Cacín Valley, Granada Province, Spain.

A couple of hours down the valley as far as the Embalse de Cacín.

 

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

I drove down to the Embalse de Cacín just to get out for a couple of hours and clear my head a bit. I arrived and found that the water level was down a bit and some of the muddy margins held a few waders including 10x Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), 5x Green Sandpipers (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago) x8, Little Ringed (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) x2 and Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula) x1.

Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum).

Out on the water there were still some duck but the numbers were lower, there were around 20x Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), 6x Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), 14x Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) and Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus). 

Adonis aestivalis subsp squarrosa.

In the air and around the margins I had a fine male Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) flying over the pines, a couple of calling Common Buzzards (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), at least 3 Pallid Swifts (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), quite a few House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica).

Euphorbia species.

I walked down towards the lake and along to the Northern end finding Yellow Bee (Ophrys lutea) and Mirror Orchid (Ophrys speculum), Adonis aestivalis subsp squarrosa, Hoary Cress (Lepidium draba), White Mignonette (Reseda Alba), Spiked Fumitory (Platycapnos spicatus), Shepherds Needles (Scandix pecten-veneris), Tassel Hyacinth (Muscari comosum), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum), Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca), Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum) and Field marigold (Calendula arvensis).

Hoary Cress (Lepidium draba).

Other species seen included several Butterflies, Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri), Spanish Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli), Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina), Clouded Yellow (Colias corcea) and Provence Orange-tip (Anthocharis euphenodes).

Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea).

Other birds included Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius).

I drove just up the road to the bridge over the Rio Cacín where I walked to the bridge and then to the dam, on the way I had views of  Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla) and Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos) x3.

Shrubby Gromwell (Lithodora fruticosa).

I returned to the car but decided to walk along the road toward El Turro adding Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and my first Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla) of the year which was calling from along the Rio and I only managed brief views.

Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus).

Also seen during this part of the walk were Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus), Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) and a Shrubby Gromwell (Lithodora fruticosa).

I moved on and headed home across the fields near Moraleda, on the way through I added House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae) and Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis).