Wildlife in the Slow Lane
Wild Tobacco, or Tree Tobacco, Nicotiana glauca, is native to Bolivia and Argentina but is now fairly widespread as an introduced species throughout the world. It is a common roadside weed in the southwestern United States and has become quite ...
The Yellow Woody Thistle, Carthamus arborenscens, (Cardo Cabrero in Spanish) is quite common in the south and southeast of Spain, not so common in the southwest except on the limestone cliffs of Gibraltar. It belongs to the large, Daisy family, Asteraceae, ...
Birds bathe either in water or, if no water is available, dust, in order to maintain their plumage. Some birds, like Sparrows and Wrens, often do both, covering themselves in dirt after having taken a bath. Birds with weak feet and ...
There were certainly plenty of Damselflies down by the river, as well as the Dragonflies, including this courting couple.
This one is definitely a Scarlet Dragonfly, Crocothemis erythraea, also known as the Scarlet Darter. The male is bright red, the female and youngsters are yellowy-brown in colour, making this one a male. Order: Odonata Suborder: Epiprocta Infraorder: Anisoptera Family: Libellulidae Genus: Crocothemis Species: Crocothemis erythraea
This is a damselfly in the genus Calopteryx, part of the Calopterygidae family, and as the female of the species has a lighter, more brown colouring, Sherlock deduces that this particular one is a male. There were a few of these down ...
Today was dragonfly day and I was quite pleased with this shot of one of them in flight. There was also a huge blue dragonfly constantly whizzing up and down the river but I couldn't get a picture of him ...
When this critter was flying around it looked as though it was just plain white, but when it stopped on a flower it turned out to be extremely colourful. It took ages to identify but I am fairly certain it is ...
I met a lady the other day who told me about a new walk where there are often lots of butterflies. Although it is still quite early for some butterflies, I thought I would check it out. It is alongside ...
We like going to Bix as it is very quiet and peaceful and there are always lots of birds. The smaller ones are usually singing loudly in the hedgerows and there is no other noise to disturb them. This time, ...
I think I have identified these two as variations of Gazania, a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family and like so many plants found in Andalucia, it originates from South Africa. The Asteraceae family is quite commonly and variously referred to ...
Iberian Wall Lizard, Podarcis hispanica, is a small wall lizard averaging 50–70 mm in length and is found, strangely enough, throughout the Iberian peninsula and parts of northwestern Africa. There are quite a few down by the beaches, generally scurrying quickly ...
I assume this first one is quite young. Looks young, sort of rough and ruffled. Strangely perched right at the top of a bare tree, but seems content. A far cry from the more normal, well-groomed charracters one is more accustomed ...
