The second day was an early start for me, I headed back to the Los Alares dirt road and explored the tracks between there and Antigua, seeing Barbary Falcon near the salinas on the way. More excellent views of Cream-coloured Courser, Berthelots Pipit, Lesser short-toed Larks, Kestrel and the native Chat, plus many Southern Grey shrikes. New birds to the list included Egyptian Vulture, the endemic race of Buzzard and Pallid Swift.

Cream-coloured Courser  above Egyptian Vulture below

The area is arid scrubby plain and quite bumpy, but it was a hire car, so I checked all the tracks I could find, there is a small light aircraft landing strip in the area, this was the first place I saw Houbara Bustard but alas it was far off, many more flocks of LST Larks, Trumpeter Finches and more Kestrels, Ravens and oddly a Grey Heron!

 Kestrel  above   Trumpeter Finch  below

 Later that day Holly and I went sight seeing down to the south of the island visiting the botanical gardens, small zoo and camel rides between Tarajalejo and La Cuesta de La Pared, on the way, the botanical gardens and zoo having a large colony of Spanish Sparrows and a high population of Berthelots Pipit.

Cacti at the Botanical gardens.

The area around the wind farm at Costa Calma and La Pared turned up a number of birds, Stone Curlew, Collared and Turtle Doves being the addition to the trip list, not much else though as this area is being very heavily developed and was crawling with people and construction vehicles, an early morning visit would have turned up much more I feel. On the way back a quick look in at the salinas added Common and Spotted Redshanks, Turnstone and Sanderling plus lots more Yellow-legged gulls and a Lesser Black-backed gull.

Sanderling