Young Montpellier snake
December 20th, 2009
Check out Lucy’s great new post on a Montpellier snake she spotted on Montjuic, Barcelona.
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Articles in ‘Barcelona’
Check out Lucy’s great new post on a Montpellier snake she spotted on Montjuic, Barcelona.
Barcelona blog
April 29th, 2009
The new iberianature Barcelona blog is starting to take shape…More on our walking tours shortly.
Barcelona blog
Red squirrels in the park
November 14th, 2008
Another lovely post from Lucy on the squirrels in her local Barcelona park.
Read
Hunter injured by bear
October 27th, 2008Update 27/10/2008. It is clear that this story has been blown out of all proportion to the facts and the risks involved. A man received slight injuries to his foot, and the result is the call for the removal of all bears from the Pyrenees. How many slight injuries to feet are sustained every day in the Pyrenees due to a whole host of reasons? Skiing accident. Let’s ban skiing. Iron falling on your foot. Let’s ban ironing. Children playing in the park. Let’s ban playing.
Thankfully the Catalan authorities are seeing sense in this matter and are refusing to listen to the yuppie owners of Vall d’Aran. As Simon on the forum points out the Catalan Minsitry of the Environment should no more take into account the opinions of hotel owners than these should listen to the former’s advice on how to make beds. For me, the underlying problem is the ridiculous amount of local automony and respect afforded to a small area, just because they happen to speak a different language. The Aranese have powers in the environment, while the next valley along which doesn’t happen to speak a different language, doesn’t. This means that they can I think, in effect, legally remove the bear in question. These small number of persons, in many cases greedily linked to the skiing and hotel industry, are going against what by all accounts are the wishes of the majority of people in Catalonia who want to maintain the bear reintroduction programme. It’s a mockery of democracy.
Update 26/10/2008. The Aranese authorities are now searching for the bear Hvala with the objective of shooting it with tranquillising darts and removing it from the wild. They claim this is to avoid a “generalised vendetta” against all bears in the area (El Periodico) Meanwhile, the ecological organisation Depana while lamenting the injuries to the man, lay the blame at poorly organised boar hunts, and note that bears and boar hunting are perfectly compatible when managed properly, citing the example of the Cordillera Cantábrica.
Original story. Bad news for bears in the Pyrenees. A boar hunter in the Vall d’Aran was bitten today by a bear and has suffered minor injuries to his foot and hand. Although this is the first time a human has been attacked by a bear in the Pyrenees since the reintroduction programme began in 1996, it has led to calls from the Aranese government for the removal of all bears from the range, claiming that the “bear reintroduction experiment has failed”. One suspects that the Aranese authorities have been looking any excuse to stop the programme. So far the Catalan government has called for calm. The bear in question is “called” Hvala, the same bear which was filmed last month. New Vote No to reconsidering the reintroduction programme at La Vanguardia below.
Snakes in Barcelona
October 26th, 2008
Lucy chanced upon this Montpellier snake on Montjuic. It is remarkable that they still survive on a hill so hemmed in by urban sprawl and industry. It is also unusual for anybody to spot one. The fact that the individual is young bodes well for the population’s future.
Catalan insects
October 19th, 2008
Lucy has another great post on her blog on some of the weird and wonderful insects she has come across on her travels in the Sierra de Collserola, Barcelona.
Adapting to bears in the Aran Valley
September 3rd, 2008It 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
Collserola hike
August 5th, 2008
Lucy has written another great post, this time on a walk we did in Collserola. Boars, botany, hedgehogs, spiders and these remarkable nightjars:
“Churring filled the twilight. Then close at hand came a soft quick call, and we saw the silhouettes of a pair of nightjars. Their long wings rose and fell as they encircled us. The reason was a fledgling on the path a few metres ahead, its eye gleaming in the torch light. The parents circled us even faster, like in a playground game, clapping their wings. As we approached, the bird on the path silently flew off.” Read
PS Thanks to Mónica for photo of boar.
Barcelona swifts
July 20th, 2008
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
Hoopoe story
July 15th, 2008
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
New blog on iberianature by Lucy Brzoska
June 30th, 2008
I’m pleased to announce that iberianatureforum stalwart Lucy Brzoska has started her own blog on iberianature called straightforwardly enough, Lucy’s Blog. Lucy will probably concentrate on Barcelona and environs with forays into the Catalan Pyrenees and her beloved Leonese mountains.
Check out this frankly excellent post by Lucy, on Barcelona’s best kept secret, the heronry, perched in the trees above the city’s zoo. Read Citadel of herons
In the near future Simon Rice will be joining in with his own blog from the deepest hinterlands of Catalonia.
Tiger mosquito continues to expand
June 29th, 2008The tiger mosquito continues to expand in Catalonia, doubling its area of distribution between 2006 and 2007, and now present in 55 municipalities including Barcelona. El Periodico
See also arrival of tiger mosquito to Spain (2005)
Barcelona swallow webcam
June 25th, 2008
I’m pleased to announce the Barcelona swallow webcam is back on line after some technical hitches this year. Once again it is hosted by iberianature and organised by Galanthanus.
Press f5 to refresh every 30 seconds. There is no artificial lighting so it’s only clear between about 12:00-1600 CET.
The swallows appeared on 2nd April. This year they were given an artificial nest (by Schwengler) in which to nest but preferred to build their own on a wooden beam above. In early May the eggs were laid and on May 18th five chicks hatched of which two fell from the nest and died. On June 11th the fledglings flew for the first time. There is a possibility of another clutch. Information about last year’s webam.
Vandals destroy peregrine family
May 29th, 2008
Sad news. A group of vandals have disturbed one of the four “nests” of peregrine falcons in Barcelona. They climbed up one the chimney stacks in Poble Nou where the pair where raising three chicks, and in their panic the chicks flew before they were fully fledged. Two have been rescued but one was found dead in the street. The two rescued chicks are to taken to a nest on Montjuic and introduced to the pair there through hacking. May the full force of the law fall on these idiots. El Periódico
See also Peregrines of the Sagrada Familia
Agbar Tower
May 21st, 2008It’s not nature, but Lucy has written this rather good piece on Barcelona’s Agbar Tower
The rainfall records for Spain keep tumbling. According to the latest provisional figures 
I’ve just come across 
Three Iberian lynxes of the captive breeding programme have died in recent weeks from a renal disease. Lynxes in the wild are thought not to suffer from this disease.