Clot de Galvany

 Today I decided to take a short trip to the Clot de Galvany, to see what I could find there. Besides, last year I had spent a lot of time trying and filing to take pictures of a purple heron, so I aimed to rectify that problem. when I got to the Clot, I found the track through the reserve flooded in multiple places, forming pools that stretched across the entire track, some of them quite deep. But I cycled through them easily. I checked some hides, but was unsatisfied, particularly since there were people there. 

I got to the main hide, and began looking around. I found 4 white-headed ducks with my telescope, and watched a little bittern land in a hedge next to the water. I also found a pair of black-necked grebes. After this, I moved on to another hide. Here, I saw three marbled ducks. these marbled ducks were swimming around each other in a circle, something which I found adorable. I took a few pictures of them, then moved on as someone else arrived. 

Cycling through very deep pools, I noticed a periscope poking out from the scrub to my left. Everything around me was flooded, and I had just seen a marbled duck in a place where I was walking last summer. As I glanced in, I suddenly stopped my bike. Right in the middle of a huge puddle. It was a purple heron. I watched as it flew lazily around the place, before flying overhead and settling down in full view, and rather close. the images I took removed the bird from my 'most wanted' list. For a bird, only the common cuckoo prior to this April and a golden oriole in 2018 had given me more trouble as this bird last year. 

I cycled down to the N-332, then reversed and headed back to the main hide. There, as I watched, a gang of terns suddenly appeared out of nowhere and invaded the airspace. The photos I took were rather distant and by no means close, but several of them flew very close to the hide, and their colouration made me think gull-billed tern. But there were a few which looked like whiskered tern, as well. 

As if to follow up, a swarm of swifts had appeared and were circling around the hide. I decided I needed a picture. Easier said than done, as swifts are extremely fast and maneuverable. After five minutes of trying, wildly spinning my camera, pointing and constantly clicking the shutter button, I got a picture that satisfied me. 

But the best was yet to come. Afterwards, I cycled through some more puddles, twisted and turned along the track at high speed, climbed up into Gran Alacant and to the lighthouse, and then sped through the sierras. I then noticed a giant lizard off the track. This lizard was properly giant, at least 10cm long, but it was uncooperative. I left it alone, and cycled on further. I stopped to check the mirror orchid colony I had photographed three weeks ago, then continued. And that was when a swallowtail butterfly flew past me. 

I stopped, took my phone out, and, seeing the butterfly did not wish to cooperate and quickly flew away, began chasing it. I think I chased it for five minutes, because the wind was constantly sweeping it away somewhere. But then, it seemed to get more lazy, and settled down just as I, out of breath, caught up with it. At that, it only let me take one close-up picture before it flew off again, but hovered around. 

I had wanted this for such a long time, and it had finally happened! I was prepared to visit a nature reserve in the UK just for these. That place still does have fen orchids, though, so that might still be on the agenda. I returned home incredibly satisfied.