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Wednesday 21 October 2020

Sierra de Loja, Granada Province, Spain.

A wet visit to the Sierra, my first in 18 months.
 
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Cabra pyreaica).

Monica, Ed and Myself drove up the Sierra, the weather was not very good so we decided to drive straight out to the furthest point on the Sierra Gordon side of the area, on the way we had quite a few Thekla Larks (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Red-billed Choughs (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), lots of Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), more than expected Black Wheatears (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and at least 4 Northern's (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe).
Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata).
We reached the crags where we checked the areas of Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) bushes where we had views if not brief of several Ring Ouzels (Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus), as well as a few Blackbirds (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and Black Redstarts (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros). I do not expect the thrushes to hang around very long as the erry supple was almost all gone already and can only guess there were not many to begin with.
Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata).
We turned around and at that point we had a few
Rock Sparrows (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), a single Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and a Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) which was feeding in a sheltered spot by one of the Goat herders houses.
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Cabra pyreaica).
We went back down the hill passed Charca del Negro and then turned right and started to take our way towards the village of Salar so that we could check the other area of Hawthorn bushes but found even less berries and no birds. 
Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe).

We continued on and had superb views of a large group of 30 or so male Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Cabra pyreaica) which just leasurly wandered up a slope infront of us and away, as we dropped down the hill we picked up Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Common Redstart (Colirroja Real / Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and then in the more wooded areas Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) and Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca).
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Cabra pyreaica).
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Cabra pyreaica).
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Cabra pyreaica).

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