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Friday 17 May 2019

El Torcal, Nacimiento del Río de la Villa, Arroyo Marin, Malaga Province.

A mixed day weather wise, blown inside out at El Torcal but a little warmer along the Marin Valley.
Karen and Rob, Day Two.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria).
I again picked Karen and Rob up again and we headed out to the West and up on to El Torcal but soon found out that conditions were less than perfect and once out of the car finding butterflies was soon forgotten as we concentrated more on trying to stay on our feet in the breeze.
Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena).
We left the visitors centre carpark after Karen got some view shot and dropped down to the lower areas where we parked on the roadside and had a scan picking up Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Subalpine (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans) and Orphean Warbler (Curruca Mirlano / Sylvia hortensis) which were both heard singing by the view point, Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes) and on the grassy areas spikes of Lizard (Himantoglosum hircinum) and Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalia).
Rosy garlic (Allium roseum).
We dropped over the ridge to the Antequera side and made a stop at the Nacimiento del Río de la Villa where we had a walk along the road from the car park back towards the lake seeing a distant Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica),  Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and a family of Common Crossbills (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra). 
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Eventually it warmed up and we found several Spanish Gatekeeper (Lobito listado / Pyronia bathsheba), Spanish Marbled White (Medioluto Inés / Melanargia ines), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) as well as a fine looking Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena), Rosy garlic (Allium roseum) and an unnamed Dianthus species.
We also heard and saw Perez's Frogs (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa).
Dianthus Species.
We walked back to the car again and then made our way to Archidona where we had a coffee whilst the bar knocked up some sandwiches for us before dropping down in to the valley of the Arroyo Marin.
Broomrape Species.
We parked at the start of the valley and had a walk through the river side meadow and then down on to the lower track but it was a struggle butterfly wise with only Small White (Pieris rapae), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) and Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). 
Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe).
We did however have a few bird species including a heard only Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Nightingale, Cetti's Warbler, Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Serin, Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula),  Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Sardinian and Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and at the point where I popped back to collect the car several Iberian  Magpies (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki).
Rosy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus onopordi).
I got back to Karen and Rob who had seen a Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes) on the track and we had our lunch before walking on a short way along the valley but apart from an elusive calling Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and a Broomrape species it was quiet so we turned around and as it had warmed up a bit we went back to the meadow.
Rosy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus onopordi).
The three of us wandered around this area for quite a while and it paid off when Karen found both Rosy Grizzled (Pyrgus onopordi) and Oberthür's Grizzled Akipper (Pyrgus armoricanus) near a big patch of horse poooooooooo.
Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon).
In the same area we had rather tatty Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) and Green-Striped White (Euchloe belemia) and a smarter Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon), after getting shots of the we walked back to the car and then headed back in to the hotel to end the second day.
Green-Striped White (Euchloe belemia).










1 comment:

Nick Morgan said...

I was in El Torcal and Antequera in April and saw some very different butterflies. There is a report on my blog.