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.

"Be kind and tender to the Frog"

About a month ago, I came across this little frog in some pools in the countryside near Seva. I think that it is a Perez's frog also known as an Iberian green frog (Pelophylax perezi). I am not entirely confident with this identification because most of the images I have seen on the Internet are of adult frogs and this one was clearly a froglet.

Perez's Frog / Granota verda (Pelophylax perezi)

I find small frogs incredibly endearing, cute even, but, I must admit that, when they get older, I have a slight phobia of them. I'm not sure where this fear comes from - did a frog leap at me when I was younger? Such fears are unfounded and, perhaps, it is wise to heed the words of Hilaire Belloc in his poem about this amphibian.

The Frog 

by Hilaire Belloc

Be kind and tender to the Frog,

And do not call him names,

As 'Slimy skin', or 'Polly-wog',

Or likewise 'Ugly James',

Or 'Gap-a-grin', or 'Toad-gone-wrong',

Or 'Billy Bandy-knees':

The Frog is justly sensitive

To epithets like these. 

No animal will more repay

A treatment kind and fair;

At least so lonely people say 

Who keep a frog (and, by the way,

They are extremely rare).

When the river runs high

I love it when, after some heavy rain, the river is high. Last week, I took this photo on my favourite stretch of river between La Garriga and El Figaró.

Minstrel bugs

This is not a great photo because I took it on my phone, but I want to share it because I think that these little insects, which are known as Minstrel Bugs or Italian Striped Bugs, are really rather stunning.

Minstrel Bug / Bernat Vermell (Graphosoma lineatum italicum)

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!" '