Back in Totana

We  came back to Totana at the end of September for a few days and then went to Portugal for an orienteering competition.  We came back again in October.  We were very lucky to miss the floods that caused  a lot of damage in the region of Murcia.  Since we came back from Portugal we have had very mixed weather but have managed to go out walking, biking, running and even one day climbing so far.  

The camperstop has had a steady stream of visitors and we have met some very nice people.  We are always interested to hear of their travels.

I hope to continue with this Blog now we are back and settled in again for a few months.

Tomorrow we are going walking from La Azohia on the coast.  I will try to take some good photos.

Rabbits O - Magpies 2

So far the rabbit trap has caught 2 magpies but no rabbits have been encouraged into the trap as yet.

Two days ago, early in the morning, we heard the magpies and looked out of the window to see a fox in the garden.  How it got in we don´t know as Angel has repaired all the fences around his garden, our garden and the camperstop area.  It couldn´t find its way back out though and tried digging under the fence.  Eventually it headed towards Angel and Paula´s garden where the chicken hut is.  We went out to follow it and it then managed to jump over the fence into the rambla.  Yesterday I saw it in the rambla.  We are hoping it doesn´t try to come back for the chickens as Paula and Angel also have a new kitten.  They lost two cats last year, one killed by two dogs in their garden and the other we found dead in the rambla.


Latest news.  Two rabbits caught in the trap.  Angel was going to take them some distance away and let them free but Paula´s father came for them and (unfortunately for them) they went into the pot!

Rabbits

A few days ago our neighbour said that if we heard shooting early the next morning not to worry, it was only him shooting at the rabbits eating his lettuces.  Paula said to us that he wouldn´t be able to kill the rabbits, or anything else for that matter.

Today Angel arrived with a galvanised rabbit trap!  He hopes that he will be able to entice the rabbits into the trap and take them to Paula´s father for dispatch!

Watch this space!!!

Aerial display

At coffee time today we heard the Kestrel´s calling.  Both were flying around above us and we then saw a Booted Eagle.  The little Kestrel´s flew at the eagle and chased it away.  We are almost sure that the Kestrel´s have young in their nest, as they have been successful in rearing young for at least the last three years.  Sometime in the very near future we should see the young venturing out.

Biking in the area

Over the last few days we have been riding our bikes in different parts of our surrounding area.  Yesterday we took the bikes in the van to La Parroquia, a small village inland from Lorca and near the Almeria border.  We had a very good, but hard ride because of the hot temperatures.  Our route took us across a river and then up into the mountains.  On the route we saw a pair of Little Owls, a tortoise, two young Ibex (we think that´s what they were) and many Griffon Vultures.  Our return route was down a wide, white track from an Albergue in the mountains.  The track passed a quarry and when we finished our ride our legs looked as though we had been walking in flour.  We dusted ourselves off and then, for a treat, had a menu del dia in a local bar for 8 Euros each.

Golden Eagles

Well, we didn´t go to look at the eagles in the evening as Paula asked me to help her with her new sewing machine as the instruction book was only in English and Russian?  From there I helped her make some curtains and so didn´t have time to walk up into the mountains.

Two days later we went to see the eagles.   Although too far away to see clearly and too far for the camera zoom, we could make out that there were two young eagles in the nest.  One of the adults was flying around and perching in nearby trees.  We watched for about an hour and then went for a walk back to the car.

¨Golden Eagles

Yesterday we went out on the mountain bikes.  We stopped opposite some cliffs in Sierra Espuña known locally as the eagle cliffs.  We knew that the eagles were around in the area and within 10 minutes we saw an adult eagle circling in the sky and then heading into a cave in the cliffs.  Even from our viewpoint across the other side of a very deep valley we could hear the calls of young eagles as the adult bird entered the nest, but being so far away we couldn´t see anything.  Tonight we are going to walk up to the viewpoint with binoculars, camera and tripod and see if we can zoom into the cave and get a photo of the chicks and/or adult birds.

Watch this space.