The view remains the same

Bristol is a fab city bit it is so nice to be back on the farm with blue skies,  warm sun, tranquilness and my mountain. It was lovely to catch up with friends and family although inevitably (and sadly) not everyone I should have.  Will be back soon though.

Adjustment

After a few weeks off-ranch to boost the coffers, I arrived back late on Saturday night. Having driven up a very muddy track, I suspected that a tormento had passed through and a quick look at the Cadiar weather station data confirmed that there had been a dump of rain on the Friday and the day I arrived. Luckily, nothing was affected inside the house.

An early morning chat with the neighbours (oh, how I've missed them) revealed that the downpours were short but very intense and that it was not good news for the figs which might be prone to bursting due to the extra water. Fingers crossed for some sun (which we are currently enjoying) and some wind to dry things out.

Picked some apples and black figs on Sunday from the 'fruit basket' vineyard. The grapes (which are few in number after the severe haircut the vines received this year) are coming on though still some way to go and the figs (apart from a few ripe black ones) seem very small. Almond prices are very high but the crop (after our late cold snap) is not great. Am just treating this years harvest as part of the learning process!

It was nice to catch up with a few people while in Bristol but it is nice to be back after the noise, crowds and traffic of England.

Mr Scops

One of the more familiar sounds of summer here is the call of the Scops Owl. Smaller than a Little Owl at around 8 inches, this tiny owl starts calling around dusk and will go on through the night. This can be somewhat of an annoyance if one happens to be in a tree next to your house. (This link will take to you a site from which you can play it.)

The high part of my land is the best place to locate them and, having had some previous success coercing golden orioles and hoopoes to call by playing their call through a speaker, I set off at dusk armed with the necessary equipment. With minutes of starting to play the call from a speaker placed on the roof of the jeep, there was a whirr of wings and up popped an owl into a genista bush within feet of me. 

While it sat there, I frantically took several photos praying that in the gloom they would come out OK. Once I'd secured my pictures, I turned the playback off as 'tape-luring' does cause some disturbance to the bird and I didn't want to upset my diminutive friend too much. These birds are, despite the loudness of their call, incredibly difficult to see find to their size and their habit of sitting close up to a tree trunk. I felt very lucky to see one so close.

Evening Light

Bird competition

Just some record shots of some birds which are flitting about on the farm at the moment. All of them are very uncommon in the UK yet are not in short supply here. 

A bag of almonds to the first person who can identify all three!

Colours of Spring

A day in a minute

This is a short video showing the view from my terrace with all the hours of daylight compressed in to 1 minute. (The little black blobs that appear from time to time are birds flitting past!)

The pictures used in the video were produced a by a Raspberry Pi computer (thank you Susie) taking one shot every 30 seconds though a 5mp webcam. Just need to get it running off solar power now and I can then position it for better shots. There were some problems with the original software installation so I wiped it and set my own up. Agricultural working hasn't completely exorcised me of the geek...

A birdy morning

Every six months, a bird census is held in the area. A set route is followed and the number of different species that are seen or heard is recorded.

Unfortunately, I could not make the one held in October and, despite having had a late night before due to the local fiesta, I was looking forward to doing the walk and meeting some new contacts in the birding field.

The walk starts at a popular local hotel and restaurant called Alqueria de Morayma. The usual leader, Miriam, was unavailable as she has just had a baby and so a chap was brought down from Padul which is a well-known centre for birdwatching & bird-ringing near Granada. Oddly, the leader and I were the only people in the group of about 10 who had binoculars and, with a high English component to the group, I metamorphosed in to a deputy leader and spotter!

Despite a beautiful day before, the day had dawned very misty (I left the house in cloud!) and conditions were far from perfect both from a visibility and a noise perspective due to all the chat. While far from a serious birdwatching activity, it nevertheless was a very sociable event and much time was spent looking at plants as well as birds as we walked the footpath towards the bridge at Lobras. From there we walked in improving weather up the Rambla de Albayar where, after some tricky navigation through illegally fenced land, we stopped for a break and various food items were shared out. 

As we walked out of the valley a group of 5 Booted Eagles were spotted. They were probably a family party and were given the 'bird of the day' accolade. Other good birds seen were Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear & Alpine Swift though there some serious common omissions but that's what happens when you just slice through a locality.

Navigating a tree trunk laid across the river, we returned to Alqueria to count up the days tally. It came to 41 which is good going apparently. I'm sure another 5 or 6 species could easier have been added with more suitably-equipped & knowledgable watchers. 

It transpired that one of the members of the group was a chap called Antonio who has recently taken on the lease for Alqueria de Morayma. A good contact to know, I , of course, offered my services should any English visitors he may have require some birdwatching assistance.

Hopefully, at the October census, some bird ringing may also take place and my services were offered and gratefully accepted for this. I really hope it happens as I'm dying to get my hands round a bird again (no euphemism intended).

Unexpected visitor

With my fly screen out of action (again!), the front door is often left open to let some breeze in. (Since the appearance of a very large snake basking in the sun just outside it, I've since been warned NOT to do this...)

Taking advantage of this opportunity, a large boxer-type dog sauntered through and in to the kitchen where I and my visitors were finishing breakfast. He promptly plopped himself down in the middle of the room and made himself at home. His heavy panting and lolling tongue suggested that he was very thirsty which proved to be the case when he subsequently drank a whole dog bowl. He subsequently brought half of it back up but luckily I was up in the field cutting grass by then! :-)

This particular dog hadn't been seen here before and I can only presume that he belonged to the local 'tractorista' who is ploughing the fields around here.

Horseplay

Every year, horse races are held at one of the neighbouring cortijos called Lobrasan. (When I say 'neighbouring', I can see it from my house but it takes about half an hour to drive there!)

Set in the range of hills between the Contraviesa and the Sierra Nevada, Lobrasan is reached via a reasonable track from the village of Lobras. I found myself at times though being glad that I glad the jeep to deal with the road surface although felt somewhat ashamed when I later saw a visiting Fiat 500 parked up at the cortijo. Not sure I would have braved it...

An area had been set aside for a large tent housing the drink and food bar and the racecourse was a quarter mile track which headed off from the tent area down a field which then returned so the finish post was up where everyone was standing.

First of all a fancy dress cum 'best turned out horse' competition took place. It was quite wonderful to see the care that had been taken to prepare both rider and mount for this.

When it came to the main event, the competitiveness of the riders and the eagerness of the horses was unbridled with some fierce competition going on. A betting stall was set up and, not knowing any of the riders except one of the main organisers Nicky, I bet on her to win all her 3 races. She won 2 and lost the third to a short head so I didn't do too badly.

One of the races was rather eventful. Part way through the race, one rider was unseated leaving a clear run for the winner. However, shortly afterwards a loose horse came screaming through the car park. Thinking this was the loose horse from the unseating, a few of us set off to calm the horse and take it in hand. It was only then that the winner of the race appeared, somewhat shaken, looking for her horse. Having got the bit between its teeth (so to speak) she had had trouble stopping her horse and had to take evasive action when it was about to rub her up against a tree, i.e. fall off! Unfortunately it was on to concrete so she was no doubt slightly purple in parts the following morning.

The weather was untypical for the time of year with some sunshine, strong winds and the odd spit of rain. The large tent that had been put up to house the bar (and give some shelter) was straining at its guy ropes (one later snapped) and those that had dressed up and were wearing hats were having some control difficulties.

Further events were planned for the following day (including dog racing) but, due to grass-cutting commitments, I was to give that a miss.