Things that go SKRAWK in the night

At this time of year in La Palma, you might hear rather unnerving Howie-howie-SKRAWK! noises in the night, something between a furious tom cat and a duck. You're particularly likely to hear it near the sea.

The first time I heard it, I wasn't exactly scared, but I was rather glad that I was inside a solid house and the whatever-it-was clearly outside. I'm sure I'd have felt decidedly uncomfortable about it if I'd been camping, especially in the dead of night. In fact, I've heard of people thinking it was the witches or the devil.

There's an audio recording here. See what you think yourself. Now imagine that it's dark and you're half asleep.

Actually it's just Calonectris diomedea borealis a nocturnal seagull called Cory's Shearwater, or in Spanish a Pardela Cenicienta. Or you might have your romantic, sea-side stroll inturupted by a Manx shearwater, (Puffinus puffinus) which sounds like this. Again, it's fine as long as you know what it is, and unsettling if you don't.

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Geckos on La Palma

This is a gecko (Tarentola delalandii). They're quite common in La Palma. You find them in warm buildings or on sunny walls outside, and this one lives in my house. I think he must have got too close to one of my cats because his tail's regrowing. You see, if they're in serious danger of being eaten, their tails come off and provide a wriggling decoy while the gecko runs away.

He spent most of yesterday on this smooth vertical wall. They can walk across ceilings too, like Spiderman. I think he might have been asleep, since he never moved, although it's hard to tell because they don't have eyelids. I rather like to have him around, because they eat insects, including mosquitoes. When they hunt, they stalk the insect slowly until they get close enough, then the tongue flicks out and grabs the unfortunate bug, and that's that.

The really surprising thing about them is their call. It sounds like the chuckle of a mad axe-murderer, which is quite alarming when you're alone in the house and you haven't a clue what it is.

But of course you aren't in any danger at all - unlike the geckos. They're on the red list of threatened species.

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