Flamingos at Monte

We meet friends from home for coffee - they’re on a cruise and calling in Funchal for the day. It’s quite bizarre that here we are on an island in the middle of the Atlantic (OK, not quite the middle) and our social calendar is busier than at home! 

The weather’s warm but damp, and leaving our friends to their shopping, we decide to do what we failed to do yesterday and book a Bolt up to Monte’s gardens. We’re both certain we’ve been there before, but our memories are pretty hazy - though we do remember sitting in a toboggan ready for that downhill slide pushed by two drivers, called 'carreiros', who are dressed in typical white garments and straw hats. I’m afraid that’s as far as it went as I chickened out! 

Anyway, today’s walk takes us through the oriental gardens down to the flamingos. I always find Japanese gardens so peaceful and relaxing - though with three large cruise ships in town, it’s busier than I’d like. 

The flamingo area consists of a small pond with waterfall and typically lush vegetation, and certainly is far from peaceful with the birds’ raucous cries. I must admit I love flamingos with their magnificent stature and extravagant feathers - but they’re certainly not shrinking violets and demand attention.

Here there are bright orange American flamingos and the more usual delicate pink of the Greater Flamingo. There’s a lot of strutting and posturing going on: the strange turning of heads in opposite directions; yoga type stretches with necks held parallel to the ground, tail feathers held out proud; sudden quarrelsome attacks amongst themselves, large bills viciously threatening; and strangest of all, a coordinated holding out of wings undertaken with almost military precision. 

My main today’s an American flamingo preening, with an extra of the other variety, and a couple of shots illustrating their strange behaviours.  Oh, and I couldn’t forget the beautiful little mandarin duck, for once overshadowed. Unlike yesterday’s Muscovy, I think this is a duck we all love!