Hacho, Loja, Granada Province.

A couple more Orchids for the year.

Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum robertiana).

I went for a short walk into the Pine woodlands on the slopes of a small hill to the north of Loja called Hacho. In the woods there were a great number of leaf rossettes of the large and showy Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum robertiana), quite a lot were just coming in to flower but a few had there lower blooms aready on show. I don't think the dispaly will be quite a good as last year as there are far more blind rossettes this spring. I also saw several spikes of Ophrys fusca var foresteri but most of the lips had been eaten. Birds included Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Long-tailed (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) and Blue Tits (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus). In the same area there were hundreds of flowers of the common Broad leaved Iris (lirio de invierno / Iris planifolia) with lots of the white form of the plant flowering again this year.