Trying out my zoom lens....

I got a super new zoom lens for Christmas but until now haven't really had a good opportunity to use it.  However, we are at the coast for a little while and I thought I'd try it out down here.  I've always tried to get good photos of the mountains to the back of us but with my other lenses have been unable to get a really good 'close-up' but this morning I got a couple of better ones!  You can clearly see that there is a bit of snow on the top, but not as much as this time last year!  The mountain is called La Maroma and is actually the highest peak of the mountain range called the Sierra de Tejeda ,reaching to 2066 m, (6,778 ft). 

And here are some other photos that I took this morning.  The first shows an extremely rare sight for some people, particularly my friends in the UK, who've not seen it in a while, it is called the Sun!  So as not to shock you I've only let it be seen filtered through the leaves of a eucalyptus tree!  (Sorry, couldn't resist that one!)

And here are some photos of the local parrots, they're very lively at the moment (actually they are always very lively!) and I noticed two of them were getting very 'fruity' whilst I watched them.....obviously realised that today was St Valentines Day!!!! 

These parrots are, as far as I'm aware, one of only two types of parrot species that are 'natural' to Europe, 'natural' in that they were first introduced 'by accident' more than 100 years ago and have stayed!  I guess they must have liked the temperature here on the coast!!  People seem to just refer to them as Green Parrots, but they are in fact Monks Parakeets, also known as the Quaker Parrot, (Myiopsitta monachus).  The other species seen locally are the Rose-Ringed Parakeet.  Some people complain that they're noisy and are a nuisance,  but I have to say that I love them, I think it's just wonderful to see flocks of them flying above our heads, a mass of green feathers....and quite honestly, what is a bit of parrot poop on the washing now and again!!! 

This is about the closest 'close-up' I could get with my lens, the bird is probably more than 40 feet up the tree (I'm no good with estimating distances but these are pretty tall trees!)  Look at his lovely soft looking tummy!

This is to give you an idea of how big their nests are, they seem to all live together in large colonies.

This last photo isn't mine but I thought I'd show you how beautiful these little parrots look in flight!!