– A picture gallery with a first part of the highlights from my trip to Tenerife can be found on the right on my blog. –
The ocean is a monster. Even on the quietest of days, the surf zone on the shore of Tenerife is immensely powerful.
A tireless coming and going of waves, back and forth over the rocky shore. It is a miracle the rocks even manage to survive these destructive forces.
Sitting on the rocks at the shore is an unequaled experience. Just to close your eyes and focus on the smashing sound of another breaking wave…
These rocks provide a very stressful environments for plants and animals to survive in. It is a constant adjustment: water that comes and goes, the power of breaking waves, the terrible burden of the salt… As an ecosystem built on constantly changing conditions, the surf zone produces one of the most harsh environments around. It even beats the world of the mountain tops, where plants ‘only’ have to struggle to survive the bitter cold.
Animals seem to do a little better than plants, here, maybe because they are able to move back and forth with the tides. The large crabs hiding behind every rock did not seem to care at all. Plant life however is limited to some green and slimy algae, the diehards of the plant world.
In case you don’t know it, the bird you photographed is a Turnstone: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/t/turnstone/index.aspx
Thanks :D, I knew them from Belgium, where you can also see them ‘turning stones’ on the beach 🙂
I don’t think I have a tick for this on Tenerife, but then we don’t spend much time on the shoreline. Did you get to see the endemic blue chaffinch?
Unfortunately not, as we didn’t have a car available and had to rely on our own feet, we couldn’t get high enough in the mountains to find the chaffinch this time. I’ll need to go back to explore the north of the island a bit more!
Yes, you should definitely do that, there’s a lot more to see.
Color of the water is amazing! Love those surf shots!
Lovely Post! Beautiful pictures…. I especially love that tasty little bird!
How delectable…. I mean, pretty! ♥