Bath time in Barcelona

It is important to appreciate the wildlife that we come across when we are doing other things. Never ignore an opportunity to appreciate the activities and behaviours that another species is carrying out in front of you. It may teach you something or, at the very least, it will make you live in the moment as you stop thinking about other things and simply enjoy the small insight into another being's life. With this in mind, I would like to share with you a short video of a house sparrow (Passer domesticus), which is called a "pardal" in Catalan, cooling off in a pool at the Cosmocaixa science museum in Barcelona. 

Banyoles

This weekend the children and I went to cool off in the lake at Banyoles. It is such a beautiful place to spend time. My son and I particularly enjoyed looking for fish as we swam underwater. On the surface there is plenty of life too; large red dragonflies zip around, and we saw ducks, coots and moorhens. The lake provides the perfect place for people to have some contact with nature whilst relaxing and enjoying themselves.

Evening at Banyoles Lake

A night-time walk

Last night I went on a "caminada nocturna" or night-time walk organised by the walking association Les Guilles. We set off at about 8.30pm from Figarò and were soon up in the hills feeling hot and sweaty but enjoying the shady path which took us up through the trees to an impressive viewpoint. The light was starting to fade a bit and so the photos I took are not great but they give you an idea of how impressive the scenery is in this part of Catalonia. As the day drew to a close the air was filled with the sounds of chirruping insects. I suppose they were cicadas and, for me, it is the sound of the Mediterranean summer. When the darkness had fully descended I regretted leaving my head torch at home (oops!) but felt grateful to the kind woman who had lent me a small torch. At the halfway point we had a break where we were served watermelon and orange slices which was very refreshing and spurred us on for the rest of the walk. The downhill path was rather treacherous with loose stones and sand but, luckily, I managed to stay on my feet and to not fall over. Soon we were back on a tarmac road next to the river listening to the loud croaking of the frogs whose vocalisations accompanied us for the last section of the walk. When we arrived back in Figarò I went for a swim in the pool and felt happy to have had this experience of being out in the countryside at night.

Sun on the river

Yesterday morning I tried to escape the heat by walking along the shady path by the river. The sun was strong and it bounced off the slightly murky brown water and made the leaves of the plants and trees on the riverbank shimmer and sparkle with dancing reflections. It was truly beautiful. The birds sang loudly. I was able to watch a robin for several minutes as he sat on a low branch singing. I also saw a couple of extremely small birds hopping around amongst the branches. They were not shy of me and, in fact, one of them seemed to look at me and stayed close by allowing me to look at him/her for a while. I am not sure what species it was. From the size I wonder if it was a wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). In this extreme heat I wonder how the animals cope but at least by the river there are cool places for them to seek refuge.

'Lunatic' by Ivor Cutler

'Living creatures, completely unaware of Man's immortal soul see him only as a vicious destructive creature with an infinite capacity for making a mess, unable to relate to The Earth and without aesthetics. As a dying butterfly was heard to whisper: - "He's a fucking lunatic!" '

Aquatic bats

Yesterday my daughter and I joined a group of other enthusiastic people in the village of Aiguafreda for a talk about bats and, more specifically, the aquatic bat species that are found in Catalonia and which are being studied by the Projecte QuiroRius. Specifically this includes Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) which is called the Ratpenat d'Aigua (Water Bat) in Catalan and the Long-fingered bat (Myotis capaccinii) which, in Catalan, is called the Ratpenat de Peus Grans (the Bat with Big Feet).

After the talk we all went to the Font dels Enamorats where we ate our picnic supper as the sun set and the bats started to appear. Then, with head torches on, we headed off into the woods following the path until a small turning which lead us down to a pool where we saw an aquatic bat racing around above the surface. With our arrival it quickly disappeared but we had been able to hear it on the bat detector.

Some other bats also registered on the bat detectors as we waited there (probably pipistrelles). After waiting a while and realising that no more bats were going to come back (maybe we were making too much noise or showing too many lights), the majority of the party headed off for an excursion in the dark. We decided it was time to head home and on the way back to the car saw a Common Midwife Toad (Alytes obstetricans). In Catalan this species is called the Tòtil. We also heard something large moving around in the bushes but we couldn't see what it was. It was great to be out in nature at night time!

Baby pigeons

Yesterday the kids and I spotted two baby pigeons, that look like they will soon by ready to fledge, flapping their wings frantically on the small ledge that is their nest. While we were watching them, in flew the adult to feed them. I went back a bit later to take a couple of photos but the light was not good and the photos are not of high quality. It is a shame that we hadn't seen them earlier when they were smaller. However they still have some of their downy feathers and do not look completely like adult pigeons just yet.

Hippos don't live in trees, mum!

This morning I saw two hoopoes (Upupa epops) flitting around in the treetops in Corro d'Amunt. As I called out to the kids "Look at the hoopoes in the trees" my daughter replied "Hippos don't live in trees, mum!"

I love these birds as I don't see them very often and they just look so stunning with their wonderful crests and striking colour and patterns. In Catalan the hoopoe is called the 'puput' which is a great name as it reflects the sound that they make. I remember last summer hearing one from the garden but never actually seeing it.

This photo was taken a few years ago in Sant Pere Pescador.

Hoopoe / Puput (Upupa epops)

A spring morning

While my daughter was doing her horse-riding class this morning I took advantage to have a short walk near the stables. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there were many butterflies fluttering around the wild flowers at the roadside. Here are some photos that I took. I have tried to identify the flowers and butterflies.

Two butterflies flutter by

Countryside in Corro d'Amunt

Common Poppy / Rosella (Papaver rhoeas)

Common Fumitory / Fumdeterra (Fumaria officinalis)

Spring pea / Guixó vernal (Lathyrus vernus)

Swallowtail / Papallona reina (Papilio macaon)

Cabbage white / Blanca de la Col (Pieris brassicae)

Blossom

Poppy

A short post today simply to share a photo of a poppy (Papaver rhoeas) that I took this afternoon in the beautiful spring sunshine.

Common poppy / Rosella (Papaver rhoeas)