Sierra de Loja, Granada Province.

A few hour's sat at a quiet spot in the sierra with the camera and Ring Ouzels for company.

Ring Ouzel (Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus).

On the way up I drove straight out to the spot in a quiet valley right on the Southern side of the Sierra and set up a screen across the side of the car by some Hawthorn bushes and waited. I had seen several Ring Ouzel (Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus) as I arrived at the site and it did not take long for a male bird to come in to a small rose bush just to the side of where I had planned but I managed a couple of shots but there was some rusty old wire fencing across the bird so they were not great.

Ring Ouzel (Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus).

Before a nice female / 1st winter male came in to the top of the tree where I had put myself and stay long enough for me to get some decent shot. Also in the same area I saw Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax). After a few hours I got the folding chair out of the boot along with some cam-netting Alan had given me and sat in the shade along side the drinking pool near by where the Ouzels were coming down to drink and got some nice shots of male and female birds coming down for the water. They were joined by White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs). At around 13:00 things went quiet so I started to drop back down the hill, on the way up I had actually noted that there was no rubbish at all in the areas around the road and parking spots which is unusual in most places.

Ring Ouzel (Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus).

Whilst I was photographing the Ouzels I had been aware of lots (150+) men and women mountain bikers going along the road away in the distance (even though it was away in the distance I could still hear them clearly!!!) and whilst driving down I was shocked to see the amount of rubbish just discarded by the prats as they passed through this beautiful site. There were energy bar rappers, plastic bottles and other drink containers all the way down the hill, I just do not under stand why they come in to their beautiful countryside and do this?????