Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Sad Hill, Hacians, Silos and La Yecla gorge, Burgos Province.

Friday 1 September 2017

Sad Hill, Hacians, Silos and La Yecla gorge, Burgos Province.

More of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly as well as a couple of other places.

Entrance to Sad Hill.

Today we were going to visit the Sad Hill cemetery again to show Barb the place and because it it rather a nice spot as well, before we set off I started my list off with Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus) and Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros) around Santi's house.

Over looking Sad Hill.

We drove up to the ridge above Sad Hill and spent some time taking photographs, I also picked up a Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) drift past with the Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and the ground was covered in the pink flowers of the Merendera pyrenaica.

The Center of Sad Hill.

We continued on down the far side of the ridge to the cemetery and had a good walk around and Santi repainted his grave post. whilst there and around the ancient Juniper trees I picked up several Whinchats (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Black Redstart, a male Common Redstart (Colirroja Real / Phoenicurus phoenicurus) which was a year tick, Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) as well as Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma), Spanish Chalk-hill Blue (Lysandra albicans), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus) and Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus).

Sad Hill.

From Sad Hill we went to a very nice village called Hacians to see the fossilised tree trunks and the castle, both of which were very interesting. Around the village I saw Small (Pieris rapae) and Bath Whites (Pontia daplidice), Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) and Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus).

Clint at the entrance.

After having a coffee in one of the bars we visited a pool nearby where saw Southern / Blue Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) and Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) before heading back to Santi's for some Lunch.

Barb at Sad Hill.

During the afternoon we spent sometime in the garden and I spent a while scanning the hillsides for raptors and picked up a second year tick when an adult Hobby (Alcotán Europeo / Falco subbuteo) flew along the valley over the village, 2x Egyptian Vulture (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus) soaring up with the masses of Griffon Vultures, Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata), Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli) and on the plants I found several Cardinal Fritillaries (Argynnis pandora), Comma (Polygonia c-album) and a Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli).

Merendera pyrenaica.

Later in the afternoon we went just up to La Yecla Gorge to walk the river path, during the walk I took some shots of the Griffon Vultures and saw another Booted Eagle and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Santi painting his grave post.

We returned to Silos and had a walk around to the Monastery to listen to the Gregorian chants before going for a couple or three beers in the village.