Jonathan Kemp; A naturalist in the south of France

  In front of us the ochre earth glowed dully as the sun crept higher. At dawn the bird activity had been constant; more than thirty species had touched down amid a small swirls of dust. The Red legged partridges ( Fr. Pedrix rouge ) walked in in family groups, hesitant, coming from afar in the scrubby bushes and burnt grass; the rabbits ( Fr. Lapin de garenne ) singly or in twos. All the larger species were wary, never staying for long to drink; a quick bath, a splatter of drops.                                               The main preys of the Iberian Lynx; rabbit  and Red-legged Partridge.  By mid-morning it was mainly silent, save the quiet whir of the tiny fans we had to combat the heat, the mechanical click of our cameras; the occasional chatter of the magpie gangs, scruffy and down at heel, no longer ...

                                                                                    I have just spent 3 days in the Asturias region of Spain, part  of  the Cantabrian mountain chain that runs a little inland from the northern Atlantic coast.  Based  in the Parque Natural de Somiedo our guide Marcos has a dual role of working with the  www.fundacionOsoPardo.org   (Brown Bear Foundation) and also with a reputable tour organisation  www.wildwatchingspain.com  with whom I have made a wolf tour in the past. You can sign up for a day trip, but this is risky, the weather in a high mountainous area can be misty, wet and cool, as was our last day, and  can  easily pass with no  new  sightings  for us , despite many hour...