Birds, flowers and wildcats in march.

After being snowing heavily during all February and have an historic snowfall, the rain came. The snow began to melt causing floods that were affecting localities of the midle and south of Navarre..
In this bend the Irati River flooded the road and was cut overnight.

Irati  riveer between Orbara and Aribe ( Aezkoa valley)

when the snow melted, the grass was been visible, and  herbivores went quickly to eat grass that was hidden.

When snow began melting

Deer grazing. Picture taken from the window of my house.

But the field mice ( Apodemus sylvaticus) and moles (Talpa europea) also took advantage of these days of tranquility to leave their burrows. The Wildcats (Felis silvestris) stand guard at the entrance of molehills or mouse burrows, waiting to attack minimal movement.
Sometimes, in the same meadow, I saw a fox, 4 deer and one wildcat.
On another occasion, I saw up to three Wildcats in the same field, and a fourth in the other side of  the Irati river.

Wildcat  (Felis silvestris)

Often  they are near from the villages, so, how can we recognize if there is a Wildcat  or common cat, at first glance, and from far away ?

• Color: all  of them have earth color, to blend with the environment. Sometimes  they hybridize with domestic cats, and can be really difficult, if not impossible, know if they are  hybrids or not, from far away. If unfortunately we find one dead, there are typical design of dark stripes patterns on its back.
• Tail: Much thicker than a domestic cat, has several broad dark rings, and the end with a black mark.
• Size: There are more corpulent.
• Behavior:  Always they are exceptions, but if it is a domestic cat let us come closer. If the wildcat is observed, and is relatively far, will tends to flee, and if we are too close, about 25 meters, often he sticks against  ground watching us, and if we have not seen him moving before, we can think it is a mound of a molehill, or cow dung.

This saw me

With snow are more visible.

Crouched, fixing his gaze in Me

But also March also brought a spectacular migration.
At first  the cranes came in a very good day, but the weather worsened again. Then,the white storks came, and some black storks too.

white storks in Ekai, near from Agoitz/Aoiz (Navarre)

White storks (Ciconia ciconia) on the way to the rest of Europa.

Somewhat later, on March 5, they also appeared in Orbaizeta, dozens of them.
 Older people commented place only once saw something in this village.

It happened that there were some badweather days, after having been rising temperatures and the birds that were already on the way, they met the Pyrenees covered with clouds, and decided to wait.
In the  Santiago´s way, at the crossroads of Auritz / Burguete the road to Garralda, We could see thousands and thousands of cranes circling above the meadows as deciding what they would do.

Ortzanzurieta mountain,in the end, and Auritz in the end left

Eurasian stone- curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)

Black stork( Ciconia nigra)

Days later appeared lapwings, little Egrets and some flocks of small birds that I could not identify.

little Egret (Egretta garcetta ) and lapwings in the bottom

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

The flowers that you can see below, are usually the first year to bloom by mid-January, but this year have been delayed until the first week of March!
As I have said on other occasions, The snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is a rare survivor of the flora that we had here in the last Ice Age. When the ice move away to the north, most of the plants and animals typical of this climate were disappearing, but some of them resist, always close to the border of extinction.

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)

Finally, a photo of the full moon of March. The winter sky is spectacular to see some constellations of this time as Leo or Orion, and have a clean atmosphere. Of course, dressed with warm clothings.

Fullmoon in Nagore (  5 mars 2015)

Autum is coming! Colours mushrooms and gastronomy. Last photos

12 september 2014 Aribe ( Aezkoa valley)

 The arrival of autumn is anticipated by migratory birds, many of which have already taken their way  to the south to warmer climates with more food than there is for them in this land for the next months. It is  for common house Martins (Delichon urbicum) that meet every year at a certain point, in every town, and decide to start the long trip to sub-Saharan Africa.

And by the way I will comment that this painted wall corresponds to Trigolimpio, an association of  local farmers dedicated to market their organic meat of pony, beef and lamb from our Pyrenean valleys who lives in fabulous condition which we can see if we go to the higlands of Irati, and the sale reverts entirely in them, without intermediaries, enabling the survival of the livestock on these lands. I encourage you to taste it.

http://carneecologicanavarra.com/index.php?id_category=7&controller=category&id_lang=1

As you can see in the following photo, the colors of Irati take to come yet, and as usual, about 1 month, which is not to say that the forest is not pretty.
The warm temperatures, lack of consistent rain, the subsequent lack of wind, and it's still early, makes the leaf fall does not arrive.

Irati near from  Orbaizeta old munition factory , 26  september 2014

Orbaizeta 12 october:

I  add you some photos to look the colour of the forest. They already have more color, but there are still lots of green. My forecast is still for the last week of October, first of November.

 Aezkoa valley, from Orbaizeta,  1km to Irati

View of the Ori  mountain (Salazar valley,) from Orbaizeta (Irati south west)

Beeches and Scotch brooms (Cytisus scoparia)

Hygroscopic earthstar( Astraeus higrométricus)

5  november

The rain and cold, and because we are in the middle of the autum, they are favoring the final color changement. On the summits from 1200 meters,we can begin seeing the snow, and the color of the forest has increased very much. In the valleys we have still up to 40% green.
If you come this weekend, you will find it quite nice, and probably will not last much longer.

Olaldea /Garralda Oak forest, few kilometres to the south of Irati

The mountains further south, riches in different  species of trees have started earlier with the change of the colour that we expected in the beech forest.

 Arpea Cave ( Garazi/ Cize Valley)

This year the highlands of Irati are not so dry as is usual in other years , and they has continuously been sprouting grass. we can see in the photo the  Arpea cave, that looking the green hues (I have not retouched the photo ) seems spring.


Mushrooms have been a shy presence due to the high temperatures and lack of moisture, butspecies like the  Amanitas  seems get very well.

Fly amanita (Amanita Muscaria)

A mushroom consumed in Navarra, but not for all people, is the Galanperna or parasol mushroom, which has sprout abundant in meadows and beech forests, but in drier places did not be in existence for long before  dry as cardboard.

You can see the size of this item, it´s big like a hat:

Parasol mushroom  (Macrolepiota procera)

 I told you...

As big as a hut..

With the rut this year we had something similar; although normal in other years was to start around 15 September, this year has been delayed a lot, and it was not until earlier this week, on Monday 20, Tuesday 21, which has not begun to hear and low intensity and duration.


But what most people are waiting for is the begining of mushroom season. 
The boletus edulis, or Porcini, onddo beltza called here, have not yet come out in significant number, but  many months we started harvesting other types of mushrooms, such as Sweet tooth  or Tripaki  (Hydnum repadnum), the horn of plenty (Cratarellus cornucopioides), or  the  Zizahori or Chanterelle,(cantharellus cibarius), among others.

Obviously, there are also toxics, mortals and indigestibles, and that makes (and they do well) that many people  they dont catch species  unknowns.
What is best in my opinion, is to go slowly, expanding knowledge and continue to consume only those which are safe, but now some of them more.

 Therefore, every Saturday afternoon in October, we offer guided tours to the mountains, where we will see many things as usual, but also we will pick,mushrooms, goods and not edible specimens, later to classify them according to some simple keys  of  GARRAPO,company, and then have dinner every Saturday at a different restaurant in the valley, prepared differently, and all for a fixed price of € 40 + VAT. 

They will be small groups of no more than 10 people, because is a lot of work to clean and cook the mushrooms almost the same time that we  give they.
 Places are still available for the 4 Saturdays, so I encourage you!


CALENDAR OF TOURS AND DINNERS IN AEZKOA (NAVARRE)

v  4 october PARDIX Restaurant  (Orbaizeta) 948 76 60 01

v  11 october  ARIBE Hotel Restaurant (Aribe) 948 76 44 66

v  18 october  HERRIKO OSTATUA Bar (Garralda) 618 10 73 79

v  25 october   SARIGARRI inn (Abaurrepea) 948 76 90 61

The company GARRAPO are friends and managers of the mycological Ultzama Park whose magnificent web I recommend you,  ,http://www.parquemicologico.com/

With them I did last year a training course to complete the knowledge I already had beforehand, because when I was  I went going with my family  in many times to take  mushrooms.


 Finally, I will commentyou something about the fascinating world of fungi;
The photo  that you have below is the Armillaria ostoyae, somewhat old. It is a fungus that can be  a pest because  rot the healthy wood ,It is edible, although here there are no custom of eating.
The amazing thing about this fungus, and probably many others, is that in Oregon (USA), there is a clonal colony of this fungus, and at the moment, is the largest known organism with more than 890 hectares and 2400 years old. 
Do not imagin a typical mushroom out ground.Is the mycelium, like the roots, going underground among the roots of trees.

Armillaria ostoyae in Irati

Lactarius piperatus

The strange mushroom ( Phragmobasidiomicetes?)

Charcoal burner or Gibelurdina (Russula Cyanoxantha)

Mysterious and eerie Irati forest

This time we will try to see with the eyes of imagination, a girl or a boy, rather than only as adults. That way maybe we can feel the presence of Basajaun, or the lord of the forest in the Basque mythology, who lived in Irati, witches (in AezkoaSpanish  inquisition burned  7th), or the Lamias, inhabiting rivers and  water ponds. 
The fog makes us easier than in full sun.
Recommended Soundtrack: A Night on Bald Mountain, Mussorgsky 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Au43sl-bs

Imagine walking through the forest in this fog. If this image we saw it in a movie, expect to hear a soundtrack disquieting, and we would get nervous waiting to see a zombie, (why I would be seeing "the walking dead"?!) White Walker as Game of Thrones, or perhaps witch House of Hansel and Gretel ..

The ground is labyrinthine and sometimes rugged and requires strenuous detours. There are numerous chasms through which the water disappears underground.
Impossible orient with the sun.
Why not have paid more attention to Bear Grylls?

The  first dead appears

In this rock we can see  fossils of toucasias that they indicate the  ancient origin under the ocean of the forund when  this forest grows today.
120 million years ago this land was a coral reef  (Urgonian period) whose petrified remains forest feeds. (Sinister laugh)

Aliens in Irati

We are now in an ancient battlefield among the oaks and beeches, where we can see that the beeches, more agiles, end up killing the oaks, ancient inhabitants of Irati, to taking away the light they need, and not happy with that also grow inside, often while still alive, to feed their decaying matter!.

You shall not deny me that looks like a squid, with his eye and tentacles!

The old hermit

Old birch

We came to a forest glade on a high, and we think we'll be safer here our fears, but one of the elders of the forest, half dead half alive, looks like yelling at the entrance to Dante's Inferno: Abandon all hope!

The Catacombs

 Burrows of field mice

The floor is full of holes where underground activity frenetic is guessed.
As this spring rained a lot, have had many more beechnuts and acorns oak trees more than usual, so that the rodents had more food, and have reproduced a lot.
Only in this little picture are 5 holes, and even though many of them belong to the same burrow, not often see so many. This abundance of mice within the forest could be causing that wildcats are almost not see these months in meadow  hunting voles, as is normal.

The... hope ?

As with any thriller or scary, the ending is somewhat ambiguous

 Browsed on Scillas 

We see that the flowers begin to appear from under the leaves, and it seems that the forest will be filled with flowers, which  the atmosphere will be softtened, but ... hungry animals roam the forest in search of food!
This is due to deers and roe deers mainly, which are quick to eat the first outbreaks of these prevernal plants, after a winter of scarcity.
The real spring denouement , with you in alive, in a few weeks!