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The
Bird Man Of El Cotillo
Derek Bradbury has retired from work in England and, along with
Jean, his wife of 37 years, spends around six months of every
twelve together with us in the sun.
He first landed some 22 years ago, along with wife and a couple
of friends, taking a break from the stress of his job in the
UK, arriving initially in Corralejo, which at the time was
being developed from a fishing village and port into a tourist
town.
On day two of his visit the men elected to leave their partners
lazing in the sun, and take an exploratory drive around the
island, ultimately arriving in El Cotillo.
Captivated by the then lonely beauty of the lagoons, Derek and
his friend Pete persuaded the girls to accompany them to the
village the next day and they have spent their holidays here
ever since.
Derek has always had an interest in conservation and the
countryside and couldn’t help notice the amount and variety of
beautiful species of birds on Fuerte, and as he became known
around the island interested tourists and locals would keep
informed of what they had seen.
I ventured forth with him one Sunday on the trail of the
endangered Hubara Bustard, and he tells me credit must go to
Cabildo de Fuerteventura in association with amongst others,
the LIFE programme of the European Union for providing major
funding since 2004 and thus creation of conservation areas for
such wildlife. Ten years ago the Hubara numbered approximately
500, but happily latest surveys show a population increase to
around 800.
Unfortunately our day out failed to provide a sighting of our
quarry…. however many other specimens were to be seen, ranging
from the exotic to the comical and common, but all a tribute to
mother nature and beautiful in their own right,
A statuesque Heron
was strutting his (or was it her?) stuff, we saw a Black Winged
Stilt at Rosa Caleta Garcia whose legs were literally stilts! A
flock of squabbling sparrows sat on a derelict farm out house
wall. …While on the beach at El Cotillo a small family of
Sanderlings dodged the waves at feeding time.
It certainly gave me another interest, even from my
photographic point of view, and a thoroughly enjoyable day out.
Derek offers guided tours to his favoured sites on our rock of
Fureteventura, and if you would like to book a tour with him he
can be contacted on 664 494 044, or via the internet on post@derekbradbury.free-online.co.uk.
Current events can be checked out on his web site at
www.fuerteventurabirdwatch.co.uk
Although in England for the month of April, Derek and Jean
return in May.
Surf Bum
Donald Innes is a writer and photographer, see more of his
pictures on
http://donaldinnesross-aplaceforinnes.blogspot.com
If you are interested in buying any of his pictures just
call him on 662 529580
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