Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

Painting, Birding and Gardening, a good day.

Ebird List for Huétor Fields.

 

Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

I started the day with three and a bit hours painting in the bedroom, later I went for a walk along the Arroyo Vilano again, as usual I parked by the Walnut Trees and walked out as far as the old dam site and back again.

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).

On the way out I picked up Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Iberian (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki) and Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis) and Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Cetti's (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula),  House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra). 

I also saw Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x3 and Small White (Pieris rapae) x5, Carpentor Bee (Xylocopa violacea), Field Marigold (Calendula arvensis), Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica), Mallow-leaved Convolvulus (Convolvulus althaeoides), Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), White Wallrocket (Diplotaxis erucoides), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum) and Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis).

♂♀ Montagu's (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) and ♀ Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).

♂♀ Montagu's (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) and ♀ Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).

♀ Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

♂ Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

♀ Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).

On my way back I picked up the very smart ♂ Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) which dropped on to the ground with some prey but was soon put off it by a ♀, both birds then took off and started to display and then get quite territorial when a ♀ Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) flew in.

♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

All the aerial activity obviously annoyed the calling ♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) which I had been hearing but couldn't find, it did a circuit and then flew straight past me and landed back into the Lucerne.

Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

Other species were my first Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) of the year, Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Thinornis dubius), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Curruca undata), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola) and Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea). 

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).

I got back to the car where I met the two Asparagus pickers who were parked behind me, I got to chat with them and bought some of the Asparagus they had just cut. 

I then went down to Mercodona before heading back home where I enjoyed a couple of hours in the garden for the first time this year.

Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A couple of hours down on the fields picking up a couple of year tick raptors.

Ebird List for Huétor Fields.

 

Mustard with Sierra de Loja in the background.

I headed down to the fields early on and did a walk from the Walnuts to the Old dam point in the Arroyo Vilano, on the way out to this point I found the ♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) which was calling and holding territory but I couldn't find any of the 6 ♀ today.

♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Also seen were the 2 Black-winged Kites (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis) and Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), lots of Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and a few Red-rumped (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), House (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).    

Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus).

Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus).

Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus).

I reached the point where the Arroyo used to be dammed, illegally I suspect which stopped the flow further down the stream, I spent a while sat here and watched some raptors move along the ridge and up the Valley north or east along the ridge towards Granada, these included a distant Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus) which is not a common species here, so I was pleased to get some rubbish record shots before it drifted off, a pair of Bonelli's (Aguila Perdicera / Aquila faciatus) and a single Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus).

I also picked up Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), a single Alpine Swift (Vencejo Real / Apus melba) which went east with 2 Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), 2x Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Thinornis dubius), 2x Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus). 

♂ Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

♂ Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

♂ Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

After a while I started to walk back to the car, on the way I saw my first Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) of the year when a stunning ♂ flew in and started to hunt.

As I did the walk I also saw Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x2, Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) x1, Carpentor Bee (Xylocopa violacea), Field Marigold (Calendula arvensis), Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica), Mallow-leaved Convolvulus (Convolvulus althaeoides), Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), White Wallrocket (Diplotaxis erucoides), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum) and Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis).

The early sun reflecting off the snow up Sierra Nevada.

I returned to the car and went down to Sanchez Arcos cars where I had the new motor from as I was not happy that the Fuel gauge was working correctly as I had done 600km and it was still showing full, one of the low pressure warning lights on the tyres kept coming on even though they all looked fine, anyway they soon sorted the tyre problem out when they found a dirty great nail in the one which got repaired straight away, it's got to go in on Monday for the fuel gauge to be sorted.

After getting this sorted I went home and did some more painting in the Bedroom which is starting to progress, hopefully got a builder coming this week to give me a price for the roof repairs, not looking forward to hearing how much that's going to cost 😬😬😬😬😬

Huétor Fields, Rio Genil East and Cerro Hacho, Granada Province, Spain.

Out on the Patch, checking 3 local spots.

Ebird List for Huétor Fields.

Ebird List for the Rio Genil East.

 

The Arroyo Vilano looking nice with some water still flowing, don't know how long it will last.

As I am not wanting to waste fuel at almost €1.90 a Litre I stayed local again today but still managed some nice species, down on the fields I started with Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) x7, Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) x2, Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Grey (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Spanish (Yellow) (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

The Lucerne Fields below a nice blue sky for a change.

The ♂ Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) with 1 of the 6 ♀♀ still on the fields.

I reached the gate and checked the Arroyo from there flushing 3x Green Sandpipers (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and also saw Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) before walking back to the car adding Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x2, Field Marigold (Calendula arvensis), Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum) and Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule).  

Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae).

I got back to the car and then went down to the Rio Genil on the eastern side of the bridge and spent a while checking the group of dead looking trees, as soon as I arrived I could hear a calling Eurasian Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla) and as I listened to this bird I could hear a second bird a little further away.

Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki).

In the same area I also saw and heard Grey Heron, Iberian Magpie, Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes) and 2 more Grey Wagtails.

Amethyst Toadflax (Linaria amethystea).

Amethyst Toadflax (Linaria amethystea).

Eruca (Eruca sativa).

Bellis microcephala.

I went back up through town and on past the house up to Cerro Hacho where I parked near the start of the track and checked the grassy area amongst the Almonds and the slope above there where I found a few smaller wildflowers which included Amethyst Toadflax (Linaria amethystea), Eruca (Eruca sativa), Bellis microcephala, Cymbalaria-leaved Speedwell (Veronica cymbalaria), Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna), Veronica arvensis, Round leaved Crane's-Bill (Geranium rotundifolium), Field Marigold (Calendula arvensis) and Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis).

Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).

In the same area I also found 20 odd spikes of Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina), Common Asphodel (Asphodelus aestivus) and Southern Knapweed (Centaurea pullata).

Veronica arvensis.

Cymbalaria-leaved Speedwell (Veronica cymbalaria).

Round leaved Crane's-Bill (Geranium rotundifolium).

Cleavers species.

Common Whitlowgrass (Erophila verna).

Field Madder (Sherardia arvensis).

As I walked this area I also saw Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) x3, Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus) x12+ and Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri) x3.

Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus).

Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus).

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

I returned to the car and went up the hill to the puddle car park and did a walk around the top end of the loop and the cut back across to the car along the top edge of the Quarry, as I did this I saw more Provence Hairstreaks, Snake's Head Fritillary (Fritillaria  lusitanica), Conical (Neotinea conica), Fan-lipped (Anacamptis collina), Southern Early Purple Orchid (Orchis olbienis), Giant (Himanthoglossum Robertiana), Somber Bee (Ophrys lupercalis) and Sawfly Orchids (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus).

Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus).

Snake's Head Fritillary (Fritillaria  lusitanica).

Conical Orchid (Neotinea conica).

Conical Orchid (Neotinea conica).

Conical Orchid (Neotinea conica).

Southern Early Purple Orchid (Orchis olbienis).

Southern Early Purple Orchid (Orchis olbienis).

Southern Early Purple Orchid (Orchis olbienis).

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis).

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis).

Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

Bird wise I saw and heard Common Woodpigeon, Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), European Robin, Sardinian Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Blue and Great Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, Cirl (Escribano Soteño / Emberiza cirlus) and Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Common Chaffinch, Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), European Serin and Corn Bunting.

Later I popped down town and had a 0-0 beer and a bit of tapas.