Near Home, Huétor Tajar, Granada Province, Spain.

A walk through the Olives.

 

Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata).

I went for a local walk today after spending a good morning in the Garden painting the back of the house (Well part of it) and as usual the first part of the walk amongst the dead zone Olives and the only thing of note were a lot of spike of Ornithogalum narbonense but little else.

Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis).

Things changed quickly once I crossed the second Barranco which just had a slight flow of water in it, on the south bank there were clumps of Garden Anchusa (Anchusa azurea), Field marigold (Calendula arvensis), Mallow-leaved Convolvulus (Convolvulus althaeoides), Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) and all over the vegetation here there were lots of Clytra quadripunctata.

Clytra quadripunctata.

In the top of the reeds there was a singing Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) which is not a species I see here often but more expected were good numbers of Turtle Doves (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur) and a singing Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos).

Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto).

Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto).

On the back on the Northern side of the Barranco I found several species of Butterfly including Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto), Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Small White (Pieris rapae), Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina) and the first of lots of Clouded Yellows (Colias corcea).

Clouded Yellow (Colias corcea).

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

As I walked through the Olive towards the Montefrio road there was a constant flow of Painted Lady's (Vanessa cardui), a good few Bath Whites (Pontia daplidice) and a Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius).

Green-Striped White (Euchloe belemia).

False Mallow / Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus tripolinus / alceae).

Bath White (Pontia daplidice).

Wild flowers in bloom included Blue Hound's Tongue (Cynoglossum creticum), Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum), Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), Corn (Papaver rhoeas) and Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum), Annual Scorpion vetch (Coronilla scorpioides) and Bellardia trixago. 

9100 Acontia lucida (Pale Shoulder).

In the Olives I added Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), lots of day flying 9100 Acontia lucida (Pale Shoulder) and 9056 Autographa gamma (Silver Y) Moths and a very grey large Bee-fly.

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).

Right at the far end of the track I found several new plants in the corn field including Pallenis  (Pallenis spinosa), Henbit Deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule), Mallow-leaved Storksbill (Erodium malacoides) and Serrate Spurge (Euphorbia serrata).