Almost 100 vultures have been found dead or dying in a suspected mass poisoning in Spain. Authorities discovered 56 birds – 55 vultures and a black kite – lying dead, as well as 41 that were alive but so unwell that the prognosis for them was described as bleak. The birds had been eating the […]
Tag: Spain
Should there be a permanent ban on the shooting of at-risk turtle doves?
Nearly 1 million migrating turtle doves will be spared after Spanish authorities agreed a one-year ban on the shooting of the bird. The turtle dove is a globally threatened species and is Britain’s most endangered breeding bird, with populations having halved in just five years and possibly fewer than 2,000 pairs left. Population modelling has […]
Conservation actions see Iberian lynx claw back from brink of extinction
It’s midday in summer, the mercury climbing above 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit), and nature guide Nuno Roxo is leading us on a hike in Guadiana Valley National Park in Portugal. The high grass and herbs, battered by the strong sun, have not seen any rain for several months. We continue down a narrow trail, used […]
Spanish farmers deeply split as ban on hunting wolves is extended
“There have always been wolves. We humans have hunted and killed all the animals around us because we want everything for ourselves,” says Laura Serrano Isla, who tends her flock of 650 sheep near Burgos in north-west Spain. “We think we rule the world but if we kill all the rest of the animals, the […]
Boats off Spain damaged in orca encounters
Maritime authorities in Spain have warned sailors off the coast of Galicia to give orcas a wide berth after a naval yacht lost part of its rudder following a brush with two of the whales and a similar incident left a French boat with minor damage. Both encounters took place hours apart on Sunday in […]
The Marsh Harrier Plumage
Le plumage du Busard des roseaux – Circus aeruginosus – La femelle se distingue par une tête très claire variant du blanc au crème soutenu et le reste du corps brun foncé avec une bande claire sur le haut de l’aile. Ce rapace se nourrit de tout animal vivant plus petit que lui. The female […]
Crested Tits
More photos from the Spanish trip, Crested Tits are delightful to watch and were common in the pinewoods of the region (not far from Alicante), coming to feed and drink at the various feeding stations on the reserve. A bird I have seen quite often in Scotland but never managed to get any decent photographs. […]
Crossbills photographed in Spain
Crossbills photographed on the recent Spanish trip, not a common species at all down here in Cornwall/Devon, I see them once in a while. But where we were in Spain one of the first to arrive at the pools, usually hearing them before they come down to drink and mostly in small groups. Their crossed […]