El Torcal and Laguna Grande, Malaga Province, Spain.

Rocks, Old fossils (other than Steve and Myself) as well as a few Dragons later.

Steve and Lynn, Day Eighteen.

 

Lynn and Steve on the edge.

We started the day with a drive out to El Torcal, a place Steve and Lynn had been once before a few years ago but saw nothing due to a thick layer of cloud, today was much better.

One of a few Ammonites out on the rock platform.

Shots of the view.

We started by walking out to the rocky shelf that gives spectacular views down to the coast or it does on a less misty day where we had views of several of the local Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) and Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia).

We walked around the area and found some of the Ammonites, some looking more genuine than others, I think it was the concrete dust that made us suspect they may have been tampered with.

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

We dropped down off this area and walked the short route back around to the Visitor Center, on the way we had Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), a single Honey Buzzard (Aberjero Europeo / Pernis apivorus), Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), European Plumbago (Plumbago europaea), Southern Gatekeeper (Pyronia cecilia), Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Bath White (Pontia daplidice) and a few Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

European Plumbago (Plumbago europaea).

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We returned to the car and on the way down stopped away from the other visitors and had our lunch and then a little further down Lynn and Steve checked out a mock up of a Dwelling down below the road, from here we headed back through Antequera and then along the motorway to Laguna Grande again to give me the chance to replace the photo's of the Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra) which I had lost due to a technical problem with one of the cards.

Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra) male.

Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra) male.

Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra) male.

Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra) male.

We arrived and after the last visit we came better prepared for the mud, I put my wellies on and Steve tied plastic bags around his feet which actually worked better than the wellies as there was less suction.

Blue-eye (Erythromma lindenii) teneral.

Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) female.

We went straight to the area where we had seen the Pennant a few days ago and we were soon getting some shot of this uncommon and very smart looking species.

Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra) female.

Other species seen included 138x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), 2x Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), 2x Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Blue / Common (Anax imperator) and Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope), Long (Orthetrum trinacria) and Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea) and Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Orange-winged (Trithemis kirbyi) and Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata), Blue-eye (Erythromma lindenii), Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) and Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum).