Wetlands 3. Birds

After reading my last post with photos of those beautiful horses, a friend asked me if they were wild and what happens to them when their surroundings dry up. Well heck. I hadn’t done my homework.

The horses in the park are Camargue horses. That is a breed of French horses from the Camargue area in Provence, near Arles. According to Wikipedia, the Camargue horse “is an ancient breed of horse indigenous to the Camargue area in southern France. Its origins remain relatively unknown, although it is generally considered one of the oldest breeds of horses in the world.”

This breed has large, wide hooves and can stand in watery marshes for hours. It is used in marshy areas to eat the grasses that tractors can’t reach. This helps maintain the balance of growth necessary for a healthy ecosystem.

In 1988 a few of these horses were imported from France and installed in the Aiguamolls de l’Emporda. Now they have about 20 adults, all female (males are sold off) to keep the herd from uncontrolled growth – that is, they don’t want too many horses and they don’t want mares who are old or not healthy enough to become pregnant. They live semi-wild: They are moved from one area to another as needed, and they receive veterinary supervision. Otherwise, they are left to themselves. Thank you Shellie, for asking.

As for birds, my initial spottings were of small birds hiding in trees or larger ones from way far away and me with a short lens on my camera.

Serin (Gafarro)

White Stork (Cigonya blanca)

Then there was a Black-winged Stilt (Cames llargues) who wasn't too far away and while I waited patiently, didn't mind posing a little bit.

This was encouraging.  Later, things picked up with bigger birds and a bigger lens.  I had an especially good time capturing storks taking off, landing, or flying at two different lagoons. 

Finally there was a bird even bigger than the White Stork and possibly even more beautiful (although they all are really beautiful).  I think the Flamingo (Flamenc) has been my favorite so far.

He's at the right; doesn't seem to mind sharing 
his space with the storks, or vice versa. Just as
well now when many of the lagoons are drying up.

Three hundred and twenty-nine species of birds have been spotted in the park, but not by me. I’ve spotted maybe ten and can name only seven, and I need to learn the names in both English and Catalan.  Maybe that’s why people get into birding. It’s an eternal project.

Wetlands 2. Animals

I remember when I went to Toulouse last September and took off my facemask in the park and could get a real breath of fresh air – outdoor air on a rainy day that smelled of trees and rain and things green. A small thing like that but ten months later I still remember.

At the time we had already been wearing facemasks for a few months and we are still wearing them now. Like many people, I don’t breathe that well with a facemask and even worse when it’s hot. A few weeks ago the government announced that we were no longer required to wear them outdoors. So that first day, a Saturday, at about 8 am when I went out to walk the dog, I found I was the only one on the street not wearing a facemask. I had mine with me and quickly put it on. But when I am on a secluded stretch or on a path outside of town, I am free to breathe. So, being out in nature is good for breathing, good for the soul, and good for taking photographs.

At the aiguamolls (wetlands) there is a meadow where you often see horses – sometimes two or three, sometimes a herd. On two of my recent visits I’ve taken the path that passes by that field and lo and behold there they were.

While shooting I saw something that looked like a boulder in the field. Even with my telephoto lens I couldn’t get a good enough look. But enlarging the image at home, I could see it clearly. Someone was taking a nap.

That meadow is home to more than a herd of horses. A muster of White Storks – maybe two dozen -- also hang out there. You can see some of their nests in the nearby trees. The two species seem to coexist in peaceful harmony.

Off to the left a movement caught my eye. It was a dear that had sprung out of the forest and sprinted quickly out of sight. But a few minutes later there was another movement in the same area. This one was a stately procession of Mallards that was far off and small in size but slow enough to photograph. Now there were three groups all sharing the same meadow.

The park sits on the Medittarean coast and along one side of Empuriabrava, a sort of little Venice that was created in the 1960s from marshland and is made up of canals, houses, and a few very ugly big hotels and apartment blocks. Towards that end of the park I was acosted on a trail one day by another group of horses.  I wasn't convinced that the trail was big enough for all of us, so I was glad to see their backs.

The smallest animal I’ve seen at the aiguamolls is a weasel and that took some patience. Actually, I’ve never seen a weasel out in nature anywhere before and at first I wasn’t sure what it was. I had caught a glimpse of a little something run out of the brush and then turn around and run right back in. So I passed by and waited some minutes while several other people passed one way and another and the little head popped in and out a couple of times. But finally my quiet wait paid off.

The aiguamolls are drying up a month earlier than usual. I asked at the visitor center and they said they had a reserve of water, but not enough for all the lagoons. I didn’t ask what will happen to the wildlife that will be left out. But even in the drought, it’s still beautiful.