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.

 

Wetlands 1. Landscape

El Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l”Empordà is a 4,722-hectare natural park and wildlife preserve on the Mediterranean and about a twenty-minute drive from Figueres. The park is many things to many people. Some go there to walk for an hour or two on some of the trails, all of which are level, even accommodating wheelchairs and bicycles. Some take the GR 92, a European long distance trail that passes through the park to walk north to Portbou or further into France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium, or south to its end in Andalusia. Some come to see the birds.

Three hundred and twenty-nine species of birds have been sighted in the park, many of those are protected species, and 82 of them nest there regularly. Others are migratory birds that pass through, somewhat like those hardy souls on the GR 92, on their way north in the spring and to Africa in the fall. But birds are not the only residents; there are also many other animals. Those carrying cameras with huge lenses are there for the birds.

I hadn’t been there in a while and recently went again, in spite of the summer heat. I don’t have one of those huge lenses, but I do have a nifty new camera and two lenses, one of them a 40-150 zoom. My approach to photography is that even if I have a project in mind, I go out with an open mind and am always looking for a possible photo – be it my target subject, or whatever else might come up.  So on my first visit I had my short lens and made a mess of trying to shoot birds, and on the two subsequent visits I found that my telephoto wasn’t quite long enough to get those really great bird shots, and it was too long for landscape views. But never mind. The aiguamolls are lovely and there is always something nearby that will make a pretty picture.

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The Muga River

This was taken in late June

This was taken at the same spot, less than two weeks later.

Dry wetlands

But wait!  I've found a bird

Peek-a-boo!  It's a Cames Llargues (Black-Winged Stilt)

Happy trails

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Until soon....

Besalu

It was a day with no sky. What was up above was neither blue nor grey; you couldn’t see the sun and you couldn’t see any clouds. The sky had simply disappeared. To make up for the lack of sky, there was tremendous heat reaching 33C (91F). But Besalu is always beautiful even on a day like today, so in spite of it all I drove there this morning. I had a new camera to try out.

Although it was an important town in Roman times and they have found evidence of human habitation as far back as before the iron age, what you see now when you visit Besalu is one of the most important ensembles of medieval structures in Catalonia. But narrow medieval streets were not on today’s agenda although I walked a good long stretch along a wall before I found an entrance to the town.  Was this part of the medieval wall?  I have been unable to find out.

 

Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere
Founded 977, renovated 1160

Peeking in a doorway

The new Circus museum.

Street scupture

An antique shop beckoned. I’ve been inside many times and have never found anything that inspired me to even ask the price. But you never know.... That is one of the great joys of antiquing – the hunt.

The metal plaque didn’t make for a good photo, but it did have a story. I thought it was Russian. The woman told me it was Bulgarian. It’s an old street sign and marks the block with the house numbers from 1917 - 1974. That makes more sense then the car license plate I thought it was that commemorated something to do with the revolution! I asked her where she obtained it. From the owner. Well, yes, I guess that makes sense too.

For me, Besalu isn’t Besalu without lunch at the Restaurant Pont Vell. All my friends who have come to visit know and love it. So after many pictures, I headed on over for yet another wonderful lunch – wonderful people, beautiful view, and excellent food. What more could you want? Only a good glass of wine to wash it down but alas, these days I must abstain.

Zucchini flowers stuffed with brandade of cod.
Bon profit!

View from my table