The first day out with friends Lynn and Steve looking for Dragonflies.
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| Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria). |
We started by heading out West to a spot where we were hoping to see a new species for us all, the
Cazuma Pincertail (Onychogomphus cazuma), on the way we started the list with
Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua),
Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus),
Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and
Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum).
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| Campanula mollis. |
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| Throatwort (Trachelium caeruleum). |
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| Chaenorhinum villosum. |
We had visited the site last year, it looked excellent so we were very disappointed when we arrived to find the site had been strimmed and scraped for road repairs and pretty much destroyed, whilst there we saw
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria),
Throatwort (Trachelium caeruleum),
Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes),
Chaenorhinum villosum,
Campanula mollis,
Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada),
Common Blackbird,
European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula),
Long-tailed (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus),
Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater),
Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla),
Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea),
Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and
European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).
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| 8059 Scopula marginepunctata. |
We decided to leave this spot, planning to return a bit later once the cloud had cleared, we went to another spot just up the road where we checked an arroyo and found that there was water to the one side of the bridge but it was dry on the other side.
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| Common Golden Ring (Cordulegaster boltonii). |
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| Common Golden Ring (Cordulegaster boltonii). |
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| Common Golden Ring (Cordulegaster boltonii). |
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| Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus). |
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| Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus). |
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| Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus). |
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| Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus). |
After getting down into the channel we walked up stream where we found a good number of the stunning
Common Golden Rings (Cordulegaster boltonii), Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii), Copper Demoiselle (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis), Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus), Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea), Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma), Small (
Pieris rapae) and
Wood White (
Leptidea sinapis),
Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra),
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria),
European Hornet (Vespa crabro), Saddleback Bush-cricket (Ephippiger ephippiger),
Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus),
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major),
Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), European Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus) and
Eurasian Blue Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla),
Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada),
Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina) and European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis).
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| Lynn and Steve along the Barranco. |
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| Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea). |
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| Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea). |
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| Saddleback Bush-cricket (Ephippiger ephippiger). |
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| Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii). |
After a nice walk we returned to the car and headed back to the original site but found nothing new so we headed off and made our way to Laguna Redonda, on the way we saw
Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and
Gull-billed Terns (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica). |
| Laguna Redonda. |
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| Dark Spreadwings (Lestes macrostigma). |
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| Dark Spreadwings (Lestes macrostigma). |
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| Dark Spreadwings (Lestes macrostigma). |
We parked soon found several Dark Spreadwings (Lestes macrostigma) along with Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii), Lesser (Anax parthenope) and Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Swallowtail (Papilio machaon),
Small White (
Pieris rapae),
Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), several
Viperine Snakes (Culebra Viperina / Natrix maura) and Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa). |
| Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) ♀. |
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| Viperine Snake (Culebra Viperina / Natrix maura). |
Bird wise we saw European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur),
Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos),
Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra),
Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus),
Little (Zampullín Común /
Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis),
Greater Flamingo's, Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Thinornis dubius),
Gull-billed Tern,
Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) ♂♀
, Common Swift,
Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica),
Western House Martin,
Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata),
Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Common Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and
Western Olivaceous Warbler (Zarcero bereber / Iduna opaca),
House (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and
Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), Spotless Starling,
European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris),
European Goldfinch and
Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).
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| Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus). |
Our last stop of the day was out in the fields to the west of Antequera, on the way to the spot we made a stop at a small gully which had a small amount of water flowing in it, here we saw
Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) x2♂
, Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba),
Cleopatra and as we drove the fields we added
Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto),
Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator),
European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster),
Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica),
Western Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Crested Lark, Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula) and
Delphinium pentagynum.
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| Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) ♂. |
From here we headed back to the house where Lynn did us a very nice meal, we had the food and a drink whilst chatting up on the terrace.
