Birdsong, lizard and other bits and bobs
As I was wandering along the edge of the ravine in the centre of Ronda I came to a shaded area where the birds were singing sweetly, so decided to try out the built-in recorder on my phone. Not bad ...
Spain
A big beetle
I saw several of these quite large black beetles but so far have not been able to identify them. They look pretty heavily armoured with ridges on the head.
Chough
The Red-billed Chough or just Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family and breeds on mountains and coastal cliffs from the western coasts of Ireland and Britain through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, India ...
Lesser Kestrel
Went on a little road trip - well, train trip actually - up to the town of Ronda, a town perched on either side of a huge ravine with a bridge connecting the two halves. In addition to being picturesque, ...
A very big hopper
I spotted this very large hopper slowly making its way up a steep embankment on my way to the beach and managed to get a few reasonable shots and a short video. And a ...
May Day meander – Part 2
Scarlet Darter dragonflies are a common sight at the moment and the odd Emperor Dragonfly is putting in an appearance, endlessly flying up and down the river, as they do. ...
May Day meander – Part 1
After a couple of cooler, cloudy days with the odd shower thrown in for good measure, a really glorious May Day - although there is still a bit of snow to be seen on the surrounding hills! A couple of Common ...
Birds, bugs, dragonflies and others
It was a beautiful morning, the sun glistening on the leaves and water, and there were quite a few dragonflies whizzing up and down. This is the Scarlet Dragonfly, Crocothemis erythraea, also known as the Scarlet Darter. ...
Superbly sunny spring stroll – Part 2
The sea was almost flat calm, just the occasional small wave drifting in to shore, and the end of Torrecilla beach looked quite picturesque with sun reflecting off the seaweed covered rocks. The seaweed, I believe, is Blidingia minima, a ...
Superbly sunny spring stroll – Part 1
Little or no wind today, temperatures in the mid twenties, sea flat calm and the Little Ringed Plovers, Charadrius dubius, have returned. Well, two of them at least, so far. I like the really quite bright yellow rings around the eyes. ...
Wild Parakeet down by the river
Wandering along the river on the way to the shops I heard an unfamiliar sound and spotted this Wild Parakeet munching on fruit. We get the occasional one in the centre of town, but it's the first one I've seen ...
On a glorious Sunday morning
It was a glorious, warm Sunday morning so it was out with the Lark (a very late rising Lark) for a short wander. The froggies were all a-croaking on the riverbank, quite a chorus, and the birds were merrily singing, ...
Through fields and groves – Part 4
A lot of wild Marjoram, Origanum majorana, growing in clumps all over the place. It seems to survive, even thrive, in the rockiest and most inhospitable of locations. Plenty of nice blooms at the moment. ...
Through fields and groves – Part 3
Onward and upward and I came across this obviously very young, sleek squirrel having an early lunch. It is the first squirrel I have seen in the area for quite a while. ...
Through fields and groves – Part 2
There are quite a few butterflies appearing on the scene at the moment. Large Whites seem to be everywhere, Red Admirals are beginning to appear, although not in large numbers yet, and I saw one Green Hairstreak as well as ...
Through fields and groves – Part 1
I went on a longish walk through fields and olive groves and there was a fair amount to see. I love the squat, gnarled olive trees, every one different in shape and branch formation. The branches are very hard, sharp ...
