I was woken at 6ish by a dog barking; I couldn’t ignore it and go back to sleep (I tried!) as I was worried it might be Betty. I got dressed and went out to investigate; the barking had stopped (typical). I walked down to check on Gary anyway – it was all locked up, he sets out early to cycle long distances, to use the cooler part of the day.
On my way back I came across a very industrious ant colony; they had collected some crescent shaped seeds between 1”- 2” in length and were cooperating in taking them down their hole.
Antz!!
No wonder they're stealing my seeds if they can handle grass seeds this size!
I’ve been desperately trying to take a photo of some strange birds we keep seeing (so far I’ve got lots of photos of sky!); they’re not big, about blackbird size. They are around as individuals in the daytime; but at dawn and dusk they ‘fly’ in noisy flocks. Their flying pattern is distinct; they flap and glide. And their wings are triangular, so their bodies look diamond shaped ( a bit like bats, but with tails) with yellow undersides. They look like flying fish and I really want to identify them (Steph); I have ‘googled’ every combination of my descriptive words, but no luck. I need a book ‘Birds of the Iberian Peninsula’ - maybe there is one (I’ll add it to our list of things to buy when we return to Britain). Brett thinks they could be some type of foreign swift/martin/swallow type bird, from the shape of them but they act like starlings.
Our life at the quinta improved a million percent today!!! Last night Brett and Mark were discussing our lack of fridge and decided to explore the gas locker. They disconnected the built in regulator and this morning Brett connected our Portuguese hose (with regulator attached) and gas bottle – result: we now have a working fridge, cooker and even water heater if we want. We are very, very happy.
We took Glen to identify a plant I had discovered growing in our boundary ditch; he confirmed that it is cannabis – apparently lots of people grow it around here (it’s actually legal to have it in your possession in Portugal as long as it’s for your own use).
While they were down the ditch (Brett and Glen) they realised that the track through the ditch, which we had always assumed was made by wild boar, was manmade (they found sawn and cut branches) and carried on the other side of the ditch through a disused quinta. We thought that perhaps it was a route that the hunters used (unless you apply for an exclusion notice and display it, hunters can come onto your land to hunt – they shoot all the birds and boar). So this morning we went to explore; we were quite relieved when we found sheep dropping. We now think that it was the way onto our quinta that Luis, the shepherd, used when he brought the flock in to graze – so nothing sinister.
Brett dug the footings for our little sitting room, and I planted some herbs – I’m cheating I’m using the pots of culinary herbs from the supermarket.
The fridge has made a HUGE difference to our lives at the quinta we now have cold drinks and glasses.
I had a google - I think it might be a spotless starling - The Spotless Starling, Sturnus unicolor is a passerine bird in the starling family Sturnidae. It is closely related to the ubiquitous European Starling, but has a much more restricted range.
ReplyDeleteThis starling is resident in the Iberian peninsula, northwest Africa, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. It does not migrate.
This starling is catholic in its choice of habitats, and can be found in any reasonable open environment from farmland and olive groves to human habitation.
Like their commoner relative, these birds are omnivores, taking invertebrates, scraps and berries. This is a gregarious species, forming sizeable flocks in winter, although not of the enormous size of European Starling.
This is a hole-nesting species, breeding in tree holes, buildings and in cliff crevices. It typically lays four eggs.
Confusion with other species is only likely in winter, when migrant European Starlings may also be present. This species has darker, oily-looking plumage, which is entirely spotless in spring and summer. Its legs are bright pink. Young birds are dull brown, and darker than European.
Like their relative, these starlings walk rather than hop, and have a strong direct flight, looking triangular-winged and short-tailed. This is a noisy bird, and a good mimic; its calls are similar to the commoner species, but are clearer and higher pitched.
I've tried to paste a picture of it but it's not happening. Looks like a black triangular bird.
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