Thursday 16th February - Tony Gallardo?

We haven't been doing much birding lately but today we have the chance to put that right. A 20 minute walk from base is a place called Parque Tony Gallardo. This is immediately inland of the Dunes Nature Reserve and operates to banking hours. 08.00 to 13.00 Monday to Friday only. Other information seems a bit sparse but we have looked down into it from the bus and it appears to have birding potential.

The sky is blue but the air a little cooler and fresher as we take our swim. The walk to El Parque is very pleasant and we remember our hats today. There is a limited amount of information about Tony Gallardo, who was an artist and local leader of the opposition to the Franco regime, jailed in the 1960s and apparently well regarded enough to have a park named for him. There is also a bit of blurb about the ecological intent of the people running the park and how all of the water used is recycled using only natural methods.

There is a clearly marked hard surfaced path. We opt for clockwise and stroll through the shade. Our first spot is a female Common Kestrel perched high up on a bare branched tree. All around we can hear parakeets but they hide in the trees. We walk on for a while until R opts for a sit down on a bench. Suddenly there are people pointing and staring into the tree above her. Up above is a Juvenile Glossy Ibis which obligingly moves to somewhere much better for photos.

Further round the trail we hear very loud gribbit noises and look for suitably large amphibians without success. The perpetrators are rather smaller than we had imagined, about 4cm long.

Next up we get to see a splendid Hoopoe.

And at last a decent parakeet pic.

After so much fun we need a coffee and walk down to Maspalomas centre which is mainly closed. We find a spot that is open and has decent Americanos before taking the bus home.

Today's beer of the day is another Supermarket special.

Absolutely nothing special. **(out of five). The snacks tonight were much better,