quinta Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Craig Rogers Photography

Mediterranean Tree Frog On The Front Terrace

13th February 201913th February 2019Craig Rogers

Tonight it is warm enough to have the door leading to our front terrace open and I was enjoying a nice game of Golf Clash on my phone when I was interrupted by the call of a Male Mediterranean Tree Frog (also known as the Stripeless Tree Frog) just a couple of meters away from me.

You may remember me getting this shot and video last year where they breed in a disused water cistern, however, this year there hasn’t been enough rain (yet) for them to breed in there. We’ve never had one this close to the house before (it is not uncommon for them to come inside houses!). There isn’t really water for them to breed here (apart from my Reflection Pool, not ideal) at the Quinta so tomorrow I will make a small pond in hope it will attract them to breed. Hopefully more to come…….

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A Sign Spring Has Begun: Violet Carpenter Bees

26th January 201926th January 2019Craig Rogers

For 2 days the weather at the Quinta has almost reached mid 20s and the skies have been clear blue. It is no surprise that this has kick-started spring. Today the garden was full of Violet Carpenter Bees that have appeared out of hibernation.

Here a couple of shots of these giant Bees from today.

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Two Holes Have Appeared On Our Land

7th February 20187th February 2018Craig Rogers

We have a grassy (this time of year) bank at the front of our house and recently two holes have appeared near each other.

The larger of the two holes is about 7cm in diameter and as you can see, quite a lot of excavation work has been carried out.

The smaller one, around 5cm in diameter.

Being so close together, I suspect they both lead to the same place. I’m really not sure what has built these, possibly a Field Mouse but the only way to find out is to put the Bushnell NatureView camera there and see what happens during the day and night.

Hopefully, will have some video footage to share soon.

Red Rumped Swallows at the Quinta

16th September 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

The Red Rump Swallows nest here at our “Quinta” and will be getting ready to leave soon. They arrive later than the other Swallows and Swifts and also leave slightly later too.

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Red Rumped Swallow - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/8, ISO320, 1/2000sec - {Flickr Link}

They are a little larger than the Barn Swallow and as the name suggests have a rusty coloured rump (which gets darker with age). Their nests are different too with a tunnel entrance. This year, they occupied the same nest as last year, but decided to add an extension to the tunnel. You can see the darker colour of the entrance in the photo below;