Birds

For some reason, I can't load any of my holiday pictures onto my blog. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, and Habibi's method involves 'a little line of code' - Aaaargh! Not for me. I shall figure it out eventually, I expect, but don't have time or patience right now. In the meantime, here are some pictures of BIRDS!

The Spanish text is an extract from Guía Total a la Sierra Nevada y Alpujarras, published by Avaya Touring Club, 2003, from the library at La Molino Ratonera, but the (loose) translation is my own. Although the Alpujarras are south and east of Granada, and the Molino is in the Sierra Ojete, to the west, conditions are similar, so you find much the same wildlife. There's more to come, but I can't get any more pics into this entry. (I'm sorry I'm so completely useless with IT stuff. I do try.)

La fauna de los bosques y matorrales

Entre las aves que crían e inviernan en los encinares y marojales de la Sierra cabe destacar por su familiaridad el arrendajo y el mirlo común.Son los primeros en delatar con sus graznidos y trinos al caminante que se interna en las áreas boscosas, y suelen dejarse ver incluso al paso de los coches, cruzando las carreteras que rodean la Sierra.

The fauna of woodland and scrub

Among the birds that breed and winter in the oakwoods and brush of the Sierra, the most familiar are the jay and the blackbird. Woodland trail-walkers notice their chatter and trilling calls, but they can also be spotted beside road junctions, and crossing the motorways that run through the Sierra.

También son sedentarios en los bosques mejor conservados el agateador común, la paloma torcáz y el pito real, único pájaro carpintero de estas montañas. Con ellos comparten el habitat pájarillos como el herrerillo común y los carboneros común y garrapinos.

The treecreeper, the woodpigeon and the green woodpecker – the only wood-boring bird in these mountains - are also resident in the best-conserved woodland. They share their habitat with blue tits, coal tits and great tits.

These photos are all from the wildlife photography gallery of Josef & Lubomir Hlasek - fine clear studies rather than art or action shots. Go see! Inputting the Spanish bird names on Google Image Search also took me to some excellent Spanish language sites - often translated into several other languages - on the natural history of the different regions of Spain. Excellent detail. There were also lots of personal sites with remarkable shots by amateur wildlife photographers. I love websites by enthusiasts!

Been there, done that.

Hey ho! Back again!










Curiously disorientated after such a long absence, so many new experiences, immersion in a new language, and fleeting visits to friends and family, but content to be home, and working up to blogging again.

Sorry about the long gap, but blogging in rural Spain involves long walks and careful attention to bus timetables - though you meet lots of nice people along the way.

And in Valencia, well, I was rather busy having a good time!

Going into school tomorrow to get my brain in gear for the new term.

Brain. Work. Yeah. I live in hopes!

I'll get back to you. With pics. Soonish.

Storm damage

I've been clearing storm-dumped undergrowth that was a fire hazard and unsightly. Remember they had monster hailstorms which transformed their beautiful river into raging, boulder-tossing torrent? Well, when the water receded it had torn up willows, thrown down branches and clogged every felled tree and plant in thick mud and humus, bound together with brambles. When you first look, it doesn't seem so bad: there's so much greenery, the birds and crickets never let up, and through it all there's the sound of the river and the waterfall. Closer inspection shows the damage, though, and Kath mourns the beautiful glade of roses and willows that disappeared in an afternoon. The signs of regrowth don't quite compensate.

Sabado en Malaga

Here's a list. This week I have cleared undergrowth, painted skirting, weeded and watered a vegetable garden, sawn branches (not very well), mixed concrete, wiped off newly concreted paving, shelled almonds and fed the broken ones to the chickens, cleared more undergrowth, painted fire buckets, teak-oiled outdoor furniture, thoroughly broken in my new workboots, acquired an impressive collection of scratches and the beginning of a suntan, and been stung by a wasp. I have been very comfortably housed, very well fed, taught a great deal in a short timestorm, given free use of a lovely swimming pool, and reintroduced to muscles I'd forgotten I had. I've learnt the Spanish names of all sorts of trees, and forgotten the Spanish for all sorts of tools. I've been reading Hola! in Spanish and, so, though I have no idea who Carmen Martinez-Bordiu is, I can tell you that she's very happy with her new husband Jose, so that's good! Right, I could wax lyrical about all sorts of lovely things, but I've got to go. I'll do detail and pics at a later date. Habibibaba arrives on Monday. =D
Adios!