Corvo, the premier site in the Western Palearctic for Nearctic landbird vagrants, was once again visited by a group of mainland European birders in autumn 2007. Their exciting finds, including a stunning Common Nighthawk, several Yellow-billed Cuckoos and a Pacific Golden Plover, are listed below in this article for Surfbirds.com by Peter Alfrey.

Introduction

This is the third consecutive autumn that birders have been present on Corvo, the Azores, following the unprecedented haul of Nearctic vagrants recorded in the stormy season of 2005. This year (2007) was, in contrast, mostly dominated by high pressure and consequently the number of vagrants recorded was lower than in the previous two years. Despite the meteorologically unfavourable situation, there were still many interesting discoveries. Twenty-six European birders visited Corvo this autumn (6.5% of the island’s population). For more information visit the Birding Azores website on http://azores.seawatching.net/index.php.

The following is a daily log and some notes of birds recorded by myself between 16th October and 2nd November.

16th October

Terceira island
Cabo da Praia
One ad Laughing Gull- still moulting outer two primaries; 1 juv Long-billed Dowitcher; 12 juv Semi-palmated Sandpiper; 15 juv/1st winter White-rumped Sandpiper; 4 Semi-palmated Plover (including usual adult); 1 juv American Golden Plover; 2 juv Least Sandpiper; 2 juv Pectoral Sandpiper; 2 adult Curlew Sandpiper; 1 juv Little Stint 1 juv Ruff; 1 adult Bar-tailed Godwit;5 Black-tailed Godwit; 2 Whimbrel; 1 juv Dunlin ; 50+ Sanderling; 25+ Kentish Plover; 3 Ringed Plover; 1 1st winter male PintailPort
1 juv Razorbill

17th October

Corvo Island
Crater Lake
1 Great-blue Heron; 1 1st win Wilson’s Phalarope; 1 juv Lesser Yellowlegs; 3 juv Pectoral Sandpiper; 1 juv White-rump Sandpiper; 2 juv Semi-palmated Sandpiper; 1 female Ring-necked Duck; 1 hybrid MallardxBlack Duck; 4 TealVillage
1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

18th October

Corvo Island
Village
1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo; 1 2nd winter Laughing Gull flew over village; 2 White-rumped Sandpiper ; 3 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Common Sandpiper

19th October

Corvo Island
Bean Fields
1 juv/1st winter Tree Swallow

Village
3 Yellow-billed Cuckoo (including one dead); 2 Semi-palmated Plover; 2 Pectoral Sandpiper

Offshore
5 Sperm Whale

During our visit there were at least five different Yellow-billed Cuckoos on Corvo. This was a minimum figure and included two birds found dead. One was taken by a cat and the other flew into the birder’s guesthouse window and landed in one of our chairs. Another bird was mist netted and ringed. All birds were concentrated in the village fields where they were seen to mainly be feeding on convolvulus hawk moth caterpillars. On the neighbouring island of Flores there were an additional two to three Yellow-billed Cuckoos.

Juvenile/1st winter Tree Swallow over the village. This bird is in active moult, clearly displaying the characteristic post juvenile moult of this species. On the right wing, p10 is worn and p8 and p9 are still growing. A second Tree Swallow was discovered on Corvo a few days after this bird. The bird was identified as a second individual because the moult pattern was different. The second bird was only moulting it’s inner primaries. Both birds were juveniles as they were grey-brown on the upperparts and had smudgy markings on the breast.

Female Scarlet Tanager. This bird was only present for one afternoon. A male was present a few days later on the neighbouring island of Flores. Unlike this female, the plumage of the male was characterised by glossy black remiges. The female plumage is more subtle of can (and did) invite initial confusion with Summer Tanager (recorded last year).

21st October

Corvo Island
Poco d’Agua
1 Grey-cheeked Thrush - a very secretive individual feeding alongside the stream ; 1 Woodcock

Riberia de Ponte
2 1st winter Indigo Bunting

Village
1 Ring-billed Gull; 1 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

22nd October

Corvo Island
1 Corncrake flushed from top fields ; 6-7 Red-breasted Merganser arrived in bay and started frantically feeding; 2 juv PeregrineCrater Lake
1 American Golden Plover ; 1 Semi-palmated Plover; 2 Pectoral Sandpiper; 3 female Ring-necked Duck; 1 Wigeon 1 Teal; 8 Mallard

23rd October

Corvo Island
Riberia de Ponte
1 1st winter Indigo BuntingVillage
4 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Whimbrel; 7 Red-breasted Merganser

24th October

Corvo Island
Village
1 2nd winter Laughing Gull circling village in morning; 2 juv Gannet flew east; 7 Red-breasted Merganser; 4 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Spotted Sandpiper; 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

25th October

Corvo Island
Lighthouse Road
1 juv Common Nighthawk found in fog on wall; 1 Woodcock

Village
1 1st winter Sanderling found at 12:30am in spotlight; 4 Semi-palmated Plover; 5 Red-breasted Merganser

Common Nighthawk. This stunning bird was found in thick fog along one of the eastern roads. It was simply sitting on the wall, within arms length of the footpath and did not seem too bothered by the presence of 12 birders watching it and four locals watching us. The plumage was distinctively cold in tone. Sibley describes the palest subspecies of Common Nighthawk as the ‘Northern Plains’ Common Nighthawk, so perhaps there is some relevance here. Unlike all European nightjar species the wing tips, at rest, project beyond the tail on Common Nighthawk. The pale tipped primaries indicate that this bird is a juvenile.

26th October

Corvo Island
Village
1 juv/1st winter Tree Swallow (2nd bird); 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo; 1 Sanderling; 1 Little Egret; 4 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Whimbrel

27th October

Corvo Island
Poco d’Agua
1 Grey-cheeked Thrush

Riberia de Ponte
1 Indigo Bunting

Village
1 Little Egret; 1 Spotted Sandpiper; 2 Whimbrel; 5 Red-breasted Merganser

1st winter Indigo Bunting. One of two birds which were present. Indigo Buntings have been recorded on Corvo in the last three consecutive years. In 2005 there were seven birds on the island, one in 2006 and two in 2007. This bird can be aged as a first winter by the moult contrast present in the greater coverts (visible here). Also interesting here is the difference in length of the different generation feathers. This bird can be sexed as a presumed female as there was little ‘indigo’ in the plumage. The second bird on the island showed extensive and patchy areas of ‘indigo’ in the plumage indicating it was a young male. Similar Passerina species can be ruled out by the presence of streaking to the breast- both Lazuli and Varied Bunting are unstreaked.

28th October

Corvo Island
Riberia de Ponte
1 Indigo BuntingVillage
1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo; 3 Semi-palmated Plover; 2 Red-breasted Merganser 1 Sanderling

29th October

Corvo Island
Village
2 Semi-palmated Sandpiper; 4 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Red-breasted Merganser; 1 juv PeregrineOffshore
1 breaching Humpback Whale

30th October

Corvo Island
Riberia de Ponte
1 Indigo BuntingVillage
4 Semi-palmated Plover; 1 Semi-palmated Sandpiper; 2 Red-breasted Merganser ; 1 Gannet offshore; 1 leucistic Cory’s Shearwater; 1 Sanderling; 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo (another dead)

31st October

Corvo Island
Village
3 Yellow-billed Cuckoo; 1 Chiffchaff (heard); 4 Semi-palmated Plover

1st November

Corvo Island
Riberia de Ponte
1 Indigo Bunting

Village
1 Short-eared Owl; 1 Gadwall flew east; 2 Great Shearwater flew east

2nd November

Offshore
1 female Common Scoter (presumed this species rather than Black)

LOCAL BIRDS OF CORVO
There are only a handful of resident birds on Corvo. Canary, Blackcap and Chaffinch are ubiquitous. Woodcock is perhaps a surprising resident and also perhaps surprising in the absence of other Azorean resident birds such as Goldcrest and Robin.

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By didner (ericdidner AT hotmail.com) November 13, 2007

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