It's raining here at last, just the tail-end of the terrible weather front causing deluges in other parts of Spain. Winged ants have been flying, and the Swallows and Martins can afford to take a break under the stormclouds to preen, I imagine they've had a good feed today.
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| Red-rumped and Barn swallows and House martin |
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| Travelling companions |
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| Winged ant, possibly a Queen, may become a nutricious meal for migrant birds |
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| Barn swallows with one Red-rumped |
The drought was making our local landscape look ever more African, helped by the stately cows with their huge horns. Now on just about every walk there's a Whinchat perched on a fence or a shrub, and Spotted and Collared Flycatchers either on a post or a twig of a Holm oak.
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| Cow |
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| Whinchat |
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| Spotted flycatcher |
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| Pied flycatcher |
In the prairies, or 'Salamanca savannah' as I call it, the occasional yellow wagtail flutters at insects around cowdung and vultures wait patiently for the air to rise or a cow to die.
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| Whinchat in heat haze |
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| Yellow wagtail |
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| Lapwing and Green Sandpiper |
The few ponds are a magnet for passing waders.
In the very Mediterranean area of the Sierra de Francia, the vegetation is much more lush.
