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When winter turns to spring
Written by Lucy Brzoska February 2012 will be remembered as one of the coldest on record in Catalunya. Waterfalls and rivers froze solid, and thin layers of ice even covered the ponds in Barcelona’s...
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Pollen, this way . . .
Written by Lucy Brzoska Wild weather of recent years has opened up Collserola’s woods, and one of the most rapid colonisers of the new clearings has been the rock rose, especially Sage-leaf Cistus....
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Close encounter on Montjuïc: Peregrine falcons
Written by Lucy Brzoska For 2 or 3 weeks a year, when the Montjuic peregrine falcons fledge, you can watch incredible displays as they practice their flight skills. Often you get very close views as...
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Wildfires devastate Catalonia
Written by Lucy Brzoska Photograph by Inma Sáinz de Baranda in La Vanguardia Savage wildfires have raged across northern Catalonia in the Alt Empordà, the land of the Tramuntana. This fierce NW wind...
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A couple of hours to kill on a mountain
Written by Lucy Brzoska I watched Marcus disappear upwards through the gap. He was on his way to the summit of the vertiginous Peña Ubiña, a thin grey wedge of a mountain, one of the highest (2,417 m)...
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Migration of Cranes autumn 2012
The autumnal migration of cranes (Grus grus) into Spain usually takes place inland, over the Pyrenees. On the last weekend of October there was an abrupt change in the weather, with temperatures...
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The Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus) in Barcelona
Written by Lucy Brzoska I half-glanced at the orange butterfly, expecting to see a Wall (Lasiommata megera), an abundant species on Montjuic. After a double-take, I realised it was something...
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What do Barcelona’s parakeets eat in autumn?
Written by Lucy Brzoska You could hear the sounds of contented chomping from a distance. The fig trees scattered around Montjuic were heavily laden this September, much to the delight of Monk...
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Strictly come raven dancing
Written by Lucy Brzoska Trona means pulpit in Catalan. But the great rock bearing this name that thrusts out of the Cingles de Berti feels more like a throne. You can sit up there on great stone slabs...
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Wild couples in Barcelona
In Barcelona, a sign that spring isn’t far away is an intensification of twig gathering by Monk parakeets (an activity they tend to do all year round). Away from their raucous nest colonies, built...
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Wood warbler spring
Five days of rain, rough seas, and a lowering dark sky. The strong easterly winds at the peak of spring migration swept many birds off their usual path, and some of the lucky ones made it ashore in...
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Flight patterns across Barcelona
One of a series of extraordinary photos taken by Barcelona resident Laurent Godel, this captures the calm steady rhythm of a Grey heron crossing the city. But what really inspires Laurent are swifts,...
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Close encounter on Collserola: Dwarf mantis
Written by Lucy Brzoska Illyrian thistles (Onopordum illyricum) are magnificent, even when all dried up. By mid-summer their heads are like wicker baskets brimming with seeds. When I looked inside...
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Zooming in on Montjuic (v): gecko
Written by Lucy Brzoska The craggy old gecko lies fossilized on the stone wall, flattened against the warm rock. A bug comes briskly by, and the gecko comes to life, peering down. The bug quickens its...
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Zooming in on Montjuic (vi): autumn
Written by Lucy Brzoska An old olive tree is creaking. It’s not the wind, but the sound of a tree frog singing from somewhere inside the hollow trunk. The warm humid October weather suits...
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How to spot a Praying Mantis
Written by Lucy Brzoska One way is to look out for unusual portents, unnatural juxtapositions, something that just doesn’t feel right. Like an immobile upside-down butterfly. This butterfly was not...
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Montjuïc Castle: the importance of holes
Written by Lucy Brzoska A young Montpellier snake, hatched in the walls of Montjuïc Castle, surveys the world outside. The sandstone wall, mellowing through the centuries, is structurally sound but...
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A jay in the park
It was probably the number of oak trees in the park that attracted the jays in the first place. In autumn they tirelessly collect and cache acorns. One of them is uncommonly bold and has a passion for...
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Springtime in Barcelona: Montjuïc
Poo-poo. Poo-poo. Perched on one of the tall Cyprus trees that surround Montjuïc cemetery, a hoopoe is calling, a peaceful sound of spring. But a rival takes objection, and a bout of fierce hissing...
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Zooming in on butterflies: mating
Written by Lucy Brzoska The female Cleopatra perched immobile on a sprig of rosemary, while the male hovered in close attendance. In courtship the male’s movements were less erratic than usual, and...
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