La Malaha and Cacín Valley, Granada Province.

Granada Wildlifes Tour of Eastern Andalucia and beyond.

Day Ten of Eleven.

A drive South and then a days birding in the Cacín Valley.

Spiny-footed Lizards (Acanthodactylus erythrurus).

We set off south after breakfast and drove south to Granada and then went birding in the area around a disused Cortijo near La Malaha where we soon found several Lesser Kestrels (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni), a pale phase Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Melodious Warbler (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Rock Pigeon (Paloma Bravia / Columba livia), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) as well as lots of Spiny-footed Lizards (Acanthodactylus erythrurus), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Small (Pieris rapae), Bath White (Pontia daplidice) and Black-veined Whites (Aporia crataegi), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) and Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

We moved on to an area of fields nearby and stopped on a roadside to check out an eagle on a pylon which turned out to be a Short-toed (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus). In this area and out on tracks nearby we picked up Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Calandra (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Thekla (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae) and Greater Short-toed Larks (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla) and more Hoopoes. 

Western Osprey (Águila Pescardora / Pandion haliaetus).

Again we moved on and checked out the road between Ventas de Huelma and Cacín, during this drive and a couple of walks we recorded a total of 6x Booted , 2x Golden (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) and 3x Short-toed Eagles (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Thekla Larks, Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Clouded Yellow and Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina).

Violet Dropwings (Trithemis annulata).

At the end of the road we checked out an area nearby where we picked up Bonelli's Eagle (Aguila Perdicera / Aquila faciatus), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia) and Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricapilla).

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum).

From this area we went up the valley to the Contra-embalse de Bermijalis finding it full of water and holding Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Sardinian Warblers (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), another Short-toed Eagle and a surprising Western Osprey (Águila Pescardora / Pandion haliaetus) which was first of all seen in a tree and then flew around the res before landing on dead trees in the center.

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

Further up the valley we stopped below the crags at Moraleda seeing Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).

Our last site visit was at Balsa de Regidor where we had a look for some Dragonflies and found Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), White Featherleg (Platycnemis latipes), Orange-winged (Trithemis kirbyi) and Violet Dropwings (Trithemis annulata), birds included 3x Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) and Melodious Warbler. 

We returned to the hotel and Jayne and I joined the group for a meal later in the evening which was very enjoyable, Thank you all.