Monthly Archives: February 2012

Walking in the Els Ports – Vall d’Infern

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Date of walk: Saturday 18th Feb

Temperture in Tortosa: 17 degC

Mountain Temp: approx 15 degC

Wind: NNW  4km/h

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature in the valley was touching 17 degreesC.  In fact although it can still get chilly at night, February is often a wonderful month of blue skies, sunshine and made all the more delightful because it is when the almond blossom appears.  All in all, a perfect time of year for walking.

This walk began once more at Font Nova the natural Spring form where we commenced a previous walk to La Moleta. It is Walk 10 in the Cicerone guide “Mountain Walking in Southern Catalonia”

The first 45 mins was a fairly steep climb to the ridge and it wasn’t long before we discarded jackets and walked in short-sleeved t-shirts.

To give you an idea of the ascent: On the photograph to the right, our car is parked just out of shot at the bottom left hand side.  We crossed to the back of the mountain in the “V” on the horizon and this shot was taken on the return to the starting point.

After the climb to the ridge the rest of the walk was fairly easy, a couple of stony descents being the hardest thing to negotiate later on (often tougher on my old knees than climbing uphill I must admit!)

Once again, within minutes of reaching the ridge we came across a group of male Spanish Ibex, grazing in the scrub on a small plateau.  The largest of them stood and looked directly at us for at least a couple of minutes before deciding that we were of no account and trotting away with the others behind the boulders. It wasn’t long before we saw a couple of Griffon Vultures and then about 20 minutes later a female Ibex and her kid.

The other thing we saw today was people!  Usually, we walk mid-week but today was Saturday. There were 5 or 6 cars at Font Nova when we arrived, but the people in them were only collecting water from the fresh spring. During the walk we saw 2 couples and on our return to Font Nova there was a family having a picnic. We have become used to having the mountains to ourselves – so that seemed like a lot of people!

Below a few photographs of the general scenery, the Ibex and a couple of Griffon Vultures.

The starting point at Font Nova

Being assessed by a large male Ibex

 

Other male Ibex in the group

The rugged terrain and views to the River Ebro Valley

Griffon Vultures, soaring on the thermals

Camargue Horses at Sebes Nature Reserve -How they Help the Storks

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Camargue horses have had an important role in the successful re-introduction of  White Storks at Sebes Nature Reserve.  Storks consume a wide variety of prey including beetles, crickets, lizards, snakes, molluscs, crustaceans, frogs and toads and they prefer to feed in areas of shallow wetland and avoid areas that have tall grasses.  It was necessary therefore, to clear the dominant vegetation of reeds and bulrushes from large areas of the reserve.  This was achieved initially by the hard work of humans but as the reeds grow back very quickly it was impossible to maintain this level of manpower.  Camargue horses were the answer.

Camargue horses are a stocky and hardy breed of horse  that have specially adapted broad hooves for living in marshy areas.  The resident herd at Sebes graze in enclosures on a rotation basis. Once the reeds have been eaten down the horses are moved on.  Another advantage of  clearing the reeds is that the open spaces allow other species of plant to flourish. This in turn adds to the bio-diversity of the reserve.  The reeds of course eventually grow back, so the horses are never short of food, the storks get their preferred open areas, and humans don’t have to hack back the reeds. It’s a win-win-win!

If you visit the reserve, and wish to see the horses, call in at the Mas del Director (Information Centre) where there is a plan showing where the horses are.  With a bit of luck they’ll be in an enclosure where you can see them closely and no doubt you’ll enjoy seeing the horses as much as the bird-life.  As I did recently: 


Foals of Camargue Horses are brown in colour. They gradually lose the brown and become fully white at about 4 yrs of age. The close up below shows the white hair starting to come through

Then it was time for a roll in the dust..

And then, a siesta…..

Flying High on Stork-ringing Day!

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I am a regular visitor to Sebes Nature Reserve at Flix so over the last few years I’ve got to know some of the staff there.  Last June I had asked one of the wardens there to let me know when the bird-ringers were going to be  ringing the storks.  I received a text a few days later telling me that the ringers were there so I jumped into the car and headed up to the reserve.

I’d expected that they would bring the young storks from the nest somehow but when I got there I realised that they went up to the storks in a cherry picker and did the ringing, weighing and measuring actually at the nest.  I was surprised  to see that the parent birds just flew away from the nest  as they approached it. Good thing too, I thought, I wouldn’t fancy being on the receiving end of an angry Storks beak!  However, there was a primary school class watching too,  and one of the scientists – who was taking swabs from the Storks for bacterial analysis – gave a little talk to the kids and then decided to bring the last pair of chicks down to ground level for everyone to see. Off they went in the cherry picker and brought down two chicks wrapped in towels.  They were incredibly docile as they had their rings put on and were measured and swabbed. The children watched fascinated (and so did I! ) and it was good to see that the reserve had used the ringing as an educational opportunity.

 

When it was all finished the birds had to be returned to the nest. This was when my day got really exciting!  The reserve manager asked me if I would like to go up in the cherry picker with the ringers to return the birds to the nest!  Yes please!!

I clambered into the bucket and it began to rise.  As we approached the nest the parent birds flew away as before. The nest, that looks big enough  from the ground, was just  huge close up!  We unwrapped the chicks and laid them on the nest.

From here we could look across to several of the other nests, where other parent birds and chicks were keeping a stern eye on us. Oh my, what a treat to see into the nests from this vantage point!  Just wonderful!  Then one of the ringers asked if I would like to go higher to get a panoramic view over the reserve.  I nodded but inside I was thinking “no, we’re high enough!”  Too late, he called down to the operator and the cherry picker began to extend to it’s maximum height of 32 metres. I have to admit, standing in a bucket suspended 100 ft in the air- my knees began to wobble!   But, it was fabulous to have such a view over the reserve and the river, and, making a determined effort to be calm I got out my camera and took a few shots.  What a morning to remember!

Higher

..and higher

...and higher

A birds-eye view of the Stork Colony

Sebes Nature Reserve – Flix

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Sebes is small Nature Reserve about 20 mins drive from us, on the outskirts of the town of Flix. There are 206 hectares in total which runs in a fairly narrow strip alongside the left bank of the River Ebro. It consists of reedbeds, river islands, tamarisk woods, lagoons and riverside woods of willow and  poplar and hence has a rich bird-life both of nesting birds and visiting migrants – especially as it forms an eco-bridge between the drylands to the North and the Mediterranean climate and coastline  to the south. In total, about 200 species of bird have been sighted here.

There are 3 hides at the reserve and among the birds to be seen are Great Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Purple heron, Grey heron,Marsh Harrier, Black Kite and Little Bittern. If you are very lucky you may see Great Bittern during the winter – which I’m pleased to say I did last December. If you are extremely lucky you may even see otter – which has been glimpsed a few times over the last couple years. An excellent indicator of a healthy water system!

There is a very good information centre – “Mas del Director” which has  interesting displays about the flora and fauna of the reserve. From the Centre  you can walk to 2 of the hides overlooking small lagoons. The opening times are:
Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 14:00 
Saturday 9:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 18:00 pm 
Sunday from 9:00 to 14:00

(The reserve itself and hides are always open -irrespective of the Information Centre being open)

Sebes is however, probably best known for its successful reintroduction of the White Stork.   White Stork had ceased to breed in the Lands of the Ebro in the late 1930′s due to loss of  habitat caused by industrialisation and pollution.  So, in 2001, twenty chicks were brought from Lleida and were raised in an enclosure.  They were liberated in 2003 and 2 pairs began to breed there. The project was repeated a couple of years later and now there is a breeding colony of  around 14 pairs.   The colony can be seen from close quarters at the top end of the Reserve and it is always a delight to see the  pairs on their nests and to hear their bill-clattering  greetings. The Storks are normally present from January to July. It is thought that they winter a little further North where there is a more abundant winter food supply but they usually start to return in January. By April you can see the new chicks starting to bob their heads above the nest.

Once the chicks are big enough they are ringed and I had a great experience last June when I visited on ringing day! Shortly after the chicks are fledged the birds leave  though they may make occasional visits back during  the following months.

In addition to the Storks and other birds you will also have chance to see a herd of  Camargue horses which are a key element in the success of the stork re-introduction.

Also, the track which goes through the reserve is a local walking route called the Cami de la Sirga -”The Towpath” which also forms a section of the long-distance footpath, the GR99.   The Towpath  is a story in itself and a short distance further on from the Mas del Director there is a little museum with audiovisuals telling its history. Entry to the museum has to be pre-arranged.

How to get to Sebes Nature reserve:

From Mora d’Ebre take the C12 to Flix. Follow the road over the dam bridge. The road to the reserve is immediately to the left as you leave the bridge but do not try to turn here. Continue for 50 yds or so. You will see a sign for Sebes which takes you into a turning circle. Head back towards the bridge now from the other direction and take the unpaved road just before the bridge.

One other thing:  Nature reserves in Spain are supported heavily by banks and to a lesser extent with subsidies from regional and local governments.  As you can imagine funds have been drastically cut over the last few years. Staff have already been lost and hours for the remaining ones cut.  Please – donate what you can in the box in the information centre or buy a t-shirt, some postcards, a book…. . Every little helps as they say. :)