The house sparrow is still probably the commonest bird in Spain with some 10 million pairs, and although they are certainly not threatened as they are in, say, Britain which has lost 5 million pairs in the last 30 years, some areas have shown alarming trends. The birds are less and less common in Madrid and have seen a 90% fall in the orange orchards of Valencia. Crónica Verde
The poet Miguel Hernández described sparrows as the “los gorriones son los niños del aire” – the children of the air,
I loved this documentary about Antonio Machado in Soria shown on Escarabajo Verde last Sunday.
Ian Gibson explains how Machado’s visit to Soria was to have a great impact on the poet’s work. The poems he wrote here were published as “Campos de Castilla”, a collection lyricising the beauty of the Castilian countryside. His first work in Soria expressed the poverty and ruggedness of the region, but his writings were to soften when he met, fell in love and married Leonor Izquierdo, daughter of the owners of the boarding house Machado was staying in. Sadly, Leonor soon fell ill and died from tuberculosis, just a few weeks after the publication of Campos de Castilla. Machado was devastated and left Soria, never to return. He moved to Baeza where he wrote a series of poems dealing with the death of Leonor which were added to a new edition of Campos de Castilla published in 1916 , which now saw the Sorian landscape full of melancholy and sadness. The documentary also mentions the articles Machado wrote for the local press expressing an early environmental concern and denouncing the burning of pinewoods for pasture. (Escarabajo Verde, TVE2 from Forestman)
Fields of Soria (extract)
Hills of silver plate,
grey heights, dark red rocks
through which the Duero bends
its crossbow arc
round Soria, shadowed oaks,
stone dry-lands, naked mountains,
white roads and river poplars,
twilights of Soria, warlike and mystical,
today I feel, for you,
in my hearts depths, sadness,
sadness of love! Fields of Soria,
where it seems the stones have dreams,
you go with me! Hills of silver plate,
grey heights, dark red rocks.
There was something strange down there in the water. I was walking the GR 5 from Sant Celoni to Montseny village, and had just spotted a grape hyacinth. There’d been violets and speedwell along the way, but this was the first real spring bloom of the year. I went up to have a look at the [...] […]
List of metropolitan areas in Spain by population. I was surprised to see Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés as high as it is. From wikipedia. Estimates are from the following sources: the “Functional Urban Areas” (FUAs) of the Study on Urban Functions of the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON, 2007)[1] the “Larger Urban Zone” (LUZs)[2] of Urb […]
Detail of modernist forge of the Staircase of the Paseo del Óvalo. The monumental staircase was built in 1921 to link the new railway station with the old part of the city. The work has modernist and neomudejar details. By SantiMB on Flickr […]
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Hermann's tortoises for Valencia March 13, 2010 More than three hundred Hermann’s tortoises, many previously kept as pets, have been released into the Sierra de Irta (Castellón). They appear to have adapted well to the area and may already be breeding. The aim is to build up a stable population in region. Although the only original population of Hermann’s tortoises in mailand Spain is in Sierra de L’Albera (Girona), other populations in Catalonia have been reintroduced in Delta del Ebro, El Garraf and Sierra del Montsant. There is a also a population on Mallorca and Menorca. (Quercus) Via Wild Spain
Wettest winter for 51 years in Spain March 13, 2010
The rainfall records for Spain keep tumbling. According to the latest provisional figures from Aemet, this winter has the wettest in Spain for the past 51 years (since 1959), and 43% more than the average for the benchmark period of 1971-2000. Andalucía, Catalonia and Castilla-La Mancha have seen the most precipitation (rain and snow). Reservoirs are now at 72% of capacity, which is 27% more than the average for the last 10 years. And more rain is expected. Público
Weather records in Spain in January March 11, 2010 A number of weather records were smashed in Spain in January 2010. There will be more for February when they are published. More...
Laguna Negra and the Urbion Glacial Circuit Natural Park March 10, 2010
The Natural Park Laguna Negra and the Urbion Glacial Circuit is to be declared Soria’s second Natural Park. The park will cover a total of 4617 hectares of land and include two villages (Vinuesa and Duruelo de la Sierra). The area includes the glacial lake of Laguna Negra, which inspired Antonio Machado, and also includes the source of the Duero. Soria’s other Natural Park in Soria is the Canyon Rio Lobos, which was declared in 1985. More on the forum
A blog about Burgos March 10, 2010
I’ve just come across Memorias de Burgos, an excellent blog about the secret corners of the province with its abandoned villages and abbeys, oil fields and salt workings, forgotten history and stunning nature. Above photo Portillo de Canta el Gallo from the site.
It’s inspired me to add The Ayoluengo petrol field and Rioseco Abbey to the Places in Spain section.
Three lynxes die from renal disease March 8, 2010
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. El País
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.