Madrid’s regional government is to double its compensation fund for farmers who lose animals to wolves after a steep increase in fatal attacks in the last year. Wolves, hunted to the brink of extinction over the past seven decades, have begun to reappear in the region in recent years. Their return has been most keenly […]
Tag: Spain
Crested lark
Galerida cristata – Everybody knows the Disney cartoon character Beep beep inspired by the American Roadrunner… well to me this is the bird that resembles it the most in Europe!! It is usually common in Spain but this summer it seemed they were fewer. Cochevis huppé – A mon avis voici l’oiseau qui s’en approche […]
POLL: Should Spain’s “Running of the Bulls” festival be banned?
Five people were hurt, including one seriously, at Spain’s famed San Fermin running of the bulls festival, which was also marred by five arrests over allegations of sexual assault, authorities said. Those hurt fell as they were chased by six rampaging bulls on a two-and-a-half minute dash through the narrow streets of Pamplona on the […]
Iberian lynx: back from the brink of extinction … and run down by cars
The world’s most endangered feline species, the Iberian lynx, is making a comeback in Spain after being pushed to the brink of extinction. But the costly efforts to reintroduce the spotted cat into the wild face an unexpected enemy – cars. The number of lynx killed by collisions with vehicles has soared since Spain’s economic […]
Highlights from this year’s Spring Tour on The Strait of Gibraltar – April 2015
Here’s a quick photo summary of some of the birds we watched down in Andalucia on one of my spring birdwatching tours. Each spring we offer such small tour group holidays to go out in the field and see what bird species are arriving from Africa. The close proximity of the two continents makes this […]
Little Swifts, Chipiona, Cadiz province, Spain
One of the more accessible Little Swift sites is at Chipiona harbour and marina on the western side of Andalucia. There are other sites across the Iberian peninsula but this site offers easy access and with patience you can watch the birds feeding and returning to the colony. You’ll see them on their own in […]
Storks could become poisoned by pesticides during their migration to Africa
Not all storks migrate to Africa. Many stay for the winter in the Iberian Peninsula, where landfills have become a permanent source of food. Scientists from Extremadura have analysed the presence of pollutants and pesticides (some prohibited in Spain) in the blood of nestlings from three colonies, two of which are close to landfill sites. […]
Melanistic Montagu’s Harrier and other Raptors
Here are some of the raptor photos we managed to see with my Swiss group from Arcatour last week. The wind direction swung around to give us moderate to strong Levante (easterlies) for five days and only died down on our last two days. Still, knowing what the migrating raptors do and where they will […]