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Thursday 17 October 2019

Venta de Zafarraya, Malaga/Granada Provinces.

A morning with the Axarquia Bird Group.

I drove down to Zafarraya via Salar and the tracks to the meeting  point on the old railway line car park. On the way down I started off my list with Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), 
Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) and Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto).
I met Bob Wright, the leader of the group at the start point and we first sorted out a bit of Camera equipment before the rest of the group arrived.
Once everyone was there we started off along the old railway line and before we had reached the tunnel we had views of Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura), Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Common Kestrel, Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Goldfinch, Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and just as we entered the tunnel several Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).
On the far side of the tunnel we had a second Blue Rock Thrush, more Black Wheatear, Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Thekla Lark,  House Sparrow and by some derelict  railway buildings there several patches of Thyme which had Clouded Yellow (Colias Común / Colias corcea),  Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides baeticus), Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous) and Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) nectaring on then.
In the same area there was quite a bit of Blue lettuce (Lactuca tenerrima) and on the crags a couple of Spanish Ibex.