Las Tablas, a photo by Mike at Sea on Flickr. Recently it has emerged that the waters entering the National Park of the Tablas of Daimiel are contaminated from untreated urban waste water causing widespread destruction of the aquatic plants within the park. Both the WWF and CSIC (the Higher […]
BIRDS
89 posts
Okay, so Uisce Beatha is the Gaelic for whiskey, but the water in la Mancha now is providing many of natures creatures with life giving resources. And that´s important because it´s getting hot here, very hot. Yesterday was about 34C and the afternoons are a killer in the sun. Thankfully […]
Well I had to remove a virus from my wifes school computer and anyway, it´s far too hot here at the moment to be out mid-afternoon. So I went out to Peralvillo for an hour or so late in the evening. I had a grand chat with the local cow-herd […]
Common Kingfisher – female (Alcedo atthis), a photo by Mike at Sea on Flickr. No, not the boat but the Common Kingfisher. I was told recently that the kingfisher population took a bit of a hit due to the harshness of the winter here in Spain, something which seemed quite […]
Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), a photo by Mike at Sea on Flickr. I was at home in Ireland for the last week and went to Galway, Mayo and Cork. What amazed me was the number of songbirds. Perhaps it´s the time of year, since I wouldn´t normally be home at […]
It´s funny how some birds so small can make such an amount of noise. Take for example the Great Reed Warble, or the Jay. Now take the Little Bustard, a bird that is quite shy and hard to see at times due to the length of grass. However, the past […]
Male Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus), a photo by Mike at Sea on Flickr. Another regular summer visitor to our wildlife-rich region is the Montagu´s Harrier. This bird winters in Africa and returns here to breed. They prefer open plains, bogs, wastelands with arable fields and heathland with low bushes. Well, […]
My new 7D has video capabilty in 1080 HD which I´ve been tinkering with to get some bird songs and movies at the moment. I must say I´m very impressed by the acting, directing and soundtracks, although I should get my stereo microphone and hook that up to it. Anyway, […]
Marbled Teal or Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris) 03, a photo by Mike at Sea on Flickr. There is just something sedate and distinguished about marbled teals, or marbled ducks as they can be called. Perhaps it´s the creamy-chocolatey sort of ice-cream coloured plumage they have or the shape of the head, […]
Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) Also known as Dikkops or Thick-knees, the Stone Curlew is a member of the waders group however prefers to live in dry, open stony habitats such as the fields that abound around these parts of la Mancha. It is mostly nocturnal and you really need to […]