Sue´s Garden, Puerto de los Presillas, Grazalema crags and Sewage works, Near Sue´s at Sue´s again, Cadiz Province.

A walk in the mountains and some Dragon,s nearer to Sue´s.

Sam checking his bug pot.

During the earlier part of the morning I spent some time around the garden whilst Jayne and Sue had a good chat, down in the far paddock I soon relocated the family of Subalpine Warblers (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans) that I had seen yesterday and they were joined in the same Quince tree by a family of Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), a Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) and Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus).

Pistorinia hispanica.

On the opposite side of the patch there were some more mature trees and in this area I quickly located Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) and House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus).

Southern Campanula (Campanula velutina).

As things started to warm up some butterflies started to fly including Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina ), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), False Ilex Hairstreak (Satyrium esculi) and Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

Just after 10 Sam and Clive arrived and we all had a bit of a chat before Clive headed back to Grazalema and the four of us got sorted and went out for a walk along a track up towards a spot called Puerto de los Presillas where we were going plant hunting.

White Stonecrop (Sedum album).

Right by the place where we parked we were soon watching several species of Butterflies including Small (Thymelicus sylvestris), Marbled (Carcharodus lavatherae) and Lulworth Skippers (Thymelicus acteon), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis), Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto), Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) and an almost dead Fritillary which Sue rescued from a water trough which still needs a name but it was in such bad condition it will not be easy.

Sedum sediforme.

Plants seen in this area were Fragrant Bug Orchid (Orchis coriophora subsp Fragrans), Spanish Oyster Thistle (Scolymus hispanicus), Rabbits bread (Andryala integrifolia), St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum), White Flax (Linum suffruticosum) and Great Mullein (Verbascum giganteum). We continued on up the track until we reached a nice area of crags, on the way up we saw a family party of Firecrests (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), a Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax) being mobbed by a pair of Red-billed Choughs (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra).

Bitting Stonecrop (Sedum acre).

Plants included Pyramidal Orchid (Orquidea Pyramidal / Anacamptis pyramidalia), Candle-stick bugloss (Echium boissieri), Curry Plant (Helecrisum stoechaes), Grey-leaved Cistus (Cistus albidus), Iberis pectinata, Clinopodium vulgare subsp. arundanum, Mediterranean Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), Oleander (Nerium oleander), Pistorinia brevifolia, Sedum sediforme, White stonecrop (Sedum album), Pistorinia hispanica and Blue lettuce (Lactuca tenerrima). Butterflies were also seen and included most of the species seen earlier plus Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Large White (Pieris brassicae), Cardinal Fritillary (Pandora / argynnis Pandora), Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra), Clouded Yellow (Colias corcea) and Blue Spotted Hairstreak (Satyrium spini) which Sue saw but I missed.

Hoplia bilineata.

At the furthest point I did a bit of scrambling around on the rocks and eventually found a couple of the rare endemic Grazalema Poppy (Papaver rupifragum) and in the same area I also had Sedum brevifolium, Bitting Stonecrop (Sedum acre), Putoria (Putoria calabrica), Campanula specularioides, Cliffhanger (Chaenorhinum villosum) and Clematis (Clematis vitalba). We continued on a little way before turning around and returning to the car seeing Mountain Catchfly (Silene Andryalifolia), Rosy garlic (Allium roseum), Spiny Restharrow (Ononis spinosa), Rusty-back Fern (Ceterach officinarum), Reversed Clover (Trifolium resupinatum), Melancholy Toadflax (Linaria tristis) and Viper's Bugloss (Echium plantagineum).

Melancholy Toadflax (Linaria tristis).

From here we headed back through Grazalema to a bar near Sue and Sam´s but made a quick stop to photographs Southern Campanula (Campanula velutina). We had lunch and then went back up to there house, later I drove down to the sewage works nearer to Grazalema where I checked the rocks on the way down and saw males of both Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) before parking near the Rio Guadalete. On the pools I saw just two male Broad-bodied Chasers (Libellula depressa), several Blue-eye / Goblet-marked Damselflies (Erythromma lindenii), Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa), Iberian Water Frog (Rana Común / Rana Perezi) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Sam enjoying a sweet from the barman.

I moved on to another site not too far from the house where I saw Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis) and Summer Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes aestivalis). 

Trapdoor spider (Bothriocyrtum californicum).

After an hour or so I went back up to the house where we set up the Moth Trap, whilst we were doing this we saw or heard Bonelli's Eagle (Aguila-azor / Hieraetus faciatus), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), Jay, Short-toed Treecreeper, Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Trapdoor spider (Bothriocyrtum californicum) and Huntsman Spider (Eusprassus dufouri). Later we had a nice meal and settled down.