Highlights from the balcony, and the first post-confinement walks.

Confinement is slowly coming to an end, and yesterday evening and today I went out in different directions and reveled in the birdsong, the wildflowers… and just being there amongst it all. The lack of sheep around here lately as the local shepherd stayed in his village has meant that there are flowers bordering all the tracks that would normally have disappeared, and the rains over the last few months have of course helped. Everything is just gorgeous, and more so for being able at last to enjoy it directly.

Having said that, I’ve discovered that balcony birding is actually quite remarkable and I would never have guessed that I could see birds up close quite as amazing as some of our recent visitors. So here are a few photographs of the highlights and the recent walks…

Great Spotted Cuckoo

White stork

Food queues Spanish sparrows

Greenfinch

Champagne orchid Orchis champaneuxi and Tongue orchid Serapias lingua

Stonechat couple

Stork and chicks

View of the village

View to the mountains

Woodchat shrike

Woodlark amongst the orchids

Iberian shrike

Iberian shrike supper: Mole cricket Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa

Field of Tassel hyacinth Muscari comosum

Tiny purple flowers in the middle of the track

Thekla larks

Wild rabbit

Flowery verges

And here's a little concert from last night's walk and a link to my video of the Great Spotted cuckoo.

Be safe and enjoy the spring wherever you are!