For a nice change we flew from Cardiff and a reasonable short flight. We arrived just before 7 in the night while it was still light, luggage was pretty quick arriving and soon we were on the bus and the holiday had started. It took just over any hour and half to get to the hotel, I tried to bird on the way but it was really quiet. My first bird was a Collared Dove then Feral Pigeon, the only other species seen were Blackbird and Common Kestrel. A big flock of Swifts was also observed which I was pretty sure were Plain but could not id so they went down as swift sp. The hotel was in a valley with hills on both sides and there was not a lot of greenery. I birded for an hour in the mornings and 90 minutes in the evening. This is list of what I saw in my week at Taurito, a morning visit to the next village of Puerto de Morgan and three boat trips.

 This was a dry river bed I checked twice daily.

I only saw two butterflies all week and they were Small White and African Grass Blue, the blue was only seen in Morgan.

 
 

 
This was a park/keep fit area with loads of plants and I would bet it would be a good hot spot for migration.

I also noticed that there was Marrow growing all over the river bank.

 

 

I saw Yellow Legged Gull daily and they were nesting on the cliff above the hotels but I could not get them close.
 

Cory’s Shearwaters seen on the sea in the evening and in big numbers on all boats trips.

 

Collared Dove were seen daily and I also found this melanistic bird which at first I thought was just a dirty Pigeon.

 

Feral Pigeon were also seen daily around the hotel where they were helped to clear the tables.

 Blackbirds were seen around the hotel and the village and were very common.

 

 

There was only a small population of Spanish Sparrows in Taurito and it took me three days to see my first but they were a lot commoner in the next village of Puerto de Morgan.

 

My first real tick was Atlantic Canary. I found them everywhere and in good numbers. It was also great to hear then singing in the dawn chorus.

 

Berthelot’s Pipit was one I thought would be really common but it took me a couple of days to find them. I had a bird displaying in the mountains, they do the parachute display flight like Meadow Pipits and in the end I saw good numbers and even  found one in the grounds of the hotel.

 

 

 I studied Canary Island Chiffchaff and I thought it would be very hard to tell the difference between the different races but once I saw it and heard it, it was very easy to tell the difference again it was very common and seen daily.

This one was drinking from this flower and it was great to study the birds ways of finding water,  most used the plant sprinklers and I also found water seeping from a rock face and the birds drank from there.

I also saw one Common Chiffchaff which I first picked up on call and it was nice to compare the two races.

 

 

 

I saw Sardinian Warblers most days, they used to visit a light at first light which was still on and they would pick the moths off the bushes around the light. 

 

Common Kestrel was seen about four times in the week and seemed far from  Common. 

Barbary Falcon was only seen once and carrying prey and it seemed to be scarce  in that area.

Common Buzzard was only seen once too which was seconds after the Barbary Falcon went by it flew in that direction so maybe it was trying to steal the kill. 
 

Common Raven was only seen once too when it flew over the hotel. 

Next tick was a flock of Plain Swifts and yet again I did my homework so they were very easy to tell apart. Their wings reminded me of Palm Swift and were very thin and long also they sounded very different. 

Common Swift was only seen once where I had 3 high up on a mountain and it was great to see Plain Swifts the same time.

Last bird I saw was a nice surprise when I was on top of a mountain above Taurito and it was a Trumpeter Finch. A single bird flew over calling and I had reasonable good views. 

I only saw three species of mammals all week and they were as follows.

Brown Rabbit and they were seen mostly on top of the mountain and I found them very shy and would be gone in a shot.

Brown Rat was seen twice in the dry river bed, it looked very scruffy and moth eaten and on the second sighting it was carrying one of its young in its mouth.

Last species was Atlantic Spotted Dolphin. On the two boat trips I saw over eight hundred animals. It was brilliant to see them bow riding and swimming all around the boat. Also I saw distant dolphins on the third trip but I was told by the captain he thought they were Common Dolphin. I was not sure has they were just too far away. He also had a whale blow but I missed that too.

I also had a Loggerhead Turtle, I was trying so hard to get other people on the boat onto it that I forgot to take a photo and it was pretty close. I also had my first Ocean Sunfish of the year.

 

I also found this Thistle Mantis and this European Bee Wolf. As trips go I had very little species but I did not drive or go on many trips as it was a family holiday. It was ok and I would only go back for the dolphin watching.