Cerro Hacho, Loja, Granada Province, Spain.

5 species of Orchid on the walk.

Second Lock down Day 46, released to Provincial area.

 

Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus).

Today I went for a walk around the loop of Hacho which took me around the quarry, as soon as I got out of the car I was being shouted at by a pair of Crested Tits (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus) which for some reason were not at all happy with me for being there so I parked a little further along the track just too keep them happy.

Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus).

Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus).

In the same area I also had a singing Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) and a singing Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra).

Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum Robertiana).

Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum Robertiana).

Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum Robertiana).

In the pine woods I spent quite a while taking pictures of several Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum Robertiana) spikes to show the different colour forms that were possible to see.

Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum Robertiana).

Mixed in there I also found good numbers of Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys fusca / foresteri) which also showed a good variation as well.

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys fusca / foresteri).

In the pines I also heard or saw Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula).

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys fusca / foresteri).

I continued on around the loop and had a Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) land on the track so I dropped down to its level and was stretched out on the track when a poor guy on a mountain bike came screaming around the corner and found me lying there. 

Somber Bee Orchid (Ophrys fusca / foresteri).

Thankfully he saw me quickly but unfortunately only had one option which was to bail into the track side bushes.

Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).

Thankfully the guy was OK and his bike was fine and he had a good sense of humor and came out of the bushes apologizing to me and laughing, he also spoke good English which helped to explain what I was doing and he then spent a while looking through my photo's on the back of the camera.

Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).

Anyway after this near miss I continued on finding a very smart Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina) var. flavescens and a short way further on along the track I found several spikes of the more normal version of the Fan-lipped Orchid.

Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).

Along the Northern side of the Quarry I picked up Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa).

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

Along this side of the area I also found my first Southern Early Purple Orchids (Orchis olbienis), most were still in bud but I found a single plant with some open flowers, in the same area there were lots more Somber Bee Orchid as well as a few more Giants. 

Southern Early Purple Orchid (Orchis olbienis).

I reached the end of the track and walked along the road down to the track back up to the car, on the way I added Broad-leaved Iris (Iris planifolia), Field marigold (Calendula arvensis), Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum) and my first Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

I reached the car and the Crested Tits had moved along the road and gave me more abuse as I put my kit away, I then headed back home.