Bird Drawing of the Day: Woodpigeon

    Some of you might remember the series of posts that I used to call 'Biro Bird of the Day', where I showed my biro drawings of birds (duh). Encouraged by some of my friends, I've decided to start over this section renaming it 'Bird Drawing of the Day', as I feel encouraged to use new techniques such as watercolours. For my first drawing I chose one of the commonest birds of our part of the world, the Woodpigeon.

Goodbye old friend... A blog post 8 months overdue

BEN

???? - 2013

Some of you may have seen my post 'Ben...', which I published almost a year ago on here. For those who don't know about 'Ben', to cut a long story short, he's a Churchyard Beetle (Blaps mucronata). 

Pressing Matters pt. 1 | Flora

My Herbarium: Way too girly, I know.

For the past five months or so, I have been working on a herbarium. For those of you who maybe don't know what a herbarium is (I didn't until this year, shamefully, considering I am studying for a Zoology degree and my parents are basically botanists), it is a collection of pressed plant specimens, each with a label to give information about that particular plant, and is something often created by universities or botanical gardens, along with other organisations and individuals.
        For me, my herbarium started out as just something for me to learn a little about plants but just have a nice time compiling. Now however, my purposes have changed somewhat. Although I still want it to be something to do for my own enjoyment in my free time, it has totally changed my perspective on plants, and in fact Plants are becoming to me just as, if not more interesting than birds.

La Mancha August 2013 | Weeks 3, 4 & 5 – Semanas III, IV, V

This post is going to be shorter and more random than the last one, as for one reason or another we didn't end up doing as much this past three weeks but I'm going to write about some of the highlights. 

Madrid: We went to Madrid on the 14th September, one of my favourite cities and the first stop was the Real Jardín Botánico. What an amazing place! As we walked beside the gardens and approached the entrance, the sound of parakeets resonated everywhere. The gardens are phenomenal with plants familiar to me from England such as Quercus robur (English Oak), alongside more exotic species such as Hibiscus syriacus, and Spanish endemisms such as the Canarian Palm (Phoenix canariensis).
    As we were walking around, I noticed a large butterfly flying around - A MONARCH! - I couldn't believe my eyes, as it was one of those species that was so familiar to me but not in the flesh. One of the best nature moments ever for me, and I even managed a decent-ish picture was a miracle for me.

Monarch Butterfly Danaeus plexippus

Plants: As with the last trip, Gui and I spent some time collecting plants for our herbariums. One day, in what I think was the third week, we once again spent the day in the mountains in the south of the province. This time we went to a different area to the previous, and instead went to the Riópar area. One of the most amazing places I have ever visited, which we visited that day was El Nacimiento del Rio Mundo. Mountains, waterfalls, pines, vultures... what more could you want! And an amazing array of flora. Ferns were one of the main plants we saw this trip, and the park of the Nacimiento del Rio Mundo was no exception. We saw four species on the site alone; Asplenium trichomanes, Ceterach officinarium, Adiantum capillus-veneris, and Pteridium aquilinum; one of our most familiar and widespread Fern species: Bracken. As if five species of these fascinating plants wasn't enough, whilst driving through Riópar on the way for Lunch; Gui spotted some Equisetums (Horsetails) on the outskirts of the village. After Lunch we stopped off to get some cuttings for our herbarium and after some identification at home we came to the conclusion of Equisetum telmateia. One of the most interesting additions! 

        Although we did get many other species, I'm going to save it all for a Herbarium post which you can expect at some point in the future so I can go into a bit more detail, and also due to the fact that I am not with them right now and have forgotten most of them. 

Dotterels: Our last wildlife trip out was to see one of the most beautiful waders: the Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus). We (Rafa, Gui and I) didn't have to journey far as in Albacete, the sandy, agricultural land in the outskirts of the city provides a great stopping ground for these birds whilst on passage. We first travelled down some of the many dirt tracks which wove between the fields, but were unsuccessful on the Dotterel front for a while, though we did see Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus), and my first views of one not in flight, as well as Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus), Little Owl (Athene noctua), and always lovely, a Hoopoe (Upupa epops). When we arrived at the site of the Dotterels, we were traversing the sandy field, trying not to sink in when Gui spotted a strange looking falcon. On the first glance, Hobby seemed the obvious option as the behaviour was very much the same; chasing a Hirundine. However after having a closer look, the shape was not Swift-like like a hobby, and the bird was slightly larger and furthermore different in colour. After a moment of pondering, Rafa confirmed that it was in fact an Eleonora's Falcon; a lifer for Gui and I as we had missed out the last time in Spain, as Rafa had seen some in the same site just a couple of days after we went. As if this wasn't awesome enough, within a minute or so of the sighting, we finally found our Dotterels. At first, we didn't get such great views but they were quite obliging and on getting closer I even managed to get an ok photo. We walked on further, towards the car and found a field full of individuals, and got even better views, but as we did the sun started to go down and so it was time to head home.

Short-toed Eagle feeding on a Woodpigeon

Hoopoe

Dotterel

And that's it for the Spain reports for now, though I am hoping to return at Christmas for the third instalment!

La Mancha | Weeks 1 & 2 – Semanas I y II

So, I´m back in La Mancha again and this post is going to be a summary of all the stuff I´ve seen in my first week and a half here.

Due to feeling crap due to a really bad throat, the first three days or so didn´t involve much in the way of nature but after some antibiotics Gui and I were back out in the field.

24.08.13

The first nature outing was very brief, and was to a fountain in the outskirts of the village, and wasn´t the most fruitful of excursions, though on the way, a Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica, golondrina daúrica) was a nice surprise, though again I didn´t manage a photo. Also on the way were many Pallid Swifts (Apus pallidus, vencejo pálido), the only species left in Chinchilla as the Common Swifts (Apus, apus, vencejo común) have already begun their long migration, and house martins, and a single common kestrel (cernícalo vulgar). When we arrived at the fountain, it was a little dissappointing as the majority of life seemed to be mosquito larvae, however we did find a nice worm to add to our natural aquarium which we began last time I was here, about which you can read more in Gui's post. And that is the end of the summary of our first outing, but unfortunately the next is going to be just as brief.

25.08.13

We decided to go visit some of the pines at the bottom of the village close to the main road that we had seen returing to the house the night before to see what was around. On the way I got an invertebrate lifer in the form of Iris oratoria, however it dissappeared very quickly not allowing me to get a photo. When we arrived at the pines we were again dissappointed, hearing Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis sharpei, pito real) and literally nothing else. (I apologise for the slightly lacking summary so far but I promise it does get better).

26.08.13

The next day, we finally went to the mountains. After lunch, we decided to rest a little before going and wait for the rain to die down. From the terrace, we were surprised to see a gathering of ~37 hirundines on an aerial close by, the majority Swallows but with a few Sand Martins in the mix, clearly preparing for their long migration. 

The beginnings of the gathering

After a quick stop off at the shop for sugary foods we stopped close to the bottom of the hill up to the mountain to look in some “adelfas” or “baladres” (Nerium oleander) for mantises, and to our luck Gui found one almost right away, a female Mantis religiosa, and luckily this time managed a picture. The next interesting thing to happen was losing my phone in a forsest full of thousands of identical Pinus halepensis, but fortunately, after retracing our steps, I was reunited minutes later. In the mountain I saw many plant species which I had not noticed the previous trip such as Helianthemum sp. (still in flower, surprisingly), Cistus clusii, and some new thistle species yet to be identified, and many species which last time had seemed to be everywhere seemed much less obvious due to their changing form. As we got further up the mountain, the weather began to worsen and so we decided to cut short our visit and turn back and on turning around we got great views of an Iberian Hare (Lepus granatensis, liebre ibérica), a new species for me and an endemism to the Iberian Peninsula and noticeably different to the Common Hare (Lepus europaeus, liebre europea) I have seen so many times back home which is in my opinion much less interesting.

Mantis religiosa

27.08.13

Not much to write for today though at the very end of the day, on a very cold and windy walk around the village after a day of bad weather, I found one of the best things I've ever found. A first for me (in the wild) but something very close to my heart - an example of Blaps mucronata (Churchyard Beetle) - close to the caves. This is a species very important to me as I recently lost my own, Ben, after eleven years (yes, you heard me right). If you´re interested you can read about that here.

28.08.13

After almost 48 hours of stormy weather (which was at times a little scary), it was a perfect night to go on the hunt for amphibians. In the outskirts of Chinchilla we found a Natterjack Toad (Epidalea calamita, sapo corredor) which is something Robert, James, and I had tried for many times without success, and after dinner three more and also a single Common Parsley Frog (Pelodytes punctatus, sapillo moteado).

Epidalea calamita. Formerly belonging to the genus Bufo.

29.08.13

Today we went to Valdeganga. On the journey there, we saw three Lesser Kestrels (Falco naumannii, cernícalo primilla), two marsh harriers (Circus aeruginosus, aguilucho lagunero) and an Iberian Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis, alcaudón real meridional). Our main intention was to collect pinecones of Pinus pinaster (pino resinero). These are generally a more common sight in the southern, more mountainous part of the province, along with Pinus nigra, however Gui had found some near the village on his last visit, and after sucessfully collecting some and watching some migrating Bee-eaters close by we went on to the river. Our plan was to collect some more specimens for our aquarium, however we only managed a prawn (Atyaephyra desmaresti) and some snails (Melanopsis tricarinata , and (heard only) Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis, martín pescador) and Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti, ruiseñor bastardo). The weather was partly to blame, as all the rain and storms had made the water level very high and sediment was making visibility bad and another bad storm was brewing cutting short our trip.

Atyaephyra desmaresti taking a dump.

1.09.13

This morning we went to the mountains of Chinchilla, armed with six Cistus albidus, a species of Rock Rose (Jara blanca) and two Pinus pinea (pino piñonero) to try and continue with Gui'´s efforts to reforest correctly the area. On the way, we stopped at what Gui had told me to be a reliable spot for seeing Mantis. Sure enough, we found one Iris oratoria and not only this but an amazingly big 'grillo de matorral' (Decticus albifrons?). On arriving, we found a fairly healthy Cistus which had been planted at the beginning of the year and because of this decided to plant two more in the same place, watching a Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris, ardilla roja) as we did. We continued along the path, where we saw butterflies every step. In between plantings, we saw many insects particularly Shieldbugs, Grasshoppers, and as mentioned already butterflies, and at the site of one of the plantings, saw a blue-tailed young Iberian Lizard (Podarcis hispanica, lagartija ibérica). En route to the final planting site we saw many snails of the genus Sphinterochila. In the forest next to this we had planned to find the Quercus ilex (encinas) that Gui had planted before, however unfortunately we were unsuccessful, however whilst there I spotted a group of five birds – Woodlarks! A lifer for me... and at long last, as it was one of the birds I'd tried to see the last time I was here. Shortly after, we arrived at the final planting site, close to the perch of an Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo, búho real). Unfortunately, a Cistus that we had discovered to be broken last time, had dissappeared. The good thing was that we found two new Quercus ilex growing very close by. At this moment, as we were just about to plant the remaining plants Gui realised that he had lost the digging tool so we decided to return to the house and find it on the way. Whilst walking through the village, close to the shop we found a young Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros, colirrojo tizón) which allowed us to get very close but without time for me to get a picture, however to our luck just seconds later we encountered another of which I managed a few poor record shots, though the great views alone were enough to keep me contented. A nice end to the day.

Reforesting a mountain doesn´t always go to plan...

2.9.13

Today once again we went to the Sierra de Chinchilla to plant the Cistus and Pinus pinea left over from yesterday, as well as some Quercus ilex. Today, the mountain was full of cyclists and people; a little annoying when you want to observe the forest and its wildlife, and reforest without disturbance. Despite all of this, we planted the final plants successfully. At the site of the Eagle Owl , we got great views of a Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla, agateador común), which until today I had only heard, not seen. After finishing planting, we ventured further to see if the acorns of the Quercus ilex and Quercus coccifera (coscoja) were ready but unfortunatly not; like everything this year, very late. These two perennial oak species more closely resemble a Holly (Ilex aquifolium), than either our own native Oak species (Quercus robur; Quercus petraea). After enjoying the views of the Manchego countryside, we returned home. On the way, we saw three Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata, ganga ibérica) crossing the path very close to us. Part of the journey back involved passing through a field of thistles (cardos), where in one single thistle we found four examples of Iris oratoria; three males (one green) and one yellowish female. We chose to return via a different path where I spotted a raptor which Gui identified as a Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus, halcón abejero) – A lifer to end the day and the first two weeks!

Iris oratoria (left: males, right: female). All in the same thistle!

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