Autumn

Cotaina Gran

Chilly mornings and northern winds, looks like the fall is just around the corner.

Genesis of a storm and some of our wonderful guests

With Summer gone and Autumn underway its traditionally a good time for 'End of Summer Storms' in the Mediterranean Region.

This year’s exceptionally high sea temperatures may have been a catalyst for storms like this one which was forming a few miles North of Mahon.

And not only storms. We have had a number of repeating guests visiting us this end of season too.

The Gang, in words of Mrs. Haggar, 

Left to right: Mr. Luff, Mrs. Crook, Mrs. Maycock, Mr. Crook, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Maycock, Mrs. Luff, Mr. Langley, Mrs. Buckman and Mrs. Haggar.

Newly hatched Mediterranean Tortoises

These days when the fields become green again after the recent rains, we have seen in the land surrounding the hotel some tortoise hatchlings.

 

It seems that the tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni) was introduced in Menorca some three thousand years ago, and it was a staple food for the first settlers of the island.

Early in the morning, the animals leave their nightly shelters, which are usually hollows protected by thick bushes or hedges, to bask in the sun and warm their bodies. They then roam about the Mediterranean meadows of their habitat in search of food. They determine which plants to eat by the sense of smell.

Between May and July, female Hermann’s tortoises deposit between two and 12 eggs into flask-shaped nests dug into the soil. Most females lay more than one clutch each season. The pinkish-white eggs are incubated for around 90 days and, like many reptiles, the temperature at which the eggs are incubated determines the hatchlings sex. At 26 °C, only males will be produced, while at 30 °C, all the hatchlings will be female.

In nature, the animals dig their nightly shelters out and spend the relatively mild Mediterranean winters there. During this time, their heart and breathing rates drop notably.

Rainy day...and hoopoes

The rain, which started in the morning, has not stopped falling throughout the day. At times it fell hard and other times it was very light, almost imperceptible.
 

And it is in those moments when you can see some movement among the small animals of the field. The hoopoes, which are insectivorous, taking advantage when the ground is wet to peck worms and slugs.

Hoopoe

 

Rock Samphire inflorescence, near Binidali.