A morning of butterfly photography or not !!!
I dropped Jayne in the city and then headed up to the sierra and made my first stop at a spot just below the 2500 meter point and had a walk out in to one of the valleys. Here I saw Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Tawny Pipit (Bisbita campestre / Anthus campestris), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Ononis cristata, Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Jurinea humilis, Polygala boissieri and Minature Wild Plum (Prunus prostrata).
I then went up higher to where the barrier prvents furthe access and parked hoping to do a walk out along to the Hoya de San Juan but as I was hoping to photograph Butterflies and it was by now drizzling I decided I would be wasting my time. I decided to drop back down to a lower level and just as I set off it started to turn to sleet and then more to snow !!
I dropped back down to another small gully but only found Ptilotrichum spinosum, Erigeron frigidus, Eryngium glaciale as well as Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Great Tit (Carbonera 
Común / Parus major), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) and Spanish Ibex (Cabra pyreaica hispanica).
Común / Parus major), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) and Spanish Ibex (Cabra pyreaica hispanica).
Just out side the ski resort I made another quick stop but the cloud had again come over but I did find Robust Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza elata), Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), White Clover (Trifolium repens) and Marsh Violet (Viola palustris).
Further down still I stopped at the Botanical Gardens and as I walked around I found the first butterfly of the day an Idas Blue (Plebejus idas) which sat nicely but the light was awful so the shots were not great. I also saw Achillea ageratum, Salvia lavandulifolia, Corncockle (Agrostemma githago), Spanish Rusty Foxglove (Digitalis obscura), Pine-cone Knapweed (Leuzea Conifera) and loads more plant plus Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus
), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus).
), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus). 
My last stop of the day was on the old road in an area of rocky grassland surrounded by pine woodland where I saw Onosma tricerosperma subsp granatensis, White (Linum suffruticosum) and Large Blue Flax (Linum narbonense), Lizard Orchid (Himantoglosum hircinum) 
and when the sun came out for a few minutes Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), Clouded Yellow (Colias Común / Colias corcea), False Ilex (Querquera / Satyrium esculi) and Blue Spotted Hairstreaks (Mancha Azul / Satyrium spini), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Spanish Gatekeeper (Lobito listado / Pyronia bathsheba), Southern Mountain Argus (Aricia montensis), Great Banded Grayling (Rey Moro / Kanetisa circe), Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice), Zygaena sarpedon and Heliothea discoidaria both very smart day flying moths, Andalucian Wall Lizard (Podarcis vaucheri), Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and a singing Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus).
I then dropped back down into the city and spent the rest of the day with Jayne.
1 comment:
How lovely to read your post. We are just back from a family holiday near Malaga and I had a day walking in the Sierra Nevada looking for butterflies. I saw much the same as you, although the sun was shining when I went up from the barrier, so I saw Zullich's and Nevada Blues along with Aricia morronensis. Lower down I think I only saw cramera, but I find it difficult to tell it from Aricia montensis. Is there an easy way to tell them apart?
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