Balsa de Rigedor, Granada Province.

A local trip with Jayne, Sue and Sam to look for some Dragonflies.

Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis).

We had a steady startand once we were all sorted we just popped down to a local pool along side the A92 to have a look for some dragonflies.

Common Pochards (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina).

We arrived and I was surprised to find a dozen or so Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) which were having an afternoon siesta in the dead trees along the margins, along with good numbers of Common Pochards (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Mallards (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis). Other birds seen included Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica). 

Female Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata).

In the water we also saw lots Stripe-necked Terrapins (Mauremys leprosa) and several Iberian Water Frogs (Rana Común / Rana Perezi). The only butterflies noted were several Speckled Woods (Pararge aegeria).

Male Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata).

The dragonflies were flying well but not settling often, there were several Lesser (Anax parthenope) and Blue / Common Emperors (Anax imperator), Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii),  Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea), Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), Iberian Blue-tail (Ischnura graellsii), Small Red-eyed (Erythromma viridulum), Blue-eye / Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii), Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) and a couple of Long Skimmers (Orthetrum trinacria).

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum).

We headed back home before it got too hot and spent the afternoon relaxing.