Latest:The first of the Honey Buzzards have been seen migrating northwards this week...
As the avian migration across The Strait of Gibraltar continues with thousands of swift pecies whizzing across the blue skies, the first of our passerines, like this little Common Stonechat (above) are already fledged and starting to search for insects on their own, while their parents start a second brood
As the avian migration across The Strait of Gibraltar continues with thousands of swift pecies whizzing across the blue skies, the first of our passerines, like this little Common Stonechat (above) are already fledged and starting to search for insects on their own, while their parents start a second brood
Pallid Common and Alpine Swifts have been seen almost every day. The clouds of insects, particularly flying ants that emerged after last weekends heavy storms have been a great source of food for lots of migrating and resident birds alike. Lesser Kestrels have been seen feeding on flying ants and hunting in the open meadows for crickets and grasshoppers, sheling them en route to their nests in the white villages or pueblos blancos in Andalucia
Megarian Banded Centipedes (Scolopendra cingulata), seen here in the grip of a Woodchat Shrike, are one of the more unpleasant and venemous of insects that we can encounter in SW Spain. Although most people are not seriously affected by this species, some people may be allergic to the venom, or just more sensitive, making it a dangerous situation. This is one of the reasons that people should not handle this centipede. They are mainly a burrowing insect although they can be found under stones and large logs and feed on emerging insects like pinhead crickets or other small insects
The sound of migrating Bee-eaters has almost stopped now and it's just the 'locals' we are hearing as they continue their courtships, displays and active burrowing and nest building in softer earth or sand banks
Iberian Hares are such lovely creatures to watch, when you get a chance. Like most wild animals patience is required and of course they are extremely wary of man. In our area they are still permitted to hunt these beautiful creatures with dogs. There are many established and legal clubs in Spain where they have the right during certain times of the year to hunt. I've seen perhaps thirty people each with at least two or three dogs, sweeping the bare fields hunting Iberian Hares. It's barbaric, positvely Mediaeval and is simply destroying the populations of an already sensitive and declining European species.
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Time spent on courtship and display is always disproportionate to love making ...
for most living creatures
Cattle Egrets look wonderful at this time of the year.....
...and posing between lush spring flowers on a warm morning makes them look so stunning. Although very common they are such an enterprising and opportunistic species
A Montagu's Harrier, here a sub-adult male flies through the La Janda area. There are quite a few birds already nesting
An Alpine Swift migrating north, photographed last week over La Janda
Ocellated Lizard (Timon lepidus). Europe's largest lizard
This lovely adult male shows off the powerful large head in the male of the species. These fantastic lizards can live for more than twenty-five years!
Ocellated Lizards can be close to one meter long. Females are slightly smaller and have a much smaller head then males, other differences are the lack of blue spots on the females flanks, sometimes even having none.
They feed on large insects, but if the individual is large enough they usually eat small birds, other lizards and small mammals (up to the size of small rabbits!), they also eat fruit.
A Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus hispanicus) basks in the sun
They are fairly common and found over most of the Iberian peninsula excluding the north coast and the Pyrenees.
Short-toed Eagles of course, hunt most reptiles and even some amphibians. The Ocellated Lizard is often on it's menu!
I was returning from a meeting a few days ago when I saw a Booted Eagle stooping at speed to the ground. I pulled the car over and crept slowly forwards, watching this raptor that had just caught a young rabbit
The eagle then started eating the head, which is something I've often seen Booted Eagles do. Peregrines and other falcons for exaple, dispatch their prey by decapitating it then tear into the breast muscle. There must be something about rabbit brain that Booted's love...
I had a passing Osprey last week as well...
A few more Booted Eagle photos from the last few days, this time of darker forms of this lovely bird
This is one of the Lesser Kestrels from Vejer de La Frontera. I wanted to show the tail wear of this female caused by nesting. Even with this damage you can see that the central tail feather is longer on Leesers, in both sexes
Some pics of the male Lesser Kestrel
A spring view to the town of Medina Sidonia
Griffon Vultures near Los Naveros, Cadiz
Basking...
Sun-bathing and preening!
....and to finish off this blog report, a beautiful Red Kite passed overhead Hoopoe Cottage, heading north yesterday...
