Huetor Fields and Sierra de Loja, Granada Province.

A return to the fields and back to the Sierra after a long break.

Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

We started off the day with a walk along one of the trails out from the town where we started the day list with Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), House (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrows (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus) all sat on a chainlink fence with a female Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra) in the Corn behind them.

Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

As we walked along we soon added Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and out on the fields to our left we had a good number of Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

First train through Huetor in a while.

Further on we had several flights of Woodpigeons (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) which dropped down onto the same fields as the Stone Curlews, Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Yellow Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), a calling Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and 21 Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) which merged in on fields.

Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Sylvia conspicillata).

At the furthest point of the track we had a flighty Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and in a distant tree an immature Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) and a male Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala).

Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Sylvia conspicillata).

We turned around and retraced our way back towards the car but kept adding species all the way including Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Short-toed (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis) and good numbers of European Bee-eaters (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) which were passing over high.

Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata).

Our next stop was out on the Eastern side of the area where we walked along a reed filled ditch and a fallow field which was full of reeds as well, we added Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica) and Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) and nearby on a more open stretch of the Arroyo Vilano a Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) and a flyby Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis).

Black-eared Wheatear (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica).

We turned around and crossed the site again heading for Loja but made a stop picking up Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and a Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) on the way.

Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae).

we accessed Sierra de Loja via the Salar track and crossed through to Loja adding quite a few new species for the day and trip list including Black-eared (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica), Black (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Sylvia conspicillata), Iberian / Southern Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Mistle (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), a single Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Common Redstart (Colirroja Real / Phoenicurus phoenicurus), Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus viridis), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) and just as we started to drop down along the crags a huge shape flew up off some rocks to our left and soared up above us, this Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) gave Ron the chase he had missed on the first day.

Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) in a moody sky towards the end of the day.

We dropped down to the pine woods and stopped for one final time and added quite a few nice woodland species to the list including Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata). 

Also seen during the drive across the mountain we also saw Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus), Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus), lots of Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) and Oriental Meadow Brown (Hyponephele lupinnus).

Thanks to Bona and Ron for three very enjoyable days in their company and I hope you enjoyed the 117 species as much as I did.