Archive for September, 2008
Newly hatched turtle being measured (CSIC)
246 eggs of loggerhead turtles (tortuga boba - Caretta caretta) have hatched in the last few days on a beach in Cabo de Gata, Almeria. The eggs were taken from Cabo Verde, where a third of the world’s population of Caretta caretta lives, and form part of a reintroduction programme of the Junta de Andalucía, CSIC and the Canarian goverment (Loggerhead turtles in Fuerteventura). They have been taken to a reintoriduction sent which will raise them for the first few months to reduce mortality rates. El Mundo
It will take at least 15 years to be able to begin to measure the success of the project when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults. Small populations of loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean exist in the Turkey and Greece.
See also:
Almeria, Andalucia, Conservation, Spanish seas, reptiles & amphibians | Tags: Almeria, Cabo de Gata, Caretta caretta, Loggerhead turtle|
Nothing to do with nature but I loved this astronaut relief on the façade of Salamanca’s 12th century cathedral. Photo: Maria Read how it got there on the forum
Castilla y León, On Spain | Tags: Salamanca, Salamanca Cathedral|
The Pelamis wave farm has just been officially launched after a delay of more than a year. Pelamis takes its name from an ancient word for sea snake, as the machines could be described as giant metal snakes floating in the water. At full production they will be able to generate enough power for 1,500 homes, with 25 more machines set to be installed in Portugal.
“In addition to this flagship wave power, the Portuguese are investing heavily in other renewable technologies. They are already spending £250m on more than 2,500 solar photovoltaic panels to build the world’s largest solar farm near the small town of Moura in eastern Portugal. It will have twice the collecting area of London’s Hyde Park and supply 45MW of electricity each year, enough to power 30,000 homes. In the past three years, the country has also trebled its hydroelectric capacity and quadrupled its wind power sources – northern Portugal has the world’s biggest wind farm with more than 130 turbines and a factory that builds the 40m-long blades. Pinho wants Portugal to rival Denmark or Japan in its commitment to developing renewables industries – he predicts his country will generate 31% of all its primary energy from clean sources by 2020, compared with Britain’s target of 15%. The Portuguese target means increasing the generation of electricity from renewable sources from 42% in 2005 to 60% in 2020.”
On Spain, Portugal, Renewable energy in Spain | Tags: Pelamis, renewable enery in Portugal, sea energy|
A person has been caught in the act of checking his illegally laid snares in the valley of the Ibias river in Asturias. The Fundación Oso Pardo and agents of Seprona have removed 17 traps in all in this area, near the borders of León. So far this year, 172 traps have been removed from the areas of the Alto Sil and Alto Narcea.
The young bear with the trap caught around his abdomen has not been able to be caught and treated. It’s not known whether or not he is still alive.
From La Nueva España.
On Spain, bears | Tags: Alto Narcea, Alto Sil, Fundación Oso Pardo, illegal trapping, snares|
A plan to hunt and shoot up to 100 wolves in Castilla y León has angered environmentalists who say the culling is an unnecessary sop to farmers who claim livestock are under attack. The Guardian
See also
- (above photo) Los ecologistas de Castilla y León rechazan que se cacen a 100 lobos esta temporada El Mundo
- 32 wolves to be culled in Leon Diario de León
Cantabrian mountains, Castilla y León, Mammals, On Spain, Wolves | Tags: wolf cull|
Lucy has posted on her iberianature blog this fantastic series of five trip reports on her recent trip to Aiguestortes in the Catalan Pyrenees. Enjoy.
The renewed silence was broken by a piercing whistle, as if a referee had just stopped play. The first time I ever heard a marmot’s warning call, I was sure it was a bird. One tone warns of raptors and another of danger on the ground. The Pyrenean marmots didn’t survive the last ice age, but were re-introduced in 1948, and have been burrowing there extensively ever since. They are Europe’s largest and perhaps shaggiest rodents, preferring to stay underground on hot days, as well as hibernating throughout winter. This upright marmot was on lookout duty. Read
Catalonia, Pyrenees, trip reports | Tags: Aiguestortes|
An Iberian lynx has been found dead on a road in Doñana. This is the sixth lynx to have been run over in 2008, promoting WWF to call on the Andalusian government to implement an “emergency plan” to put a stop to more needless deaths. The young female lynx was born in 2007 in Coto del Rey and was called “Drupa”. Consumer
Andalucia, Iberian lynx, Mammals, On Spain | Tags: coto del rey, drupa|
Steve West of Birding in Spain has kindly let me post this fiendish set of Spanish raptor profiles. In addition to Steve’s books and bird tours, check his site for some very interesting bird blogging.
Answers here from Steve’s website. If that isn’t enough for you, he’s also posted another set of raptor profiles here for you so far without the answers.
See also
birds | Tags: raptor profiles, Steve West|
Appros of nothing in particular, a story here from the Olive Press about a shepherd in Granada who uses a wild boar to control his sheep. Read
Andalucia, Farming, Livestock, On Spain | Tags: boar, Granada, Sheep in Spain, shepherds in Spain|
The Spanish government has announced a plan to plant 45 million trees of local Iberian, Balearic and Canarian species with the aim of promoting “Spain’s natural heritage”. The plan involves reforesting more than 61,000 hectares, revitalising ecosystems and creating some 3,000 jobs, particularly in rural areas. The planting will be done in public lands between 2009 and 2012 and will require an investment of 90 million euros. The programme is backed by the a new forest fire prevention plan
The director of Greenpeace España, Juan López Uralde, states that the announcement “is a first step but is insuficient to put a stop to desertification”. El Mundo
See also
Conservation, Spanish forests, desertification | Tags: Greenpeace, reforestation in Spain, tree planting in Spain, uan López Uralde|
Glaciar de Monteperdido in the Aragonese Pyrenees (El País)
A Spanish study published in The Holocene has concluded that the progressive rise in temperatures since 1890 will lead to the total disappearance of the Pyrenean glaciers by 2050.
Glaciers advanced during the Little Ice Age (LIA) between 1300 and 1860 in the Pyrenees, Picos de Europa and Sierra Nevada. These were most extensive in the Pyrenees (because of altitude and latitude) but today glaciers remain only in the highest peaks. There were six glaciers in the Picos de Europa Massif during the LIA, and one glacier, the southernmost of Europe, in the Sierra Nevada (Pico de Veleta). All of these glaciers have been in continuous retreat since the end of the nineteenth century, 94 have disappeared completely (Veleta in 1913), leaving 29 glaciers in the Pyrenees (10 in Spain, 11 in France), four buried icepatches in the Picos de Europa and one buried icepatch in the Sierra Nevada. The last 15 years has seen a 50-60% reduction in surface area of the largest glaciers.
The Little Ice Age was not a continuous period of cold. These Iberian glaciers expanded most rapidly between 1645 and 1710, and then shrunk between 1750 and the early 19th century but then recovered after a new cold period. Since the end of the 19th century temperatures have risen more sharply by 0.7ºC and 0.9ºC in the mountains in northern Spain in line with global warming. El País
See also
- Climate guide to Spain
- The Little Ice Age in Spain
- Glaciers in Spain (2004) Spanish glaciers melting fast Greenpeace has released a report on the state of Spain’s glaciers. The glaciers on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees are melting fast.. Total surface area has dropped from 1779 hectares in 1894 to 290 in 2000, representing a fall of 85% in of surface area. 52% of this has occurred in the last 20 years, and 30% between 1991 and 2001.
Aragon, Aragonese Pyrenees, Climate, Geography, Picos de Europa, Sierra Nevada, Uncategorized, climate change | Tags: icepatch, Little Ice Age|
Surfing the Net I came across the tiny Pheasant Island, one the world’s four remaining condominiums. The island is on the River Bidassoa and is under the joint sovereignty of France and Spain, and administered by Irun (in Spain) and Hendaye (in France) for alternating periods of six months. It covers 2,000 m2 and is known as Isla de los Faisanes in Spanish, Île des Faisans, Île de l’hôpital or Île de la Conférence in French and Konpantzia in Basque.
The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed here in 1659 putting an end the Thirty Years’ War, as shown in the painting below, and the site has been used for numerous exchanges of captives and princesses to be wed.
An interesting piece of trivia for geographical nerds like myself. The rest of you may struggle to find any interest.
Basque Country, Human geography of Spain, history | Tags: condominiums, River Bidassoa, Thirty Years' War, Treaty of the Pyrenees|
Iberianatureforum member Alfredo recently sent me this rather spendid photo of a pair of Schreiber’s bats (Miniopterus schreibersi - murciélago de cueva) roosting in a cave. Apologies to him for the delay in posting this. He notes “One of our guests sent me a photo they took whilst walking through a small gorge on the way to the Canyon Rio Lobos Natural Park. They entered one of the many limestone caves throughout this area and came across a few bats….the long fingers are a give away for the species. ” The photo was taken by Dulana Herath who has kindly allowed me to publish it here. Click on Dulana’s photo to see the bats in all their glory.
Alfredo also runs Spanishfootsteps which offers a range of expert walking and driven guided tours in Soria, one of the least known and fascinating parts of Iberia.
Castilla y León, Mammals, bats, photography | Tags: Canyon Rio Lobos Natural Park, Miniopterus schreibersi, Schreiber's bat, Schreiber's bats, Soria|
It seems that farmers are beginning to adapt to living with bears in the Vall d’Aran, Catalonia. The number of sheep killed by bears has been cut drastically (10 compared to 18 last year) by the simple solution of grouping herds together and hiring a shepherd to look after them. The 10 dead sheep belong to herders who haven’t joined the new scheme. The next problem on the agenda is how to protect beehives. Adapted from Lucy’s post on the forum. El Periódico
Asturias, Barcelona, Catalonia, On Spain, Wolves, bears | Tags: Vall d'Arán|
800 Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta - tortuga boba) eggs are to be buried today in La Playa de Cofete de Fuerteventura in an attempt to reintroduce the species in the Canary Islands. The eggs have been brought from the Cape Verde. 200 more are to be sent to the Centro de Recuperación de Especies in Taliarte, in Gran Canaria, and 400 to the Estación Biológica in Doñana, Andalucia. Loggerhead turtles disappeared from the Canary Islands some 300 years ago. It wil take at least 15 years to be able to begin to measure the success of the project when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults. Terra
More on loggerhead turtles (Wikipedia - above photo) which notes that the genus name “Caretta” is a latinization of the French “caret”, meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle. Small populations of loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean exist in the Turkey and Greece.
See also: Loggerhead turtles hatch in Almeria (October 21st, 2007)
Canaries, Conservation, Spanish seas, reptiles & amphibians | Tags: Caretta caretta, Fuerteventura, Loggerhead turtle, Playa de Cofete|
The tiger mosquito continues its slow and seemingly unstoppable march, and has now reached Roses and L’Escala in Girona according to the Servicio de Control de Mosquitos de la Bahía de Roses y el del Baix Ter. La Vanguardia
Catalonia, Invertebrates, On Spain, invasive species | Tags: Girona, tiger mosquito|
Latest posts from Simon and Lucy which you may not have come across. Simon looks here are at the geology which may have helped inspire Guadí to build La Sagrada Familia, and Lucy tells the tale here of the last days of bee-eaters before they fly south.
Iberianature news, On Spain | |
Tabernas (Almería)
Spain has finally implemented its first Programme of National Action against Desertification which recognises that 37% of the country is at a very high, high or medium risk from desertification, and is in danger of becoming “eroded forever”. This risk is also termed Sahelisation, after the North African region, and with coming climate change is set to worsen.
Since 2001 there has been a huge loss in fertile soil due to erosion totalling 17 tonnes per hectare per year: 67 millon tonnes of soil, much of which gets caught up in reservoirs, and representing an increase of 8% since 2001. The problem has been seriously heightened by intensive agriculture and the spread of urbanisation and infrastructures. El Mundo
Note: This figure of 37% has risen from 36% last year. See Threat of desertification (also with map of area)
Geography, desertification | Tags: rogramme of National Action against Desertification, Sahelisation, soil loss in Spain|
Image by FOP