It’s been almost 7 months since I last
updated this blog, maybe the cause has been pandemic paralysis or a kind of mind
fog, but the very thought of sitting down to writing and editing photographs
made me run away from the computer. I
did try in April, and got as far as the title… but it’s time to update and show
some of the natural highlights from winter through spring and up to this point,
still early summer, because nature for me is what makes sense of and gives
direction to life, when too much information and too many doubts and fears can
darken the present and future.
So here goes, a series of photographs of
what makes living in this part of Spain a true delight, 12 months of the year,
starting with the winter months and going on to the present moment.
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Hen harrier
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Hen harrier and Merlin
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Azud de Riolobos
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White stork
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Crow with Marsh harrier
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Charm of Goldfinch
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| Merlin |
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Spotless starling
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Guess who?
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When the mate finally arrived
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| Siskins | |
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Rock bunting
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| Iberian shrike couple taking possession |
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Blue rock thrush
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Short toed treecreeper
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Spanish sparrow and corn buntings
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Corn bunting
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Window on the mountains
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And through spring...
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Amethyst toadflax
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Young bee-eater (note shorter tail)
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Young Woodchat shrike
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Booted eagle
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Cirl bunting
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Clouded yellow
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Short-toed eagle
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Melodious warbler
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| Hoopoe |
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Iberian shrike
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The short-toed eagle's look
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Spanish sparrows in the field
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Iberian magpie
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Pink Iberian shrike
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Young Stonechat
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| Turtle dove |
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I went to water the tomatoes this morning and the allotment was full of Serins: I've left plenty of thistles so it's a good feast for them. As I built drystone retaining walls for raised beds this spring I was often accompanied by a Blackbird singing from the wire on one side and a Nightingale singing from a wire on the opposite side. Such bliss. Altogether there must have been around half a dozen male Nightingales in the vicinity, all singing their little hearts out. That's why one of them chooses to sing from a wire instead of a tree.
The lovely purring of Turtle doves is another favourite sound, I heard one two evenings ago. I finally admitted to having lost a good part of my hearing (the high range) so I got some hearing aids a few months ago and they've changed my life: I can hear the Bee-eaters way before seeing them! If there's anyone proud out there with hearing difficulties just go for it, suddenly nature is LOUD again and it's fabulous.
