Just a few minutes from our house there are dunes that stretch for 7km - like something out of Lawrence of Arabia. There are small 'Town' beaches which are popular with families as they are close to restaurants/bars and the sea is calm. There are lots of beaches where the sea is more challenging and these are popular with surfers and other water sport thrill seeker.
Because the famous Fuerteventura 'winds' have deserted us at the moment the weather feels hotter and more humid than usual so we've been walking early every morning and retiring indoors through the hottest part of the day 1pm - 3pm here.
I love to explore the areas just outside town where the beaches are less popular being more volcanic rock than sand. That leads to lots of interesting rock pools to explore when the tide is out and also the sea is much rougher and more exciting to watch. I've taken lots of pictures of birds and fishes and just enjoyed the scenery.
Some local birdlife - not as beautiful as the Hoopoes I photographed on previous visits
HOOPOE PICS
and HOOPOE PICS II
but lovely to watch and some are really well camouflaged:
My knowledge of birdlife on Fuerteventura isn't great and I've had to Google these so correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this is a Glossy Ibis
(Thanks to Mike Woodcock - Scolopax Chronicles Mike's Blog for correcting me here. The bird is a Whimbrel)
and this is an egret (Little Egret)? I have lots of photos as he/she was quite unconcerned about the camera - too busy looking out for fish. Unfortunately, the backdrop was crashing waves so had to try to time the photos when the sea was more blue than white so the bird would stand out more.
Whilst this is only a seagull ... I love the backdrop and like to think he is enjoying the view as much as me :-)
I believe these are Spanish Sparrows ... thought at first they might be trumpeter finches but having looked at other refs. on Google I changed my mind - willing to be put right if anyone knows better
Another well camouflaged bird. I believe this has the grand name of Berthelot's Pipit
and finally, bl**dy pigeons - is there nowhere on earth these pests don't live/breed/multiply??
Phew .... with our slow internet connection this post has taken hours ... so will put the laptop to bed now and go enjoy the last hour of sunshine by the pool (tough life) !!
Next post will be a littly fishy I think ;-)
o.0 the water is so blue! just gorgeous :D
ReplyDeleteSuper photos, Sue. It's such fun to see other places/cultures and I appreciate your sharing. Too bad it took so long to upload them.
ReplyDeleteMike can help you with the birds. What lovely pictures, especially the sea backgrounds, but good of the birds.
ReplyDeleteYep. Think you can see why I love this island. It has beautiful sandy beaches - many of them empty of tourists, and then lots of dramatic volcanic rock areas - and blue sea!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. Not sure if Mike follows my Blog but have left a comment on his last post (saying that you've volunteered him)!!!
Hi Jan
ReplyDeleteDon't know why but your comment just appeared ... obviously hiding in cyberspace for some reason.
It is painful having such a poor internet service ... and also David and I are sharing one travel computer so vying for time.
But the alternative is returning to using internet cafes in town which isn't a pleasant experience.
Now most of them offer Skype the noise is horrendous. The Spanish are a noisy race anyway and when you get 20 'chatting' to friends in a small space its quite horrible :0(
The first bird is a whimbrel Sue. You're right with Little Egret and Spanish Sparrows, and Cream Coloured Courser. Berthelot's pipit? Probably, I'm hopeless with pipits and they are notoriously tricky! I think the last are indeed pigeons. I only saw two feral pigeons in Singapore, very sorry looking specimens on the walls of a Hindu Temple.
ReplyDeleteFigured you'd know the answers Mike.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve ... just Googled Whimbrel so know a little more about them now.
ReplyDelete