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.

Scaredy genet!

Whilst enjoying the little snack of sardines that I had left for him, this genet got spooked by something! But not for long, he was soon back to finish the treat.

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Grey heron

A grey heron (Ardea cinerea) walks past the camera trap and does a bit of fishing. A train sounds in the background. Birds sing and the gentle flow of a small cascade of water just upstream from the camera can be heard. 

Camera trapping in the rain

A couple of weeks ago I set my camera trap by the river, waited a week and then eagerly went to collect it only to find that there had been some kind of technical hitch and that it had recorded nothing at all. Feeling determined to try again, I checked the batteries and went out the next day to set it up again, crossing the river to leave it in a hidden spot away from the path used by walkers and cyclists.

Unfortunately I failed to look at the weather forecast for the coming days and after three nights, the rain came on Wednesday. I don't just mean a light shower; it rained big drops and very heavily and it didn't stop all night. The next day the river was high and it continued to rain. My thoughts turned to the camera. I had tied it to a tree, so I didn't fear for it washing away (which would have happened if I'd put it on a tripod) but I wasn't sure how high the water level had risen in that part of the river. Maybe my camera had been submerged.

On Friday the weather had cleared and so I went to see if I could recover the camera. The river was high but not deeper than my welly boots. I thought I could cross and I grabbed a sturdy stick to use to help me test the depths as the water was very churned up and I couldn't see where the larger rocks were and where the shallower areas were. However, as I stepped into the water I found that the problem was not the depth but the force of the water itself. As the river was so full and the water was moving downstream at such a pace, it pushed against me and nearly knocked me over. I realised that I wouldn't be able to cross the river. Frustrated, I left and didn't return until the following Monday.

Over the weekend the water levels had gone down and the water was clear again. I was able to cross and to get to the camera. When I opened it, water poured out. The batteries at the bottom were showing signs of rust. I am drying it out and hoping that it will work again once I have cleaned it and put new batteries in, but we will have to wait and see. The memory card, was salvageable and I was pleased to see that I had recorded a number of videos including many showing the rising water levels! There were also many recordings which showed nothing; presumably these were triggered when the camera was still working but the water was covering and filling it!

Before the rain came!

Connecting with myself, connecting with nature

I have just spent a weekend on a mediation retreat at the wonderful Casa Virupa in Tavertet. I have visited Tavertet a few times and have always been amazed by the incredible scenery. Perched on the cliff top, the village offers spectacular views across the Pantà de Sau (a reservoir where you can see the spire of a church belonging to the village that was flooded when the reservoir was constructed in the 1960s) and the area known as Collsacabra.

I won't write about the meditation aspect of the weekend but I would like to say something about the nature. On Saturday morning, the clouds had settled deep in the valley and it was really was quite marvellous to be above them, looking down and seeing the sun rising over the distant hills. Being up high also means that in Tavertet you are on a level with the soaring birds of prey. Sometimes they fly even higher above your head, sometimes they are below you and sometimes they fly past at eye level. It's incredible to see them close up and I wish I had been able to look at a reference book to find out what they were (vultures or eagles?) but as the retreat meant being free from books and internet all weekend, I wasn't able to verify what they were!

I also enjoyed seeing and hearing lots of insects and lizards during the sunny days and to narrowly avoiding treading on some toads (or frogs?) the evening that we arrived and walked up the path in the dark. I was only able to take a couple of photographs just before leaving on the Sunday evening but here is one to show one of the views from Casa Virupa.

Morning mink

One morning this week I was crossing the River Congost when I spotted something moving in the river. It was an American mink (Mustela vison). I managed to capture a short video of it as it ran and swam towards me before disappearing into the foliage by the side of the river under the bridge.

Summer butterflies

Last weekend I went for a walk in the hills near Aiguafreda. It was a hot day but we set out early and as the majority of the route was in the shade, we did not suffer too much from the heat. One of the most spectacular things about the walk was the huge variety of butterflies that we saw. Of course these creatures are difficult to film or photograph but here are my attempts. We were also lucky enough to see a red squirrel jumping through the branches of the pine trees and then making his way down the tree trunk before disappearing out of sight.

Tramuntana Dolphins

This week my days were largely dictated by the wind! Well, by two winds, to be more precise. The northerly Tramuntana and the Garbí which comes from the south-east. These winds determine the sea conditions in the area around the Cap de Creus Natural Park in northern Catalonia where I was spending the week participating in the "Dofins de Tramuntana" (Tramuntana Dolphins) project which is being run by Submon.

The aim of the project is to study the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) living in the area and to make contact with local fishermen and other sea-goers to encourage them to report any sightings and other pertinent information. I joined the project as a volunteer for a week to assist in these objectives.

On my first day on the project we were lucky enough to find the dolphins as they followed a trawler and we were able to take plenty of photos of the dolphins and, most importantly, their dorsal fins which will aid in the identification of the individual animals. In the group that we saw we estimated there to be at least 7 individuals and we spent some time during the rest of the week editing photos and trying to match them up to start the catalogue of these dolphins.

For a few days we were at the mercy of the Garbí and unable to get out to sea and, unfortunately, on the other two days when we did make it out, the bottlenose dolphins did not put in an appearance and neither did any of the other cetaceans which can be found in this area. We did see some seabirds including gulls, terns and shearwaters which was some consolation!

Here are some of the photos that I took on that first magical day.