Other Fauna & Flora

2008

Mar:

24 Mar:  A couple of large baleen whales, probably Fin Whales, were seen from Europa Point this morning in very calm conditions that proved crucial in spotting the whales.  They were observed several miles to the south-east, blowing on several occasions and breaching twice before finally disappearing.

Warm weather conditions in early March produced an emergence of butterflies including Spanish Festoons, Cleopatras, and a very early Two-tailed Pasha, the earliest recorded.

Feb:

A Burnet Moth, Zygaena fausta gibraltarica, was seen in the Alameda Botanic Gardens in early February, an unusual date, as the moth only emerges in the warm weather in May with a second brood in September.  This is the second time a burnet moth has emerged at such an early date with another one in the winter of 2002.

Jan:

24 Jan:  A Monarch Butterfly whas been seen flying in the Alameda Botanic Gardens close to the Dell area in the last few days.

21 Jan:  A pod of about twelve Bottle-nosed Dolphins was sighted close to the shore off  Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay, with some coming in as close as 50m from the shore.  The sea was calm and some of the dolphins appeared to be feeding and were accompanied by several dozen Yellow-legged Gulls.

2007

Oct:

A sighting of a Monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus in the gardens of The Convent on Main Street was the first for about 18 months, Large swarms of dragonflies have been observed at Gibraltar during late October.

Although large migratory movements of dragonflies always occur at Gibraltar during early and late autumn, those observed this year stand out for their maginitude.  Most of the dragonflies at Gibraltar are a darter species, Sympetrum fonscolombii.  Mature males are red whilst females and immature males are green.  Also common is the hawker species Aeshna mixta, a larger, bluish dragonfly.
 
Meanwhile, sightings of Monarch butterflies continue with 4 or 5 individuals observed in the Convent Gardens, with one also along Queensway and another on Europa Road.

On the 16th, following westerly winds, several migrant butterfly species were encountered on Windmill Hill, including many Painted Ladies Vanessa cardui, Clouded Yellows Colias crocea and Small Whites Artogeia rapae.  The sighting was striking following a very poor spring for butterflies when very few Painted Ladies were seen.  Red Admirals Vanessa atalanta, were amongst the most common butterfly on the Upper Rock, but also present were many Long-tailed and Lang's Short-tailed Blues, Lampides boeticus and Leptotes pirithous, and a Southern Brown Argus Aricia cramera.

June:

An Ocean sunfish Mola mola was seen near the surface coming ver close to Europa Point on the 27th. Seeing its large dorsal fin break the surface, it is easy to see how bathers at local beaches mistake this species for sharks.

A pair of Fin Whales Balaenoptera physalus were seen off Europa Point on the 24th.  The whales broke the surface briefly before submerging out of sight heading in a westerly direction into the Strait.

March:

The population of the wild Caper Capparis spinosa discovered in 2006 in the Buena Vista and North Gorge area has been confirmed after consultation with botanist John Ackeroyd to be the wild variety C. s. rupestris.  It was thought possbile that the population was an old garden escape, but this confirms it as a species that can be considered native to Gibraltar.  This is a plant found characteristically in Mediterranean gorges near the sea but is not known from such habitats in Spain south of Almeria.

Its range in Gibraltar is very limited to the crags of the south-west of the Rock, and so it is vulnerable to development and cliff works.

        Capparis spinosa rupestris from North Gorge, Gibraltar                                                                    Leslie Linares

2006

16 Dec:  A Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala  melaena, measuring 4.5m, was washed ashore dead at Camp Bay, Gibraltar.  There were no signs of injury, although the recent storms may have contributed to its death. .  It is a common species in the Strait.

12 Nov: Following the strong Easterlies, a walk along the tideline at Eastern Beach turned up several individuals of the hydroid Velella velella more commonly known as a By-the-Wind Sailor

Also washed up was this unsusual specimen, which we still have not identified, but is probably a young Mediterranean moray Muraena helena (Photos: Albert and Silaika Yome)

The waves must have been of considerable strength, as even a Goose barnacle, Pollicipes pollicipes which adhere very strongly to rocks, was also found on the shore.

30 Oct:  A stand of the Autumn Grape Hyacinth, Muscari parviflora was discovered in a bed in the Botanic Gardens.  Although the stand looks at least several years old, this is a species not previously recorded in Gibraltar, and does not appear on the western Andalucia list either.

21 Oct:  Following several days and nights with rain, there was heightened bat activity at dusk at the Botanic Gardens, coinciding with a emergence of flying ants.  Numbers of pipistrelles were seen catching these, probably including both Soprano Pipistrelles and Common Pipistrelles.

21 Sep:  The Seal is still being seen regularly on the north side of the Bay, near the new Spanish container port under construction in the CRINAVIS site, where it regularly comes to land on the rocks.

28 Aug:  A Whale sp.  approximately 12m long, possibly a Minke Whale, was sighted in the Bay of Gibraltar just 200m off the Detached Mole at 18:30 hrs.

24 Aug: A large Ocean sunfish Mola mola was seen cruising past Europa Point, it's large dorsal fin looking very much like a shark. Later in the afternoon shoals of Flying fish Exocoetidae were seen trying to escape from predatory fish by bursting out at the surface and gliding over the waves, during which time shearwaters and gulls would attempt to catch them

11 Aug:  A Swordfish Xiphias gladius was seen jumping three times out of the water approximatly a mile off Europa Point.

10 Aug:  The Seal was again seen off Little Bay swimming and chasing fish late in the evening (J. Adamberry).

7 Aug:  A large Whale sp. was seen breaching at midday in the anchorage area to the east of the Rock.

6 Aug:  The Seal was again sighted in the same location by one of the Dolphin tour boats.  This time photographs were taken and will be published when we get a copy.

3 Aug:  The Seal was sighted by one of the Dolphin tour boats off the North Mole.  All the occupants had good views of the seal which was seen close to the Spanish pier the 'Espigon de San Felipe'.  This is the first confirmed record of this marine mammal in the area.

28 Jul:  A probable Monk Seal was reported swimming along the cliffs north of Europa Point during the afternoon.  The observer caught a glimpse of what was a seal submerging before he could confirm the sighting.

17 June:  A pod of Common Dolphins Delphinus delphis was seen inside the harbour, travelling north from inside the Detached Mole, then passing close to the outside of the Western Arm of the North Mole.

Although this species is common in the Bay of Gibraltar, sightings within the harbour are infrequent, due to its enclosed, shallow profile and high level of maritime traffic.

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