Sierra Nevada, Granada Province.

A visit to the Serra Nevada looking for Butterflies.

Kate and Jim Day Two.

Provence Orange-tip (Anthocharis euphenoides).

Kate, Jim and I headed out to El Purche on the lower Western slopes, we parked and searched a steepish flower covered slope and soon started to find some very nice species of butterfly including a cooperative Provence Orange-tip (Anthocharis euphenoides), several Provençal Fritillaries (Melitaea deione), Large (Pieris brassicae) and Small Whites (Artogeia rapae), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Southern (Polyommatus celina) and Lorquin's Blues (Cupido lorquinii), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) and Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).

Provençal Fritillary (Melitaea deione).

As we were photographing the Provence Orange-tip a pale phase Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus) circled above us, in the area we also had singing Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tits (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus).

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

Other species seen included 9100 Acontia lucida (Pale Shoulder), 5611 Synaphe Moldavica, Andalusian Storksbill (Erodium recorderi), Bitting Stonecrop (Sedum acre), Cliffhanger (Chaenorhinum villosum), Common Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum), Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), Dove's Foot Cranesbill (Geranium molle), Eruca (Eruca sativa), Ground-pine Germander (Teucrium pseudochamaepitys), Meadow Saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata), Mediterranean Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), Navel-wort (Omphalodes commutata), Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Purple Bugloss (Echium plantagineum), Rabbits bread (Andryala integrifolia), Rock phagnalon (Phagnalon rupestre), Southern Knapweed (Centaurea pullata ssp pullata), White Mignonette (Reseda Alba) and White Rockrose (Helianthemum apenninum). 

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

Our next stop was further up the hill at the botanical gardens where we walked down to the lower meadows and pools checking the many flowering plants as we went down.

Saxifraga erioblasta.

Almost straight away we had a very smart Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri) and a good many of the butterfly species already seen but lower down we saw an egg laying Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe), Southern Marbled Skipper (Carcharodus boeticus), Southern Gatekeeper (Pyronia cecilia) as well as Large Psammodromus (Lagartija colilarga / Psammodromus algirus) and Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica). 

Saxifraga erioblasta.

Wild flowers included Yellow Phlomis (Phlomis lychnitis), White stonecrop (Sedum album), Woad (Isatis tinctoria), Tassel Hyacinth (Muscari comosum), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Grey-leaved Cistus (Cistus albidus) and Curry Plant (Helecrisum stoechaes).

Onosma tricerosperma ssp granatensis.

Birds included Woodlark (Totovia / Lullula arborea), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major).

Linaria aeruginea subsp aeruginea.

We had spent quite a while in the gardens and had met up with Juan Jesus the warden at the site who very kindly gave Kate and Jim a lift back up the slope to the car, we then dropped back down and took the old road down towards Guejar-sierra.

Lange's Orchid (Androrchis langei).

Not far from the visitor Center we stopped on the roadside and photographed some smart wildflowers which included Linaria aeruginea subsp aeruginea, Saxifraga erioblasta, Blue Hedgehog Broom (Erinacea anthyllis) and Onosma tricerosperma ssp granatensis.

Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia).

We continued on down the hill a short way and parked on the roadside and searched a small area of rocky grassland where we had a single spike of Lange's Orchid (Androrchis langei), Saponaria ocymoides, Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia), Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto), Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) and European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster).

Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia).

We dropped further down the hill and made a stop near the river in the bottom of the valley, Jim and I had a stroll down to the water and found another Lesser Spotted Fritillary as well as a couple of Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia), a Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia) and Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina). 

Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia).

As well as Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Dipper (Mirlo Acuático / Cinclus cinclus) and several Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).

Lesser Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea trivia).

We then dropped back down past Granada and back to the house.