30th Nov. Rambla de Castro is one of our favourite local hikes and stomping grounds, not least because it starts on the outskirts of Puerto and heads West along very scenic and undulating coastal paths with a decent chance of getting photos of most of the local stars: kestrels, monarchs, and those curious barbary partridges (above.) Last year a hoopoe was a rare highlight. We tried to get Nick and Lou along there but only walked as far as Hotel Maritim, really only the starting point, before time constraints kicked in. Usually it is one of the first places we check out. Instead, several days seem to have gone by before we made an effort to head West and appreciate its sights and sounds.
a fine day with blue sky behind Teidi
Berthelot’s pipit - very charming and friendly birds
happy to sit near you or come over (robin like) for a chat
kestrel in a palm tree
I like that the jumble of houses at the far end of the beach are not uniform but individuals, and individually coloured; that they make a jolly composition on the promontory of rock on which they sit. We have run along here several times lately because there is good cool shade between the waterfall and the rise at those houses and it provides over a minute of fast tempo run at max effort. Also the concrete or masonry slabs absorb less energy and I noticed my speed went from 6min miling to 5.15 pace. Even if I had to gasp while hobbling the return recovery leg. Mary likes it for being flatter than most places around town (other than the track.)
grey wagtail near Loro Parque
unique door furniture which we photograph each year
Our first sight of a Canaries brimstone. They tend to breeze through a landscape without stopping for a photo. I managed to get a couple of bad record shots, but since I got better shots (but not brilliant shots) later I’ll just put the one here and move on to more obliging subjects.
Atlantic canary
Not as yellow as a bird shop canary but a very similar and charming song
the ‘flower’ at the bottom of a stem of bananas
is a banana heart or banana blossom
The banana blossom is an inflorescence of lots of smaller flowers, protected by purple bracts - modified leaves. The banana blossom has a heart at its core which is an edible delicacy with a subtle flavour sometimes compared to artichoke hearts.
some very handsome lizards
just fab to see up to 5 kestrels flying overhead
I can’t help but think the woman here saw me point the camera at her and take a photo,
not realising that it was Mary I was hoping to record.
there were kestrels hovering overhead but since I got
better photos of them later I’ll not post 2 dozen!
those same buildings at the West end of Puerto
the sound of one wave lapping?
coolest cat in town
one owner, three dogs and a cat being walked
the ruin of the pump house
once used to help water the banana plantations
Tenerife produces around 150,000 metric tonnes of bananas annually, 90% of which go to the domestic Spanish market. Although the ones in the local supermarket look the same as the UK ones, they definitely taste better.
Barbary partridge
Mary spotted a pair near where we were walking.
Scooby-Doo lives here?
more monotone bees
I love this photo, although the route never really fulfils
the promise it has at this point.
My mirador is the viewpoint higher up looking along the coast in either direction. By this time we were more concerned about getting to the cafe. There is a long, l-o-n-g ascent up lumpy cobbled ramps to the cafe and we always race folk who we imagine are going to get the last table at the cafe if we don’t beat them there. (Not everyone is going to the cafe.) The cafe is popular because there isn’t much choice or anything else to mark the end of the route.
Also it is a pretty good cafe and well attended by busy waiters. One of which advised if we were ordering the thingy salad then one portion of whatsits would be sufficient. This cost the establishment about 12 euros but the waiter was correct and we left (very nearly completely) full without being absolutely stuffed. One of the plates we got was a Spanish omlette I think, which seemed to have more than a few handfuls of french fries scrambled into the eggs. I would have happily taken the challenge of consuming a second plate but might have required a taxi to get home. Or forklift ambulance. Instead we walked, racking up a double figure mileage for the day.
pleased to see a female epaulet skimmer
cat pan-handling at the cafe
the pump station ruin from the other end
We walked back together up to about halfway back. Mary then continued homewards while I took a detour up onto the terraced waste-ground above the Rambla de Castro. I had checked this out last year and found it to be off the beaten track but not private and only really used by dogwalkers. It must have previously been used for growing crops but has been left to turn into waste ground for as long as we’ve been coming here. I explored it first trip years ago dropping down from where the main road out of Puerto, the TF-316 climbs and goes inland past Lidl. Back then I found small coppers and painted ladies, and last year I came across a gecko and realised it was a good spot for kestrels, partridges, pipits and canaries although I also found the only hoopoe we’ve seen in Tenerife in maybe 4 years. So I was very keen to explore.
kestrel lighting up my day
I saw a further couple of kestrels taking 5; the female on rusty wire reinforcements and the male on a fave spot hunched into a wall. Both watched me pretending I wasn’t trying to creep in for a close up. There was nothing to hide behind. I got far closer than I dared hope but it only made me greedy for more. The female was further away and flew off first. The male (grey head and smaller) was more reluctant to leave his crouch on the wall and I got really quite close before he reluctantly flopped off his perch.
male - cropped in
I thought these would be the best kestrel close-ups of the trip as the birds are not that keen on human proximity but there is better to come. And the great light is a real boon when it comes to capturing details and individual feathers of distant birds through the 400mm zoom.
more like the real distance
the bird poop says regular perch
lots of this going on - mostly on better weather days
Barbary partridge
hunting egret
broad scarlet (m)
African grass blue
This was a rather smart doggo. She was (I assumed) left to guard a fenced off area of habitation and gardening. There might have been crops and a shack with valuables. I didn’t look closely. I hoped the dog wouldn’t mind my presence or kick up a stink and I didn’t wander too close to her area. I also assumed the fence was her prison as well as her job. However when she saw another couple walking their dog she quietly left the enclosure by a small hole she clearly knew about and went over (no barking) to say hello to the other dog. She went past me with no interest to get to the other dog. I got the feeling she was a very useful and intelligent guard dog who was enjoying life and not just a noisy mutt put in a place to discourage nosy passers-by.
I saw a couple of Berthelot’s pipits. I walked slowly over to where they were scouring the ground for luckies. They really didn’t mind my presence and could easily have flown off. Instead they just hopped about a few yards in front of me while I followed behind taking photos. They blend in so well with the ground colours it is difficult to isolate them from the background, although they often like to sit on stones or up on walls to get a good look at surroundings.
a small flock of canaries
and maybe a few sparrows mixed in
Atlantic Canary
treeful of canaries
first time I’d come across about 10 beehives up there
a painted lady refuses to pose nicely
I hoped to get closer to this kestrel…
before it flew off
I had fun with this partridge. It popped its head out over this wall and kept an eye on me as I slowly approached. Just before I got to the steep hill up to the wall it disappeared and by the time I climbed the slope it had gone entirely. I never found out where. The steeply terraced slopes provided great escape routes and cover for the occupants.
another canary I hoped to get closer to before it flew,
but no luck!
roadside rooster
sidewalk selfie
mostly I’d given up bothering to photo small whites
but every now and then a particularly fine image would present itself
bananas in pyjamas
often the crop would be bagged before leaving the tree
While the waste ground produced plenty shots of canaries and pipits I didn’t hit the jackpots of last year’s hoopoe and gecko. However, descending the last terraces after the banana plantation, heading back down to Hotel Maritim, I noticed a load (8+?) of partridges fly from near Lidl to way down towards the hotels. Also my eye was drawn to a couple of misguided egrets checking out a hotel pool. I left the path to see if I could get a photo and ended up coming close to the partridge family again. They saw me approach and one by one flew off. All except the last one which stopped on the runway and had a look to see if I was worth the effort. I stopped and the partridge also stopped, then realised I just wanted a photo, not a meal. Hang on, it seemed to say, I’ll just fluff up the plumage and you can get a tiptop photo. It swithered for long enough to get some excellent pics and 10secs of video before flying off to join its pals. Sometimes everything just goes wonderfully!
I also noticed a couple of cattle egrets wading up the shallow water round the edge of one of the hotel pools. This is not going to net them any fish, as shuffling up the shallows of a river or pond might, and I wondered how long it would take them to realise. Maybe they just enjoyed a paddle in the shallows round the edge of the pool? I couldn’t imagine the hotel encouraging their presence.
hold on, I’ll just straighten my outfit…
okay I’m ready for my photo!
hotel architecture
blue on blue
Spanish Sparrows
There is a quaint and slightly ramshackle looking cafe just West of Loro Parque with tables in a garden and loads of bird feeders which attract dozens of canaries and Spanish sparrows. The garden seems to be mainly for the birds rather than customers and since the place was closed/empty as I went past and the garden not fenced off I had a little wander to photo the feeding birds who were (as always) making lots of noise, all arguing and peeping about who owned what and whose territory this was. Mostly good natured as there was so much to go round.
Back past Loro Parque and the main prom along the coast and some exocet missile parakeets swooped in at a hundred miles an hour. They landed in a palm tree or two near where I was and I got a few photos. They are curious but so well fed I couldn’t get them interested in ground based seeds and thrown food. They remained up high but didn’t mind me taking photos.
just off the main drag I came across henny penny and chicken little
They proved far easier to bribe with sunflower seeds
and although a bit shy initially were quickly won over.
this collared dove came over to ask if that was free seeds being given away!
yarnbombing
self-conscious cat
end of the day monarch looking for a high roost for the night
it wasn’t really this dark - contrast increased to show details
rambla de castro plus additonal rambla
10.49miles in 6hrs52
I’m surprised after all of that I had the energy to climb to the 7th floor for the 5 o'clock pigeon show. There is a pocket sized pool on the hotel roof which employs a bored lifeguard until it closes at 6pm. I always tell her what I am up to although I suspect her English is a couple of sentences behind my banter and she often just smiles or says beautiful as I rant about the joys of pigeons flying in golden hour light with the high hills of laurel forest as background. Beautiful!
I have experimented with different shutterspeeds to get a bit of movement blur. Not entirely convinced this is better than superhigh shutterspeeds and crisp frozen action shots. Discuss.
Hockney swimming in the next door hotel pool.
The end of a very fine day out and about
