Up the Hill a bit higher than usual looking for butterflies.
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Looking down from the Butterfly Site.
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I met Anita just outside the city and we headed up to the Ski center, not a place I like as generally it is untidy and the slopes are not much better as the damage done by the resort on the mountain and it wildlife is massive. There are also proposals to make the area larger, less snow for a shorter period every year and they want to destroy more of the National Park, Crazy.
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| Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe) immature. |
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Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe) immature.
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Once we were out on the slopes we walked out towards the Observatorio del Pico Veleta / Estación, along the way we saw several
Northern Wheatears (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe) including adult and immature birds and had a single passing
Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).
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| Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus). |
On our way up the first slope we saw the first of many
Nevada Blues (Pleicula golgus), several Spanish Brassy Ringlets (Erebia hispania), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) which seemed to be quite common and fresh.
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Erodium cheilanthifolium,
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We walked up the slopes seeing more
Spanish Argus as well as
Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina),
Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia),
Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron),
Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua),
Bath White (Pontia daplidice) and
Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae).
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Anita photographing the Spanish Argus butterflies.
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Up around the Observatoriowe continued our search for the main target but we didn't find any sign of the
Zullich's Blue (Agriades zullichi) so it will be one for next year.
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| Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron). |
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| Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia). |
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| Spanish Brassy Ringlet (Erebia hispania). |
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| Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis). |
We started to drop back down to the cable car, on the way we had a couple of
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica), a family party of
Alpine Accentors (Acentor Alpino / Prunella collaris), plenty of
Linnets (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus),
House (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and
Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris),
Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) and a couple of Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Roquero Roja / Monticola saxatilis) a male and an immature which sat up for a few seconds. |
| Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica). |
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| Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica). |
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| Alpine Accentor (Acentor Alpino / Prunella collaris). |
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| Alpine Accentor (Acentor Alpino / Prunella collaris). |
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| Alpine Accentor (Acentor Alpino / Prunella collaris). |
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| Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Roquero Roja / Monticola saxatilis). |
We dropped down on the Cable Car and then went down the hill to the area of grassland next to the Botanical gardens, we spent a while checking the thistles and vegetation finding Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora), Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris),
Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra),
Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous),
Blue Spotted Hairstreak (Satyrium spini),
Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi),
Bright Wave (Idaea ochrata) and
Idaea sericeata.
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