Madrid and Castilla y Leon

Argynnis pandora Cardinal

Lacerta scheriberi Iberian Emerald Lizard

Rascafria

Garrulus glandarius Eurasian Jay

Spot the Dipper (Cinclus cinclus)

Vespa crabro European Hornet 

Pinus sylvestris L.   Scots Pine 

Pelophylax perezi  Perez's Frog

Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso

Sitta europaea  Eurasian Nuthatch

Segovia Cathedral

Segovia Cathedral and Castle as the sun begins to set 

Ficedula hypoleuca   European Pied Flycatcher

Pica pica  Eurasian Magpie

The Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid

Hibiscus schizopetalus in The Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid

Vertical Garden in Madrid

Terrapins in Atocha Station

The calm before the storm in Chinchilla

Argiope lobata (Female and two males)

Oenanthe hispanica Black-eared Wheatear

Mantis religiosa  European Praying Mantis

Oenanthe hispanica Black-eared Wheatear

Mantis religiosa  European Praying Mantis

Mason wasp nests. (Any ID help would be greatly appreciated!)

Just after these photos were taken, as the sun was about to set we got caught RIGHT in the middle of a storm. We ran all the way home (me a bit freaked out), absolutely melting, and the worst part was it didn't even rain! I'm still waiting for a decent rainy day since moving out here on the 22nd May...

Postcard from Alicante

House of Sparrows!

I went home for a week last week, and became a bit obsessed with the House Sparrows...

Spain I: Twilight Toads and Lepidoptera Everywhere

One of my favourite things to do over here in Spain, is go for night time nature walks. A time of 'day' which would otherwise be spent staring at screens until the wee hours is much better utilised popping a headlamp on, getting togged up (or in my case, underestimating how cold it can get at night over here), and getting out to see what lurks around when I'm usually sprawled out in bed. And so, last week, we did exactly that. A few days later, and we also decided to take a trip to see the sierra in it's full daylight glory, and a quick walk before lunch provided us with a enough butterflies to last a  lifetime amongst other stuff. Here's the snaps:

Azure skies

Trips to the Sierra whether it be Relumbrar, Segura, or Alcaraz are always a treat for me and one of the things I most look forward to when I'm visiting this part of the world. Today it was the turn of the Sierra del Relumbrar to be graced by our presence, so at 8am, lacking in energy, we hopped into Rafa's car to set off on our little adventure. 

¡Hola 2015!

Hey everybody.

I'm  not one for giving a mahoosively in depth explanation of my absence because I'm sure you've all got busy lives to be on with (also there isn't an explanation), but here I am, back again.

My 2015 has started off in an always sunny, but not so warm corner of La Mancha... where else?! Despite the weather basically being the same as back home on our Island, with the new year arrived a miniscule amount of warmth and the opportunity for a brand new year list. A chilled out walk up to the castle and around the village provided some lovely starters for the year, including Black Redstart, Chiffchaff, and a second (but even poorer) view of Dartford Warbler, bustling among the Opuntia plastered rocks as we made our way down the village. Oh, and of course, the usual suspects House Sparrow, Starling, and Kestrel. Not bad for a morning!

Apart from a short expedition into the forest for a session of planting Holm and Kermes Oak acorns and plantlings with ARBA, where heard-only Treecreeper, Sandgrouse, and Woodlark didn't quite make the new list, our only other nature 'excursion' during the last week has been to and from the village. Fences and fences of Goldfinches and Linnets, one Kestrel, and a large unidentified raptor was yesterday's selection, but I live in hope that plenty more trips around those parts will provide me at long last with my bogey bird; Little Bustard.