Archive for July, 2008
I’m pleased announce that Simon Rice, another iberianatureforum stalwart has just begun his own blog on iberianature. Simon is an excellent writer with an eye for the quirkier side of things, and is, like myself, a geographer who enjoys looking for patterns in landscapes, and interplay between geography, history and nature. He divides his time between Tarragona city and Fígols de Tremps, a hamlet in the Leridan Pyrenees so he’ll be concentrating on southern and western Catalonia. Here’s an extract from his first post, illustrated with the photo above.
What is it that makes a landscape so stunning? Certainly not sheer size as in this case the valley is dwarfed by the higher ranges just to the north and the two local big sierras, Boumort and Montsec. Walking the mile or so (a couple of kilometres at most) of farm track towards the Obac de Serradell, the last flat, cultivated space at the head of the valley, it struck me that here quite the opposite was the case; even though the landscape is big, even by Spanish standards, it is small enough to be constantly changing as I walked up the valley, with new vistas and facets emerging with every turn. Plus there is a lovely juxtaposition between the bare cliffs and the wooded slopes that reach up to them from the valley floor. Meanwhile, the domesticity of the immediate surroundings, with their rolling meadows and quaint bordes, or field barns, contrasted with the primordial appearance of the dense forest and the heavily eroded slopes.
Read Simon’s blog
Catalonia, Iberianature news | |
The remains of a young bear were found late on Monday in the Riofrío, an area of high pasture below the highest peak, Peña Prieta, in the Cantabrian mountain chain. Estimated to be some weeks old, the skeleton was discovered by a member of the Fundación Oso Pardo (Brown Bear Foundation) during a routine patrol. This latest discovery brings the number of bears found dead in the last decade to eleven, eight of which have been proven to have been poisoned. The animal remains have been taken for an autopsy.
News from eldiariomontanes.es
Update 24.7.08 Tests have shown the remains to be of canine origen. Samples are being taken to the laboratories of the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha to ascertain exactly which canine species the dead animal did belong to. Toxicological tests will also be carried out due to the recent spate of poisoned Griffon vultures and foxes found in neighbouring areas.
See the Diario de León .
Cantabria, On Spain | Tags: autopsy, canine remains, Fundación Oso Pardo, Riofrío|
Two exhibitions are running concurrently this summer in Spain to reveal the truth behind the myths that still abound regarding the Iberian wolf, Canis lupus signatus. Organised by Carlos Sanz, one of the leading Spanish defenders of the species, they will run until at least the end of August and are well worth a visit. Here are the addresses and opening times;
In the city of Guadalajara, Castilla La Mancha the exhibition is open to the public from 11.00 - 14.00, Monday to Friday in the Teatro Auditorio “Buero Vallejo”, Calle Cifuentes, 30.
In Asturias, the larger of the two exhibitions can be visited in the town of Belmonte de Miranda from 11.00 - 14.00 and from 16.00 - 20.00, every day.
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Asturias, Castilla_La Mancha, Mammals, Wolves | Tags: Belmonte, Carlos Sanz, exhibition, Guadalajara|
As part of the Spanish ornithological society SEO/Birdlife’s campaign, El Sonido del Bosque (Sounds of the Forests), work-camps will begin this August to improve the habitat of the Cantabrian Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantábricus) in the Picos de Europa National Park. Working through to mid-December while the birds are at their most inactive, they hope to help promote the growth of berry-bearing plants and, at the same time, identify the Capercaillie population within the areas where the field-work will be concentrated. The last censuses of the remaining main populations centred in Asturias and León were carried out in 2001 and 1998-2000 respectively and gave a figure of about 400 individuals in total. SEO/Birdlife give a figure of 500, which supposedly takes into account the numbers of Capercaillie in the subspecies’ other habitats of Galicia and Cantabria, a number strongly refuted by the Asturian ornithological society, the Coordinadora Ornitolóxica d’Asturies, who say the total population must now be only about half that number.
Asturias, Cantabrian mountains, Conservation, León, Picos de Europa, birds | Tags: Cantabrian capercaillie, Coordinadora Ornitolóxica d'Asturies, SEO/Birdlife|
Another great bit of writing from Lucy, this time on the swifts of Collserola. “The city doesn’t get more pristine than this. It’s the middle of July, typically a month of stagnant heat, when the sky is discoloured by smog. But in today’s diaphanous atmosphere, Barcelona is visible in intricate detail and the sea is like deep blue silk. After yesterday’s torrential storm, there’s a mountain freshness in the air that promises a good night’s sleep. The soaring swifts take your heart that little bit higher.” Read
Barcelona, Catalonia, On Spain, birds | |
In recent weeks the presence of Portuguese man o’war (Sp. carabela portuguesa- Physalia phisalis) has been detected at various points on the coasts of Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country. Several people have been stung in beaches in Guipúzcoa (Ondarreta and Zarautz) and in Cantabria (Isla) although nobody has yet been seriously injured. Four years ago, the massive presence of the species forced the closure of several beaches in Asturias. Experts believe that the rise in the temperature of the Cantabrian Sea due to climate change has brought the Portuguese man o’war here with warmer waters. The cooler waters of Galicia have so far been free of the threat. El País. The purple Man-o-war is not a true jellyfish, but a colony of hydrozoan polyps. It can in extreme cases provoke a cardiac arrest and death in particularly sensitive persons.
Note the English and Spanish etymology comes from the creature’s air bladder, which looks similar to the triangular sails of the Portuguese ship (man-of-war) Caravela latina (two- or three-masted lateen-rigged ship caravel), of the 15th and 16th centuries. See Wikipedia
See also: Sharks, weaver fish, jellyfish and other dangerous animals in the seas around Spain
Asturias, Basque Country, Cantabria, Dangerous animals, Spanish seas, climate change | Tags: Physalia phisalis, Portuguese man o'war|
Lucy has written this lovely piece of natural history observation on the hoopoes in her local Barcelona park. Great photos too.
“A woman comes out on the fire escape to smoke a cigarette. Nearby there’s a Judas tree - it’s seen better days and bears little foliage now, only on the highest branches. The woman stands and talks on her mobile. She’s unaware that on the other side of the tree, there’s movement and two eyes appear at a hole.” Read
Barcelona, On Spain, birds | Tags: hoopoe|
Check out this short but rather good video of Hvala tucking into a roe deer corpse, left in front of a bear cam by the Vall d’Arán authorities. Hvala was one of the bears released into the Pyrenees from Slovenia six years ago. The Vall d’Arán have contracted the services of a shepherd this year to gather together and protect the flocks of sheep of 17 farmers.
Catalonia, On Spain, Pyrenees, bears | Tags: Hvala, Vall d'Arán|
Fapas have started a new campaign with the slogan Más osos menos CO2 (More bears less co2) to give local businesses an opportunity to neutralise their carbon emissions by planting fruit trees. The idea is for any interested companies to (simply) calculate their co2 emissions and Fapas then work out how many trees would need to be planted in bear habitat in the north of Spain. The companies will benefit by being presented with “green” certificates and the bears will profit by having more, for example, chestnut, apple and cherry trees from which to feed.
Asturias, Cantabria, Carbon sequestration, Castilla y León, Galicia, Mammals, bears, climate change | Tags: campaign, Fapas, more bears less co2, planting fruit trees|
Mansin, the Capercaillie who had recently made his home in villages in the Redes Natural Park, Asturias was yesterday found dead in Tarna. Villagers blame a stray dog for his death. Members of the environmental department of the Asturian government and officers from Seprona, the wildlife protection unit of the Civil Guard, have collected what’s left of his body which will be taken to Madrid for forensic tests. There will probably follow an enquiry as the bird, a member of a species threatened with extinction in Spain, was supposedly being monitored to ensure something like this didn’t happen. See previous entries on Iberianature about Mansín and the topic on the forum.
News from lne.es
Asturias, birds, urban wildlife in Spain | Tags: Cantabrian capercaillie, killed by dog, Mansin, Redes, Tarna, urban Capercaillie|
There is growing concern worldwide regarding a new threat to the bee population. The Guardian recently reported a dramatic decline in bee numbers in the USA. The phenomenon is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which whole populations of hives just ‘disappear’. The report reflects on various causes ranging from climate change to stress. In the US thousands of swarms are trucked coast-to-coast on tour, pollinating fruit crops such as California’s massive almond industry. The syndrome is also affecting colonies in Europe and an international research effort is under way, based in Switzerland, aimed at solving the mystery. Meanwhile in Spain populations are dropping dramatically. A Spanish blog, Miscelánea de Noticias Apícolas de España, gives regular up to date information.
Invertebrates | Tags: bees, Colony Collapse Disorder|
The latest figures for female Cantabrian brown bears with cubs of the year (COY’s) have just been released giving 21 for 2007. This number has tripled since 1989. The 21 females have 39 cubs between them, growth being more obvious in the western population with 18 females having 34 cubs while in the east, 5 cubs were born to 3 females. Litter-size average has also increased, now standing at 2 cubs per female in the west and 1.8 in the east. According to José Félix García Gaona, the head of the Asturian Countryside and Biodiversity governmental department, these figures call for moderate optimism and he stresses the importance of the continued collaboration of the separate autonomous communities involved in the Plan for the Recuperation of the Cantabrian brown bear. Representing the Cantabrian government, Antonio Lucio said that the eastern population is still fragile although the presence of bears in out of the ordinary areas (such as the valleys of Liébana) is a clear indicator that the population’s decline has been stopped. The president of the Fundación Oso Pardo, Guillermo Palomero, urges caution however because even though the census is the highest for two decades, the Cantabrian brown bear is still a species threatened with extinction yet to overcome obstacles such as poison, traps and infant mortality.
News from lne.es
More on Spain’s bears on the forum
Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Galicia, Mammals, bears | Tags: bear census 2007, cubs of the year, females|
Two weeks ago we heard the news of the appearance of a monk seal in the Isla del Toro, Mallorca. This possibly isolated event coincides with some good news of the seal’s populations slow but hopeful recovery. The Cabo Blanco colony (between Western Sahara and Mauritania) saw the birth last year of 46 pups, practically the same as in 2006, and doubling those of previous years. The colony is now made up of 180 individuals of which some 50 are breeding females, demonstrating that it is finally beginning to recover from the mass epidemic caused by a toxic seaweed of the late 1990s which killed off 75% of the colony.
Elsewhere, in 2007 in Greece 28 pups were born, and in the Desertas Islands (Madeira), there are just three breeding females. The Algerian and Moroccan coasts support no more than 15 individuals. Source: La Crónica Verde
Distribution of monk seals. From The Monachus Guardian.
Figures of a world population of 500 Mediterranean monk seals are being quoted in the press though I can find no “official” figure. The Monachus Guardian states
“Thousands of islands, inaccessible coastlines, and a species that shies away from human contact have all conspired to make distribution and abundance assessments for the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) an extraordinarily inexact science. Conventional wisdom, however, suggests that fewer than 600 individuals survive, making the Mediterranean monk seal Europe’s most endangered marine mammal
Balearics, Mammals, Sea mammals of Spain, Spanish seas | Tags: Isla del Toro, Mallorca, Mauritania, Monachus monachus, monk seal|
Image by FOP