35,364 wild boar were shot in 2013 in Catalonia. Photo of a radio-marked boar: Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac, near Barcelona. La Vanguardia
Author: Nick
Peregrine Falcon chick
A Peregrine Falcon chick in the Sagrada Familia a couple of years back. The bird has been breeding in the building since 2004 after it was re-introduced thanks to the work by Eduard Durany. Photo by Laurent Geslin / Wild Wonders of Europe
Tiger mosquitoes in Barcelona
Interesting chart comparing the dining preferences in Barcelona of native mosquitoes with the dreaded Tiger Mosquito, an invasive species from Southeast Asia. While the former’s victims are: 35.7% humans, 21.4% cats, 14.3% dogs, 8.5% Turkish dove and 19.1 % other birds (pigeons, parakeets and blackbirds, sparrows etc), the Tiger Mosquito feeds EXCLUSIVELY on humans, which it bites during the day. My own resistance has built up remarkably over the last eight years since they arrived, and although their bite is still a burning one, the swelling now goes down after about 30 minutes
Heron flight path
A stunning photograph by Laurent Godel showing the flight path of a grey heron over Barcelona, perhaps making its way to the huge roost in the trees of the zoo, perhaps the biggest urban heronry in Europe, and home to more than 250 (wild) herons.
A horseshoe whipsnake
We came on this very young horseshoe whipsnake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis) this morning on the stone steps of Guadi’s Bodega Güell in El Garraf built as a winery for the slave-enriched Catalan industrialist Güell. Albert, our toddler, was very excited by his first snake. Not venomous but this one was certainly feisty.