Wildtalk archives

Wildtalk Spain # 122: Imperial eagles of Sierra de San Vicente

Wildtalk Spain, an email newsletter from www.wild-spain.com
10 April 2008 - Issue 122

The Sierra de San Vicente is an under-visited wildlife and walking haven
less than 100 km west of Madrid. Although technically a foothill of Gredos,
it has a character all of its own. Recent claims to fame are breeding
Spanish Imperial eagles, and environmental rows over housing developments.
See April 9th Field Report to see how you can help...
http://www.wild-spain.com/wsfieldreports.php

Meanwhile, in much of Spain this week... Callooh! Callay! We have rain.


------- News Briefs

. Castilla Leon promotes birdwatching tourism -
The Trino Project, subsidised by the EU Initiative for Rural Development
(LEADER), seeks to promote a new kind of tourism in the region of Castilla
León. At present fourteen Local Action Groups offer accommodation and
birdwatching routes in eight different provinces. Follow link for brochure
in English with contact details and local websites. Date: April 08, 2008
Source: Patrimonio Natural

. Oldest European human remains found in Atapuerca -
Scientists have discovered the oldest human remains in western Europe. A
jawbone and teeth discovered at the famous Atapuerca site in northern Spain
have been dated between 1.1 and 1.2 million years old. The finds provide
further evidence for the great antiquity of human occupation on the
continent, the researchers write in the journal Nature. The find was made in
the Sierra de Atapuerca, a region of gently rolling hills near the Spanish
city of Burgos which contains a complex of ancient limestone caves. These
caves have yielded abundant, well-preserved evidence of ancient occupation
by humans and have been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. "It is the
oldest human fossil yet found in Western Europe," said co-author Jose Maria
Bermudez de Castro, director of Spain's National Research Centre on Human
Evolution (CENIEH) in Burgos. Date: March 27, 2008 Source: BBC

. El Cachucho, Spain's first offshore reserve -
El Cachucho, a 450 metre-deep fishery 56 km from the Asturian coast, is to
become Spain's first Marine Protected Area. WWF has campaigned for many
years for the protection of this specially diverse area which has required a
consensus of 8 ministries. El Cachucho, which derives it's name from the
Asturian term for Red bream, will form part of the European Natura 2000
network. Date: March 24, 2008 Source: WWF/Adena

. Introducing European bears to Spain could be OK -
Brown bears from the Iberian Peninsula are not as genetically different from
other brown bears in Europe as was previously thought. An international
study being published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
shows that, to the contrary, the Spanish bear was only recently isolated
from other European strains. These findings shed new light on the discussion
of how to save the population of Spanish bears. "These bears have possibly
been isolated in Spain for a few thousand years, which is a very short
period in an evolutionary perspective. In other words, there has been a flow
of genes to and from the Iberian Peninsula throughout most of the time brown
bears have been there. This is extremely interesting data when we discuss
transporting bears from other areas to Spain for the purpose of
preservation," says Anders Götherstam, who directed the study. Date: March
24, 2008 Source: Science Daily

For links to sources of these News Briefs see
http://www.wild-spain.com/wsbriefs.php


------- Latest questions [ Check out answers and/or share your knowledge ]

Bases for exploration of Pyrenees and Picos
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2070
WWOOFers and adobe house-building in Pamplona
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2068
Beetle ID - east Andalucia
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2066
4x4 road maps
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2065
Where to fish in Madrid
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2062
Where to stay in Espot
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2058
Bikes and tents on the Camino de Santiago
http://www.wild-spain.com/noticeboard.php?tid=2056


------- Field Reports

Latest...
- Imperial eagles vs. developers, San Román de los Montes, Sierra de San
Vicente, Toledo (Damian Martin)
- European mink, Ucero, Soria (Louise Astorgano, Spanish Footsteps)
- Young griffon vulture, Sierra de Moncayo, Soria (Conny Bartels, Del
Corazón)
http://www.wild-spain.com/wsfieldreports.php

Or post *your* report...
http://www.wild-spain.com/fieldreports.php?op=Post


------- Quick links into wild-spain.com

*Articles: http://wild-spain.com/wsarticles.php
* Pictures: http://wild-spain.com/wspictures.php
* Questions and Answers: http://wild-spain.com/wsnoticeboard.php
* Field Reports: http://www.wild-spain.com/wsfieldreports.php
* Directory: http://wild-spain.com/wsdirectory.php?op=home
* News archives: http://www.wild-spain.com/wsbriefs.php
* Back issues of this newsletter: http://archive.mail-list.com/wildtalk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe,   send a blank message to Wildtalk-on@wild-spain.com
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to Wildtalk-off@wild-spain.com
To change your email address, send a message to Wildtalk-change@wild-spain.com with your old address in the Subject: line
To contact the list owner, send your message to editor@wild-spain.com

Matchbox Spain SL, Islas 8, 45646 San Roman, Spain