Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Photos that are not aviation related
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st24
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Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by st24 »

I do like the bare, brazen, barren beauty of the Canaries; from an interest in natural history both geological and biological and also its rather pleasant year round climate that in March/April time can be a very pleasant tonic following a UK winter (and Summer come to that!) Get away from the rather (to me) ugly and manufactured tourist orientated coastal resorts and you’re suddenly in a landscape that hasn’t changed much for tens of thousands of years save for human manipulation, erosion and (fairly) recent lava flows (Lanzarote in particular still has very active thermal activity). It's no wonder they have been used as locations for some (in)famous films portraying prehistoric or rough and rugged backdrops such as one million years B.C., People that time forgot, when Dinosaurs ruled the earth and Clash of the Titans amongst other goodies! I’ve been to 3 of late (Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote) and attach some pics of the scenery and wildlife..

Gran Canaria- located centrally in the archipelago it boasts several microclimates from coastal Gulf stream influence, central gorges and mountain range and distinct differences between North and South in terms of cloud, wind and rainfall. I must admit that one of the main reasons for visiting was to see the fabulous Gran Canaria Giant Lizard due to my love of reptiles as well as any other local and endemic fauna I could find; the sun, sea and sand were an added bonus!
The barren areas left behind the Coastal hotels, bars and eateries are great for wildlife and also, unfortunately, the out of control numbers of feral cats and some very unruly dogs – and their owners!
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The central part of the island is taken up by the Pilancones national park with it's peaks and canyons.
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I'm not a great fan of cetaceans in captivity but there is something quite amazing about what these incredible creatures can do. Palmitos Park is a first rate wildlife park which also attracts a good deal of native creatures too..
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Being so close to the West African coast, migrant birds frequently turn up, quite pleased to see this Glossy Starling in amongst the beach front bars and cafes -a Bronze tailed think..
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Common Waxbills too, but many of these may be cage escapees rather than true migrants.
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More familiar in North America, the Monarch butterfly is quite common in the Canaries…
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The rock pools were crystal clear and teeming with life including this gorgeous sea slug – actually an Atlantic Sea Hare.
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And of course the fabulous Gran Canaria Giant Lizard, fairly common but on/in the beach front wall was the best spot...
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Lanzarote is the Easternmost island, some 70 miles off the coast of Morocco. It still has active volcanic activity and the lava and rubble fields of the last major eruption in the early 1700s form the Timanfaya national park in the South Western part of the island.
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The Southern coast has extensive salt marsh and lagoons- great for birds!
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Kentish Plover – a long way from its namesake!
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Lovely Black Winged Stilts – so dainty
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Pair of Ruddy Shelduck
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Whimbrel
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Little Egret
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This Cattle Egret made regular patrols of the wall along the beach promenade, intent on picking off lizards from the cracks and completely indifferent to the tourists and locals walking alongside.
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The Northern inland part of the island is classed as a desert and the birdlife reflects this. In a fairly small area and within close proximity of human population can be found Houbara Bustard (seen, not photographed) Stone curlew, Short Toed lark and my first Cream Coloured Coursers!
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The rugged “waste land” to the rear of the hotel was a great wildlife spot and I spent early mornings here.
Female Lesser Kestrel
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Hoopoes- I love 'em!
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Delta dimidiatipenne – a large Potter Wasp a desert species and caterpillar hunter.
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This Southern Grey Shrike was extremely content and I could approach within a few metres.
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Spanish Sparrows were as expected, common but the ones at the airport were the most approachable, gorging on discarded fries, sandwiches, burgers and crisps..
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The Atlantic lizard is common and found in most places, again beach front dry stone walls and gardens were good spots. They occur only on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura though have been introduced on to Gran Canaria.
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Tenerife is the largest of the Canaries and the most visited, mainly due to it being dominated by Mount Teide; an active volcano and Spain's (by association) tallest mountain as well as the fabulous climate and associated touristy things. Barely 20 miles off the Southern coast is El Gomera, one of the smallest of the archipelago and due to its exposed nature and mountainous interior it seems to be almost continually covered in cloud – it's location does set it up for some gorgeous sunsets though..
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Quirky features of the island are the black beaches made of eroded basalt. Their rather unorthodox appearance has lead to some of the bigger resorts importing Saharan sand of a more “normal” colour so as to appease the more hardened tourist who can't quite comprehend that beaches are all made of eroded rock – whatever the colour! A definite downside though is the fact the black absorbs heat making walking an almost unbearable experience without footwear!
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We were in the South where the coastline is abruptly curtailed by the Basaltic Acantilados de Los Gigantes ("Cliffs of the Giants") that rise out of the sea to 2,500'.
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The rock pools teem with life and the water is crystal clear. I'm not too good with fish, particularly African- Atlantic species…
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Ornate Wrasse I think
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Rockpool Blenny
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Mullet??
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Another Sea hare..
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..and a fabulous Sea Cucumber...
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… that ejected sticky filaments that can be toxic to some species or at the very least, stick like glue to a would be predator...
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The rocks were alive with Atlantic Rock Crabs in varying colours, large and very agile!
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More conventional terrestrial wildlife included Desert Sand Grasshoppers..
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Dragonflies such as this Wandering Glider
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Banded bee
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Bird life was good and I managed to catch a few-
Odd seeing Chiff Chaff (a Canarian sub-species) feeding young in March.
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Skies were full of screeching Swifts, including a good number of Pallid
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Berthelots Pipit are common throughout the islands and usually very approachable.
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Spanish Sparrow again, nesting in palm trees
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A very handsome male Sardinian Warbler- again common on all the islands.
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Cory’s Shearwaters in there hundreds just offshore
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Some of the landscapes remind me of the U.S. wild west with wind erosion features and copper scorched blue rock deposits. The lava flows though are certainly not Arizona!
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The lava based soils are surprisingly rich that support many common and endemic flora species including the Canary Pine, found nowhere else.
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As said Mount Teide is the dominating feature of the island, visible from pretty much everywhere and the opportunity to ascend (albeit via the cable car) to 11,663’ can’t be missed. The final 660’ to the actual summit has to be walked and only by a special permit that restricts foot erosion to this World Heritage Site. Its height makes it the 10th highest island in the world and the highest volcano in the world when measured sea bed to summit. It’s a place where you can use the word awesome in it’s true meaning and not in the “just had an awesome burger” version!
The black scorched mark to the left indicates the last eruption site in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent. A major eruption of Vesuvius proportions has been on the cards for many years as there are frequent uprisings of magma recorded.
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We left +24-25 degrees at the cable car base (already 7,730’ AMSL) to find plenty of snow still in situ.
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The vistas are stunning with Gran Canaria easily visible, also in this view is the Teide observatory – the white “dots” in the far left.
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As a protected national park, human habitation is virtually nil but there is a hotel and this quaint church within the boundaries.
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From the flight home Teide cuts an imposing image.
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Can’t go on holiday without bagging some reptiles and the aptly named Tenerife lizards are pretty engaging critters. Found only on Tenerife and La Palma.
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And finally the bit of blue you’ve all been waiting for-! The Tenerife Blue Chaffinch (Fringilla teydea) is a Canary Islands endemic found only on the island and was classified as a separate species to the similar birds found on Gran Canaria. Females are a grey-brown but the males in sunlight are a rather handsome blue. They feed on Canary pine seeds only and so are inextricably linked to these trees. Easily overlooked the best place to see them are the various picnic spots in the pine forests were water points are located giving all the wildlife the chance for fresh water to drink and bathe in – something that is not at all easy to find on these barren islands...
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Thanks for taking the time to look..
You caaan't trust the system... Maaan!

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ikarus
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by ikarus »

Fantastic photos , you must have some patience to take some of those , what kit do you use :clap:

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Wes_Howes
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by Wes_Howes »

Great stuff as always :smile: I've visited Tenerife twice and absolutely love it. Both times I stayed in Los Gigantes and I believe I have frequented the beach you included in your post and yes the sand can be unbearably hot after a few minutes of sunshine. The rip-tide at that beach can easily pull you off your feet too, as a family home video has recorded. :grin:

The last time I visited was on the "mini-moon" my wife and I took for three days and whilst down at the marina, we caught glimpse of a ray of some description, first time I'd seen one in the wild. We also came across the "Piscina natural de Puerto Santiago" and spent a morning swimming in the pools with the fish and other wildlife that get washed in there by the Atlantic. If anybody wants to visit it, I recommend leaving it until about 11am as the sun will have had some time to warm the water up a little :ghost: :lol:

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tankbuster
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by tankbuster »

Nice pictures. Question, if you are a Canaries virgin, into aircraft, birds and wildlife in general, which would one would you pick for a first visit.
Trevor C
recent and not so recent pictures here https://trevorc28a.wixsite.com/trevspics

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st24
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by st24 »

Thanks for the replies and comments folks, much appreciated.. :smile:

ikarus wrote:Fantastic photos , you must have some patience to take some of those , what kit do you use :clap:


Quite a few were taken with my Sony Xperia Z phone, cracking lens on it, otherwise my trusted if dated Nikon D300 & 28-200, hence not the best quality especially in terms of reach..

Wes_Howes wrote:. The rip-tide at that beach can easily pull you off your feet too, as a family home video has recorded. :grin:


:shock: Tell me about, in facts it's something I've experienced on most of the Canary Islands beaches - they seem to just drop away and only a few metres off shore you could be in a really turbulent and very deep wash pool. I'm an okay swimmer and really enjoy sea swimming but that one in particular really caught me out - being battered and struggling in the surf!! In fact I seem to recall some poor guy drowning whilst on holiday last year? Horrible.

tankbuster wrote:Nice pictures. Question, if you are a Canaries virgin, into aircraft, birds and wildlife in general, which would one would you pick for a first visit.


Gran Canaria for me. The airport doubles up as Gando Air base with 46AB's F/A18s based there along with CASAs and Pumas. "Spotting" is good from the South and several hotels (apparently) offer some balcony views which is a bonus. You haven't got the "desert" birds of the Easterly islands but theres Blue Chaffinch in the pine forests though not as viewable as on Tenerife along with a good smattering of others both European and African. Look out for Canary (as well as Canaries! trivia point - the birds are named after the islands rather than the other way round) versions of Blue tit, ChiffChaff and Great Spotted Woodpecker. The only mammals (save bats) are all introduced and the number of feral cats is staggering, collecting in great numbers on the beach front where people feed them - horrible things that need exterminating -! Reptile wise there is the fabulous Giant Lizard, a beautiful Skink and a Gecko that are readily abundant in certain areas. The seas are good for various cetaceans and wandering Turtles. Rock pool and invertebrate life is plentiful and varied with nothing that an cause you serious harm. I'm not all that into flora but there is 100 endemic species on the island which I find amazing as the amount of fresh water on all the Canaries is virtually nil!
You caaan't trust the system... Maaan!

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tankbuster
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by tankbuster »

tankbuster wrote:Nice pictures. Question, if you are a Canaries virgin, into aircraft, birds and wildlife in general, which would one would you pick for a first visit.

Gran Canaria for me. The airport doubles up as Gando Air base with 46AB's F/A18s based there along with CASAs and Pumas. "Spotting" is good from the South and several hotels (apparently) offer some balcony views which is a bonus. You haven't got the "desert" birds of the Easterly islands but theres Blue Chaffinch in the pine forests though not as viewable as on Tenerife along with a good smattering of others both European and African. Look out for Canary (as well as Canaries! trivia point - the birds are named after the islands rather than the other way round) versions of Blue tit, ChiffChaff and Great Spotted Woodpecker. The only mammals (save bats) are all introduced and the number of feral cats is staggering, collecting in great numbers on the beach front where people feed them - horrible things that need exterminating -! Reptile wise there is the fabulous Giant Lizard, a beautiful Skink and a Gecko that are readily abundant in certain areas. The seas are good for various cetaceans and wandering Turtles. Rock pool and invertebrate life is plentiful and varied with nothing that an cause you serious harm. I'm not all that into flora but there is 100 endemic species on the island which I find amazing as the amount of fresh water on all the Canaries is virtually nil!


Thanks for that I may look for a bargain some time
Trevor C
recent and not so recent pictures here https://trevorc28a.wixsite.com/trevspics

FarnboroJohn
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by FarnboroJohn »

Really enjoyed this collection. You might want to check on the tickability of Canary Island Chiffchaff, I have a feeling it has been split recently.

One of these days I will have to let Maz have a warm place holiday and do the Canaries.

Cheers

John

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st24
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by st24 »

FarnboroJohn wrote:Really enjoyed this collection. You might want to check on the tickability of Canary Island Chiffchaff, I have a feeling it has been split recently.


John


Thanks John - split as in different island subs??
You caaan't trust the system... Maaan!

FarnboroJohn
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Re: Canaries- sea,sun, sand and a bit of blue..

Post by FarnboroJohn »

st24 wrote:
FarnboroJohn wrote:Really enjoyed this collection. You might want to check on the tickability of Canary Island Chiffchaff, I have a feeling it has been split recently.


John


Thanks John - split as in different island subs??


No, full species split from Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita into Canary Islands Chiffchaff Phylloscopus canariensis (IOC version 6.2). World tick.

John

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