In the still of the night at La Pasera

In the still of the night when we are asleep, the garden continues to host an array of wildlife we rarely see or think about... What happens in your garden at night?

As dusk falls, the birds call out the end of the day before roosting in bushes, trees and crevices. The bats take flight and feast on the abundant mist of midges, flies and moths and the owls fly low from perch to perch in search of mice, voles and frogs. The frogs begin their chatter and the toads sing out loud announcing their presence to passing mates. Meanwhile the snails and slugs exit their daytime refuge and take advantage of the cooler air and dew that settles on the grasses and plants, easing their journey to feast on luscious greens and petals.

Excitement grows for Wentworth and Gawber as they tune in to the music of the night. A rustle here, a flutter there, a call in the distance, both Wentworth and Gawber finely tune their senses to ensure their safety and maintain their territory. A large male stag beetle signals its presence with a loud whirring noise as it navigates the garden only to be chased by two curios and playful cats.

Every so often we sit in the darkness on the terrace and experience the sounds and sights of the night. It is amazing to think that within a few meters, creatures great and small are feeding, travelling to and fro and, on constant alert for friend or foe. It is clear that we only ever experience a fraction of the abundance of life that uses our garden.

Here is a short compilation of night-time infrared videos filmed in the wildest parts of our plot. It features, badgers, deer, fox, pine marten, hedgehog, wild boar, a raton and of course, cats. When we view the films we can often see the reflections of curious cats eyes watching from a distance. The final scene is a lovely reminder that our domesticated cats bridge the life in the garden we know and the life we rarely catch a glimpse of...

Dear Deer...

Dear Deer,

The other day whilst chatting to friends on Skype I spotted you out of the corner of my eye from the study window about to take a drink from our garden pond. It was lovely to see you in daylight as we normally only ever see you and other members of your herd on the trailcam at night and sometimes in the early morning as the mist is lifting.

With your slender frame, bright dark eyes, and your growing antlers you looked very handsome and quite relaxed given the time of day (late afternoon). You took a small drink from the pond but then moved on to the birdbath which you seemed to prefer. I wondered if you were the same deer I had to rescue from a farmer's dog a few weeks earlier when you were running around and around the garden seeking an escape route? It was fortunate I managed to stop the dog in its tracks by running between you both.

We often see you in the meadows surrounding La Pasera and it was only the other morning when three of your herd grazed the bottom field whilst we watched on and finished our breakfast. There is a lot to eat around the fields and meadows so whilst I don't mind you nibbling the odd raspberry leaf in our soft fruit bed, I really do draw a line at nibbled mange tout and orange tree leaves.

I never saw your sibling until you wandered down towards the winter lettuce and started jumping playfully. You make a splendid pair I must say. I managed to open the window without too much noise but only had my compact camera available but I think I got some reasonable shots of you both. I noticed that you also like one or two of our garden plants...

We realise that April is a more relaxed time for you now that the hunters have stopped harassing you with their dogs and guns, and that you are generally less stressed but if you continue to munch away on our food we might just have to put up some barriers to keep you out. I really wouldn't like to do that, so please take note. We loved your curiosity when you spotted the ceramic hare and wondered what you would make of the cats if you came across them?

You are welcome to visit as your forebears have done over the years but stick to the meadows for your snacks. Take care and safe journey little ones.

Best wishes

La Pasera

In search of sciurus vulgaris... the red squirrel

On several occasions we have seen a red squirrel in the garden here at La Pasera but they are very shy, quick and eager to climb high to avoid the cats Wentworth and Gawber who wouldn't think twice about trying to capture one. This picture is from a rare chance I got to photograph one in the garden after Gawber had chased it up a tree.

Luis had business in Gijon recently and I was aware from previous visits that there were a small colony of red squirrels in and around the park of  Parque de Isabel La Católica  : a perfect opportunity to try and get close up and personal. The park has a large lake and several aviaries. The lake is inhabited by various wild birds, geese, ducks and swans. Peacocks and peahens roam freely and put on great displays even when resting.

The park has a large number of very mature deciduous and coniferous trees, a range of fruiting bushes and fungi thereby making it the perfect habitat for red squirrels. Camera in hand I soon spotted a young squirrel, probably this years kitten, bounding across the path and onto the grass into the bushes quickly followed by a larger deep red adult which ran up the nearest large conifer.

I stood quietly in the shade of a walnut tree and watched as several squirrels appeared and disappeared, checking me out and assessing the threat level.

I spotted a young adult squirrel leaping from branch to branch making its way towards the water's edge. It was unfazed by a nearby gull and spent 30 seconds or more drinking from the lake before taking off again into the trees.

At eye level, an adult squirrel beginning to eat a walnut, probably dug up from last season's hoard as the shell was covered in a fine dusting of earth.  I decided to make my way towards it at a slow pace whilst taking photos. Typically I had the wrong lens on but with stealth I managed to change lens' mid-way and get closer step by step.

Throughout my advance the squirrel devoured its nut but kept a close eye on me. I knew that at some stage it would retreat.

I took one last step closer, it shreaked and ran up the tree out of sight and out of reach.

I was happy with my photographs and with watching the squirrels as the traversed their territory, happy for me to join them for a short while but equally happy when I left them in peace.

The squirrel that comes into our garden has long ear tufts whilst the ones in the park had none. I wonder why that is, seasonal, gender, age, regional...?  

Ravaged by wild boar...

Those of you who follow our blog will know we have a trigger camera sited in the wildest area of the garden here at La Pasera. The area is deliberately left to its own devices apart from a quick cut of the wild flowers and grasses after the seed heads have dried. So far we have filmed: Badgers, Pine Martens, Fox, Weasel, Hedgehogs, Birds, Mice, Cats, Deer and Wild Boar. The latest films are the best to date of wild boar activity.

On waking up, the first thing we generally do is to check that the cats are around and then have a wander around the garden with them before breakfast. It's a good opportunity to see what needs attention and what crops can be harvested. As we approached the wild area Luis spotted a small patch of turf lifted next to a clump of wild orchids...a sure sign of wild boar activity.

Then we spotted the devastation. A large patch of meadow in the wild area had been systematically ravaged and decimated. It looked like a plough had been through it with deep troughs and mounds of turf. This was right in front of the night camera so a few good shots were to be expected.

What we saw was quite something. First a large male, working his way through the meadow looking for tasty treats such as worm and bulbs. He was then approached by a smaller female who joined him in his quest for snacks. A few minutes later another female joined in. I was surprised at the length of their snouts and the strength they must have to be able to upturn compacted meadow turf with such vigour.



In total, they worked this small patch of meadow for two and a half hours. As the camera triggers for a minute at a time then re-sets, I had an awful lot of one minute videos to watch. My favourite is this last one in which the male Sniffs the camera, looks at it, suddenly decides enough is enough, grunts and trots off followed by the females one of which turns and also looks at the camera.



Fortunately, there was little damage elsewhere in the garden with only a few vegetables trampled as they had walked through the vegetable plot to get to the wild area. Obviously they are not so keen on mange tout, onions, potatoes or kale... Well let's hope so. There are a few more videos on Youtube.

Wild Boar in the garden

We've known for sometime that wild boar visit the garden but up to now we haven't seen them. We occasionally see a small group of them in the lower field at dawn or dusk but our garden visits happen in the dead of night.

The tell-tale signs are turf up-turned and small holes dug with trotters and snouts. They love bulbs especially allium, lords and ladies and Spanish bluebells. A small group can cause a lot of damage in a very short time.

This morning I went to check the Bushnell night camera and immediately spotted an area of up-turned turf and a few holes where the boar had been. I hoped that the camera had managed to get the evidence on film...

Sure enough there are half a dozen short videos of what looks like a young, solitary female, wandering back and forward around the wild area of the garden. When the boar goes out of shot you can hear her digging at the side of the camera before she returns into shot near the pond.

Thankfully they never seem to venture into the vegetable beds which are very close. Saying that, up to now, we have had little damage from any garden visitors including deer, boar, badgers, martens....Don't forget to check out the wide variety of wildlife we get in and around La Pasera on our Smaller Tales from Toriello Blog.

And finally, Wentworth and Gawber enjoying a moment of togetherness in the evening sun.

Smaller tales from Toriello

We both take photographs and enjoy showing them on our various blogs. We get some brilliant feedback from people both in the comments and via messages or email and would like to thank all of those who take time to do so.

The garden at La Pasera is about 1500 sq meters and comprises various areas of manicured borders, rockery, wild areas, vegetable beds and orchard. The amount of life in the garden never ceases to amaze us both and we are constantly surprised by the variety of flora, fauna and insect life we see on a daily basis. There are far too many photographs to feature on Tales from Toriello so we have started another blog Smaller tales from Toriello where we will feature some of the photographs we take in and around the garden at La Pasera.

We hope you enjoy the new blog and subscribe to posts or share these pictures on your own blog, twitter or facebook. The permanent link can be found above. If you don't already do so, take a closer look in your garden whenever you get the chance, you just might be surprised what you find.

Walking in Asturias 14: In search of Lago El Bricial

If you enjoy walking in stunning mountain scenery with very few people around then the Picos de Europa mountains are ideal. The magnificent limestone peaks, diverse flora and fauna, wooded valleys and extensive high pastures never fail to impress.

Lago La Ercina

An area that attracts visitors to the Picos are the two mountain lakes, Lago de Enol and Lago de la Ercina. During the busier summer months you can only take your car up to the lakes before 8am then it is only accessible by a procession of mini coaches that come and go at regular intervals. At this time of year there are hardly any visitors and access by car is unrestricted.

Lago de Enol

The ascent is not for the feint hearted as the road is narrow with very steep winding sections that have little or no protection to the significant sheer slopes to the valleys below. Usually no problem until you come across a coach or  herd of cattle.

This spring we decided to go in search of the third lake Lago El Bricial. This lake is seasonal and only forms during winter and spring due to the melting snow and ice. We arrived following a 1100 meter ascent by car and parked in the main parking area near Lago Enol.

We have walked in this mountain range on numerous occasions and it never fails to impress. The route is reasonably well sign posted for this part of Spain and once you get more than 500 meters into the walk you rarely see anyone.

Typical way-markers

The stone Shepherds' huts with their weighted down roof tiles are magical and are dotted around the landscape on the high mountain pastures.

After an hour of walking and taking photographs we came across Lago El Bricial and walked around its shores. It appeared to have two sources of mountain water, one from and underground gully and the other from a magnificent cascade and waterfall. We had been here before but in the height of summer when it is a green and lush pasture.

Vega/Lago El Bricial

We stumbled upon a wolf print in the snow just next to the waterfall, truly magical. We have heard wolves in the mountains but never spotted them and probably never will so a wolf paw print is some compensation.

The walk carries on through a beautiful wooded glade and we came across what we first thought was an animal enclosure but discovered it was a barrier to a deep, very deep cavern. The sound of gushing water below echoed in the stillness.

The mountains are home to many animals and birds including wolves, wildcats, brown bear, chamois, chough, vultures, eagles and fox but unless you are exceptionally lucky or patient it is rare to see the mammals.

A flock of Cough high above

The highlight of the walk was the abundance of wild flowers in particularly the Narcissus bulbocodium which was in abundance and the Gentiana Acaulis which I think is my favourite blue coloured flower.

The walk and a long lunch stop took about 5 hours but we didn't rush and took many photographs. The walk is circular and easy going but walking boots and a stick are recommended. Here are a few more photos including a rare snap of me...