FOREST FIRES THREATEN FUTURE OF UNIQUE CANARY ISLAND BIRDS

08-08-2007

Bird experts fear that devastating forest fires that have been raging across the holiday islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife have badly affected the habitat of the blue chaffinch, threatening the survival of this beautiful bird species confined to these two islands.

Juan Antonio Lorenzo, an ornithologist with SEO – the partner of BirdLife International in Spain – said: “The fires are an environmental catastrophe, wrecking much of the islands’ fragile Canarian pine forests which host all of the world populations of the blue chaffinch, as well as important populations of other birds.

"The fires are an environmental catastrophe, wrecking much of the islands’ fragile Canarian pine forests" —Juan Antonio Lorenzo, SEO

“All of the known locations for the blue chaffinch on Gran Canaria have been affected by the fires, and we are fearful about the survival of this island’s unique race. On Tenerife, some forests have been spared, but the threat of further fires remains a continued threat to the bird’s survival.”

Gran Canaria and Tenerife are the only two places in the world people can see the blue chaffinch, and every year many birdwatchers visit the islands to catch a glimpse of this unique bird.

Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the RSPB – the sister organisation to SEO, said: “The isolation of the Canary Islands’ archipelago – which has been suggested is Europe’s equivalent of the Galapagos – has led to the evolution of six unique species of bird, including the blue chaffinch, white-tailed laurel pigeon, dark-tailed laurel pigeon, Feuteventura chat, Canary Island chiffchaff, and the Tenerife kinglet.