Granada City and Cacín Valley, Granada Province.

A morning at the market and an afternoon down the valley.

Jayne and I went up to the market on the out skirts of Granada mainly to get some fruit as the prices in the local supermarket seem to have gone daft. On the way up there we had sightings of a flock of around 30 or so Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) feeding in a Lucerne field, 20+ Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) and a Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) in another fields nearer to the city, a couple of perched Common Buzzards (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and a single Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) hovering over the verge. We spent the next few hours walking around the market picking up an Ikea bag full of fruit and veg (which weight a tonn, well a good few KGs anyway) before going for some lunch nearby. Around the market I was aware that there were a few small species flicking over including Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto). We drove back home and dropped food off before heading back out and heading to the agricultural areas above the Cacin Valley where we checked out the fields along several dirt tracks, in the area we recorded Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Thekla (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Calandra (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra) and Skylarks (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs). I was hoping to see a newly arrived Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius) but I was not lucky in the one Almond plantation where I went to look but I did see Woodlark (Totovia / Lullula arborea), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) and several Province Hairstreaks (Cardenillo / Tomares ballus) which were getting a battering in the strong breeze along with a single Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice).

From here we dropped down into the Pine woods along the side of the Rio Cacín where we made a short stop which was very productive with Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) being either seen or heard. Along the roadside below the pine trees we also spotted several spikes of Ophrys forestieri and in the air we saw a single Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychlorus) and several Large Whites (Pieris brassicae).

We continued on down to the Embalse and scanned the water and reed beds from the roadside adding Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) and a Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) which was in the dead trees in the water.In the air above the water there were good numbers of hirundines, most were Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris),but there was a good scattering of Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica). 

We again continued on down the valley and our next stop was at the gorge just above the Embalse de Bermejalis, here we had cracking views of a female Bonelli's Eagle (Aguila-azor / Hieraetus faciatus), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Long-tailed Tits (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) which was heard from deep down in the gorge and Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata).

Down at the Embalse we stopped at a bar and got an Icecream and scanned the water which apart from a flock of farmyard Geese and a single Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) was empty. 

We parked on the roadside a few Kms further on and scanned a low crag where Juan Perez and I had seen an Eagle Owl (Buho Real / Bubo bubo) and the bird was sat in the same hole but a little further back as the wind was quite cool, in the air above us we also had nice views of a passing Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) and on the rocks a male Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) could be heard singing.

Again we continued on to Ventas de Huelma and the across country to Castillo de Tajarja and started to head back towards home, on the way we had good views of a small colony of newly returned Lesser Kestrels (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni), Rock Pigeon (Paloma Bravia / Columba livia), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica).

Just before we got home we drove along the Arroya Vilano where we finished the day list off with Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta). 

The day List finished off at 72 species.