Probably the most glaring difference between the summer and winter visitors to La Vera is the regularity of the former and the irregularity of the latter. Those birds that come here to breed always arrive at about the same date, give or take a day or two, and in more or less the same numbers;… Continue reading WINTERING BIRDS IN LA VERA
Category: Nature
The Arrival of the Cranes.
It’s one of the most stunning son-et-lumière spectacles in Spain and even in Europe. And right here on our doorstep.” One by one the splendid songsters of spring’s concert fall silent in summer. Nightingales and blackbirds peter out in June, golden orioles a couple of weeks later. Blackcaps hang on into July but often get… Continue reading The Arrival of the Cranes.
Birds of May.
Birdsong in La Vera peaks in the first fortnight of May. Many nightingales are singing all night and much of the following morning. After a short afternoon rest (the siesta must be a sweet relief) they kick off again at nightfall to sing right through to the next dawn chorus, the other species each entering… Continue reading Birds of May.
Migratory Birds in Spring.
La Vera is a symphony of greens right now. The climax tree here, the Pyrenean Oak (Quercus pyrenaica) doesn’t really put on a great show in autumn; it just goes dowdy. But in spring it dazzles. Its big, velvety-textured leaves seem to modulate the light according to the angle with which it hits them, so… Continue reading Migratory Birds in Spring.
Unexpectedly, Lush Vegetation in central Spain!
«This is paradise!» When arriving to La Vera de Gredos, what most surprises the visitor is the exuberance of the surrounding nature. “This is a paradise!”, the visitor tends to add when taking a first walks in the countryside. Few places in Spain offer such an impressive variety and plant wealth in such a limited… Continue reading Unexpectedly, Lush Vegetation in central Spain!