On the rocks

I had more difficulty than I was expecting while finding photos for this week's SMAP! I guessed that Birds on rocks/stone should be an easy one, but I was wrong; most of my bird photos don't have stones inside. Still manage to gather a few of them, thow!

And starting with a very common one, in this part of the world at least.

^{Yellow legged gull - Larus michahellis}

Luckily for me, stones are kind of frequent near bodies of water. And that's where this beauty was perched! Judging by the amount of dry faeces on it, I guess it's a common perching spot. And with a good view: this one was taken in Lagoa do fogo, one of the touristic attractions of São Miguel island, in the Azorean archipelago.

Plenty of seagulls in the mainland, too.

Grandfather, father and son? 😁 The spotted plummage is how you identify a seagull juvenile; depending on the species, they maintain their spots for up to three years, with different patterns.

Well, but this isn't a seagull post. Rocks and stones, more rocks and stones! And little birds.

^{Black redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros, male}

This is one of the passerine species that is amazingly frequent nowadays in urban areas. I see them everywhere. And now that I think of it... they should be called redend, not redstart! After all, it's the tail that's red! This is not the best photo to observe it, but this one is:

More little birds on the rocks? Sure. Here goes another common one:

^{European robin - Erithacus rubecula}

Robins are also frequent in urban areas; the bright orange chest gives them away. And they're not shy, since they allow some proximity most of the time: this one was only a couple meters away.

Even more friendly is the next species. But they have a good reason to be like that.

^{Madeiran chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs madeirensis}

Madeira is an island with a ton of nature trails, and some belvederes too. The clever chaffinches started to associate tourists with food, and in this location they will basically eat from your hand! Not the kind of behaviour I encourage... but does allow for some cool photos, I must admit.

Some other birds maintain their shyness; some even play... peak-a-boooo!

This looks lika a dunnock (Prunella modularis) to me, but can't be completely sure. What I do know is that the little devil didn't allow me to take a full body photo!

Ruddy turnstones, on the other hand, couldn't care less if their photo was bein taken or not.

^{Ruddy turnstone - Arenaria interpres}

They are normally seen in groups, in coastal areas, where they walk among the sand and stones filling their bellies. Not the shiest bird at all, and they don't mind other birds company, either. Even if they're a lot bigger.

^{Little egret - Egretta garzeta}

I normally don't find these egrets on the beach, but there she was! There aren't many egret species with yellow feet in the world, and in Portugal this is the only species that has them: white egret, with black legs and yellow feet? A little egret for sure!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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