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.

Time for an update

I have not written for a while and, indeed, I have not been able to dedicate much time to nature lately. However, I always keep an eye out for the plants and animals that I come across in my everyday routines. So, today I will share with you a video of the longest worm I have ever seen which we spotted by the roadside in the rain today and, also, some beautiful spring blossom covered in raindrops.

Pigeons

Over the last month we have been watching a pair of pigeons build and tend to their nest, lay their eggs and start to raise their two chicks. Here are a few photos of the process so far.

Halloween ghost birds

On Halloween this year I saw a very special sight - hundreds of little egrets (Egretta garzetta) coming in to roost by the river in Granollers. The video does not do justice to the spectacle but it is worth sharing anyway, I think.

A surprise sighting

Last weekend we visited the beautiful Parc Laberint in Barcelona and were surprised to see a wild boar having his lunch without a care in the world and totally unfazed by our presence. Apparently the park is regularly visited by wild boar who, presumably, come from the nearby Collserola Natural Park. 

Watching the wild boar with my daughter

Summer camp

Last week I paid a visit to the summer camp that is taking place at the nature school in Vallcàrquera in Figaró-Montmany. I showed the children my trailcam and explained to them how it works. I showed them some of the videos that I have recorded in La Garriga and Figaró. Then I suggested to them that we set the camera up at the nature school to see what we might film. One of the children suggested that we put it near the pond which is what we did, leaving some sardines and peanut butter as bait. While I was setting up the camera, one of the summer school monitors found a female newt in the pond! What a treat to see this animal so close up!

We left the camera for four nights and this week I went back to show the children the videos that we had recorded. They were very amused by the dog who turned up, rolled in the sardines and then swam in the pond! The group of people who spotted the camera and then danced in front of it, also made them laugh.

We did manage to record some wildlife too - two different foxes, a wild boar, a blackbird and a jay. In some of the videos we could clearly hear the sounds of the frogs in the pond too.

Stone marten on film

Here are a couple of videos from this week of the stone marten (Martes foina) that visited my camera trap. He is a curious chap as he comes right up to the camera to have a look at it. In Catalan this species is known as the fagina. Stone martens are found through much of Europe and Asia.

Foxy emperor butterfly

The other day we saw this stunning Two-tailed pasha or foxy emperor (Charaxes jasius) drinking from the water that had splashed onto the paving by the side of the outdoor swimming pool in El Figaró.

Foxy emperor / Papallona d l'arboç (Charaxes jasius)

Daytime genet

It has been a long time since I left my camera trap out to see what wildlife I can video and, in fact, I also loaned it to a friend for a few weeks who took some lovely footage of rabbits, pheasants and grey squirrels near his home in the southwest of England.

This week I decided to try my luck in Vallcàrquera in el Figaró. I left a little snack of sardines as a reward for any animals that came along and the lucky recipients were a genet and a stone marten (also known as a beech marten). Stone martens are very similar to pine martens, but my Catalan nature book says that pine martens are in the Pre-Pyrenees and the Pyrenees, so I think that what we have living here in the Vallès Oriental must be stone martens.

On all previous occasions I have only filmed and photographed genets at night but, this time, one showed up at 6 o'clock in the evening. It is great to have a video in daylight and I am happy to share it here:

A summer walk - butterflies and lizards

Apologies for the poor quality photos but they were taken on a phone. They show how hot and hazy it is here at the moment.

Large psammodromus / Sargantana cuallarga (Psammodromus algirus)