Watch where you're treading!

I stumbled across a praying mantis the other day as I walked in the hills on the edge of Montseny Natural Park. In fact, I nearly trod on it as it was crossing the path in front of me. I only had my phone with me (no camera) and so the image is not all that great. I think these animals are so interesting because there is something about their posture that looks a little bit human. There are 12 species of mantis in Catalonia and I'm not sure which species I saw, so if there are any mantis experts out there, please let me know what you think!

Praying mantis / Pregadéu

A new wildlife hotspot

I have found an excellent (and unexpected) new place to watch wildlife - at the local football ground! I went to pick up my son from his training session this evening and it was already dark and so the floodlights were on. This attracted a lot of insect life which, in turn, had attracted large numbers of bats. The very bright lights meant that they could be seen very clearly as they wheeled through the air, dived, twisted and turned, chasing and catching the moths and other insects. It really was quite a spectacle and I'm looking forward to seeing more action at the next training session!

Nature on the way to school

Every morning, on the way to school, the children have to cross over the River Congost. We usually see a few ducks and, sometimes, a heron. This morning, however, we were in for a far more exciting treat as we saw a lithe mammal hopping along through the shallow water and over the rocks. My son called out "It's an otter!" but otters are not known to be on this part of the river and this animal was not as large as an otter. It had dark fur and I'm pretty sure it was an American mink (Neovison vison). We watched it enter the water and swim away, disappearing under the canes by the water's edge. What an exciting way to start the day!

Boar and moths

Today I went to collect my camera trap from its secret location in Vallcàrquera (el Figaró). After five nights recording we had captured a wild boar, at least one genet, lots of small rodents, a large spider, a bird (unfortunately the video is too fuzzy to see what kind), what appears to be a stone marten (it is moving very quickly!) and a cat. Here, I would like to share the only video of the boar. I think he must have been scared by the camera as he moved away pretty quickly although you can hear the noises he makes moving away through the undergrowth. Then some little glowing moths enter the camera frame like tiny night-time dancing fairies!

Autumn in Vallcàrquera

On Saturday the children and I went exploring along the stream in Vallcàrquera. It was a beautiful, warm day but it was cool and shady down by the water. We hopped on stepping stones, climbed on, up and over tree trunks and branches. We looked at ferns growing on rocks and mushrooms growing on rotten logs. We saw where wild boar had been digging up the earth and we listened to the trickling water. Happy moments in nature.

Hide and seek bugs

Today I was playing a version of hide and seek with my children and some other families in a park in Viladrau (a beautiful village in the Montseny Natural Park). As I hid crouched behind a tree, I noticed lots of firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) on the trunk of the tree. After the game was over, I went back to take some photos of them.

Firebug / Coralet o Poll de moro (Pyrrhocoris apterus)

Great egrets and cows

Today I was taking a walk through the Pla de Llerona enjoying the warm autumn sunshine, when I saw a small group of Great Egret (Ardea alba) take off in front of me. Luckily one of them stayed sitting on a fence, allowing me time to get my camera out and take a few photos of him on the fence and as he took off. These birds are striking in their size and their pure whiteness. As I continued my walk I saw a few more in a field with some cows. What a treat to find such striking birds within walking distance of home.

Great egret / Agró blanc (Ardea alba)

A flash of blue!

Last week I had a real treat whilst standing on a bridge over the River Congost in La Garriga - a kingfisher flew under the bridge, heading downstream in the direction that I was facing. I have only seen a kingfisher once before, sitting in the hippo enclosure at a zoo in France, and to see one on my local river was such a treat. He was flying incredibly quickly and I only knew it was a kingfisher because his shining blue plumage was SO bright and caught my eye so entirely with its vividness. I was spellbound! I hope that I will get to see him again another day.

Parakeets!

Yesterday my son and I took a bike ride near the River Congost, stopping to have a look at the monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) which are nesting in some trees there. These parakeets are beautiful,  noisy and social birds. They are an invasive species and some people are concerned about the effect that such animals have on native flora and fauna. They are successful here, building their large communal nests and, obviously, managing to raise plenty of young because there is clearly a huge population here. As we cycled away we were impressed by the size of the flock that flew over our heads!

Monk parakeet / Cotorra argentina (Myiopsitta monachus)

Communal nest

Monk parakeet / Cotorra argentina (Myiopsitta monachus)

A stay near Torroella de Montgrí

Unfortunately I don't have any photos or videos to share but I still want to comment on some experiences that I had during a stay on the Costa Brava earlier this month.

We were staying at a campsite in the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park and one afternoon, after a rainstorm, I went for a walk along the beautiful beach to the point where the River Ter reaches the sea. It is a verdant spot where the sand and small dunes give way to green river banks. Across the sea from where the river enters the Mediterranean stand the proud Medes Islands (Illes Medes). As I stood contemplating the still waters of the river I heard a small splash but when I looked in the direction that it came from I didn't see anything unusual. Soon, there were more splashes and then I started to see what was causing it. Close to me, small fish were leaping out of the water, breaching sideways and then disappearing back underwater. I looked further out to where the river was deeper and saw larger fish doing the same. Their silver bellies sparkled in the sunlight as they leapt high out of the water. I'm not sure what this behaviour signifies, but it was quite a spectacle and I stood there, entranced, for a number of minutes waiting to see where the next fish would appear!

The following day we had another interesting nature spot whilst driving back to the campsite from Peratallada. As we passed a rice field, we noticed that there were ten white storks (Ciconia ciconia) standing in a group there. What grand animals they are!

Every evening we saw large bats feeding around the lights of the campsite and, on the day that we left to drive back home, we saw a snake on the road. It was moving quickly but, as it was dark, we only saw it when we got very close to it. Hopefully it passed safely under the car and not the tyres. Sadly, we couldn't see what became of it.