Dog Walk Archives - Page 13 of 16 - Craig Rogers Photography

Morning Dog Walk: Woodpeckers A-plenty!

9th July 20189th July 2018Craig Rogers

I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

On this morning’s walk, there were birds everywhere! I saw many Golden Orioles (not close enough for photos), Bee Eaters, Barn Swallows, Woodchat Shrikes, Grey Wagtails, Iberian Magpies, various Warblers, plus many more! However, one thing I couldn´t help but notice was the number of both Lesser and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers accompanied with the noisy Iberian Green Woodpeckers.

A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker landed in a nearby tree and I managed to get a quick snap before it flew away. As you can see, it has a small red cap which isn’t yet fully grown, therefore, this is a young Male.

Morning Dog Walk: Young Woodchat Shrike Learning To Hunt

7th July 20187th July 2018Craig Rogers

The local Woodchat Shrikes have been very succesful at breeding this year. There are many youngsters flying around chasing their parents begging for food. This morning I sat and watched this youngster learning to dive from an electricity cable and catch its prey. I didn’t see it catch anything, but practice makes perfect! It’s parents were close by watching.

Morning Dog Walk: The Flying Wally

27th June 201827th June 2018Craig Rogers

This morning I was a long way in front of Wally on a downhill section of dirt track as he had found something very interesting to sniff. I gave him a whistle and he came full speed down the track so I crouched to get eye-level and fired off a few shots. Luck rather judgment gave me this great shot of him totally airborne.

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Morning Dog Walk: Egyptian Grasshopper

21st June 201825th April 2020Craig Rogers

Now that the temperatures are returning to normal (30+ degrees), the Egyptian Grasshoppers are becoming a common sight. The Anacridium aegyptium (scientific name) is very common here in the hills as it has the perfect climate and habitat.

It is a large Grasshopper (one of Europe’s largest), the females can grow up to 70mm long with the males considerably smaller at around 55mm. Although they eat leaves they are not really a pest as they are solitary rather than swarm, but of course, they may feast on your home-grown vegetable plot but as they are solitary they may not cause too much of an issue.

Morning Dog Walk: A Few Small Birds

16th June 201816th June 2018Craig Rogers

There are plenty of small birds in amongst the Cork and Holm Oaks, this morning I grabbed a few shots as I walked through with Wally;

First I spotted a small flock of Greenfinch, as you can see from the photo, they are still building nests to breed. Everything seems a little late this year due to the spring rain.

Morning Dog Walk: Female Napoleon Spider

10th June 201810th June 2018Craig Rogers

I take a camera (although just my mobile today) along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

This morning I saw a Female Napoleon Spider in very typical surroundings on a Daisy-leaved Toadflax (Thanks for Marja for ID’ing this plant on yesterday’s Walk).

The Napoleon Spider (Synema globosum) gets its name due to the markings resembling a silhouette of Napoleon Bonaparte (I don’t see it myself!). The photos were shot and edited in Lightroom on my mobile as I didn’t take a camera this morning.

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