Enchanting late night looking for hedgehogs in Montjuïc as part of a scientific study, to the raucous concert of thousands of frogs and toads, croaking and beeping in the Mediterranean night, barely 30m walk from la Rambla. With Galanthus, Zoo de Barcelona and Ajuntament de Barcelona
#barcelonaurbanwildlife
Galanthusnatura. I love urban wildlife.
Cute Mediterranean tree frog (ranita meridional in Spanish, reineta in Catalan) on Montjuic. Captured by Barcelona’s amphibian monitoring programme run by Galanthusnatura. I love urban wildlife.
This grey heron perched on top of the otter enclosure at Barcelona zoo yesterday, I assume waiting for a fish after the nutrias have finished. More than 100 pairs of herons nest wild in the zoo’s trees. Photo by my 8-year-old daughter Iona.
Date palm, possibly the oldest in Barcelona, planted in 1873 in the Casa de l’Ardiaca (Archdeacon) next to the cathedral.
In the late 19th century Spain, palms were very much associated with the “Indianos”, hardworking, often ruthless men who made their fortunes -one way or another- in the Indies. They form an essential part of the landscape of many coastal areas of Spain.
The Riu Besòs this evening, Barcelona on right bank. In the 1970s this was (it is claimed) Europe’s most polluted watercourse, an open sewer, a deadzone. The factories moved to China and the watercourse was cleaned up. It is now a biodiverse river park cutting through a dense metropolis. No kingfishers today but a heron flew past.
This gorgeous Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthamelii) on Montjuïc, one of around 51 species of butterflies found in Barcelona’s city parks.
By way of comparison, the entire UK has ~60.