Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Sierra de Huétor, Granada Province.

Orchids, Birds and some good Butterflies.

Karen and Rob, Day Three.

Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhiza insularis).

I again picked Karen and Rob up from the Cortijo de Tajar and we headed out East along the A92 to the stunning mountains of the Sierra de Huétor just to the North of Sierra Nevada where we parked just off the Los Mimbres exit.

We started the day off with a walk through the pine woods and almost straight away we found good numbers of the beautiful Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhiza insularis) as well as quite a few over with Dense-flowered (Neotinea maculata) and a later nice population of the rarer Orchis Cazorlensis as we returned to the car.

As we walked on we saw and heard Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tits (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus).

Orchis Cazorlensis.

During the walk around this woodland we also had Mediterranean Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), Pitch Trefoil (Psoralea bituminosa), Spotted Rock Rose (Tuberaria guttata), Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca), Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena), Polygala boissieri, Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia) and Latticed Heath Moth (Chiasmia clathrata).
We moved on east to the Venta de Molinillo and along the Arroyo de Prado Negro where we walked just 800 meters but it took several hours whilst we searched for more butterflies. It was warming up and a few more species were on the wing including Spanish Marbled White (Medioluto Inés / Melanargia ines), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli), Knapweed (Melitaea phoebe), Provençal (Melitaea deione) and Queen of Spain Fritillaries, Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychlorus), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina ssp hispulla), Spanish Gatekeeper (Lobito listado / Pyronia bathsheba), Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri), Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice), my first Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) in Granada Province, Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Small White (Pieris rapae) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) which were all seen on the first meadow.

Orchis Cazorlensis

Birds seen during the walk included Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) which we only heard, Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Rock (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) and Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus) and several Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).
On the far meadows and along the Arroyo we had more butterfly species including both Provence (Anthocharis euphenodes) and Common Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Rosy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus onopordi), Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) and Clouded Yellow (Colias Común / Colias corcea).
We had a single Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) as well as a pair of Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes) which flew up into some poplars just before a couple of Golden Orioles also went into the same trees.
During the walk back we added Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Subalpine (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Red-rumped Swallow

Latticed Heath Moth (Chiasmia clathrata).

(Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus viridis) and Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus).

Queen of Spain Fritillary.

Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia).

We dropped back on to the motorway and stopped at the services on the way to Sierra de Alfacar where we had some lunch before checking out the area near to the Botanical gardens / arboretum where we walked a couple of tracks finding Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), Large Tortoiseshell, Provence and Common Orange-tip, Wood White as well as a pair of Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Lizard (Himantoglosum hircinum), Langes Orchids (Orchis langei), Sword-leaved Helleborine (Cephalanatera longifolia) and some not in flower yet Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum) Spikes.