Mariposas en mi jardín

The next post on Spain is still in the works, so until then here are some pictures I took with my iPad this morning in my garden.

Peacock - Inachis io

Small White - Pieris rapae

Large White - Pieris brassicae

Small Tortoiseshell - Aglais urticae L.

Our biggest Buddleia with Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and Peacock butterflies.

La Mancha July 2013 | Pajaros | Birds

It's been a while since I last posted on here, due in part to the fact that for the past three weeks I have been traversing La Mancha and briefly Alicante with Gui. In this post I am going to write about the Avifauna of the trip, and I could not believe just how much I saw...

        The first lifer of the trip came, as planned, within hours of arriving in España, my new favourite gull Audouin´s (Gaviota de Audouin), as well as a year tick (having only seen a couple prior) in the form of Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota patiamarilla).

Audouin's Gull - Gaviota de Audouin
Photo by Gui

         After two days in the horrible Alicante heat, it was time to head to Albacete. We travelled in the Ave so the journey was fairly quick but still offered plenty in the way of birds, and much more exciting than those which I see regularly on my commute to uni, with Flamingos, Herons being seen as we approached the city of Albacete. Two of my top birds to life tick were seen on the journey; first Bee-eater (Abejaruco) and second Hoopoe (Abubilla)... unfortunately I missed both of them. Luckily I didn't have to wait much longer to see the former and the second came soon after. En route to Chinchilla, I got a lifer in the form of Little Bustard, however the lack of light and fact that we were in a car and the bird was in flight meant very poor views. 

         The next morning Gui and I traversed the Sierra de Chinchilla where it wasn't long before we'd seen Bee-eaters. I didn't expect that after this I'd end up seeing them almost as much as Wood pigeons (Paloma torcaz), but the novelty didn't wear off. Another bimbo (FYI: Spanish for lifer), was Serin of which I got a poor record shot and was surprised to have not seen more of.
         The majority of birds were in fact seen whilst in the car or train, and were seen en route to other locations such as Booted and Short-toed Eagle (Águila calzada y Águila culebrera), Roller (Carraca), Bee-eater, and Lesser Kestrel (Cernícalo primilla) but one evening driving around the outskirts of the city with Rafa Torralba was particularly fruitful with great views of Roller, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Stone Curlew, Little Owl, c30 Black Kites (a lifer for me!), Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga ibérica), Black-winged Stilt (Cigüeñuela), Booted Eagle, and not so great but ok views of Great Bustard (Avutarda) within the space of a few hours!

Roller - Carraca

Black Kites - Milanos negros

Little Owl - Mochuelo

        One of the things which I found the best was the fact there is little need to travel far at all to see awesome birds, however one day Gui, Rafa, and I paid a visit to the south of the province, and into Granada and Jaén to see some particularly exciting species. We set off early on the Wednesday morning and after a couple of hours of travelling arrived at our first destination where I had my first views of Griffon Vulture (Buitre leonado), definitely now one of my favourite raptors - I even managed to get a half decent record shot! At our next stop for vultures I managed another two lifers (one of which I almost twitched last year); Alpine Swift (Vencejo real) and Crag Martin (Avión roquero), and minutes later at a village down the road I 'bimbo'd' my second  Hirundine of the day; Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina dáurica).

Red-rumped Swallow - Golondria daúrica

        After driving a while longer and then settling down next to have lunch (including the best sandwich ever made by Gui) in a refuge in the mountains, we set off on the road again travelling through los Campos de Hernán Perea seeing many more Griffon Vultures along the way and also a new Corvid for me; Chough (Chova piquirroja). After a driving for a fair while (something made pleasant by the stunning scenery but not so pleasant by the scorching heat), we pulled off onto one of the quieter roads through the mountains and reached an area with some trees and bushes where we got one of my favourite birds of the trip; Azure-winged Magpie (Rabilargo). I didn't expect to get such good views and see so many, but I was pleasantly surprised, and all were calling loudly; one of the most interesting calls I've heard but a cool one. Sadly I didn't manage a picture however Gui did, but being able to get fairly sustained views is more than I could have asked for; one of the lifers I've most enjoyed and can't wait to see more of in the future.

Azure-winged Magpie - Rabliargo

        Our final stop for the day was el Estrecho del Hocino where as well as seeing a lot of Mountain Goats; one of my things from the trip, I badly mistook something very exciting for something not so exciting. The bird, which eventually turned  out to be a lifer for me as opposed to something I saw regularly in the UK was a Blue Rock Thrush! We got sustained but not fabulous views due to the light and position of the bird but definitely a cool bird to tick. Not as vivid blue as I'd hoped for though. At the Estrecho del Hocino we were also very lucky to see a stationary Crag Martin, which allowed me to get my first picture of a single Hirundine!

Griffon Vulture - Buitre leonado

Chough - Chova piquirroja

Crag Martin - Avión roquero

Woodchat Shrike - Alcaudón común

         Compared to England, very little time was spent birding from hides and we only visited one; at the lagoon of Pétrola, however just as many if not more birds were seen from outside the hide. This was where I got potentially my favourite lifer of the trip; White-headed Duck (Malvasía cabeciblanca); a crazy and fascinating looking duck, and definitely in my top 10 birds. The only other lifer I got at Pétrola was Kentish Plover (chorlitejo patinegro), but it was where I got much better views of birds that I had only got glimpses of earlier in the trip such as Flamingos, Black-winged Stilts, and also some Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho lagunero) en route to the hide.

White-headed Duck - Malvasía cabeciblanca

Flamingo - Flamenco rosa

Black-winged Stilt - Cigueñuela

 Overall the most amazing three weeks - My monotonous listing in this blogpost really doesn't do it any justice! Many of the species I was so desperate to see, were the ones I only managed to get fairly crappy views of such as Stone Curlew (Gui's favourite) and one he had me desperate to see, and Great and Little Bustard, so I am hoping to rectify this in next time, and I can't wait to get back and see even more awesome stuff. In the mean time I will be writing some further posts about Invertebrates, Mammals, and Plants etc. I hope you enjoyed reading.

  

Lifer list - Listado de bimbos

1. Audouin's Gull  Gaviota de Audouin
2. Spotless Starling  Estornino negro
3. Gull-billed Tern  Pagaza piconegra
4. Rock Sparrow  Gorrión chillón
5. Pallid Swift  Vencejo pálido
6. Alpine Swift  Vencejo real
7. Red-rumped Swallow  Golondrina dáurica
8. Crag Martin   Avión roquero
9. Blue Rock Thrush  Roquero solitario
10. Azure-winged Magpie Rabilargo
11. Chough   Chova piquirroja
12. Griffon Vulture  Buitre leonado
13. Lesser Kestrel  Cernícalo primilla
14. Bee-eater  Abejaruco
15. Hoopoe  Abubilla
16. Booted Eagle  Águila calzada
17. Short-toed Eagle  Águila culebrerera
18. Golden Eagle  Águila real
19. Little Owl  Mochuelo
20. Black Kite  Milano negro
21. Great Bustard  Avutarda euroasiática
22. Pin-tailed Sandgrouse  Ganga ibérica
23. Montagu's Harrier  Aguilucho cenízo
24. Quail   Codorniz común
25. Crested Lark  Cogujada común
26. Thekla Lark   Cogujada montesina
27. Iberian Grey Shrike  Alcaudón real meridional
28. Sardinian Warbler  Curruca cabecinegra
29. Black Wheatear  Collalba negra
30. Stone Curlew  Alcaraván
31. Little Bustard   Sisón
32. White-headed Duck  Malvasía cabeciblanca
33. Kentish Plover   Chorlitejo patinegro

Flora, Flora, Flora | Patch League

Visiting my patch today it was a different world. The vegetation had grown up immensly, and I finally two of my favourite plants on patch had begun to flower! A quick but very fruitful visit. Here are some of the things I saw and photographed, as per, with the iPad. (If anything is incorrectly ID'd, please let me know with a comment, I'd be really grateful!).

Veronica persica

Lamium album

Any ideas?

Cowslip or Oxlip?

Any suggestions?

Taraxacum officinale

Iris pseudacorus

Dactylorhiza fuchsii

Crataegus monogyna

Anthriscus sylvestris

Equisetum sp. 

Day 2 | Train Trip

Today we went to Hope Valley in Derbyshire, with the intention of seeing Redstart and Pied-Flycatcher. After two trains we set off across the farmland, and within a matter of minutes James had spotted a pair of Redstart. I got great views of the male and can now say that it is one of my favourite British breeding birds; absolutely stunning! The walk between Hope and the Ladybower reservoir was abundant with invertabrates. The first invert of interest was a lovely White-pinion Spotted (Lomographa bimaculata), a new moth for me (though what isn't...). Other species of interest were a Comma (first for the year for me), and a gorgeous Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris).We walked around the the reservoir, which had little in the way of birdlife, to the woods, which bordered on an area of Moorland. Red Grouse
provided a nice addition for the day and as Robert and Emma sorted out travel arrangements, James and I went ahead to the woods. After listening to the Pied Flycatcher call to jog our memories, we sat down on a log and minutes later began to hear the call. Emma and Robert joined us, and soon after I spotted a beautiful male on a branch down further into the woods, and James went on to find a female. Unfortunately, no extremely sustained views were had, but we managed to get some long enough to appreciate how beautiful they are. Definitely much more satisfying to see one on breeding territory and self-found than the young bird we twitched last year at Holy Island after a weekend of no sleep. By the time we arrived back at the station we were all out of energy, but unfortunately a non-existent train meant an extra hour in Hope so we ended the day with a nice cold drink at the village pub, ready for yet more trains. . .

Thanks for reading!

Day 1 | Train Trip

The other week I was fortunate enough to recieve a free weekend's travel from Northern Rail to make up for delays and being rubbish etc. I emailed my good friends James and Robert, and after a few weeks planning (by them) this weekend was time for the excursion!
       We were up bright and early on Saturday morning, planning to go to Askham bog, and set off for the station at 6.30 am. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the station James had vomitted up most of his insides and so he decided to head back to Robert's. At the station we met up with Emma, Robert's friend and the three of us pondered what to do now. After looking at the leaflet for a space of 5 seconds Emma and I decided that Appleby looked nice so a couple of hours later and after a hopeless search for a map, we set off for Cumbria. The journey between Leeds and Appleby was stunning, and was a successful nature trip in it's own right with Green Woodpecker and Fox. Three and a half hours later, we arrived at our destination. Within 30 minutes of leaving the station the day had already peaked with a surprising Red Squirrel being spotted by Robert. It was very obliging, much more-so than any I had seen before and I even managed to get an (albeit crap) record shot with my iPad! After this we carried on through the woods for a while, eventually arriving at a farm with a river running next to it, which yielded a stunning Grey Wagtail but not much else.
        A quick stop for lunch, and then it was on to the castle. Unfortunately, yet again our plans fell through as this was closed so we decided to return to the woodland to try for another look at Red Squirrel, but to no avail. Nuthatch and Treecreeper were a nice end to the day though, along with a second Fox for the day!

iPad Red Squirrel record shot

Train-trip Day 2 to follow!

A trip to enemy territory｜Patch League

Yesterday, I paid a visit to the patch of one of my fellow patch leaguers, Africa of Wild at Hull (ABugBlog).
The sun was shining, and, apart from a bit of wind making it a little chilly it was a lovely day for birding. We started off at Springbank Cemetary, and within a few minutes heard the unmistakable call of the Chiffchaff, a first for the year for me and at long last. Other than the Chiffchaff, bird wise there we weren't too lucky with the only others being the typical residents Wren, Robin, and Dunnock. Invertebrates, on the other hand, we a plenty. The first rock we turned over immediately yielded one new member of the patch list, the Black Millipedes below (Tachypodoiulus niger), and a new harvestman for the list (Nemastoma bimaculatum), as well as some other nice specimens:

Black Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Oxychilus spp. ?

Something which I had gone without noticing, but which was pointed out to me by Africa, was the enormous number of Tawny Mining Bee nesting holes, both at the cemetery and our next destination; Pearson Park. This is a bee I'd never really seen much of before, though I can't say I'd ever looked for it, but I am now definitely keen to find some on my own patch as they are a stunning species. However, not quite as stunning as another bee we found later in the day...

Tawny Mining Bee Andrena fulva

        We began at the Wildlife Garden, and whilst having lunch had a Sparrowhawk fly overheard and a sole Swallow (spotted by Africa but missed by me). We then went on to the park itself, where we didn't see a great deal in the way of birds but after hearing it's loud call, were drawn to a tree close by where we were treated to amazing views of a Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming, something neither of us had seen before but awesome to watch. If only I'd had my proper camera!
         After Pearson and a much needed coffee break, whilst walking close to Princes Avenue Africa spotted  a bee on the pavement. Only seconds later, the bee was almost run over by a small child riding a scooter, but fortunately had it's like spared. It was a Cuckoo Bee Melecta albifrons, and the most beautiful bee I have ever seen. The picture really does not do it justice! Africa said how it must have started flying at the wrong time of day and not been able to gather up enough energy to continue on it's way, so we put it on one of it's favoured plants to regain some energy...

Cuckoo Bee Melecta albifrons

A wonderful species to end a great day with! 

Top 10 Wish List | España, verano 2013