Monday, January 18, 2021

27 January 2013

No it's not a mistake. We are headed back to January 2013 and a holiday in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain. With the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Island under strict lockdown, there's nowhere to go except a shopping trip or a delve into the archives for a blog post.  

Apologies to readers who were here in 2013 and for whom the pictures may look familiar but needs must.  I changed a few pictures, deleted some and added others, as well as updating the text.    

The post is an introduction to Fuerteventura, the birds and the scenery in the immediate area of our stay in Costa Calma January 2013. Costa Calma is a resort so named for the relatively sheltered nature of the area from the prevailing winds which seem ever present in the Canary Islands subject to the vagaries of Atlantic Ocean winds and currents. This relative calm of Costa Calma is due in no small part to the easterly geographical location and to the long belt of pine trees which give a degree of protection from the often strong winds.

It’s peculiar how the same bird species occur in the vicinity of many holiday places we visit, with Fuerteventura providing a similar hotel list to other places we know whereby sparrows, gulls, Kestrels, Little Egrets and a few wader species are to the fore. Don't forget folks, click on the pics for a better, bigger view.

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Sanderlings and Turnstones were ever present on the sandy and partly rocky shore. Turnstones can be fairly confiding here in the UK, but on Fuerteventura they are more so and approachable to within a few metres.  The Whimbrel is fairly common but not in the same numbers as the smaller wader species.

Whimbrel

Sanderling

Turnstone

After taking photographs of a Sanderling I noticed only upon examining the images later that the bird had a British ring on its right leg. With only a couple of shots I couldn’t get quite enough detail to send the record in to the BTO so as to find out where it had been ringed, so in the following days looked for the Sanderling but couldn’t relocate it.  Later I contacted the BTO ringing scheme with the few numbers and letters I had but the BTO confirmed the sparse information was not sufficient to find the original place of ringing.  

Sanderling

Kentish Plovers were usually around the shore although not in the same numbers as Sanderling and Turnstone.

Kentish Plover

Little Egret

Little Egret

An unusual hotel bird proved to be Raven, a pair of birds from the locality paying infrequent visits to the shore to steal monkey nuts from under the noses of the Barbary Ground Squirrels. Almost every tourist paid more attention to feeding the “cute” squirrels whilst ignoring the long-distance-migrant shore birds at their feet, the closeness of the huge Ravens, the feeding terns along the shore or the handsome Yellow-legged Gulls. 

Sandwich Tern

Raven

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Yellow-legged Gull

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

It was the quiet parts of the hotel grounds where I found the Spanish Sparrows, the pair of Hoopoes, the resident Kestrel and the White Wagtail, one of the latter in particular which followed the gardener’s watering hosepipe so as to locate the resultant insects. There were Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs about the grounds but they kept out of sight in the strong sunshine of most days.

Kestrel

Kestrel

Spanish Sparrow - Passer hispaniolensis

White Wagtail

Hoopoes mostly have that hair-gelled look, a sleeked back crest held in abeyance until some fool with a camera interrupts their feed and causes a moment of anxiety when the feathers fan up and out. 

 Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

As every birder knows, there’s a price to pay for a spot of birding, brownie points to be earned from SWMBO and then banked for another day when bins and camera are stored in the car. 

Near Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

In Costa Calma the African market is compulsory bartering or there's a heavy price to pay for the uninitiated.  Later in the day there's a glass or two of wine reflecting on the fading light and planning the day to come. 

African Market, Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Anyone For a Massage? African Market, Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

At the moment my glass is half-full with optimism.  In other words, I think that we are about to turn the corner of our 12 month long dark tunnel and see daylight very soon. 

Stay strong friends.  Don't let them beat you into submission and fill your glass to the top.




14 comments:

NCSue said...

I'm feeling optimistic, too. The numbers in our state dropped for the first time in quite a while, and I'm scheduled to receive my first vaccine on Thursday. One day soon I hope to see unmasked faces!
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-peek-at-our-indoor-herb-garden.html

Rhodesia said...

Seeing your post it looks amazing but the closest we ever got to here was Lanzarote and we both hated it there. I did not have a good camera at the time and we got sandblasted as an almost a daily event. Probably a good job I did not have a camera, it would have been ruined!!

We are hearing the owls on a daily basis but I see them rarely, I will be glad when the days get longer.

Take care and stay safe, cheers Diane

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Archive diving has become a sport with me. I mean how many times can I photograph my yard? Loved all the photos and no I wasn't reading your blog in 2013. Even if I had all of the beauties are worth repeating.

Lowcarb team member said...

Keep positive and keep smiling.

My glass was full just before dinner ... but it's empty now :)

I enjoyed seeing these photographs.

All the best Jan

Veronica Lee said...

I haven't read your post in 2013 so this is a treat for me.

It's hard to stay positive when our numbers tell us otherwise. There is a surge of covid-19 cases in our country and we are under our second Movement Control Order (partial lockdown).

The Padre said...

The Massage Looks As Wild As The Hoopoe 's Head Dress - Take Care And Keep Snapping Photos

Cheers

Angie said...

Phil - given that you are back in total lockdown, I am well-impressed with your sense of optimism. Keep calm and carry on, they say. I am still thoroughly enjoying winter, but there are moments when I think wistfully of warm sunshine and beaches. Quite often, those moments are brought on my someone else's post! I find the plovers so adorable!

Lady Fi said...

Looks lovely!

Mike Attwood said...

Hi Phil,
13 certainly isn't your unlucky nomber. Stay safe.
Mike.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

You found some incredible birds and photographed them beautifully, too.

Rain said...

Hi Phil! :) Glad you joined in, it looks like fun and games to me so I would say sure, it fits the theme! ;) Although I wouldn't let that guy massage me with that face lol! What a great shot. All of the birds are just gorgeous...that Little Egret and his/her yellow feet! I love that photo! I don't think I'll ever see an Egret here! The Sanderlings look so sweet tempered and precious. The Hoopoe is beautiful, thanks for explaining about the feathers! I guess it's like dogs when their heckles go up. Here in New Brunswick, we are in red phase, which is one shy of lockdown, but I suspect lockdown is going to happen. I don't mind too much because I have a good setup here. I just have to look out my window and see lots of birds at the feeders. Actually I'm looking out now and my lady Woodpecker is at the suet feeder, I'm trying to figure out if she's a Downy or a Hairy...I have to wait to see photos because according to my lovely new book, it has to do with bill length and the white on her back! (Notice I said "bill" and not "beak" or "nose" lol, I'm learning!!) :)

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Your photos are clear and your composition is perfect ... you have a good eye for your subject matter. I have not seen these pictures before and I have never seen a picture of a Hoopoe ... I'm not sure I even knew there was such a bird, but not at all surprised. And, lucky you to be able to travel to all of these wonderful spots to take such beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing them with us. We too are on lockdown and our numbers continue to go up unfortunately, but alas, we finally have someone at the helm who is going to do the work of making sure that we get our vaccines distributed in a safe and logical manner and out hospitals get the supplies they need to help those that have already been stricken. There is a glimmer of hope here ... I pray it comes to fruition :) So stay well, Phil ... and no male Kestrels on Costa Calma?

Andrea @ From the Sol

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Your photos are clear and your composition is perfect ... you have a good eye for your subject matter. I have not seen these pictures before and I have never seen a picture of a Hoopoe ... I'm not sure I even knew there was such a bird, but not at all surprised. And, lucky you to be able to travel to all of these wonderful spots to take such beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing them with us. We too are on lockdown and our numbers continue to go up unfortunately, but alas, we finally have someone at the helm who is going to do the work of making sure that we get our vaccines distributed in a safe and logical manner and out hospitals get the supplies they need to help those that have already been stricken. There is a glimmer of hope here ... I pray it comes to fruition :)

Andrea @ From the Sol

Christine said...

Beautiful photos!

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