Birdie SaturDay

We found the flamingos and other birds of Salinas de San Pedro. What a place it is! If you're ever near here I suggest you pay a visit. Salt lakes, Mar Menor and Mediterranean all in walking distance with sand dunes and loads of birds.

What I discovered later that there's something in the lens of my 70-300mm lens and the S-shaped mark is in all my pictures. So I needed to choose a picture that does not have it. You'll see it in the extra with the flamingos. I have no idea what it is. If it's a scratch or a grease stain or something else. If anyone recognizes it, please give me a hint of what to do regarding it. 

Realtors are bombing me with their emails. Just when I think I have dealt with all the emails there's a bunch of new ones. Which is good of course because they have new possibilities for us, but it's a huge job to go through all of them with all the details. Checking the map for the location ect...

But! We are starting to narrow it down, finally. At least regarding what kind of house we wanna live in. We still have to check out Huelva area Costa de la Luz and possibly Algarve in Portugal.

Winter is starting to come to an end here I assume. The temperatures are slowly rising. And Almond trees are blossoming. They say they are early this year, but that they are early almost every year. Almonds are harvested in August, so if they blossom too early they might not last to August. Might have something to do with the heat that comes with the summer.

Also it's time for the deadly (yes, deadly for small animals and small children) pine caterpillars that come out of their cocoons! They say we are about one week from them coming down from the pines.

"The pine processionary moth flies around May to July and only lives for about one day during which time it must mate and lay its eggs in the foliage of a pine tree.  A single female can lay up to 300 tiny eggs and it takes around a month for them to hatch.

Once they have hatched, the minute caterpillars have five growth stages called ‘instars’. During their third moult or instar they build the white cotton-wool like nest and continue to feed on the pine leaves until the fifth instar. This usually happens any time from February to April.

At this point, the caterpillars (procesionaria del pino) make their way to the ground in a long chain searching for the next place in their life cycle. This behaviour gives them the name of the ‘processionary caterpillar’. You can recognise them by their distinctive orange-brown colour and blue bands.
Eventually they will disperse to burrow just below the ground where they will pupate. Before this happens they can be a danger to humans and other mammals. It is the hairs of the caterpillars that can cause problems. If they are touched or poked they cause a nasty rash and give off dust that can cause respiratory problems. They are particularly toxic for children and animals.

If the caterpillar is stressed or threatened it can eject its hairs which act a little like harpoons and can penetrate or irritate any exposed skin. Dogs are particularly susceptible as they will pick up the hairs on their paws and then lick them as they start to itch. This then leads to the hairs being transferred on to the animal’s tongue and can result in itching, swelling, vomiting and even death." taken from http://www.abacoadvisers.com/spain_explained/life-spain/news/processionary-caterpillars-spain#

We saw nest up in a tree in Fuengirola so we know what to look for in a tree. But as they come down I think I'll stick to pavements only. The nests are burned when they spotted on public land, but if someone refuses to burn them from their own tree, they are allowed to do that. Scary. Horror movie material.