Not the best pics as taken before the sun was up! Always a pleasure to see a Barnie! :)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Spot Flys
Our local Spotted Flycatchers have been showing well and the male was seen to pass food to the female who then took the food to the nest site. Nice to know they have successfully bred a few minutes walk from our house :)
Yellowhammer/Whitethroat/Treecreeper
A few pics of some local birds. The Yellowhammer posed nicely whilst singing loudly! The Treecreeper was busy feeding its young and the Whitethroat was part of a large family
Sao Miguel - The Azores - May 2009
Phew! At last the blog is updated from the above trip. It has taken such a long time as at the moment we are having work done on our house and it has been a constant stream of builders, j oiners, plumbers etc etc. Our house is like a bomb site at the moment-it is nowhere near done but today I have been able to lock myself away for a couple of hours to catch up with this blog!
We had a very enjoyable trip to the largest island in the Azores - Sao Miguel. We went there primarily for cetaceans and were not disappointed. A hire car was essential to get the most of of the holiday, the scenery is amazing and we would have missed out on so much if we hadnt hired a car. Enjoy the pics (click on them for larger view). We are looking forward to our next little getaway in July, a few days visiting the Farne Islands in Northumbria.
We had a very enjoyable trip to the largest island in the Azores - Sao Miguel. We went there primarily for cetaceans and were not disappointed. A hire car was essential to get the most of of the holiday, the scenery is amazing and we would have missed out on so much if we hadnt hired a car. Enjoy the pics (click on them for larger view). We are looking forward to our next little getaway in July, a few days visiting the Farne Islands in Northumbria.
Corys Shearwater
These were a challenge as only really seen out at sea and most of the time it was difficult to capture with the camera as the sea usually rough or the light wasnt good enough. This one photo was about the best we got!
Roseate Terns
We saw only a handful of these, they were hanging out with a colony of Common Terns. They were around a rocky outcrop on the outskirts of Ponta Delgada, we called the area Tern Rock!
Humpback Whale
This migratory whale showed well for us, it was they first record of one in these waters for 3 years so we were very lucky to add this to our cetacean sightings :)
Fin Whale
What a monster!! It is the second largest living animal on earth (behind the Blue Whale). This one was estimated to be around 22 metres in length. To give some idea of size, the dorsal fin is 3/4 of the way down its body, so these pictures minus the last quarter of body and tail plus its head shows just how big they are! A privelege indeed to view this whopping whale!
Atlantic Canaries
These were very common Canaries(Serinus canaria) but not too confiding. They are endemic to the Macronesian region (i.e. The Azores, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Maderia)
Azorean Chaffinch
Wonderful little birds, again endemic to the region (Fringilla coelebs moreletti), very pretty and confiding, they could be handfed at Lagoa de Furnas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
