BLAST FROM THE PAST - 2006 - A trip to Gósol and Pedraforca

Every now and then I want to use this blog to share photos and memories from past adventures in Catalonia.

This post remembers a short trip to Gósol in Berguedà (Lleida) which we took in May 2006. In my diary I wrote about visiting the 11th century castle ruins and finding no one there. "It was very peaceful to be there listening to the birds and the distant clang of cowbells." With two friends I went out to walk at 6.30am, making it part of the way up the mountain of Pedraforca. "It was really special being up so early, seeing the sun slowly creeping up behind the mountains and casting its shadows across the hills and valley."

It's the little things...

One of my friends complained that I post too many pictures of creepy-crawlies on this blog, so he won't be too pleased with today's post which features a caterpillar that turned up in the house. Before releasing it into the garden I took a few photos. The next task is to try and identify it...

Nature poetry

When I started this blog I only thought about sharing videos and pictures of wildlife in Catalonia. However, I have decided to allow this blog to evolve naturally and to include other things that interest me (all related to nature in some way). So, today, I would like to share a William Wordsworth poem which highlights the importance of simply communing with nature and letting it into our lives without seeing it as something to study or dissect. A throstle, by the way, is a song thrush (for those who didn't already know).

The Tables Turned

by William Wordsworth

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all this long green fields has spread.
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless-
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:-
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

Finding a wild spot in the city

It isn't always necessary to head out into the countryside to find some wildlife. Yesterday we were in the centre of Granollers, near one of the industrial estates, and we saw plenty of birdlife on the River Congost. Our best spot was an elegant grey heron (Ardea cinerea) of which I did not get a very good photo but which I will include here to show the urban environment in the background with all the graffiti! There were also many gulls who flew close to our camera when we were watching them from a footbridge over the river. 

Heron / Bernat Pescaire (Ardea cinerea)

Juvenile yellow-legged gull / Gavià argentat (Larus michahellis)

The River Congost, Granollers

Gulls over the River Congost, Granollers

A bit of nature in the city, Granollers

A beautiful January day in Granollers

First wildlife spot of the year

I hardly ventured out of the house today but when I did I was lucky enough to see a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) sunning itself on the pavement. Happy New Year!

Red Admiral / Atalanta (Vanessa atalanta)

Autumn mouse

A couple of weeks ago we were hanging out with some friends in Banyoles enjoying the autumn sunshine when we heard some rustling in the fallen leaves in their garden. It turned out to be a little mouse who was rather too quick on his feet for me to photograph him properly. Here is my best effort:

Another look at the Common Genet

I have been meaning to upload a video of the Common Genet (Genetta genetta) for a while. I feel quite fond of the genet and hope to film more of these charming animals in the future. At the moment I do not have access to a trail-cam, but as soon as I can I will be out filming again. This video was taken in May on the Congost River near La Garriga. The genet in the video is enjoying a snack of sardines, but their normal diet consists of small mammals, birds, other small vertebrates, insects and fruit.

Foraging for fungi

Today we went with a group of families to hunt for mushrooms in the woods near Gurb (Osona). Gathering wild mushrooms is a popular pastime in Catalonia and most people seem to have some idea of which species are edible and which are not. As today's activity was organised by our local scout group, they arranged for an expert to come with us and make sure that we didn't pick anything untoward.

As novices, we had a lot to learn, but we quickly understood how to identify the Yellow Foot (Cantharellus lutescens) which is known as the "Camagroc" in Catalan ("Yellow leg") and which we found in abundance. The children were very excited whenever they found a patch of these and our baskets quickly filled up. We also found Hedgehog mushrooms (Hydnum repandum) which are known as "Llengua de bou" in Catalan which translates as "Ox tongue". Another mushroom which our expert pointed out to us was the "Bec de perdiu" which translates as "Partridge beak". A fellow mushroom hunter told us he knew it as a "Cama de perdiu" ("Partridge leg"). Both of these names seem quite charming compared to its English common names: Brown Slimecap and Copper Spike (Chroogomphus rutilus). My son was particularly pleased to find something which he described as "Pet de llop" ("Wolf fart") which in English seems to have many names including the Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum). If you tread on or touch these mushrooms they release their spores into the air.

When we returned from our foray, we met up with the other groups who had gone hunting in other areas and compared our finds. Then it was time to clean the mushrooms and to make sure that all of them were edible. The scout leaders cooked them for us and we enjoyed them immensely as part of our special lunch which we ate in the Bosc del Malhivern in La Garriga to celebrate the "Castanyada" which is the autumn festival associated with All Saints' Day (which took place yesterday).

Here are some photos of the mushrooms we found today. I have labelled the ones that I think I can identify. The others I will try to identify once I have consulted my books and friends in the know. I would also like to point out that many of these species have a huge number of common names (in both English and Catalan) and that I have not given all of these here.

Yellow Foot / Camagroc (Cantharellus lutescens)

A basketful of fungi (mainly Yellow Foot)

Hedgehog mushroom / Llengua de bou (Hydnum repandum)

Common puffball / Pet de llop (Lycoperdon perlatum)

Where are all the hedgehogs?

At the weekend we visited Parc del Laberint d’Horta on the edge of Barcelona. It is a beautiful park and garden and a lovely place to visit with children. There are a lot of water features in the gardens: fountains, ponds and canals. Sadly in one of the small ponds we saw a dead European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). It had obviously fallen in (possibly after stopping for a drink) and had then been unable to get out because of the steep sides. A Catalan friend we were with said he’d never seen a hedgehog before and it made me think. I’ve only seen one other in the 10 and a half years that I have been living here and that one was dead on the road.

In England, I have seen more hedgehogs, both dead and alive. They always seemed fairly common there and I’ve always known at least one person who has hedgehogs regularly visiting their garden. But, sadly, I know that hedgehogs are in decline in many places.

In the United Kingdom, agriculture methods, pesticides, habitat loss and collisions with cars are all key factors contributing to this decline in hedgehog numbers. You can find out more information from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and please get involved in the Hedgehog Street project too, if you can. 

Here in Catalunya, the Projecte Eriçons is working to gather more information about the distribution of hedgehogs. Hopefully the next hedgehog I see will be alive and well.  

Going batty!

Yesterday we went for an early evening walk and were treated to this spectacular aerial display by some of La Garriga's resident bats.