A fieldtrip to the Salina de la Esperanza after the IV Congreso de Biodiversidad y Conservación de la Naturaleza CONSERBIO.
In the same morning we visited industrial salinas in the same wetland area. La Esperanza is used an outdoor living laboratory by the University of Cadiz. It is a project for the sustainable development of the salt pans, recovering an activity that has shaped the cultural and natural landscape of the area.
I stopped in the underpass to look at the nest of the red rumped swallow Cecropis daurica. I was curious to see if the nest was occupied and curious to see its form, similar to a barn swallow but with a sort of elongated tube entrance. An impressive sculpture. I am fascinated by swallow and martin nests, laborious, meticulous beautiful structures, tiny blobs of mud, grass and saliva (each nest it is calculated is 1000 blobs of mud that they have flown, collected and brought back to make their nest).
I like that it is in this place. A liminal space between human and wild. It is wild here in the concrete, under the motorway. A good place for a nest I think, sheltered like the swallows like it, yet a place that would go unnoticed. I think of the nests I saw removed and this is place that most would not notice there is a nest, or if they did they would not care. No one cares about dirty walls under here.
I look around and find a lot of life. A huge escolopendra centipede. Bee and wasp nests.
I participated in the project Limes platalea counting spoonbills migrating off the coast of Cadiz. I spent two day looking at the sky with my binoculars by the Torre de Puerco. I love sky gazing and bird watching. It was exciting when a band of spoonbills passed by but more than just the spoonbills it was the have waves of swallows, wagtails, chaffinch wash over us the whole morning. Movement moves me. Witnessing migration. Read more about spoonbill migration and this project in an article written by Paco (Francisco Hortes) one of the coordinators of the Limes Project here.
My first foray into the world of moths was when Tim “the moth man” Barker local moth expert set up a moth trap in my parents back garden. I sat in the evening with the bright light of the moth trap, moths fluttering around me, fascinated.
The crowd of curious enthusiasts was ever growing as neighbours and friends heard about what we are doing and joined our early morning moth reveals. It helps to have a master in our midst, Tim whose knowledge is awesome and inspiring.
Tim is the moth recorder for County Durham. For 10 years he set up a moth trap every night above the Tap & Spile pub recording the night life above the night life below.
Curiosity and romantic notions impelled me to a weekend course of animal tracking. I became aware of a whole new way of looking at things; investigating, shifting perspective and thinking wide. A blade of grass blown by the wind over time will leave an imprint, that we will speculate is lizard or frog.
We went to a very humanised place, a parking lot full of rubbish, take away bags and cans strewn all over. A small body of water marks the end of a natural corridor. But this particular place seems so touched by and abused by humans that it is devoid of animal life. But not so, as we look with more open eyes we see tracks of wild boar, genet, fox, deer, badger, tortoise, rat, mongoose. I am amazed to have size of a deer drawn in the mud from the tracks it has left.
In gratitude to Dr. Javier Vázquez Rodríguez for helping me see a different world.
House martins build nests of mud on the facade of buildings, under eaves, in window alcoves and under balconies. They are sociable birds living in colonies of extended families. They are migratory but will return to reuse the same nest sites year after year.
These house martins had been nesting above the blind in a window, when it was shut the nest fell. The house was neighbouring my studio and I was contacted to take care of the birds. Being insectivorous they eat only insects, anything else can be damaging to their development or even fatal.
I fed them wax worms and luckily they fed easily. Sometimes with older birds they refuse food, recognising that it is not coming from its parent and so they have to be force fed to begin with. They have to be fed at regular intervals and it can be quite demanding. Fortunately I fell in love right away and was more than happy to serve them. Their chirruping sounds make my heart skip and I wake up each morning excited that I will get to see them.
When I care for baby birds I sway between a swelling love and profound respect for the wild. I limit contact to the minimal. I know that this will serve them best when they are released.
This trio thrived. And then they flew away.
To measure the health of a river:
The Andarríos project was established by the Junta de Andalucia to put rivers ecosystems in value by encouraging participatory action; local groups adopt a section of river and monitor its environmental health. The evolvement of local groups and associations promotes knowledge and participatory action in favour of conservation.
The project begins with the premise that: Our society owes a great debt to its rivers. These authentic biological corridors have been fundamental for human development, providing a source of resources and energy, communication routes and erosion control.
The section of river we examine goes underneath a main road by the industrial estate on the outskirts of town. I think about liminal spaces, the places between. I think about humans and nature. Under the ALDI billboard by the side of the road.
We examine microscopic life. We see frogs, invasive flora and native flora. Traces of an otter noted in the scat from is latrine. We test the PH. It is noted that since last years evaluation the quality had diminished.
I am often find myself drawn to the little things oft overlooked; seed pods, plant forms, the egg sack of a spider hanging from the wheelbarrow. Here I see a place that is overlooked or unnoticed but has great value. The life that sustains us is by the side of the road under the ALDI billboard.
I take my botanical ink and dye experiments to another level by getting systematic and methodical. More scientific in my exploration, which is very fruitful. It is chemistry and I like it.
I took an online course with Flora Arbuthnott which I would recommend. Something clicked and I was able to understand something more complete about using modifiers. I have read books on natural dyeing; India Flint, Botanical Inks and Jason Logan all were very interesting but it was seeing the experience, albeit virtually that helped me to understand the way the different reactions occur and the potential that exists for exploration.
A practical course can take place virtually, which is a very good thing for me, living rurally and having responsibilities that do not allow me to travel to do interesting courses, much as I’d like to.
