Report of the third Alpujarran bird census

Sunday the 3rd of October the third bird census of the Alpujarra was organized by Carmen of Alquería de Morayma, a rural hotel in Cádiar. A total of 32 different species were counted and ticked off on the list that was made by Miranda and Trevor, a British couple that has been bird watching in this area for over twenty years. Apart from adding the Dutch and scientific names to the bird checklist, we have ticked off the species sighted or heard on the past three bird counts.

Carmen published a report of this day on the website of Alquería de Morayma. This is a translation of her account of the International Bird Day celebrated on the 3rd of October in Cádiar:
"This day was celebrated by Alquería de Morayma with a beautiful walk in the valley of the river Guadalfeo. The eleven participants with different nationalities, were guided by Gary, a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable naturalist and Antonio J. Ramos, guide of the Natural Park Sierra Nevada. Anita of Casa Rural El Paraje and Carmen of the Alquería also participated.
The morning started clear and pinkish but turned windy. The day was blessed by birds of prey. The first birds that were sighted was a pair of Golden Eagles while setting off.
While walking on the ridge of the Loma de Cayón through vineyards, almond and fig orchards a number of Stonechats and other passerine birds were spotted. Under the bridge of the river Guadalfeo, an igloo-shaped nest of the Red-rumped Swallow was observed. Antonio commented that this bird started colonising Andalusia not too long ago. He added that the White-rumped Swift, another bird that has expanded into southern Spain, appropriates the nests of the Golondrina daúrica, while these two species share a territory in a curious way. Further on the Red-rumped Swallow was observed. The route continued through the Rambla de Albayar covered with gorse, rosemary and tamarisk. There was still water running through this river bed, thanks to the abundant rain fall this past winter (1217 litres/m2 measured by the meteorological station in Cádiar). As the Peregrine Falcon was sighted it got the title of ´Bird of the Day´, but it did not keep this for long. While watching a family of fat partridges running and flying up, two Goshawks appeared from behind some cliffs and took over the title. At this time of the year, this raptor comes down from the pine woods in search of food. To strenghten its first place, this pair of raptors stayed around for some time and gave a fantastic flight show. More information on the bird census can be found on the blogs of Sendero Sulayr and Casa Rural El Paraje."

Related article: Peregrine Falcon holds the title of the animal kingdom's fastest flier article on Nacional Geographic

Related key words: vogels, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Pelophylax perezi or Perez's frog

Perez's Frog is a type of frog that is very abundant in Spain, as evidenced by its Spanish name ´rana común´ or ´common frog´. It is a frog of the genus Pelophylax of the family Ranidae or true frogs. Apart from Spain it is found in southern France and Portugal. Altough it is sometimes referred to as the Iberian green frog (´rana verde´ ín Spanish or ´Iberische groene kikker´ in Dutch) it can also be gray or brown. We liked the one we saw in the small stream running through the Rambla de Albayar for its beautiful green colour.



Related key words:

Iberian water frog, iberische meerkikker, iberischer wasserfrosch, grenouille de pèrez, ranidae family, ránidos, echte kikkers, anura

Vanessa cardui or Painted Lady

The Vanessa cardui or Painted Lady of the family Nymphalidae is one of the most widespread butterflies. Although the Vanesa de los cardos can be found on almost every continent, except Antarctica and South America, we were still very pleased to sight one on our own terrain a few weeks ago. Today we saw a few on the track of the almond orchards of Los Riscos. Apart from this ´Cosmopolitan´, as it is sometimes called in North America, we saw many other types of butterflies flying around on this sunny autumn day. The Vanessa cardui, like most other butterflies we sighted, were especially attracted by the stink aster which is still in flower. The Painted Lady is resident only in warmer areas. It migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. It is able to travel large distances as it is known to migrate from North Africa to for example Great Britain or the Netherlands. The migration of birds has so far been monitored better than the migration of butterflies. In various articles different starting points are mentioned; the Atlas Mountains in Morroco, Tunesia and the Mediterranean in general.
PS On the 5th of May 2011 we saw a large number of Painted Ladies on the finca.





Related links:
- Website Butterfly Conservation: Millions of Painted Lady butterflies are now arriving in Britain, after an amazing 1000 mile migration from North Africa.

Related key words: migratory butterfly, mariposa migratoria, trekvlinder, distelvlinder, schoenlapper, aurelia, vanesse du chardon, vanesse des chardons, belle dame, distelfalter, edelfalter, ninfálidos, nymphalidés, Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Feria de Octubre Cádiar 2010

The Feria y Fiestas de Cádiar will this year be held from the 7th to the 11th of October. This annual fair is organized by ´La Asociación Cultural Fuente del Vino´ in coordination with the municipality of Cádiar. This association was set up three years ago and aims to recover and preserve the traditions that form a fundamental part of the cultural identity of Cádiar. Officialy the Feria y Fiestas were to honour the patron saint Santo Cristo de la Salud. Nowadays the fair is better known as the Fiesta del Vino since a wine fountain was inaugurated in 1967. Last year the ´Feria y Festias de Octubre´ were declared ´Fiesta de Interés Turístico´. The programme can be found on the website of the Consejería de Turismo of the Junta de Andalucía.

Related links: - Publication of the Feria y Fiestas de Otoño on the website of tourist board of Andalucía
- Article from the Ideal written by Rafael Vílchez
Cádiar abre su Fuente del Vino con la declaración de Interés Turístico

III Censo de aves de la Alpujarra desde la Alquería de Morayma

On Sunday the 3rd of October 2010 the third Alpujarran bird census will be held, which starts at 08.00 hours at the Alquería de Morayma. A circular route of nine kilometres will be done. On the first two bird counts the GR-7 was followed towards Lobras and back to the Alquería. This time the idea is to follow the GR-142 and do the two loops as seen on the map. On the first autumn bird count, which was held the 3rd of October 2009, 33 different species were counted. A list of these birds can be found on our post Día mundial de las aves celebrated in the Alpujarra. More information on the III Censo de aves de la Alpujarr desde la Alqueria de Morayma can be found on the website of this hotel/appartment complex near Cádiar.