Next trip booked for July.

We do find it difficult to stay away from Valor for too long, and since work has been so hectic recently we thought we'd treat ourselves to a quick week in Spain before the schools break up and the flight prices double!

It is usually getting up to some pretty fierce temperatures by this time of year, so any walking or bird watching will mean getting up at the crack of dawn. Although it is past the best time of year for birding (at least until Autumn arrives), there is still plenty to see even locally. Golden Orioles flit between the trees, usually only giving a brief flash of colour before blending back into the foliage. Strangely well camouflaged for such a brightly coloured bird. European Bee Eaters (as in the painting below), and the occasional Roller add another dash of the exotic.


Sometimes the best approach is just to let the wildlife come to you. Scops Owls are common in the area, but devilishly difficult to see. The best view of a Scops I ever had was whilst sitting outside a local bar having an early evening beer, and watching one hunting and returning to its nest in a hole in the wall just feet away from me. Great stuff (I'm easily pleased!).

So maybe we'll just go along with that. Chill out, watch the world go slowly by and see whatever we happen to see.

Mediterranean Chameleon

Here's another nice find from a recent visit. I spotted this chameleon in the thorny undergrowth, whilst on a birding trip down on the coast near Roquetas.

It was somewhere in the region of a foot long, nose to tail, which I believe is about the maximum size for an adult. I'm not sure how scarce these are in the region, but I've not seen one since.

An interesting and almost pre-historic looking creature.

A Garden Visitor

A friend of ours who lives just outside Valor e-mailed me this picture of a garden visitor hoping I could identify it. After a bit of head scratching and research I reckon it's a Montpellier Snake.

She was clearing weeds at the base of the yucca plant and was only alerted to the snake when the dog started barking. She estimates it was between 5 and 6 feet in length, and rather aggressive.

Good job she and the dog kept their distance as these snakes are venomous.