Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) As I’m on the subject of Swallowtails, I thought I’d do a quick separate entry for another beautiful member of the Papilionidae family, the Swallowtail (Papilio machaon). Again, it’s another big and stunning, eye-catching butterfly, which again, seems to like thistles here. It gets its name from […]
Oretani Wildlife
23 posts
Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius feisthamelii) One of my favourite butterflies here in Spain is the Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius feisthamelii). For one thing, when it flies past you, you can’t miss it. They are a big butterfly, and bright with their tiger-like black stripes on white. The nominate of the […]
Owlfly (Libelloides baeticus) I’ve been feeling like I am getting lazy about my trips to the country so despite the heat, or because of it, I have been getting out of the car some more recently. I went cycling the other day amongst bee-eaters and stone curlews and then Friday […]
Wildlflowers near Porzuna I haven’t been able to get out much this past 10 days due to back pain so I am digging through some old shots of those most colourful wildflowers, or weeds as some people call them, poppies. Found in wasteland, amongst crops, roadsides all around they add […]
An Osprey in Cuba After a great weekend at a homebrewer friends house for the weekend, myself and Mrs. HibernoManchego decided to do some birding on the way home. We came back via one of our favourite roads in Extremadura between Campanario and the La Serena reservoir to look for […]
Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana) I went to the Laguna Navaseca having received word of a Bittern there. The Bittern didn’t show after much searching, not that I expected it to be all that obvious, however the day was not without its surprises. At the Navaseca, I managed to count 36 […]
Bluethroat female (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) The Bluethroat has been a species that for some reason this year has been more visible than other years. It was rare I saw them before and then this winter…it’s a regular parade of them. Now there really shouldn’t be any reason to discuss the […]
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) They think that the etymology, or origin, of the kingfishers name comes from the old Norse Kungsfiskare and then put onto modern use by the Normans. An interesting observation on the origin of their name also comes from some tombs in Fontevraud, France where Henry II […]
Garganey (Anas querquedula) A visit to the Tablas of Daimiel is a must for those interested in wetlands. It is one of the most unique and important wetlands of Europe and holds a special place for us here in La Mancha. Even though our wetlands are continuously under threat from […]
Red Kite (Milvus migrans) It has been a distressing start to the year for our Spanish Imperial Eagles and something similar is also happening in Ireland. A ninth Red Kite has been poisoned since a re-introduction programme started in Ireland in 2007. If you are caught poisoning birds of prey […]