TUDELA AND THE EBRO

Our destination is Tudela in the valley of The Ebro in Navarra. Research, with the help, ‘Where to Watch Birds’ in Northern & Eastern Spain by Michael and Earnest Garcia means that where to look is made easy.

On route there is Red Kite and in early evening there was Red Kite with Marsh Harrier also flying. It is 39C and the strong wind is blowing like a hot fan oven. Not ideal but there are plenty of song birds around but not easy to see. A cultivated field allows good view of a lone White Stork which poses for a photo. There are many pylons around and some provide a nesting site for them. The book suggests that they are town dwellers but looking at the debris near a pylon with nest makes it seem that the other town dwellers may prefer the storks in a rural setting.

On day two there are fields of them searching for food to feed nest bound chicks. There is plenty of small bird activity with a family of long-tailed tits passing through together with an abundance of Goldfinch and Blackcap singing. I just wish that I was better at recognising ‘bird-song’.

Later we entered, Las Bardenas Reales, which is a strange area and I would urge plenty of research before going there. ( www.gurelur.org ). However there is a good view of a first/second year Golden Eagle and an excellent close view of a Short-toed Eagle. Larks were plentiful and there were two good views of male Black-eared Wheatears. Not much to show for a morning out in terms of volume but we are now in high summer. You can also check on the information centres and there are several lagunas with observation points that deserve a look.

The evening provided excellent views of two hunting Marsh Harriers but the strong wind did not allow for much else.

SOMEWHERE IN IRELAND.

SOMEWHERE IN IRELAND.
A Journey of Discovery by Linda Whittenberg
with artwork by Lillie Morris.

I was fortunate to receive this book courtesy of our mail systems from our friends in Ireland. After unwrapping it, the artwork entitled ‘Thinking of Ireland’ on its cover grabbed my attention. The wonderfully eye catching work of Lillie Morris runs throughout the book and is such a joy to see.

Linda has visited Ireland previously and has been a visitor to Listowell’s Writer Week. This year she brought this book with her. She has every right to claim her ancestry in the west of Ireland but to do that she visited places that gave her the inspiration to write some truly great lines. The poems and narratives take you with her on her journey. Her sense of belonging and her connection with her ancestors is incredibly strong. We all need to know our roots, after all.

This is a wonderful piece of writing that touches on ‘The Irish Diaspora’, the Irish in America and a woman seeking some of her past.

I can dip in and be reflective on particular lines because it says so- but I will leave that for you to do.
I think that it would be wrong of me to pick any particular piece out as I found that each had its own merits. It’s a book that I can return to time and time again, dip into it and to enjoy it even more.

I enjoyed every page of it.

You can view her website on www.lindawhittenberg.com where you can order this book.

POETRY IN SESTUDE FORM

I thought that it was time that I would mention ‘Poetry’. The Stanza Mar Menor Poetry Group ( a stanza of the Poetry Society based in London) have written in a form called ‘Sestude’. If twenty six different poets – one for each letter of the alphabet- can write about items contained in The Victoria and Albert Museum then so can other ordinary mortals. This style has 62 words of which 26 words are ‘reflective’ in nature.
Most of us have some history around us of a personal nature. There is one item which has formed the subject matter of the first one has been with me all my life. The other subject matter is, I believe, evident.

Here are my own sestudes.


TOASTING FORK
Often you poked my fingers into the fire,
you held me so tight, your knuckles bearing
the heat stoically.

All this for a thick piece of The Baker’s split tin
white loaf - just right to be crisped over flaming logs

Beef dripping warming on the hearth,
pausing for hot toast

ready for the knife to come

to slice your memories
into bite-size chunks


THREE COLLARS
Three collars hang from the post
at the end of the white balustrade
protecting the top of the steps leading
to freedom.

They are empty now -- released
by their owners – no longer required

Never more than a symbol of possession,
a place for a disc, a telephone number - if needed

Now they hang with our memories
of lives we loved and protected.

STANZA MAR MENOR POETRY MEETING OF FRIDAY 22ND JUNE 2012

We met as usual in San Javier and the five of us, Kathy, Margaret, David, Douglas and John
read various poems that had been written in the recent weeks.

Sestudes-either in their restrictive form or with a more liberal interpretation- were read by the majority. Of course, comments were made and advice given. That is the strength of this group and I think that this shows in much of the work being written.

Haiku were also the order of the day with many being presented.

Douglas capped our morning with a poem that he had written a few decades ago and which he thought would be suitable for our next ‘open mic’. (ON MONDAY 25TH JUNE AT 7.30PM) This one is called ‘And No Birds Sing’ and to hear it you will have to come along next Monday evening when he will read it.

We will now have a summer break and the next stanza meeting has been set for Friday 28th September and the autumn ‘open mic’ evening will be held in October. We will finalise the date on Monday evening next. I will write this up so that everyone will know what has gone on.

Have a productive and enjoyable summer. Keep well and have fun.

PRELUDE TO OUR TRAVELS

Welcome to our blog for our travels northwards via Tudela to Bilbao. Our route takes us along some of the course of the mighty Rio Ebro where we will see what is flying. One of the towns has nesting storks and that will be worth seeing. Once in Bilbao there will be a visit to The Guggenheim where there is an exhibition of David Hockney’s. This area is new to us and in two days it will not be possible to do it justice.

We only have four days in Spain before we embark for Portsmouth on 3rd July, arriving on the following morning.

This year has just ramped away and now it is only six days before we leave home. Most of the packing has been done and the excitement is mounting in anticipation of eleven weeks of travel, visiting locations and people. Follow us as we write up our journey on our joint blog http://travelsa-d.blogspot.com

RIOPAR, RIO MUNDO AND PLAYING WITH WOLVES

This is a great place to visit. I am sure that we will go again as we have more than one good reason to return there.

The old village of Riopar sits on a rocky outcrop with some outstanding views. It is almost totally holiday accommodation now but it does have a bar. The new town of Riopar- more accurately titled San Juan- lies on a flatter terrain but encircled with mountains with the highest one being a little over 1700 metres. Spain’s economic plight has left its mark here but there is still some bustle and it is an interesting place to visit.

This was a photographic trip and the cameras were busy on all three days. As far as I was concerned it was to see everything but with a special interest on anything flying. Friday was a cool one with only a few butterflies showing. Amongst the trees and vegetation there was birdsong with Blackcap singing beautifully but required patience to even see one.

Saturday saw us enter the gorge where the river exits from a high limestone cliff. We will be going back simply because after rain, when the atmospheric pressure helps to drive the water out′ it comes out of the rock face horizontally. It is some sight to see, I have been told.


On this second day the sun was hot and this brought out dozens of beautiful butterflies. Over the three days we saw over ten different species which included the Scarce Swallowtail. Bird wise I was disappointed as we only saw a few Griffin Vultures and nothing else. The others wanted to see their first eagle and I was on constant look-out but there really was hardly anything flying to see.




Sunday morning was the best part. We were taken to a private animal sanctuary by Juan Zamora who was born here and has an active interest in wildlife and photography. We saw Eagle Owls and birds of prey that had been rescued after being shot by the hunters. There were deer, mufflon and boar in enclosures and such is the care being taken, their environment allows them to breed successfully. We saw two adult wolves and two of their off-spring. They were nine months old, one being a male and the other one a bitch which were kept in a separate area. She came to the wire and nuzzled my fingers through the wire fence. The best bit was to come. I went in the enclosure with Michelle and Marian. The dog was apprehensive and kept himself slightly away but you could see that he did want some contact. It was obvious that they both knew Juan for both came to him. The female soon made contact and played with all three of us. She delighted in putting her mouth around a forearm and showed her gleaming white teeth. There was not a mark on anyone. What a wonderful experience this was.



The photograph above is one of the parents of the female wolf we played with.

I would not normally be in favour of humans coming in contact with wild animals in such a way but these were born in captivity and were already used to the human animal. Without breeding programmes the small wild populations cannot be supplemented. There are wild wolf populations in Spain but unfortunately not large ones. I know of two vulture release programmes and I also know that the Lynx population is being supported by captive breeding. If only the hunters would shoot less, then there would be sustainable populations of several species.

The last reason for a return visit is to undertake a two day photographic course with Juan. This is scheduled for October and then we can see this area in its autumn colour. Sounds like a good idea to me.

CLOT DE GALVANY

After a very tedious morning we came back from Alicante via Clot de Galvany where our afternoon just got better. There was no water at all in the shallow ‘pools’ but the main pool still had a quantity in it but the area next to the hide seems to be drying out fast. Our highlights were a lone Turtle Dove (Tortola Europea) that flew in for a drink but we had an excellent view and then two Yellow Wagtails ( Lavandera Boyera) skittered about on the mud. There were an amazing number of White Wagtails as welI. In the background were Moorhens (Gallinula Comun) with a Purple Swamp-hen (Calamon Comun) staying for a while. There were two Black-winged Stilts (Ciguennuela Comun) in the foreground with Spotless Starlings (EstorninoNegro) and House Sparrows (Gorrion Comun) splashing around. All the while the air was filled with Goldfinches chatting. We heard one warbler calling (but not identified) and this was surprising as the reeds would provide a good habitat for them. Walking back past the other side of the water, there was a female Mallard, two Little Grebes and then another wonderful surprise a male White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca). All great stuff. On the way out we saw Little Owl, Serin, Sardinian Warbler, Southern Grey Shrike, Green Finch and I heard a Robin singing. There were the ubiquitous Wood Pigeons (Paloma Torcaz) and Collared Doves (Tortola Turca) flying in and around. We were almost back to the car when we saw my favourite birds of summer perched on the fence only a few feet away-two Spotted Flycatchers doing what they do best. The photos below were taken by Michelle Edwards.

ANOTHER ‘OPEN MIC’ NIGHT FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS

ANOTHER ‘OPEN MIC’ NIGHT FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS Our last evening, held on 21st May, was another success with incredible performances and readings and this is something that we intend to repeat time and time again. We will have a summer break but will resume in late September. We always welcome fellow writers from wherever you come from and with whatever skill or style that you bring. It’s a relaxed event for everyone whether you are a seasoned performer or otherwise. New comers need have no fear as the audiences have always been so supportive. The rules are simple. You can read your own poem of no more than 40 lines or a short story of around 600 words or a favourite piece of your choice. You can even bring a lyric or two. It is all up to you for without support we cannot continue to flourish. Be prepared to bring more than one so that the action can continue. Come and appreciate the skills on display even if your forte is purely to listen to others. We are holding our ninth ‘Open Mic’ on Monday 25th June at Chadwick’s opposite The Plaza in Villamartin.