Long lost blog

I haven't been very good at keeping up to date with this blog because I tend to share videos on Instagram these days (wild_animal_welfare). However, I should remember to write here because there are nature sightings that occur without a camera or video to record the event like the other day when I saw two wagtails interacting very intensely by the river. I think it must have been a fight over territory as they wouldn't leave each other alone and it almost looked like one was going to push the other underwater at one point! 

The most exciting sighting was a few months ago when a roe deer ran in front of me in the hills though, unfortunately, it was because it had been scared by some hunting dogs which were out chasing wild boar with their owners. 

Here's a video from my new camera trap of one of the boar that has, so far, evaded the hunters. Let's hope he/she stays safe for a while to come. 

Nature watching during the lockdown

Hello from the lockdown in Catalonia. 

Coronavirus has made life difficult for those of us who love to get out into nature, to feel the wind in our hair and to spend our time looking at the wildlife around us. Luckily for most of us, even if we are stuck at home, we have some nature close by. 

I can hear the birds from my flat when my windows are open and I am delighted that the house martins, swifts and swallows have returned to spend the summer here. They call and wheel around in the sky, giving us something to look at. Hopefully the house martins that nest on the house behind my flat will be back soon so that I can watch them going in and out of their nests. Last night, at twilight I noticed many many bats flying around outside my window. They are probably pipistrelles. I am lucky that these animals live close enough for me to see them!

Being stuck at home is also an opportunity to learn more about nature. I am watching some of Chris Packham's live videos on Facebook. He and his guest presenters are always educational and entertaining to watch. It's also a chance to look back at old videos and photos. I haven't posted on this blog in the last year, mainly because I share photos and videos on Instagram instead (@wild_animal_welfare), but now is a good time to share some things here too. So here we go. 

To start with, here is a buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) which I filmed a few weeks ago before we were told to stay at home. 

So much nature!

I love spring because nature is just everywhere! The house martins, swallows and swifts fill the air. The frogs in the river can't stop croaking. There are ducklings and egrets on the river. The bright red petals belonging to the poppies brighten up the roadsides, the river banks and the fields.

We are filled with an urge to get out and enjoy this explosion of life and sometimes we have surprises such as a snake on the path by the river or a swift attempting to get into a house martin's nest.

There are activities to get involved in like the otter survey on the Congost river which I participated in on Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately I didn't see any otters but one of the team was lucky enough to spot one on the second evening. I'm motivated to get out and look for them again. I set up my camera trap a couple of weeks ago hoping to capture one. I recorded a mink and not much else, but that is interesting too. There is life on this river of ours which winds through natural areas, alongside dual carriageways and through industrial estates bringing life with it.

Here are some images and videos of everything I've been enjoying in the last few weeks.

Poppies and grasses in front of Montseny

A strip of poppies between Llerona and La Garriga

Sunset during the otter survey 25th May 2019

Certificate for participating in the otter survey

Fiery amphibian

A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk after it had rained and was lucky enough to see a fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). It was on the path in front of me and it started to move to get out of my way. Once off the path it stopped and didn't move, allowing me to walk up to it and take a couple of photographs. I find these creatures truly fascinating as they look so exotic and unusual. It's amazing to be able to get so close to them too.

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

"The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle" by Hugh Lofting was first published in 1923 and we are lucky enough to have a beautiful edition from the 1933 reprint. Some elements of Lofting's books are not acceptable to today's readers and I certainly do not condone the use of racist language or stereotypes. However, some of the viewpoints expressed about animals and their feelings and characters could be thought of as quite forward-thinking. Certainly there is anthropomorphism but there is also an empathy for the animals. For example, in this story, the Doctor describes his thoughts about keeping lions and tigers in zoos to his apprentice Tommy Stubbins:

' "If I had my way, Stubbins, there wouldn't be a single lion or tiger in captivity anywhere in the world. They never take to it. They're never happy. They never settle down. They are always thinking of the big countries they have left behind. You can see it in their eyes, dreaming - dreaming always of the great open spaces where they were born; dreaming of the deep, dark jungles where their mothers first taught them how to scent and track the deer. And what are they given in exchange for all this?" asked the Doctor, stopping in his walk and growing all red and angry - "What are they given in exchange for the glory of an African sunrise, for the twilight breeze whispering through the palm, for the green shade of the matted, tangled vines, for the cool, big-starred nights of the desert, for the patter of the waterfall after a hard day's hunt? What, I ask you, are they given in exchange for these? Why, a bare cage with iron bars; an ugly piece of dead meat thrust in to them once a day; and a crowd of fools to come and stare at them with open mouths! - No, Stubbins. Lions and tigers, the Big Hunters, should never, never be seen in zoos." '

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.