Year: 2017

I’m very much looking forward to reading this book when it comes out on 10 August this summer. David Cobham is a vice president of the Hawk and Owl Trust and I very much enjoyed his earlier book on birds of prey, A Sparrowhawk’s Lament (reviewed here).  

Swifts are slightly unwelcome at the Alhambra, it seems. I’d have thought that they had been rubbing along with the fantastic Moorish architecture for a good few centuries but it appears as though tolerance is running out. There are still these lions though… …and loads and loads of House Sparrows. On the Gran Via on…

On my way south through Spain I popped into a few areas of semi-steppe which I’ve known in past years. The image above is from La Serena.  As I took the photo, Calandra Larks (my favourite lark?) were singing. A few moments earlier three Black-bellied Sandgrouse had flown over. I like the plains of Spain….

It seemed appropriate that the first exciting new butterfly on the drive south through Spain was the Queen of Spain (to add to yesterday’s Duke). The Queen of Spain Fritillary is sometimes seen in the UK – one year there were some next to the Minsmere toilet block – but it’s not a species one…

Old Hooknose passed by this way a few times.  The Duke of Wellington is said to have planted Elms in the city of pomegranates and there are certainly lots of Elms to be seen here in Granada. When I see an Elm I often think “What’s that? I’m sure I know that tree.’ which, I…