on authentic Canarian cuisine, we spoke to them about our experience. We were then told that, when they take their dogs on a trek to the black mountain each evening, sometimes you are lucky enough to spot a White-Tailed Eagle, one of the largest birds of prey in the world.

I was just amazed at the biodiversity on the island. Birdwatching in Fuerteventura is actually widely practised, mostly for endemic species that you cannot find anywhere else. It made for a perfect Sunday, especially when combined with good food, company and, of course, a gin & tonic in the pool to finish off.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SQH7P66buf8%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26fs%3D1%26autohide%3D2%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26wmode%3Dtransparent

My Travel Tips and Recommendations

Flights

My usual go-to for booking flights is Skyscanner, the flight search engine. What I love about Skycanner is that you have various options depending on your situation. If you know where you want to go it’s easy – all you need is to search for your destination and dates, and you are provided with all flight options to choose from. If you haven’t decided on your next trip yet, you can use the Everywhere tool for inspiration and to find the cheapest places to fly to.

Accommodation

Whenever I plan my travels Booking.com is my best friend. The website is super easy to use and provides a whole range of accommodation from fancy resorts to budget hotels. Jack and I also regularly use Airbnb – in particular, for staycations in the UK.

Things I can’t travel without

As a travel blogger and keen photographer I never travel without my trusty technology. Always packed are my

Canon EOS M3
GoPro Hero5 Black
I’m also saving for a DJI Mavic Pro

Travel Insurance

It is so important to be prepared for all possibilities when travelling and you simply shouldn’t travel without insurance. When looking for cover I would personally recommend World Nomads or the Post Office – both are affordable and certainly won’t break the bank.

Birdwatching in Fuerteventura: Villaverde

Part 1: Grabbing Supplies

Part 2: Off the Beaten Track

Part 3: The Birdwatching