Butterfly season still in full swing here in Asturias. Over 20 adonis blues, 2 small pearl-bordered frits and a host of other butterflies hovering over the gorse on yesterday’s walk, and today a gorgeous brown hairstreak ovipositing on my garden prunus.

Still plenty of pristine adonis blues on the wing on today's walk from our house through the scenery showed in the other photo

Sometimes a beautiful day just keeps building to a stunning climax

My 2011-to-2025 red-backed-shrike survey in Asturias. In 2025 137 of 326 sites occupied. The data suffer irremediably from the missing zero effect. With that caveat @Naturalist_Sam has drawn up some neat graphs. Map shows my cycling routes and territories color-coded by height

One of the completest rainbows I've ever seen, with our new house at one of the treasure-crock ends.

For the last few days the carrion crows here have been flying around with walnuts in their beaks, dropping them on the road to break open. And at dawn today a crow was burying one in my garden, poking it well down and then carefully covering it with strands of hay and grass.

With the recent addition of blue tit this prunus tree in my garden has now been perched in by 15 different species this summer. Anyone beat it?

The name chosen for our new house in Asturias as homage to the 3 pairs of redstarts that breed in and around the garden

1 TREE. 14 BIRDS
Our garden tree closest to the house has played host this summer to:

Red backed shrike
Redstart
Tree creeper
Great tit
Iberian chiffchaff
Willow warbler
Pied flycather
Blackcap
Great spotted woodpecker
Jay
Blackbird
Robin
Long tailed tit
House Sparrow

Farage would not only deport asylum seekers to the Taliban but will fund their execution

13 busy male red-backed shrikes and the first young of the year on today’s wonderful ride, including a still big-ringable Cat 2 (Vuelta) to raise my sagging cycling morale.

When I stepped out of my front door this morning at 5.45 the only 2 sounds in the divine-smelling, lung-expanding gloaming were a Redstart singing from my eaves and a Nightjar singing from my trees. Slap me someone.

I spoke in a recent post about the joy of having 3 reds in the garden of my new house in Asturias: Redstart, Red-backed Shrike and Redbreast. They’re also all tail wagglers in their distinctive ways: Robin’s a tail twitcher; Redstart, a tail quiverer; the shrike a tail swayer.

While reading at 05.45, window wide-open to hear the dawn chorus, I suddenly heard the magical churring of a Nightjar in my garden, followed by the even more wonderful sound of a spring winding down as it launches into flight. The only other sound: the day’s first redstart.

Bird flu detected in dead nesting Peregrine Falcon A female Peregrine Falcon nesting at Christchurch Priory, Dorset, was confirmed to have died from bird flu in early May 2025, with her mate dying shortly after. Their eggs were non-viable. A 3-km control zone is in place to limit spread. Defra also confirmed H5N1 in captive birds near Pokesdown.

Tests carried out on a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons that died within days of each other have confirmed that the female was infected with bird flu:

Amidst tinkling Goldfinches a Blackbird sings with masterful half-heartedness, like Beethoven idly trying out a new tune with one hand while eating a Bratwurst with the other.

THREE REDS
Bad news for a batsman. But I’m chuffed to have seen from the garden of our new house in Asturias, two pairs of Redstart, two pairs of Red Backed Shrike and, of course, several Redbreasts.

Two Painted Ladies flat on a rock: kitsch lichen.

Today on a wonderful walk from my house I got Spain's version of the Holy Trinity: Redstart, Pied Fly & Bonelli's Warbler, the poor man's Wood Warbler (terrible thing to say but they'll never know . . . )

50+ bee-eaters adorning a dead tree against an angry black sky illuminated from behind me by the rising sun like a theatre spotlight

Don't think so. Just one of those freak events I think

I remember once seeing one on 31 May at Minsmere

Ya se puede encargar en www.tundraediciones.es A LA SOMBRA DE GIGANTES, de Alfonso Rodrigo. Nuevo título de la #ColecciónPaseos, de Literatura de Naturaleza, que esta vez transcurre por las lagunas y llanuras esteparias de Villafáfila. Ilustración de portada de @mascarell.bsky.social

Es el momento de empaparse de este libro. ¡Los pájaros ya están a tope! LOS CANTOS DE LAS AVES, de Dave Langlois con prólogo de @joaquinaraujop.bsky.social

www.tundraediciones.es

Amanece la primavera animada por LOS CANTOS DE LAS AVES, para comprenderlos, nada mejor que este libro de Dave Langlois que encontrarás en www.tundraediciones.es

Ya disponible ESTACIONES, de @alfonsdg.bsky.social, nuevo título de la Colección Paseos, de Literatura de Naturaleza. ¿Cuánto nos queda de poder disfrutar las estaciones mediterráneas tal como las conocemos? Ilustración de portada de @mascarell.bsky.social. www.tundraediciones.es

¿Cuánto nos queda de poder disfrutar las estaciones mediterráneas tal como las conocemos? Ya se puede encargar en www.tundraediciones.es ESTACIONES, de @alfonsdg.bsky.social Nuevo título de la Colección Paseos, de Literatura de Naturaleza. Ilustración de portada de @mascarell.bsky.social

Thanks James!

A day of contrasts. Several flocks of wintering Cranes starting their northward migration whilst the first Swallows and Subalpine Warblers are already here in Extremadura. A delicious 18°C compared to the miserable 4° when I left Aberdeen. And everything is already singing!

An unforgettable morning finding 4 rouzels only an hour from our house