Monday, May 16, 2016

Spring in irati forest, The life explosion







Scilles blooming  in late april

Recently  the snow disappeared, and plants are quick to sprout with the high temperatures.
In the lower parts of the valleys beeches already have their new leaves of light green, while ash trees, walnut trees and oaks take it a bit more quiet.
Those same trees also lost leaves later in the fall. If you go to sleep later, then you wake up later.



 Beech forest flowers called prevernals plants need to rush to make their life cycle before the shade of beech leaves kill them. So even with some snow can start to sprout  and do all their cycle in a month and a half. Most of them are bulbs, like  asturiensis ,bulbocodium and varduliensis daffodils already emerged in April, although poet´s daffodil (narcissus poeticus) will come out in June, They are also bulbs like the asphodels (Asphodelus albus) the dogtooth violet (Erythronium dens-canis ) and others as  the Pyrenean squill, (Scilla lilio- hyacinthus) the upper and following pictures.




Pyrenean squill. One who dares to be different from the crowd violet.




Over the next three weeks, large areas of the beech forest will be covered with these flowers, creating an spectacular colorful, which joined with the leaves of the beech trees that will sprout in the coming days, give us an excellent opportunity to make some of the best picture that We can  made of a beech forest
They are also  blooming anemones (Anemone nemorosa), the golden Liver (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), or Spurge laurel (Daphne laureola)

After the Pyrenean Squills will be replaced on the fringe of the forest by others such as foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), gentians (acaulis, Verna, in the few areas lutea), etc


The last liverleaves of the year

Spurge laurel (Daphne lauréola)

Snakehead (Arum maculatum)

 Opening Fern

But not only Pyrenean squills warn us that something is moving in the forest;
Mammals signals are evident wherever we look. From nibbled Squills to badger droppings, deer, roe deer, hare, wild boar, etc ..
The scratch places of  the Roe deers are very curious. Males remove vegetation around a beech small, and rubbed against her so that even damage the bark is scraped. In this way,. others roe deer look and smell, that this territory belongs to someone.
Roe deer scratch place.





Roe deer horn marks

Also insects begin to move, encouraged by the development of their food plants, especially  caterpillars.
These are some kind of noctuidae or Erebidae, moth larvae, which feed on these leaves megaphorbic plants that live only with very high humidity. Here they are eating the  Adenostiles alliariae, that will blossom into June- July. inside the forest.



Birds do not keep quiet, and We can hear the repetitive chanting of finches or Song thrush(turdus philomelos) and sporadic different types of woodpeckers.

Here We have the unfortunate aspect that leave a dead tree, but standing, after to be used as 5 stars restaurant where birds find different menu larvae (Cerambycidae, bark beatles ..) appropriate for each species. Nuthatchs ( Sitta europaea) also come here to eat something




Feed holes of woodpeckers



White backedwoodpecker female eating on the ground

This female woodpecker eating and was rummaging among the leaves for 10 minutes. The photo has taken two weeks before, when I did a tour for a bird watcher. It is by far because we do not approach much to not bother. In fact, while we watched with telescope, she did not notice our presence.
Well, this is what I observed in a space of 1 hour and a half and I thought you might be interested.

Living in a valley in the Pyrenees, although it has many disadvantages, it also has its advantages, as can be in these sites only 5 minutes from home.
Here the last photo of another mammal, trying to leave no trace in the forest, just in your emotions.


If you want to know these places can write to: itarinatura@itarinatura.com




May 16, 2016

Beeches have taken all the leaf and the dimly lit in the forest is full. Yesterday had been a foggy day and it seemed that at any time magical fairies court could appear as something normal.
Ramsons (Allium ursinum) begins to replace the flower of squill, and in the meadows the Gentiana acaulis start the flowering..


Añadir leyenda
Gentiana acaulis



Ramsons (Allium ursinum)






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