Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Sierra de Loja, Granada Province and Laguna Grande, Arroyo Marin and Guadalhorce, Malaga Province.

Tuesday 23 May 2017

Sierra de Loja, Granada Province and Laguna Grande, Arroyo Marin and Guadalhorce, Malaga Province.

Granada Wildlifes Tour of Eastern Andalucia and beyond.

Day Eleven of Eleven, The last day of the tour, catching up with a few species locally.

Southern Marbled Skipper (Carcharodus boeticus).

The group checked out at the Cortijo de Tajar and we all headed off up onto the lower slopes of Sierra de Loja and started off by checking the Oaks below the motorway and then the track up to the quarry where we picked up Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Western Orphean (Curruca Mirlano / Sylvia hortensis), Spectacled (Curruca Tomillera / Sylvia conspicillata), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Bonelli's Warblers (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax),

Small White (Pieris rapae).

Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) and Blue Tits (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) were also seen.

Nick looking for the Iberian Magpies.

On the track below the quarry we also recorded Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta), Moroccan Orange-tip (Anthocharis belia), Southern Marbled Skipper (Carcharodus boeticus), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes), Spanish (Pyronia bathsheba) and Southern Gatekeepers (Pyronia cecilia), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), False Ilex Hairstreak (Satyrium esculi) and Small White (Pieris rapae).

Clouded Yellow (Colias Común / Colias corcea).

From the hill we dropped down and then drove a short way along the motorway to Laguna Grande, we parked and then scanned the pool which had more water in it than expected so we scanned and picked up Great Crested (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) and Little Grebes (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) and Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus). In the trees and overhead we added Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes), Alpine (Vencejo Real / Apus melba) and Pallid Swifts (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus) and Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur).

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).

On the track I also found a very smart Common Golden Ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii subsp algirica) which was cruising up and down the track but eventually landed and allowed me take a couple of shot but only through the 400mm. We also saw Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum), Clouded Yellow (Colias corcea) and Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum).

We again moved and spent and hour or so at Arroyo Marin before we dropped down to the airport, during the walk through the woods we found Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) along with more Hawfinches, Serin, Spotted Flycatcher, Short-toed Treecreeper, Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).

Common Golden Ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii subsp algirica).

At the airport John, Pam, Mike and Judy picked up a hire vehicle and headed out towards Ronda and Mike, Nick, Lynda and I went and had a quick look down at Guadalhorce, on the sea we picked up 3x Common Scoters (Negrón Común / Melanitta nigra), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica) and on the reserve Black-winged Stilt, Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata).