Near Archidona, Malaga Province.

A better day's weather with the walking group. 

The view from the Monastery.

I again made my way to the hotel Enslava in Antequera and joined the walking group for todays flog around a loop near Archidona, we set off at a fair pace, a few hills soon slowed some of the group down and when we turned off the main track on to a side spur which took us UP on to the cliff edges above Arroya Marin it slowed even more. 

On the first part of the hike I picked up Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Eurasian Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Western House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Western Bonelli’s Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulga / Falco tinnunculus), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Dartford (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Western Orphean (Curruca Mirlona / Sylvia hortensis) and Sardinian Warblers (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) and Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus).

The second half of the walk was a bit flatter and was mainly through agricultural land with lots of Olives, along this section I added Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), European Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer Domesticus), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Great Tit (Carbonero Común / Parus major), European Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) and Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata).

Once we were back at the cars we move a little way up the road to the parking area at the bottom of the step climb up to the monastery at Archidona and started the climb to the top, along here I added several Alpines (Vencejo Real / Apus melba) and Pallid Swifts (Vencejo Pálido / Apus pallidus), Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata) and Common Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus) to the list.