Cerro Hacho and Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A visit to the Puddle and then a walk with Juan Perez around the Fields at Huétor.

Ebird List for Hacho.

Ebird List for Huétor Fields.

Bramblings (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla).

I started by Going for a walk around the high loop which goes from the upper Car Park over the top of Hacho and down the Zig-zag track on the Northern side, as I walked I saw Broad-leaved Iris (Iris planifolia), the leaf rosettes of Man Orchids (Orchis anthropophora), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and a couple of Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) Male.

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) Male.

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) Male.

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) Female.

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) Male.

I got back to the car and dropped back to the lower Car Park where I set up by the puddle again and almost straight away there were good numbers of Finches and Buntings, which included 4x Bramblings (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), 15+ Siskin (Lúgano / Carduelis spinus), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) and Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).

Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra) Male.

Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra) Male.

Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra) Female.

Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra) Male.

Siskin (Lúgano / Carduelis spinus) Male.

Siskin (Lúgano / Carduelis spinus) Male.

Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) Female.

Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris) Male.

Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia).

Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia).

Other species included Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos),  Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and as usual a couple of Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros) Male.

White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis).

Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus).

Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus).

Later in the day I met up with Juan Perez to have a look around the fields so that he could catch up with a couple of species for year list, so we parked by the Lucerne Fields and started off with a Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) which is a bit of a local rarity and Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

We got into the car and drove around the fields looking for the immature Common Crane (Grulla Común / Grus grus) which had been around for a few days but we did not find it, however we did see Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Golden Plover (Chorlito Dorado Europeo / Pluvialis apricaia), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops).

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

We parked along the Lucerne fields and walked back towards the bar, as we walked Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) x3, Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) x1 and Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus) and in the other direction from the car Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), a Water Pipit (Bisbita Alpino / Anthus spinoletta), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) x2.