Sunrise at the Ebro Delta

Last weekend I visited the Ebro Delta National Park which is one of the largest wetlands in the western Mediterranean. I didn't spend any time specifically bird watching but the bird life there is truly abundant. We saw more herons than I've ever seen before in one place, great egrets, little egrets, swamphens, gulls, cormorants, plovers, lapwings and birds of prey (which I am embarrassingly unable to identify). What a great destination for the bird lover!

We watched a spectacular sunset from the Platja del Fangar and an even more amazing sunrise from close to Riumar. Here is a short video taken just before the sun appeared. 

Nature in November

It rained a lot on Wednesday and so when I went for a walk in the hills in Figarò on Thursday it was not surprising to find that the paths were like streams and that the waterfalls were cascading with a lot of force. What perfect weather for salamanders, I thought and, lo and behold, we soon spotted one sitting at the side of the path. It was absolutely beautiful and showed no sign of fear when I approached to take a photo.

Fire salamander / Salamandra (Salamandra salamandra)

Today I went to an event organised by the local town council to see five hedgehogs and a goshawk being released into the woods at the edge of the town as part of a project to eliminate the use of pesticides in local agriculture. The project is called Biocides Zero and it has already released owls and hedgehogs into an area where there are lots of allotments. Bats and insectivorous birds are being encouraged in the area too. 

European hedgehog / Eriçó comú (Erinaceus europaeus)

European hedgehog / Eriçó comú (Erinaceus europaeus)

Back in Cap de Creus

Last weekend I was lucky enough to return to the "Dofins de Tramuntana" project in Cadaqués with Submon. Being in Cap de Creus brings me a feeling of such peace and happiness, that I can't really put it into words! As soon as I arrive there, I feel like I'm exactly where I ought to be. The Tramuntana wind was blowing on Saturday and so we couldn't get out to sea. This was a shame but it meant I had time to walk along the coastal path near where we were staying in the morning and to go to the beach at midday for a swim and snorkel as well as having another quick dip in the evening before heading into Cadaqués for ice-cream! That makes it sound like a holiday, but I was also doing some work with another volunteer - editing photos for the photo ID catalogue that is being compiled of the bottlenose dolphins which are spotted during the days out at sea.

Editing photos for photo ID purposes. Photo: Irene Alvarez

On Sunday we were able to go out to sea though the wind and waves forced us back to port for a while. After a break in Port Lligat we headed out again. Unfortunately the bottlenose dolphins evaded us and we were starting to think we wouldn't see any wildlife (apart from the seagulls) when, finally, we saw three little striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba). They swam close to us a few times and one of them cheekily popped his head above water to look at us. This behaviour is known as spy-hopping! I hadn't seen any striped dolphins during my time on the project in July and so it was interesting to see them; they are so different to the bottlenose dolphins in both their size, shape and behaviour. Unfortunately I was unable to take any high quality videos or photos, but in this short clip you can just about make out the spy-hopping behaviour at the end.

The Dofins de Tramuntana project officers will be doing their last trips to sea this week but the work with the local fisherman will continue. Hopefully the project will receive funding for next season so that we can continue to learn more about the marine mammals in this very special area of the Mediterranean.

Down by the river

I left my camera trap by the river with some sardines and got a few nice videos this week including lots of birds, genet, wild boar, fox, stone marten and mink. Here are some of the highlights (in the stone marten video, if you look carefully, you can see him depositing a little poo for our viewing pleasure!!!):

Cavalls del Vent

Cavalls del Vent (Horses of the Wind) is a 82km hiking route in the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park and takes its name from the Tibetan Lung ta prayer flags that are strung up outside the mountain “refugis” (hostels) which offer hikers various places to stay along the route. My friend Lys and I decided to do half of the official route going from Coll de la Bena (Gisclareny) to the Sant Jordi Refugi, the Prat d’Aguiló Refugi, the Lluís Estasen Refugi and back to Coll de la Bena (walking past the Gresolet Refugi). 

I do not want to write a travelogue here about the journey but, rather, would like to just make a few comments about the nature we encountered on the route. The weather plays a huge part during any outdoor activity and even more so in the mountains. On our first and last days we had sunshine and so we were accompanied by many many butterflies of all different colours and sizes. There was a constant chirruping of crickets and, on some of the paths, they were constantly jumping out of the way as we trod on the ground where they rested. We saw beetles and lizards, bees and flies. The insect-life was truly abundant. 

Iberian Marbled White / Escac ibèric (Melanargia lachesis)

Six-spot burnet / Zigena de sis punts (Zygaena filipendulae)

In the wooded areas we heard birds but I must say that I didn’t see very many. Eagles (I’m not sure what species) appeared a couple of times and on the foggy morning when we departed from Prat d’Aguiló we saw a murder of crows swooping and cawing giving the scene a chilling wintry feeling. I saw a jay from the bedroom window of the Lluís Estasen Refugi but, on the whole, there was not too much birdlife to be seen. Of course, this was partly because on the two middle days of our trek, the weather was not as kind to us.

On the day we departed from the Sant Jordi hostel, we were soon caught in wind and rain which was not really conducive to wildlife spotting. In fact, we walked quickly that day to be sure to reach the next refugi before getting caught in a thunderstorm. The next morning started so foggy that there really was nothing to see! The only animals in sight were the horses and cows which pasture up in the hills. 

As for mammals and amphibians; well we saw the scat from some mammals and, on our last day, we saw large tadpoles in a stream and also a dead salamander. 

The wild flowers on the mountains are impressive and, of course, we saw different species in different areas. I’m no expert on wild flowers, but I shall share a few photos and attempt to identify them. As for forests, we passed through beech forests, through areas dominated by pine trees and, in the higher areas, there were few trees due to the wind and weather conditions. I was overcome by just how beautiful the whole area is and filled with a desire to go back and explore further. 

Mediterranean seal holly / Panical blau (Eryngium bourgatii)

Overall it is a wonderful area to connect with nature and I certainly hope to return there soon. 

Dofins de Tramuntana (Tramuntana Dolphins)

Last week I returned to the "Dofins de Tramuntana" project in Cap de Creus which is organised by SUBMON. The project aims to make a comprehensive photo ID catalogue of the dorsal fins of the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Cap de Creus area of Catalonia to help identify how many individual animals there are in this area and whether they are resident all year as well as whether they are seen over subsequent years. I had been lucky enough to participate in the project last July and September and was keen to get involved again this year.

I have to say that although last year was a wonderful experience, it was totally surpassed by the weather and the sightings we had this year. In 2017, the wind prevented us from going out to sea on many days, the seas were often slightly choppy and the dolphins were not always to be seen or only put in a relatively brief appearance. This year was a different story. We were able to get out to sea on 4 days and the weather was incredible. The sea was so flat and calm that it was like a mirror. This, combined with the fact that the dolphins were incredibly friendly this year, meant that we had some truly magical encounters. To be on a boat and to have the dolphins swim up alongside before turning their bodies so they can look right at you is simply breath-taking. We were even able to hear their whistles. It was something I had not imagined and the fact that it happened every day felt like such a gift.

As well as the photo ID part of the project, another key element is the contact with the local fishing boats. The SUBMON project staff are busy getting to know all of the fishermen (in particular the trawlers) from Llançà, Port de la Selva and Roses so that they can work together to help protect the bottlenose dolphins. One of the sightings we had during the week that I was there was thanks to a phone call from one of the fishing boats who told us exactly where the dolphins were. It is really wonderful that the fishermen are interested in the project as they are the ones who are out at sea throughout the year, having regular interactions with the dolphins.

I took a lot of photos and videos during this week and I share just a few of them here.

Sunset and thunderstorm

The thunder had been rumbling in the distance on and off throughout the afternoon and by 9 o'clock it looked like it was going to rain but I decided to go out for a quick walk to get some fresh air anyway. Once outside I realised that the sunset was absolutely spectacular. The sky was such a bright orange that it looked like there was a forest fire in the distance. I decided to try to take some photos even though the colours are difficult to capture and I chose a spot just above the railway line. I took a number of photos and videos and I share one here where you can see one of the beautiful modernist buildings on the Ronda de Carril. The sky behind it was purple and blue fading into the fiery reds and oranges which filled the rest of the sky. Seeing the lightning flashes with the sky this colour was just incredible. I stayed until the raindrops started to fall and then I ran home through the downpour with the lightning flashing overhead. What a magical, spectacular evening! 

House martins

I absolutely love to watch the house martins that are nesting under the eaves of the houses opposite my flat. They are so acrobatic and so dedicated to their young; feeding them constantly.

Swift rescue

Yesterday some friends called me to say that they had found a swift (Apus apus) on the road. They knew that these birds can't take off from the ground and so they picked it up and took it home but then they weren't sure what to do with it. They had given it some water (a good idea) and then they brought it to my house. We took it on to the roof to see if we could release it but we quickly saw that it was a young bird and that not all of its flight feathers were developed. If it had been a grounded adult then simply holding it up so that it could take off would have been enough, but when we held this young bird, it fluttered to the ground and clearly couldn't fly properly (NOTE: we did not hold the bird out over the edge of the building - if we had it would have plummeted to the ground and severely injured itself).

Common swift / Falziot comú (Apus apus)

We decided to call the animal rescue centre in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda and they said we should bring the bird in. My friends had put him in a cardboard box with holes in the lid and so with the swift safely stowed in the box we drove the twenty minutes to the Centre de Fauna de Torreferrussa. The man who welcomed us to the centre had a quick look at the bird and said that it was indeed a young swift and wouldn't be ready to fly for another couple of weeks. He thought it looked healthy and that it had a good chance of survival. We filled in a form with the details about where we had found it and what we had done. He was pleased to hear that we hadn't tried to feed it. Swifts are insectivorous and feeding them anything other than insects can make them ill. We saw that he had two other swifts in boxes in the office too (and presumably many more in the rehabilitation centre). He explained to us that the Centre can only take in protected animals and that they cannot look after pigeons or gulls, for example. In fact, if people take these birds there, they will be euthanised. It is better to ask a vet for advice if you find one of these animals injured and then see if there is a local rescue centre which will take them.

We were allowed to have a quick look at some of the animals in the Centre - we saw lots of sparrows tougher in one cage and also some exotic animals (parrots, parakeets, terrapins) which I suppose will be re-homed at some point. Outside we enjoyed looking at the pond where there were lots of frogs and dragonflies. We even saw a hoopoe.

There is some interesting information on the Centre's website. In 2017, 8695 birds were admitted accounting for 83% of all animals brought to the centre. Approximately 50% of the animals that were admitted for rehabilitation (of all species) were released into the wild. The remaining 50% died, were euthanised, were transferred to other rescue centres or recovered but were not released. The work of wildlife rescue centres is so important and I hope they will continue to receive the support and funding that they need.  

If you would like more information about swifts I recommend the Action for Swifts website.  

Hummingbird hawk-moth

Whilst spending a weekend at Torre de la Móra near Altafulla (Tarragona) I was able to capture this nice little video of a Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) which is known as the Bufaforats in Catalan. Such a beautiful insect!

Ant nest

Sometimes we need to stop looking at the big picture and just focus on the little things in life. Last week I came across this beautiful ants' nest in a field near La Garriga and I spent some time watching the ants working busily away.