REWILDING THE LARGE ESTATES INCLUDING THE ROYAL ESTATES

 THE FOLLOWING IS FROM LEGAL JUSTICE THAT I SUPPORT

This is an interesting petition from a new organisation, called Wild Card, asking the Royal Family to rewild their landholdings. It's a polite and respectful request which we support. We would suggest that the grouse moor at Balmoral would be a good place to start and that would have a massive impact on neighbouring and nearby landowners.

 

Have a look for yourselves and see whether you'd like to support it, please. That's it for now. There are news items stacking up at the moment - so we'll probably be back soon.

 

Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).

From the same newsletter I pasted this.

Royal family: ‘Rewild’ your land to boost wildlife and fight the climate crisis!

The world needs to ‘rewild’ an area of land the size of China by 2030 just to have a chance of tackling the climate crisis properly. And the amount of land the royal family owns means they can play an important role! 

‘Rewilding’ landscapes damaged by humans is a fantastic way to boost wildlife and fight climate change - because restored land like forests and swamps absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere really effectively. 

That’s why we - the public - back a recent call by 100 experts, academics and public figures asking the royal family to lead by example and re-wild their land. The royals have a history of supporting environmental causes, so it’s time they matched their words with actions - by restoring their land to its natural form. 

Signed, Thousands of members of the public 

AND THIS IS WHO WILD CARD ARE

Wild Card is a new campaign group calling on the UK's biggest landowners to rewild their lands to address the climate and nature emergency. The group is currently campaigning for the lands of the Royal Family, the Church of England and Oxbridge Colleges to be returned to nature. Their long term vision is to see 50% of the country rewilded. To find out more go to www.wildcard.land or follow the campaign on social media Twitter: @wildcardrewild Facebook: @wildcardcampaign Instagram: @wildcardcampaign

I have signed up and so should those who care for our planet

FACTS ABOUT ‘TRAIL’ HUNTING TO DISPUTE THE LIES OF THE FOX HUNTERS

 Can you tell the facts from the fiction about 'trail' hunting?

‘Trail’ hunting claims to mimic traditional hunting by following a pre-laid animal-based scent trail.

Here are the truths as taken from the answers to the quiz formulated by League Against Cruel Sport.

Fact One

The concept of 'trail' hunting was invented by hunters to allow them to continue hunting animals for 'sport' by exposing loopholes in the Hunting Act 2004.

Fact Two

Drag Hunting is a real sport that has existed for centuries. The hounds track an artificial, non-animal scent on a predetermined route to keep away from danger and potential accidents.

Fact Three

Despite the ban, hounds are still trained to chase and kill live animals. Young hounds are first taught to kill fox cubs in a contained area; a despicable act of cruelty referred to as cub hunting.

Fact Four

Chasing live animals is very common. Hunts often intentionally lay trails in areas where there are foxes and hares or do not lay a trail at all and intentionally chase animals.

Fact Five

Of all those prosecuted for illegal hunting under the Act, over half have claimed to be trail hunting.

HILARY MANTELS’ THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT

 Book Review.       

Title.                     The Mirror & The Light

Author.                  Hilary Mantel

Published by.        4th Estate - London

IT’S LONG, IT’S DETAILED. IT SPELLS OUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE DURING HENRY’S REIGN AND WITH MUCH THAT WAS NOT NICE. IT’S A HELL OF A READ!

For me this was a long reading journey for the pages numbered 875. Also I had no intention of reading it in one go. In fact I read it off and on for the best part of a year. Before this much awaited one I had read Wolf Hall, published in 2010 with the historical commencement date of 1500. It won the Man Booker Prize and was well received. Bring Up The Bodies has moved on to 1535 and winning both the Man Booker and Costa Book of the Year Award in 2012. That is some achievement.

The story line was always about Henry VIII firstly with Cardinal Wolsey and then Thomas Cromwell as the power shifted between Henry’s two scheming servants. Our historical adventure travels through only part of the reign of Henry and  finally ends on 28th July 1540. This last one in the trilogy is a masterpiece even though not winning a prize.  It received many plaudits and they were well deserved. It was enthralling throughout and I have not read anything like it.

Thomas Cromwell, a commoner, son of a blacksmith from Putney, South London becomes the power in England for his Majesty the King after the demise of Cardinal Wolsey. It is about deceit, intrigue, religious tensions, corruption in high office and executions. But there is much more.

Hilary Mantel’s knowledge of her subject is amazing. It may not be to everyone’s taste in the manner it was written. There is much dialogue and the reader’s attention can be strained at times when there is a switch in who is speaking. Her imagination in creating the words spoken has to be admired. There is so much detail in here and that is amazing too. 

The final chapter actually moved me. It was sad and brilliantly written. It was a fitting chapter to end it. If you love history or have a penchant for The Tudors and can manage the style it is written in, then it is a must.

There are several pages at the end that explain the factual history of the time so the frame work on which these books are written can be examined. 

Finally - what a read!

CAGE BIRD REARING SHOULD BE UNLAWFUL

 This is a post from

League against Cruel Sports 

Spread the truth about the cruelty of 'game' bird cages: Share this article 

As the governments of England and Wales face pressure to ban caged breeding, please consider sharing the truth about this cruel practice with your friends. It only takes two minutes and every voice for animals make a difference.

HARROGATE CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL NEW BLOOD PANEL

We are looking forward to attending Harrogate Crime Writing Festival this year.  It is always good.  The New Blood Panel is one of our favourites and this year even more so as we know one of the writers.  Lara Thompson went to school with Michelle´s sister and Michelle looked after her after
school until she was old enough to be alone.  This is her first novel and we are both looking forward to reading it and seeing her.  

BOOK REVIEW. THE LANTERN MEN BY ELLY GRIFFITHS

Book Review.               The Lantern Men

Author.                          Elly Griffiths

Published by.                Quercus

I have read several of her books before with locations as diverse as Norfolk and Brighton and I enjoyed them, but not this one. 

The Lantern Men set in Norfolk is the 12th in the series of ‘a Dr Ruth Galloway Mystery’. It is short listed, one of six, for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Novel of the year Award and to get there it had to be voted for by the public. So, some would have seen more in it than I have.

I gave it a good go and read over 100 pages until the end of chapter 12. By that time I had become interested in the criminal elements and Dr Ruth Galloway’s expertise as an archeologist but I had become overwhelmed by the continuing details of domesticity, past relationships, the current ones and what was happening between who. I got to the point of not caring! Is this another author who has to produce another book for the publishers? Well, maybe, and it won’t be the first novel that falls short of preceding stories with the same characters. 

I hope that it would have got much better and if it did then I will have to forgo it. There are many books out there and the competition is fierce. I will be reluctant to read another one by Elly Griffiths in this series. I will only add that my refusal to finish reading it is not to her detriment as a writer.

Alicante Mountain of Monnegre Always Worth a Visit

 On Monday 21st June we were out early to give Montnegre and Monnegre another going over. We have spent time there observing Trumpeter Finches - Camachuela  Trompetero. We know where they could be and this morning we saw one but not where we usually observe them. 

At another location we watched and waited and eventually one did appear but what we wanted to know was if we could see this year’s brood. We didn’t but we will check again later. I have found sitting and watching can be good and we had ten species fly in which included:

Black-eared Wheatear - Collalba  Rubia (looking pale)

Black Wheatear - Collalba Negra

Spotted Flycatcher - Papamoscas Gris

Rock Sparrow - Gorrión  Chillón 

(and even one male House Sparrow - Gorrión Común 

Blue Rock Thrush -Roquero Solatario

There were other species around but nothing exceptional and we moved on.

Under the river bridge a Nightingale - Ruiseñor called and was seen. On the other side a Reed Warbler - Carricero Común sang. We expected more.

We searched the skies and apart from Choughs - Chova Piquirroja nothing. There was not a raptor in sight so what are we doing wrong?

We did look for butterflies and at the ‘lone tree’ there were some seen and photographed and I am told a new one for us. The photos will, of course, prove what we saw. Nearby a Corn Bunting - Escribano Triguero was in a bush.

Below Tibi at the bridge Bryan got busy with photographing butterflies and Bronze Damasell. Photos will come later. The activity on the river made up for disappointments in the avian world.

We love these mountains and it is always very good to be out. There are so many species that we did not find and I can assure that what is recorded here is fact. Other sites may claim more!

We did have one oddity. Possibly a Pole Cat that was only seen briefly and it had a white tail. So I don’t know. 

Congratulations to the birders in England who have chased down these three Warblers:

Reed - Carricero Común 

River - Curruca Fluvial

Savi’s - Buscaría Unicolor

And special note to The Isles Of Scilly where there is an Egyptian Vulture - Alimoche Común 

WILD JUSTICE NEWSLETTER 65 - BADGER KILLING CAN CONTUE

 I have taken this from Wild Justice  Newsletter 65. 

It is one application they say lost. And so the badger killing will continue. So please read on but one lost amongst may successes.

Yesterday, after writing the newsletter we sent you, we heard from our lawyers the bad news that we have lost our challenge to the licensing of free-shooting of Badgers. This is a great disappointment because we felt we had an arguable case had it ever come to court - but now it won't.

 

It is in the nature of the judicial review procedure that one loses more cases than one wins, and our track record of making advances through court action is very good on general licences and gamebirds.

 

But this one, on Badgers, can only be seen as a defeat. Still, we did our best, and we would almost certainly make the same decision again faced with the same facts and probabilities.

 

Thank you to everyone in our legal team for their quite prodigious work on this complex case, thank you to a team of experts for giving us help and advice along the way, and thank you to all those who donated to make the legal challenge possible.  Because we have failed to get permission for judicial review there will be some funds available as a result for other legal challenges.

 

There will be another newsletter next week - there often is a rush of news in the run-up to the break that the courts and legal system have in the summer months.

 

Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).

BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING SAY LEGAL JUSTICE

 BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING WILFUL BLINDNESS IS NO LONGER AN OPTION

SAY

CHRIS PACKHAM

MARK AVERY

RUTH TINGAY

ALL THREE FROM LEGAL JUSTICE

 

This is from their newsletter.

On Monday, there will be a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall on the subject of driven grouse shooting. These debates are open to all backbench Westminster MPs of all UK constituencies, so if you live in the UK your MP may be able to attend and speak.  Whether or not they do, you may wish to tell them your views on this subject. To find the email address of your MP (google)

 

As well as backbench MPs, there will be speeches by shadow and government ministers on the subject. Opposition parties can challenge the government and we can all judge from the government ministerial response whether we are happy with what the government plans to do.  The debates are not followed by a vote and, in a way, these are talking shops, but they set the tone on important subjects and put the government on the spot.  Also, many Westminster Hall debates, including this one, are triggered by parliamentary petitions which reach 100,000 signatures and so they are used to highlight issues on which the public wants to see more action.

 

Many of you have already contributed to this debate because you signed a parliamentary petition, initiated by Wild Justice, back in the summer of 2019!  That is the petition being debated all these months later.  The long delay is due to the 2019 general election and then of course the coronavirus pandemic. Can you remember 2019? Back then we could gather together in large numbers, there was still debate over whether Brexit would happen (and how) and Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the Labour Party - it seems a long time ago.

 

Also, last year, in 2020, many of you signed an e-action on this general subject that went to MPs, MSPs and members of the Senedd in Wales highlighting the problems associated with driven grouse shooting such as damaging burning of vegetation and illegal killing of protected wildlife - this is another opportunity to state your views on these issues to decision makers.

 

If you've already been involved on this issue, thank you for getting it into the Westminster parliament again - your voice, added to tens of thousands of others has already made a difference.  If you'd like to do more, then we set out some suggestions below depending on where in the UK you live.  If you're not moved to contact your MP this time then have a good weekend and you may want to watch the debate live on the Parliament YouTube Channel. on Monday starting at 4:30pm.

 

Points you could make to your MP

1. In general: - you are, of course, free to make any points to your MP that you wish, about this and any other issue - take the opportunity please. Please be polite.  Please only contact your MP.  You should give your name and address so that the MP knows that you are a constituent of theirs.  It's a good idea to keep a copy of your email so that you can compare any response, which might come weeks later, with what you send this weekend. It's a good idea to ask clear questions and check whether you get clear answers from your MP. But any expression of interest in any subject will be noted by MPs, and that includes people with views diametrically opposed to your own - they may be writing to your MP this weekend too - do you want your MP only to read their views?

 

2. If you live in Wales or Northern Ireland: intensive grouse shooting is a much commoner land use in Scotland and England than it is in Wales and Northern Ireland. And, of course, environmental matters like this are a devolved matter for your own parliament. So your Westminster MP might not be very aware of the issues or much inclined to pay attention to them. However, they are your Westminster MP and you are fully entitled to make any points you wish to them. But if you want to go for a walk in the rain or fall asleep in front of football on the TV we completely understand.  There will be other issues where we will ask for your help in future.  If you do want to contact your MP - skip to point 5 below for some suggestions.

 

3. If you live in Scotland: intensive grouse shooting is a live issue in Scotland and the Scottish government has said that it will act to license grouse shooting, heather burning and to restrict the mass killing of Mountain Hares. Statements from Scottish ministers over the last few years on raptor persecution have been very strong compared with the wilful blindness of DEFRA ministers.  You could ask your Westminster MP, particularly if they are an SNP Westminster MP, to make the point, or ask a colleague attending the debate to make the point, that Scotland is taking far more action than the UK government is taking in England.  That would be very helpful.  See point 5 below for more points to make.

 

4. If you live in England: intensive grouse shooting is a live issue in England and DEFRA has been woefully slow and feeble in tackling the problems associated with it, compared, for example, to the much greater action in Scotland.  For more details of points to make on grouse shooting, see point 5 below but ... this is also an opportunity to tell your MP that you support the #stateofnature petition (sign here, please, if you haven't already) which has received very nearly 200,000 signatures and that you want much stronger action than DEFRA has promised so far for a legally binding nature recovery target.

 

5. Wherever you live:  the problems of intensive grouse moor management, for the hobby of grouse shooting, include the following:

 

• about half a million Red Grouse are shot in a typical year - few of them are eaten - it's just shooting for fun
• a grouse moor is as unnatural as a car park or a field of wheat and yet they dominate much of our uplands - they are a block to a wilder, more natural, and more beautiful landscape
• our upland National Parks have been de-wilded by grouse moor management - it's time to let nature have them back
• intensive grouse shooting is underpinned by wildlife crime - particularly the illegal killing of birds of prey such as Hen Harriers, Peregrine Falcons and Red Kites
• thousands and thousands of foxes, stoats, crows and other predators are killed, legally, to make sure as many Red Grouse as possible survive to be shot at 
• lead ammunition is still used on grouse moors and should be banned
• heather burning damages protected habitats, increases greenhouse gas emissions, increases flood risk and increases water treatment costs - DEFRA proposals to address these problems are so weak that Wild Justice has started a legal challenge of DEFRA's proposed measures
• the densities of Red Grouse are so unnaturally high on grouse moors that diseases are becoming commoner - the grouse are dosed with powerful medicines to help them get through to the opening of the shooting season and the checks on food contamination simply aren't up to scratch

DEFRA has been slow to act on any of these issues - as the petition states, it has been wilfully blind, in contrast to the action taken north of the border.  DEFRA has never made a clear, unequivocal statement on the scale of illegal raptor persectution on grouse moors, nor made a clear statement condemning grouse shooting as the source of that criminal behaviour. This debate is an opportunity to set the record straight.

 

DEFRA has a range of options at its fingertips to deal with the raft of issues that Scotland is already tackling.  DEFRA has dragged its feet on dealing with lead ammunition, raptor persecution and heather burning.  Its recently announced measures to limit heather burning are so poor that Wild Justice has started legal action on this subject.  You may wish to suggest that licensing of grouse shooting would be the best way to tackle all these issues at once or you might wish to say that only a ban on driven grouse shooting will adress the whole range of environmental problems caused by this crazy land use.

 

Phew!  Thank you. Even a very short email to your MP will make a difference to their awareness of the issue and will be a voice for change.

 

We'll give you our views on the debate some time next week, and we'll have another ask of you then too, particularly if you live in Wales.

 

We wouldn't want you to think we have been idle though. See this critique we published on our blog of Natural England's totally inadequate assessment of the biological factors that will affect any reintroduction of Hen Harriers in southern England (we think Natural England should throw away their current assessment and do it properly). Following last week's newsletter and our news of two potential legal challenges of DEFRA - on gamebird releases and heather burning - letters have been whizzing back and forwards and we have been discussing progress with our lawyers (we're waiting for more responses from DEFRA).  We're setting up some filming that will happen over the next few days and in July ahead of the Inglorious 12th, and we've been talking to several journalists writing pieces on grouse shooting.  And we have been progressing our plans for a website refresh and working with our accountant on our company accounts.

 

BOOK REVIEW, THE MAN ON THE STREET BY TREVOR WOOD

Title.                   The Man On The Street

Author.                Trevor Wood

Published by.      Quercus

The Man On The Street is in the final six of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. We hope to be in Harrogate next month and I would like him win it as he dares to talk about the seriousness of the homeless, violence and public attitudes. 

I knew not a thing about this author or what it could be about except that it is crime novel. I prefer it that way as I do not want to be influenced by others. The locations are in Newcastle.

The Man On The Street is a good enough clue as to the setting. For me, it was at pavement level and you need to be in a good frame of mind not to become depressed. That did not stop me reading as his characters Jimmy, Gadge and Deano are ‘as-rough-as-rats’, have been hard done-by and I grew to love them. They were not the only characters to impress either. Carrie was brilliantly portrayed and her involvement and interactions with some of the others was superb.

It is about a missing man. A ‘Misper’ in Police terms and the conundrum of what is possible for them to do. The story takes off from there and Carrie whose father is no where to be seen has a hard slog to convince the police he has not taken himself off! I know the dilemma for I have been there.

As in most books written recently the author creates many strands, almost like ‘add-ons’, that help to give it all a fillip. I liked that. Now if you are up for ‘bashing the police’ I can see a need for you to read it. Their treatment of how to treat the homeless and their behaviour in general could make some people squirm in their comfy chairs. I know how violent it can be out on the streets and the actions are brilliantly portrayed by Trevor Wood. 

It is far from the story of a man going missing. There is so much in there with even an unspeakable crime included. So, read it, and enjoy for it is entertaining too.

 

ABIR MUCKERJEE WITH DEATH IN THE EAST HAS MADE IT TO THE LAST SIX AT THEAKSTON OLD PERCULIER CRIME WRITING CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD IN HARROGATE

 

ABIR MUKHERJEE WITH 'DEATH in the EAST'

DEATH IN THE EAST by ABIR MUKHERJEE

It is about time I gave the author, Abir Mukherjee, more praise for his incredible use of word combinations. It's so descriptive and encourages the reader’s imagination. I love the full use of words. Try this line from his latest one and fourth in the series, ‘Death in the East’.

“a policeman with an opium habit is like a long-distance runner with his laces tied together”

So simple and yet it says a lot!

This 400 plus page novel headlined on the front cover by C J Sansom as ‘A brilliantly conceived murder mystery’, is just that, but there is much more to absorb.

British Imperial India has been the sole setting until it is shared with London’s East End and then later in Jatinga, Assam. He's in Jatinga for a very good reason, of course, and would you believe, there's death! A minor theme in the books are Sam Wyndham’s weakness for a pretty face. You could say he has a flaw!

We have another chunk of history thrust our way when we know about Sam’s earlier life and exploits as a beat copper in around Leman Street nick in 1905. He is, of course, involved in murder investigations and the not-so-subtle ways of life with the old style coppers, dockers, immigrants and Jews. There’s poverty and violence, corruption and death. If that isn't enough to intrigue a reader, too bad because I will not spoil the telling of the plots. You will have to read the book.

As always there are examples of how it was in 1920’s India with characters showing their very stubborn prejudiced ‘Britishness’. The indigenous population being treated as inferior. Through out Sergeant Bannerjee has been referred to as Surrender-not as the Anglo-Saxon tongue was incapable of saying ‘Surendranath. Sam is eventually challenged by Suren, (the native) a name by which he is called and shortened for convenience to pronounce properly and to use his Indian name. And he does. That's about time too and I wonder how many times Abir Mukherjee experienced comments and prejudice with his own name.

Experiences like those; they live on and these four books highlight the prejudice that existed and still exists in many minds. 

Having written a poem my last line was ‘prejudice fuels hate’ and this book especially proves my point. The best crime novel of the four to date. It's a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed although at times I had to give some thought to the reality of certain events. You maybe surprised!

COSTA BLANCA BIRDS AND LAGOONS IN THE HEAT

We are in the heat now that June is progressing towards the solstice. Even with an early start it was twenty degrees. We didn’t expect a great list and we didn’t get one. The lagoons were quiet and opposite Playa Lisa a very distant male Peregrine Falcon - Halcón Peregrino was our first notable bird. We passed quickly through some of our normals stops and at El Pinet we had a real treat. A pair of Kentish Plovers - Chorlitejo Patinegro with three chicks moving about on the tip of the nearest island. I rejoice in seeing a successful hatching and hope the babies make it to adulthood.

Our real target was to focus on Rollers - Carraca and they were around, possibly six in total, and Michelle photographed her first one. Success then.

In the same area we had four sightings of Great Spotted Cuckoos - Criala Europea but with no chance for a photograph. 

We were hoping for a flooded field but no and with many fields of grass cut and drying in the sun but nothing showed. We had hoped for really good views of Yellow Wagtails - Lavandera Boyera and they were around. Butterflies were disappointing with only small whites.

On CV 861 - Km 7 on the small lagoon were no less than twenty Marbled Ducks - Cerceta Pardilla and this was the first time we had seen them there. It is a good indication that the programme with these ducks has been successful and in the fields opposite Collared Pratincoles - Canastera Común were spotted together with a Kentish Plover.

At San Felipe Neri a Ruddy Darter was on the vegetation and then - we believe - a female Ruddy Darter was photographed. 

On the pond there were other Marbled Ducks and in the main lagoon there appears to be silt suspended in the water. Apart from raucous Great Reed Warblers nothing much to say except that this place disappoints yet again.

HARROGATE CRIME AWARD SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

The list for this years Crime Novel of the year was announced early in May.  I always try to read the long list before voting.  I managed to read 7 of the 18 and voted for my favourite of those 7.

We had most of the books already either in paper or digital format.  

Today the shortlist was announced.  I am happy to see that the two novels voted for by myself, The Last Crossing and by Michelle, Death in the East are both shortlisted.  We will find out who the winner is on 22nd July in Harrogate.

 

Poppies & Choughs

Following on from Friday’s visit to the corn fields around Coral Rubio south of Albacete I mentioned the amazing white fields. We photographed them and these are fields of poppies - amapola and their scientific name is papaver sonniferum. They are cultivated for medicinal purposes and all perfectly legal! Whatever, they are beautiful to see en masse.

When we were on the camino going towards Higueruela we again heard and saw Choughs - Chova. We had seen them in the area before and on this occasion we got incredibly close to about 25 plus birds. There is a part ruined building and they were perched and flying around it. We thought that it may have been used for nesting. With the adult birds were youngsters. They are wonderful to see close up as normally they are in the distance and flying away over ridges.

 

MESSAGE FROM ENGLAND. IT’S ALL ABOUT TAKING THE KNEE.

Today our England senior men’s team will begin their EURO 2020 campaign at our home, Wembley Stadium. 

Major tournaments don’t come around often and when they do, it’s an opportunity to unite friends, families and the country. This collective support is what spurs our team on during challenging moments and it gives them the best chance of succeeding. 

Gareth and the team have confirmed they will collectively take the knee ahead of their fixtures during the tournament.

They are doing this as a mechanism of peacefully protesting against discrimination, injustice, and inequality. This is personally important to the players and the values the team collectively represents. 

This gesture of unity and fighting against inequality can be traced back as far as the 18th century. It is not new, and English football has made it very clear that it does not view this as being aligned to a political organisation or ideology.

We ask that you respect their wishes and be united in the fight to tackle discrimination.

Because we are one team. One family. One England.

We look forward to sharing this UEFA EURO 2020 journey with you.

EXPLORING THE PRAIRIES SOUTH OF ALBACETE SPAIN

 It had been decided Michelle, Bryan - the photographers two - plus myself would ensure that Michelle would get her Great Bustard shots.

On Friday 11th, early, we went to the bread basket of Spain in and around Bonete, Coral Rubio, Petrola and Higueruela in the province of Albacete. We knew it was going to get hot and so we cracked on and we were lucky with only a light breeze and very little heat haze.

It’s always good to get out and I love to be surprised. Predominately white fields drew our attention. Poppies grown as a crop. Large white petals with a tinge of light purple and a contrasting eye. What is this crop for?

I will not list all the birds but El Balchiller is always a good spot and Rock Sparrows - Gorrión Chillón perched on the rim of the farm buildings. We moved on down the farm track and there they were - two males and four females - Great Bustards -  Avutarda Común In full view and in range for the photos.  We like this area and the fields edges were full of flowers and the butterflies were numerous. We saw;

Painted Ladies

Fritillary - to be identified

Another one to be identified

Clouded Yellow

Small Whites  

Some are always difficult to see stationary with some species refusing to do it. It’s a subject in its own right but we persevere! Bryan was delighted, at last, to get the Clouded Yellows through his lens.

It had rained recently and the fields were wet but overall it was dryer than two weeks ago. The lagoons were full and there is plenty of water around Coral Rubio. The usual water birds were there and surprisingly we came across several Glossy Ibis - Morito Común. We knew that we would see an iconic bird and the Lapwings - Avefria Europea showed well.

The Causeway is now passable. Here we concentrated on Yellow Wagtails - Lavanca Boyera

The adults were feeding young and we expected to see them here. One Little Ringed Plover -Chorlitejo Chico stayed close, one Kentish Plover - Patinegro was nearby and a Green Sandpiper - Andarrios Bastardo fed alongside them. 

We moved on through the corn fields and were rewarded by a flying male Great Bustard and within minutes another one flew too. Larks were not frequent but eventually the camera captured a Short Toed - Terrera Común which was difficult to pick out on the rough ground.

The lagoon by the railway on the camino leading to Higueruela yielded a good selection of water birds. A Marsh Harrier - Aguilucha  Lagunera flew over making it our fourth one of the day. We always are checking the skies and apart from one Common Buzzard - Busardo Ratonero and some Common Kestrels - Cernicalo Vulgar our raptor haul is naff. What are we doing wrong? The heat of the day was now upon us and we headed south.

This is a massive area and one that should be a must to go to. Fields of corn will soon be cut and then there will be greater opportunity to see more with less vegetation around. We may do it again soon and/or leave it for an autumn trip. Photos and more information will follow.

Overall it was great to be out there and the photos should prove it

ANOTHER EXCURSION IN AND AROUND SIERRA DE SALINAS ALICANTE SPAIN

 On Tuesday 8th June Bryan and I sped out of Gran Alacant and onto A 31. Our target area was around and upon Sierra de Salinas and to further check out what habitats were there and what they could support. I intended to take CV 813 out of Villena and head to the Sierra but I got in wrong. We were on CV 81 and on a route we had taken two weeks previously and in a location we explored then. Casa Canales is clearly signed and this camino is a public road and leads straight towards the ridge in the distance. It is of mixed habitat with corn - some standing and some fields cut - Almonds, other areas left uncultivated with dips and rises and rougher patches too. Interesting we thought and will consider an autumn visit.

Raven - Cuervo frequently called and flew. Pintailed Sandgrouse - Ganga Ibérica we heard clearly but Bryan only had a quick look at one departing. We observed three lark species Greater Short Toed - Terrera Marismena, Crested - Cogujada Común and Calandra - Calandria. Two Common Kestrels - Cernicalo Vulgar hovered and flew over and a Green Woodpecker - Pito Real called. Interestingly there was a flock of 60-80 Spotless Starlings - Estornino Negro which we thought was unusual as they don’t normally gather and it is the breeding season. Photographs proved what the species were. Stone Curlew - Alcaravan Común were around to and there was one call raptor like we had no clue about. Woodchat Shrikes posed well and so did two Little Owls - Mochuelo. Woodchat Shrikes - Alcaudon Común showed well for us.

In truth not a great tally but another area of interest. This is a shooting and hunting area and we did hear and see Red-legged Partidge - Perdiz and plenty of rabbits - Conejo

We left and found CV 813 on the north side of Sierra de Salinas. Again we had no great number of birds. Below is a list of some we saw

Blackbird - Mirlo Común 

Goldfinch - Jilguero

Serin - Verdecillo

Jay.  - Arrendajo

Mistle Thrush - Zorzal Charló

Chaffinch - Pinzon Vulgar

Great Tit - Carbonero Común 

Coal Tit - Carbonero Garrapinos

Common Buzzard - Busardo Ratonero

Corn Bunting -  Triguero

Rock Bunting - Escribano Montesinos

Bonnelli’s Warblers - Mosquitero Papialbo

And others heard, not seen and no sight of a Western Orphean Warbler - Curruca Mirona but our bird of this mountain was a low fast flying male Merlin - Esmerejon. Identified by Bryan and this was a surprise.

At lower levels the mountain is in bloom and insect life is feeding on the flowers. Sulphur flies were everywhere and we counted seven species of butterfly with some photographed so that they can be id’d. Two Humming Bird Hawk moths went past. More of that later.

The flowers, insects and the vistas seen helped to make up for the birds. We returned to A 31 via Monover and Elda looking as we travelled and there was no perched Black Shouldered/Winged Kites  - Elanio Común anywhere!

Yet again where have all the ones I haven’t mentioned gone. So many ‘obvious’ ones not seen!

CRY BABY - A TOM THORNE THRILLER BY MARK BILLINGHAM

 Book Review.               Cry Baby - A Tom Thorne Thriller

Author.                          Mark Billingham

Publisher.                      Little, Brown

This is another on the ‘long list’ for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award to be announced at the Harrogate Festival in July. So, there it was, a glorious hardback having arrived from Amazon Germany!

I tend not to go anywhere near ‘English-Cop-Dramas’ as they can infuriate the hell out of me when the writer doesn’t get it right or strays too far from what is legal. Mark Billingham must have some good contacts in ‘the old bill’ for he writes the inside stories very well and he has a penchant for creating friction within the investigation team.

I’ve not read him before but we have met and he certainly talks a good line! He is a story teller and like all good novelists there are other stories that sit alongside the main one. I also appreciated his asides that commented upon events of the time and there is DS Thorne’s taste of music too. I approved of that.

There is so much in the book. In fact, a list of occurrences, different relationships and how they work or don’t work that help create interest outside of the main event. There is also one residing in prison. It is about two children, their mothers and their two genetic fathers all interwoven through the chapters to the very end. It is not a short read and it keeps going at a pace to its conclusion. It kept me guessing and there were surprises too. And there are two dead bodies as well. I enjoyed it and if there is a better one to read then I will give that a go too!

QUICK TRIP TO LO MONTE

There was going to be a chance of rain but we still got out for the first time this week with no hook up with the ‘nobinsbirdclub’.  With Lo Monte only being 20 minutes away we sat with no one else around and watched. There is a good expanse of water with excellent cover on the margins.

The light was poor and there was no sunlight to excite the smaller stuff. Michelle’s sharp eyes picked this one out on the protective fence around the lagoon. The ‘colour match’ made it very difficult to see.  We think it is a Brown Darter.

We thought we had a first for here with a lone Cerceta Pardilla - Marble Duck but having checked it out it was a female Red Crested Pochard - Pato Colorado. 

There was also the same species with two young. Porrón Común - Common Pochard were around to and there was a good number of Mallard - Ánade Azulón and several with a high number of young. Malvasia Cabeciblanca - White Headed Ducks were evident too.

There was a good number of Common Coot - Focha Común with young and Moorhen - Pollo de Agua. One Night Heron - Martinete Común and Little Bitterns - Avetorillo Común flew frequently. Bee-eaters - Abejaruca Común called distantly. Certainly not a good haul with some small birds flitting across.

This location has potential and humans are screened from the view of the lagoon. Hides are definitely two people only and certainly not for the less mobile! They offer very good views and are five in total. Around the edges in the public area there has been planting and we saw this plant.

Identified via PlantNet as Ephedra fragilis. And commonly called ‘joint pine’ and it is native to Southern Spain and North Africa.