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Remiz pendulinus
The Eurasian Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus, measuring just 11 cm, is easily recognised by its striking black facial mask, which is slightly less noticeable...
Upupa epops
La palput en la montanya canta i diu la veritat: quan les cabres faran llana, les dònes faran bondat. I still remember the first...
The witch dressed in white
On one of my excursions in the mountains, I found the ideal setting for a new photographic idea. In an old abandoned house among...
Montcabrer
Ascent of the Montcabrer peak on January 19th in the year of Our Lord 2025, a thousand years before the birth of King Alfonso...
Aquila fasciata
Pico de la Nieve in the Tous mountain range, on May 8th in the year of Our Lord 2010, the thirty-sixth year since the...
Autumn transhumance
Autumn transhumance route from Llosar to Salvasoria Autumn transhumance on October 19, 2024, the year seven hundred and fifty-two since King Alfonso X the...
Grus grus
On a cloudy autumn morning, as the farmer arranges his farming implements, he hears a call in the sky that is unmistakable: grus, grus,...
Rural scenes
Rural Scenes: Collection of finalist photographs at the 69th “Ciutat de Xàtiva” Photography Exhibition 2024. Photograph by Jesús Calabuig, shepherd from Barxeta: 3rd prize...
Panurus biarmicus
December 1st. Manjavacas Lagoon in Mota del Cuervo, Cuenca. As winter approaches, the cold begins to be felt throughout the Peninsula and especially in...
“Autumn bird” on tour in Europe
Castellonense artist Jose Mena takes “Pájaro de Otoño” on tour around Europe. Source of the news: castellonoticies.com Jose Mena Álvarez, a Castellonense talent in...
Salticidae
The Salticidae are a family of araneomorph spiders described by J. Blackwall in 1841. They are characterised by their ability to make great leaps...
Dendrocopos major
The great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major is a medium-sized bird, very distinctive for its black and white plumage, strong, pointed beak and alert attitude....
The bird of the wind
The bird of the wind, which for many ornithologists is the perfect bird for a series of reasons that we will see, is the...
Cyanistes caeruleus
The Eurasian blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus is a small bird similar in size to a sparrow, a forest insectivore, very lively, which moves among...
Transhumance time
The Llosar route: transhumance paths in search of eternal spring Transhumance and transhumants require protection, and above all, recognition. In the year in which...
Peripapus ater
The Coal tit Periparus ater is a species of passerine bird in the Paridae family found in Eurasia and North Africa. It is quite...
Parus major
The Great Tit Parus major is a species of passerine bird in the paridae family. About 14 cm, it is unmistakable due to the...
Viernes Santo. El Santo Entierro
The insolent storm that has punished Cuenca these days has had the deference to respect the mourning of the Holy Burial Procession, a funeral...
Sylvia melanocephala
The sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala is a species of passerine bird in the family Sylviidae that measures about 13 cm in length. The iris...
Falco tinnunculus
The common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, is the closest and easiest to see daytime bird of prey. It prefers an open field and bush habitat,...
Vulpes vulpes
The cunning of this chicken-coop troublemaker can be sensed in his gaze, and is beyond any doubt. Its small size forces it to resort...
Pájaro de otoño
Pájaro de otoño by JOSE MENA, one of the winning works in the XX International Exhibition Virtual Museum MundoArti New Year 2024 On January...
Muscicapa striata
The Spotted flycatcher Muscicapa striata is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is small in size, with a length of...
Tarentola mauritanica
Most people tend to show a special revulsion towards reptiles. Perhaps it is because of that disturbing touch of poikilothermic or cold-blooded animals: a...
Timon lepidus
The ocellated lizard Timon lepidus is a species of lizard characteristic of southwestern Europe, associated with Mediterranean ecosystems. It is distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, southern...
Turdus merula
The common blackbird Turdus merula is a species of passerine bird in the family Turdidae. The male is completely black, with a yellow beak...
Fringilla coelebs
The Common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs is a species of passerine bird about the size of a sparrow. It belongs to the Fringillidae family, and...
Aquila chrysaetos
Since ancient times, human beings have felt a great fascination for eagles, for their beauty, power… Not in vain, since time immemorial, their emblematic...
Arte rupestre en los montes de Tous
This article titled Cavidades con arte rupestre en los montes de Tous. Un patrimonio para conocer y estimar, is part of chapter 4 of...
Turdus torquatus
The Ring ouzel Turdus torquatus with a size of 24 cm is very similar to the common blackbird, from which it differs by the...
Loxia curvirostra
The Red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a species of small passerine bird in the finch family (Length / Wingspan: 15-17 cm / 27-30 cm)....
Serinus serinus
The European serin Serinus serinus is a passerine bird of the Fringillidae family, of which at 11-12 cm it is the smallest species. Stocky...
Chloris chloris
Cagarneres en la lloma, verderols en el paller, les perdius en l’estepar, teuladins en el carrer. The European greenfinch (Chloris chloris) is a small...
Limonium mansanetianum
Limonium mansanetianum (M.B Crespo & M.D Lledó) Saladilla (Limonium mansanetianum) is a species of perennial plant from the Plumbaginaceae family, with a green or...
Lophophanes cristatus
The European crested tit (Lophophanes cristatus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Paridae. About 11.5 cm in length, it is easily...
Autumn portraits
Autumn has settled in the Font Roja. From the sea of orange trees in my town in the Ribera Alta, I pass without respite...
Carduelis carduelis
“Això era i no era, bon viatge fassa la cagarnera…” The goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a bird from the finch family, very lively and...
Strix aluco
Sin Dios y sin Santa María, por la chimenea arriba!… parten las brujas volando en escobas o transformadas en cárabos… rumbo a Cernégula… The...
Passer domesticus
The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is an emblematic bird of the Spanish urban landscape, extremely linked to man who has always been with us...
Carduelis spinus
When the cold arrives in our region, many species of birds that have migrated south have already left us for a few weeks, such...
Athene noctua
The European Owl (Athene noctua) is a nocturnal raptor that has been part of the Valencian agricultural landscape since time immemorial and for which...
Chrysoperla carnea
In this entry I am going to talk about a beautiful arthropod that is worth knowing. It is quite common, but on many occasions...
Coccothraustes coccothraustes
The grosbeak cocothraustes cocothraustes is the largest of the Spanish finches. A bird that mostly winters in our latitudes, it visits us very irregularly...
Oriolus oriolus
During my long walks in early spring, in any corner of the forest, I am accompanied by an unmistakable and peculiar fluted song (tiri-oliuuu),...
Acherontia Atropos
The skull or death sphinx (Acherontia atropos) is a very large moth, with a wingspan of between 9 and 12 cm. It has a...
Hirundo rustica
The Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica is part of and heralds the good weather in our towns and fields. Insectivorous bird with a fast and...
Behind the trail of bats
Summer of 2012 ran when I found myself immersed in a passionate photographic project for the ‘Generalitat Valenciana’ about bats, by then I had...
The long-eared and the garlic
During the last weeks I have returned to a place that brings back intense and nostalgic memories of a wonderful time, in which I...
Macroglossum stellatarum
The sphinx hummingbird, Macroglossum stellatarum (Carolus Linnaeus, 1758) is a species of ditrisian lepidopteran in the family Sphingidae. It lives in southern Europe, including...
Nazarenes II
At this time, in any corner of our geography, in the intricate streets of our towns and cities, we can attend the Holy Week...
Black redstart
We are at the gates of winter, with the trees already practically devoid of their leaves, where the days are shortening and everything seems...
The Aitana mountain
Today I have prepared to climb to the summit of the Sierra de Aitana, which with its 1558 meters, is the highest in the...
The ravine of the Hoz
The La Hoz ravine, already in the last foothills of the Caroig Massif in the Sierra de Enguera, is an extensive mountainous area predominantly...
European robin
The european robin, from the turdid family and with the scientific name Erithacus rubecula, is a small, round-shaped bird about 14 centimeters long. Its...
Night reflections
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy full of stars and interstellar clouds, where the solar system and the Earth are located. It is...
The bellow
When the afternoons shorten and the summer comes to an end, coinciding with the drop in temperatures and the passage of storms, one of...
The snake in popular culture
In this blog entry I am going to talk about the two kinds of snakes that inhabit the Iberian Peninsula, snakes and vipers, but...
The chiropteran project
In Jules Renard’s natural histories I read that …there is no corner where a piece of night doesn’t penetrate…shreds come off of it, intertwined...
The great mediterranean cat
Photograph of Iberian lynxes in the wild and native fauna, on a sunny day in late August. Penalajo. Peñalajo, in the northernmost foothills of...
The Cazuma river
The Cazuma, whose waters supply the town of Bicorp, is one of the three rivers that, together with the Fraile River and the Ludey...
Fraile River
The Fraile River is one of the most emblematic streams of the Caroig Massif and the best preserved in our geography, almost in the...
About the revealed II
Continuing with the thread of my previous article on developing, and remembering some points in which I told you how a nature photographer should...
Monticola saxatilis vs Monticola solitarius
A few weeks ago I went to the region of Los Serranos in the interior of the province of Valencia, through the area...
PRV-203 Río Grande-Abrigo de Voro
In this beautiful itinerary we can differentiate two landscapes, on the one hand the spectacular transit through the winding course of the Rio Grande,...
Barranco Moreno PR-CV 173.
The route through the Barranco Moreno, in the heart of the Macizo del Caroig, has an undoubted landscape value, with a route through the...
Pleurodeles waltl
The Gallipato (Pleurodeles waltl) is a species of urodel amphibian of the Salamandridae family, like most European urodeles. It is endemic to the...
About the revealed
In another photographic discipline I do not know, but in nature photography, I am clear that we have the duty and obligation to capture...
The gargoyles
In many of the European cathedrals, some castles and numerous civil buildings, fantastic and terrifying beings observe us and watch over us in silence...
Nazarenes
The conical shape of the hoods of the Nazarenes evokes an approach of the penitent to heaven, interpreted by many Christians as a place...
Pinguicula saetabensis
Is it true that there is a carnivorous plant in the Valencian mountains? Well yes, as it is also true that today I went...
The last trip of the Gallego brothers
THE LAST TRIP OF THE GALLEGO BROTHERS Jose Mena Alvarez On January 15, 1838 at seven in the morning, what is considered the first...
Autumn-winter in the Sierra de Gúdar
Text: Vicente Aupí ( estrellasyborrascas.com) Photography: Jose Mena The great cold tends to make Teruel news in many winters, since it is the Spanish...
Autumn memories
I feel that when something ends a new thing is always born. I love autumn because in that announced death there is peace. (Manuel...
The Font Roja in autumn
A grey and foggy morning. I arrive at the Red Fountain’s Sanctuary (Santuario de la Font Roja) early in the morning to start the...
City of Albarracín
Albarracín huddles, sprouting from the rock, in a thousand incredible forms of popular architecture. The capricious flow of the Guadalaviar River, that deep sickle...
Maestrazgo turolense. Summer III
Villarroya de los Pinares is the first town coming from Teruel, it takes us into the Maestrazgo turolense, north to the Gúdar mountain range,...
The common or mediterranean chameleon
The common or mediterranean chameleon A great percentage of the population except the Andalusian are unaware that there are chameleons in the Iberian Peninsula....
Teruel. Summer II
At this time of summer, the entirety of the cereal farms have been collected, leaving a landscape of ocher, brown and yellow, very evocative...
Teruel. Summer I
My journey in these lands takes me through capital Teruel in the first town that today will drive me into la Sierra de Gúdar,...
A cavall de dos temps (Document only available in Valencian language)
A cavall de dos temps DOCUMENT ETNOGRÀFIC EN VALENCIÀ SOBRE LES CAVALLERIES INTRODUCCIÓ Per a conéixer qui som i què fem ací, és força...
Fermín Muñoz, the last nomad II
Fermín Muñoz, the last nomad II 11-6-2011 At the beginning of June and at the gates of the summer equinox, we met Fermín and...
Fermín Muñoz, the last nomad I
Fermín Muñoz, the last nomad I 8-29-2010 SALVACAÑETE. FERMIN MUÑOZ Fermín (25-9-1959) is a shepherd from Salvacañete (Cuenca) who has been doing transhumance since...
Grazing in the Enguera mountains II
Grazing in the Enguera mountains II July 13, 2009. Transmittent route Enguera-Alpera Together with the foreman Bernardo, a veteran shepherd who has been in...
Grazing in the Enguera mountains I
Grazing in the Enguera mountains I THE ALTOS ENGUERA (11-2-2009) The herds of Luís Chorques are distributed throughout the Sierra de Enguera1 and Ayora....
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig VI
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig VI April 15, 2010 Now, at the beginning of spring, JV locks up the goats in the sheepfold...
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig V
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig V January 10, 2010. Caroig. Very cold morning (-4ºC). The entire Caroig Massif dawns under a thick blanket...
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig IV
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig IV December 14, 2009 We spend the morning near the Casa del Cura corral. The cold intensifies accompanied...
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig III
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig III September 24, 2009. La Juanera and Barranco del Mátalo. After several days of persistent rain, the sun...
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig II
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig II September 10, 2009. Caroig Jose Vicente is the last shepherd of Caroig, he represents the last hope...
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig I
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig I The movements of the herds of Jose Vicente following the rhythm of the seasons is as follows:...
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres VI
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres VI January 2010 One cold afternoon in January, Ramón’s herd grazes peacefully on top of a mountain range, in...
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres V
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres V June 2009Dawn in the mountains, the rooster sings. The herd prepares for the suffocating heat of summer. Ramón...
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres IV
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres IV May 2009Sierra de Navarrés, reservoir road of Escalona and Tous. Sunny morning, the herd quietly grazes in an...
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres III
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres III May 2009At the end of May we accompany Ramón, our shepherd from Navarrés, through the abandoned fields that...
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres II
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres II One cold and icy afternoon in January, we returned to one of the two pens that the shepherd...
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres I
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarrés I DECEMBER 2008 He accompanied Ramón and his flock along the paths of the Sierra de Navarrés, known in...
The Avendaño brothers
The Avendaño brothers October 7, 2009 TRAIL TO THE WINTER PASTURES I met Jose and Amando one autumn day, when the yellow leaves of...
The last shepherd of castelló. Ramón Aviñó
The last shepherd of castelló. Ramón Aviñó In 1994 I made a photographic report on the last pastor of Castelló, aware at that time...
Vicente Talens: heritage from a near past
Vicente Talens: heritage from a near past Text: Xavier Aznar and Jose Mena. Photography: Jose Mena. (This article was published on August 2010. Unfortunately,...
The last shepherds of Caroig
The last shepherds of Caroig This article aims to show a brief introduction to the work I have done as a photographer in these...
Grazing in the Gúdar mountains
Grazing in the Gúdar mountainsNotebooks of transhumance – N° 14 Texto completo en PDF: https://www.mapa.gob.es/es/desarrollo-rural/temas/politica-forestal/vias-pecuarias/num_13al24_vias_pecuarias.aspx “Every year, when the winter solstice arrives, and as...
Wild nature of the Caroig Massif
Wild nature of the Caroig Massif. Text: Neus Asensi Wild nature of the Caroig Massif is the title of this work in which the...
The little owls of Castellet
The little owls of Castellet That gray and cold afternoon was declining and would soon give way to night. The freshness of the Xúquer...
The lady of the night
The lady of the night In nature photography, chance practically does not exist, it is not improvised, the images have to be thoroughly worked...
Eagle owl in winter landscape
Eagle owl in winter landscape Winter has fully touched the Caroig mountains and a white blanket of snow covers its hills and crests. I...
The interstellar bat
THE INTERSTELLAR BAT The Sierra of Tous belongs to the platform of the Caroig Massif, it stands out for its abrupt and harsh orography....
Popular bat names
It is curious to find out that one of the most representative and significant symbols of our territory, is at the time the most...
The bat
“Without feathers he flies and sleeps upside down“ Shrouded in a halo of superstition and legend, bats have stimulated human fantasy since immemorial times....
Bubo bubo
The eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) is a 66 to 71 cm long bird of prey with showy plumes, large golden-yellow eyes, and reddish...
Accipiter gentilis
The Northern Goshawk: the pirate of the wilderness With that name that heads the title of this article, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente called...
Buteo buteo
The sad end of the common Buzzard. December 5, 2005 Last Sunday, December 5, 2005, I was in La Gola (at the exact point...
