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shorebirds in Asturias

Hello everyone. This input was in the room since September, when it David Alvarez, excellent biologist and a better person, decided to join in the corners of affection for the species of shorebirds that rely on the Asturian coast in the autumn passage. He does not like to be thanked for teaching the fact bugs, so I appreciate the company and the sharing of experiences throughout the day.
Spaniard started visiting a sandy looking for a confident sandpipers foraging on algae left by the tide, however first thing we did not have much luck. Some ringed plover, turnstone and a little more running around among the coastal rocks and pebbles. We were then taken to
Llastres, village famous for the series "Dr. Matthew" since it contains some of the scenarios, but also has a great interest in bird watching in your port as we can find some marine lies behind the intense vaje the north. Was the case of 4 auk who let go with the flow while we watched with binoculars. One line had a peak looming. Moved away from the beach and then turn around and 3 of them enter the port town where we portray.

Youth alkaline ( Alca torda ) in Llastres

It was just 2 months he has been in the breeding colonies of these animals in Scotland and meet them in these latitudes makes clear the ability to move and survival of some animals and a year after years are able to travel hundreds of miles to give rise to a new generation that somehow keep their genes when they are no longer here.
A young common tern also was busy fishing in the shallow end of the beach as a young cormorant to dive well we could see and appreciate how it moves under water thanks to the shallow layer became water in a glass virtually transparent.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo )

is amazing how some species are more or less confident as to where we find them. For example, the needles were generally confident all day, but where were was more confident on the beach of Gijón. It's funny how people look at us still enjoy the sun at this time of year, as we approached with our objectives and outerwear to the waders. Several people told us that if we photographed the gull chicks, and it seems that many people have this belief that small waders are gull chicks. They say that the pot is best and give a unique flavor. You know, traditions. Celebrities are
turnstone and egrets of San Lorenzo in Gijón, for your confidence and variety of poses and capture the moments that allow to operate with complete ease and confidence with the people they are accustomed.

Turnstone (Arenaria interpres )

Egret (Egretta garzetta )

ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula )



colipinta Needle ( Limosa lapponica )

month of September with the migratory movements of many species is a month used by many ornithologists to search for rarities. I personally am of the opinion that we must first know our wildlife, that really has an ecological importance of weight and there will be time for rarities, but the truth is always struck by the observation of animals that may not and never come back to see rarely displayed by our latitudes, hence the weirdness. At that time one side of 8 write Lapps fed in the area of \u200b\u200bCabu penises, one of the windiest points on the Iberian Peninsula and devoid in some practical points of vegetation and that does not support the intense sweep of the wind. We struggled to find them but finally found the 8 animals feeding on the body completely glued to the ground and with movements that resemble those of rodents. To admire the animals a few feet is something not easily forgotten and once again demonstrates the confidence of certain animals as they come from.



Write Lapps ( Calcarius lapponicus ) on the central coast Asturiana

I commented to David that it seems incredible that a little more than a century guillemots and other criasen marinas in the area cut off from the Peñas and today is not any of that practically the entire coast of Cantabria.
The cliffs are monitored, as all settings for a predator and in this case a peregrine falcon delighted us with some last a good distance to show their presence.

peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus brookei )

decided to finish the day at the beach Bañugues, famous for the abundance of shorebirds in the steps and the ease of portraying them if you do it the right way and patience. There were many species that we saw on this beach.
begin with the sandpiper. The most abundant and restless of the waders that were there. They feed in the area where he still gets a bit of tide water. Advantage algae tides leave to seek food and are quite large groups that may include several species. We could see dunlin, sandpipers toed, often sandpiper, sandpiper fat (this is fed in a group of needles instead of the other correlations) and finally another rarity, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. A name that comes to hair and its plumage is this color. They also highlight its yellow legs and one eye slightly torn in the American species of shorebirds.

Sandpiper often (Calidris minuta )


toed Sandpiper (Calidris alba )


Dunlin (Calidris alpina )

Sandpiper fat ( Calidris canutus )



Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Buff-breasted Sandpiper )

This species of sandpipers does not like water and when it appears it is usually in meadows and areas of the rasa but it is rare to see it directly on the beach when it reaches latitudes are not very normal for you. The truth is that animal is a very striking and grateful to see. We are also
redshanks, needles and plovers on the beach. The needles appear in the area where the sand is softened by the arrival of the waves and bury their beaks designed to catch invertebrates hypogea.

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus )

colipinta Needle (Limosa lapponica )

The surprise of the day we gave it a kingfisher which landed on the rocks on the beach for Bañugues make a haul of fish in the tidal pools before our eyes. You can read more about it here

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis )

In short, a day which costs the same and mostly forgotten. With a variety of species, environments, times, and above all a company scrotumtightening. I hope you liked the entry. A greeting

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The clock on the nature

I'll make a stop in entries over Scotland to dedicate this entry to areas dens, as ultimately is the goal of the blog. The human being has always been committed to quote it all, in measure, in order to express it in numbers ... I guess that pretend that everything is in order, makes us to relax. No But the clock of nature depends on many factors such as rainfall, climate, etc ... To give an example, the deer rutting always the case in late September and early October, but we can not say that day begins, because if the rains have been delayed a little bit more or if there is intermittent rainfall in early September the deer are "jealous" before. Everyone knows that the Fall officially begins September 23 at dawn, but according to the timing and nature watch the fall begins with the roars of male deer in the Cantabrian mountain.

The rut is a natural ritual that I have attended since I have memory. Had 6 years when he kicked the beech with "fleitas" hitting me in the chest and getting wet with morning dew. It is an event that has had a tourism boom in the last decade. I remember when we were in rut and we were not with anyone. Once a guard accompanied by hunters but little else. However, the explosion of "ecological consciousness" (in quotes because there is a real conscience, I wish I was) and assistance from ecologists increasingly asphalt to the mountains makes the rut and do not convey that sense of contact between yourself and the nature that was a few years ago.

male deer (Cervus elaphus ) screaming in the Cantabrian Mountains (click to enlarge)

This year I attended less than normal in the rut and yet it was the best year I have enjoyed and observed the typical rituals of behavior. In the rutting male deer are usually creating a harem females, females with calves and others. This harem they defend from other males and females mate with it. This year could see yet another lesser-known protocols. In the same number of males have been displayed in an area where a couple of females in heat. That is when these males are about the female, watercress and fight to win permission from the female and reproduce.

Deer Enceladus in the Cantabrian

is a period of great stress and physical exhaustion for males of this species and which often do not have time to eat as they should, having to remain constantly vigilant both to prevent other approaching males, to prevent them from leaving the females. When a female tries to get away from the male that the saves so that the female is forced to turn around and return to the harem.
When two males are too close to a female nearby, usually ends in a collision in which the males lower their heads and horns intertwine to produce a dry sound like the breaking of firewood in the forest. Usually be Small, but can sometimes take several minutes. Do not usually cause serious damage but no deaths in which a deer drives a luchadera in the opponent's body or head killing him. More standard injuries are cuts and a broken tip of the horns.

Deer Fight in the Cantabrian Mountains

not always get to the fight. What I usually do is pitch in male fern and scrub to show their strength when starting fragments thereof. Also have an important effect bawling, of course. But not only influences the intensity of the squall, but the timing, tone, high or low it is .. are a combination of factors makes females opt for one or the other males. Tenran must note that as you will make your belly and nutrition for babies during pregnancy and breastfeeding have to find a male qualities to offset that cost, to ensure in any way the success of the offspring.

Deer watercress in the atmosphere of the Cantabrian
Piornal
Though not always a priori males are the ones who seem to have more offspring end up that way. There opportunistic males with less strength and qualities expected in the broom to spend some clueless female of the harem to copulate with her.
Most Photo of rutting are made of Mediterranean mountain areas as Cabañeros, high Tajo and similar places. However watch this show in the Cordillera with the feeling that at any moment you can see a bear or a wolf that has a special magic.

The rut

A curiosity is that I have heard deer watercress in July, an Asturian mountains. Therefore, the deer do not use this method exclusively for the zeal but may serve for something else.

Dispute between males and females

And when the rut takes its last legs when the yellow color palette and starts painting red the Cantabrian mountains leaving shocking images to our retina. In fact in most cases is not that new pigments in the leaves, but the green pigment (chlorophyll) degrade exposing the yellow and orange pigments (carotenoids) that call so much attention.

Beech in autumn

Detail beech leaves in a Cantabrian

salamanders also with their black and yellow leaves adorn the floors of the northern forests, bringing its touch of color to the spectacle of autumn .

Samandra (Salamandra bernardezii salamander)

So we see that despite our calendars marked time in a way that we are more or less useful, nature takes its pace without guided by established rules and based only on itself. I hope you enjoyed the entry and greeting. Well

How To Extend And Otlet

For Scottish Highlands (4 º parte)

summer continued our journey through the lands of Scotland. The plan for today was to surround from Inverness Loch Ness Fort arriving in August and continue westward reaching the area of \u200b\u200bLochalsh and the Isle of Skye. We decided to surround the Loch Ness for its eastern edge as it is a road much less traveled and has a special charm. Was obligatory stop to photograph this freshwater lake which interior could they claim the entire human population. The signs of the mystery of "Nessie" (the monster) were continuous and made it one of the most famous and visited Scotland.



Loch Ness on the eastern edge of the lake is a town called Foyers, famous for its waterfalls. In this place we saw several squirrels and in the lower area near the town raged several pheasants on land so abundant in Britain. As you may know this species was brought from Asia about 500 AD. Subsequent introductions of a species from China have led to the appearance of different subspecies.

pheasant vulgar ( Phaisanus colchicus)



pheasant vulgar ( Phaisanus colchicus)

Here is a photo of the Falls of Foyers, for whose visit has enabled walkways running down a steep pine forest to reach the area in question.

Foyers Falls

continue around the Loch and at one point the road splits a little edge to lead us through the wilderness where we always had the hope of running into the red grouse but no luck. However, the vision of the landscape in the Scottish Highland always spectacular.

Moorlands

After reaching Fort August and take a look at the Caledonian Canal locks continue with the route heading north on the opposite shore of the lake until we found the turning leading to Kyle of Lochalsh. The scenery throughout the journey are still impressive and everything looks great. The broad glacial valleys, high mountains, wide rivers, etc ... It is difficult to share models reflect the same in a picture but I assure you that make your hair stand on end.

House in Highland, maybe a bit to appreciate the magnitude of the slopes

Fjord in

Lochalsh Waterfall Lochalsh

Northwest Scottish Landscape

We finally Kyle of Lochalsh, an area where sits the famous Elian Donan Castle, which appears in the movie "Highlander" whose original title is " Highlander therefore inhabitant of the Highlands. It is one of the most visited Scotland for the photogenic and magical place.



Elian Donan Castle

Around the castle several groups of shorebirds feed the algae looked like a pair of herons that feed on small fish in ponds flats. It's a kind which clearly shows the difference in confidence, for several animals to humans based on the country where we are. The photographs were taken of this heron sitting 15 meters from the animal, without any camouflage and while she was hunting without worrying about our presence, something almost impossible in Spain and I suppose it is no coincidence since on this species continues to haunt the ghost they are one of the culprits as to diminish the pieces of fish in the rivers, when what are the licenses have increased, but that is another matter. For this reason keep coming herons shotgun in our country.

Heron ( Ardea cinerea )

Noting a very abundant deer in the distance with binoculars, we crossed the bridge which Lochalsh to the Isle of Skye. The Isle of Skye is a place whose landscapes are reminiscent of Iceland or remote areas of the tundra. But this island will discuss in detail in the next inning. For now the day of arrival we got to settle in Broadford and eat something. In Scotland as elsewhere in northern Europe abounds a subspecies of the carrion crow is Cinderella. It is characterized by gray tones in their plumage in the chest and back. Crows can be crossed with the subspecies nominated as there are different patterns of black and gray as the cross.



Cinderella Crow (Corvus corone Cornix )

The day was closing and it rained a lot, still decided to approach an area where we could see otters and make a short wait. No luck with the mustelid, yet several groups of harbor seals resting on rocks. We get so see the 2 most abundant pinniped species in the British Isles. We can see how some birds are moulting. One is tired of seeing these animals in documentaries but until you have them near you do not get an idea of \u200b\u200bthe tenderness that release, despite being carnivores, expert hunters at sea.



common seals (Phoca vitulina )

As you can see Scotland is a region that surprised every day with new species, new scenery, new people and stories to remember. I have an entry about the trip will be about the magic of the island of Skye. Hope you are enjoying the chronicles of the trip. A greeting and thanks for visiting the blog.