Mirador de Hondonera, Villanueva del Rosario and Salinas, Malaga Province, Spain.

Up on the windy hill and then out on the baking fields. 

Steve and Lynn, Day Five.

 

Chapman's Blue (Polyommatus Thersites).

We set off along the A92 and went up through Rosario on to the tracks out towards the Mirador but we first stopped at an area of grassland on the way up and dropped down below it to what had been a pool a couple of months ago but was now just dry cracked mud which was covered in Horse Mint (Mentha longifolia) and Penny Royal (Mentha pulegium) which in turn were covered in several species of butterfly.

Chapman's Blue (Polyommatus Thersites).

The best of these were both male and female Chapman's Blues (Polyommatus Thersites), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua), Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) and Tree Grayling (Neohipparchia statilinus).

Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina).

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus).

In the brambles surrounding the dry pool we had a couple of Migrant Spreadwings (Lestes barbarus) and in the more general surroundings Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) and Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula).

Migrant Spreadwing (Lestes barbarus).

We moved on up to the main Mirador but as with everything I have been there it was blowing a hoolie but we still had a walk down into the dip below the car park where we saw several of the species seen earlier but added Small White (Pieris rapae), a Grasshopper species that still needs a name, Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus) and a couple of Rock Buntings (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia).

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Trichodes leucopsideus.

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We dropped back down to Rosario and made our way to an area near Salinas where we looked for Dragonflies, on the way there we saw Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea) and Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata).

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens).

Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma).

We parked on the side of the new railway line and checked out an area of water where a pipe has been leaking for several years now and as formed a pool finding Epaulet (Orthetrum chrysostigma) and Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens), Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) and Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).

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Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea)  Young female.

Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) Middle aged female.

Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) Old Female.

Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) Old Female.

Nearby we parked again and checked the roadside ditches where we had more Migrant Spreadwings, Keeled Skimmers and Scarlet Darters as well as Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum), White Featherleg (Platycnemis latipes), Bath White (Pontia daplidice) and an unidentified Hoverfly type thing.

European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster).

European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster).

Birds included European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Feral (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia) and Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) and Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata).