Salamanders in Irati forest

Salamanders are a colorful amphibians that in Irati like the freshness of the beech, where they live under rocks, leaves, or wherever they may have moisture.

In the spring often  they go to the wells and streams to lay eggs. The youngs, at first glance,are very much like a newt, but are more minnows. In this picture we can see the gills, like feathers coming out from behind his head that  allow them to breathe in the water. Later they will disappear, as they develop their lungs.

Larva of Salamandra

These are adult salamanders, caught under a log that I wanted away. The further west we go in the Iberian Peninsula, more black and less yellow are. The colors indicate poison, and in contact with the mucous of the mouth of an animal, it inmediately spit it. If someone you touches them, wash your hands before touch yours mouth or eyes.

Salamanders(Salamandra salamandra)

Common swift down

A few days ago I met a swift (Apus apus) falled in Orbaizeta /Aezkoa (Navarre), a few kilometers from the forest of Irati. Apparently had no wounds or looked too young. Neither seemed stunned by a heat stroke, as the temperature did not exceed 25 degrees.

If it flew away,it couldn´t  no more than  about 100 meters and fell back to ground. That way the cats would eat him in few time. So, I took him home and I had quiet and with a pot of water near , around 4 hours.

Then he began to flap their wings vigorously. Take it out into the street, and then yes, he flew away.

It is quite common in many places to see swifts fallen.Their  wings are  too long to start the flight from the ground. If you meet one, I recommend a very good link (in spanish) with all the necessary tips:

 www.accioecologista-agro.org/spip.php?article443

butterflies

In open spaces where the sun comes abundantly, we scan see a multitude of different butterflies.
Each  of them will lay her eggs in one type of plant, which will feed the caterpillar when it born (Nutritional plant ) Thus, the small tortoiseshell caterpillar feeds on nettles , as its  spanish name suggests.

Small tortoiseshell ( Aglais urticae)

This is a moth of  the family Saturniidae common in moist deciduous forest as the forest of Irati.  The spot inside reminds the Greek letter Tau.
This photo was taken in early May on Mount Mendilatz (Aezkoa) but also I saw another some more active near the upper limit of the forest about 1275 mt. altitude near from the Mount Ori (+2000m.altitude)

Tau emperor (Aglia Tau)

The caterpillar of the piedmont ringlet( Erebia meolans) feeds on grasses, which in this case, would be those herbs that cover the pastures of Irati.Is quite common in the mountains of the north of the Iberian Peninsula.



Piedmont riglet(Erebia meolans)



Stonefly (Plecoptera)

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This insect is not a butterfly, but I thought it was interesting to put it, for though never going to bother us, we may fall into the temptation to kill  it . Is a carnivorous insect  who spends his youth in the water feeding on other insects.and some plants. Is a good bioindicator of water quality, and only can see in clean waters. Very important in the diet of trouts.

The greenest green

Few days ago that 100% of the trees already have worn their leaves, with more intense green which they will be  in a couple of weeks.

Personally, I think that this is the best time for anyone who wants to feel the strength of the nature  obseving  the wake of  the plants.

A challenge for us who like to observe the trees :Try to differentiate them from a distance by the different greens that each species have.

Arrazola 14 mai  2012 (Aezkoa ) Navarre



 Arrazola´s picnic area

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

This Patxaran (Prunus spinosa) as people say in some parts of Navarre  to the plant and  the fruit, is studded  with flowers.
Maybe someone will remember that this specie was one of the first plants begin to flower for almost two months.

It is interesting to see the difference in time that can exist between trees of the same species in different phenological stages (flowering, output and falling leaf ..) sometimes with great differences between two trees of the same species beside each other

video of a european pine marten in irati forest

These images were recorded in July last year by Kristina montoia warden of Irati (itarinatura) a few meters from the point of information Arrazola, from about 8 feet away, in a pruned beech .

Martens(Martes martes) or Fuinas, as they are called in some parts of Navarre, are small carnivores, very elusive, and they have  night habits .In Europe martens  arrived until the nord of iberian pensinsule, and beech marten(martes foina) is in navarre more mediterranean.We can  to  distingue mainly by the color of the neck .In  the beech marten is white, andn in the marten in Irati yellowish. we have beech martens in Irati forest too, because its location is between different bioclimatic regions.


We cannot seen in the video what  are its eating. The next day, we returned to see if we could find some clue, and we found the small tail of  a baby of a edible dormouse (Glis glis), small gray rodent with a long and bushy tail, very soft.We keep the tail at the point of information of Arrazola and we will show you if you ask for it.

Pruned  trees ,are trees that are cut theirs branches in 10 or 20 years, to avoid  cutting the entire tree. The branches are used to make charcoal or like wood to be used  for heating the house.With  this kind of pruning the truk got a big volume, because  in height could not develop to much.

Many of them have hundreds of years, and most are hollow, with nesttles, food for birds of many kinds, burrows ..

Path of the old pruned beeches(30min.)1-4-2012

At the entrance to Irati by Aezkoa have a short path for the entire family, which runs between pruned beechesin a old meadow.Its  particularly suitable for people who want to do a little walk or for people who have children.Its possible to do with child pushchair.

old pruned beeches in Arrazola(Aezkoa)Navarre.

Because of the altitude, in some lower  places of Navarre  three weeks ago they started flowering, but  is now, when we  can see them in flowering ,always in places where water is near , either surface or underground.


grey willow(Salix atrocinerea)

In the streams or between the wood, now we can see trees of white or yellowish flowers  in the case of plants with male flowers, and green in the case of plants with female flowers.
It measures about 11 meters high.It grows fast and usually die soon, in the scale of Time of the trees.

Its wood is not very good quality, but like all willows, especially in its bark and flowers, there is the active ingredient called Salicin, from which later would take the salicylic acid (Does it sound?) Popularly known as aspirin . Today, this acid is synthetic, no  from the plant.

Smell their leaves, or scrunch up a dry twig in yours hands and then   you will remember that smell like the medicine cabinet.!







 Male Flowers

Although it may be obvious, one might note that the leaves will sprout later than we now see, though not so in all species.

If that might be interesting to tell who has not had a chance to look, that species removed before the leaves are often the first to lose them , so I think that seems to have a certain number of days in which plants have leaves ,and  would change in deciduous species would be the time at which they start.
In any case, the weather will happen before or later.

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About woodpeckers

These images were recorded in July 2011 by Cristina Montoya, Irati guard in the valley of Aezkoa(Navarre) and worker of Itarinatura green tourism company.

This is a male white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos sp. Lilfordi) a type of woodpecker is distinguishable from the female by its red head.

He's making a hole in the wood to reach the larvae and  eat.

The highest density of this species in the Iberian peninsula and south of France is in the forest of Irati, with 0.57 couple/100  hectares, followed  of Quinto real(Navarre), with 0'34couple / 100 ha. (Fernandez 1997).

Green woodpecker (Picus viridis)

In Irati forest,apart from white-backed woodpecker , we have several species of woodpeckers; wrynecks (Jynx torquilla), difficult to see from his mimicry, Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis), which is large and yellow-lime green when we seen flying, and quite common, the black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), versatile in their feeding and the largest of them, the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), abundant in the forests Navarre, and the Middle spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius) very rare.
Until few days ago,we have been hearing his drumming on logs,  theirs songs, and quite often, if you know where to look, watching some of them eating and even making nests, always being very respectfull as any other species, animal as a vegetable.