Ophrys Fusca subsp fusca, El Turro, Granada Province.

First Orchids of the year.

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis).

Whilst out birding in the Cacin Valley near El Turro today, we found several spikes of Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis) in flower, the first orchids of the year. Standing between 6 and 10 cms tall, about 30 plants were found on a roadside verge under Pine trees, plants can reach a height of 40 cms. 

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys lupercalis).

Most spikes have between 2 and 9 blooms, this species is usually one of the first to be found in flower but this year after the wet winter and a few days of sun shine they are earlier than usual. 

Red-knobbed Coots at Embalse del Cacin and at the Pantaneta de Alhama, Granada Province.

Red-knobbed Coot (Focha moruna / Fulica cristata).

Male Red-knobbed Coot (Focha moruna / Fulica cristata).

Whilst on a visit to the Embalse del Cacin with a group of Spanish Friends (Alice, Zoe, Candi, Lourdes, Antonio, Jesús, Jorge, Juanra and Juanfra) we discovered a pair of Red-knobbed Coot feeding on the road edge of the lake.
After a controversial bird at Pantaneta de Alhama back in 2008 (photo's above) it was great to see what appear to be a genuine pair in a good breeding habitat. 

The species is a very rare bird throughout Southern Spain with a strong, long-running reintroduction program.

Sierra de Loja, Granada Province.

Sierra Nevada Crocus (Crocus nevadensis).

Sierra Nevada Crocus (Crocus nevadensis).

Two plants were found today after information from John Wainwright, growing amongst gorse scrub on a limestone covered slope in the Sierra de Loja. 

One of the plants was well over, but the second was still in good condition, an endemic of Iberia and North Africa which can be seen in flower as early as February just as the snow starts to thaw.

This is a plant of between 4 and 5 cms tall with narrow leaves of green with a paler centre rib.