Arroyo Marin, Mirador Del Alto De Hondonero, Mollina and Fuente de Piedra, Malaga Province, Spain.

A days Birding and Butterfly hunting with two Andy's.

Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula).

Andy Mountford and I headed out West into Malaga Province, our first stop was in the wooded Marin Valley where we parked right at the start by the quarry and walked along the main track above the Arroyo.

Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas).

Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum).

In the area around the Quarry we started the list with Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes).

Dense-flowered Orchid (Neotinea maculata).

Further along the track we saw and heard several singing Bonelli's Warblers (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and a flyby Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus).

An extreamly tatty, muddy Black-eyed Blue (Glaucopsyche melanops) ID by Ed MacKrill.

Along the track side banks we found Dense-flowered (Neotinea maculata), Mirror (Ophrys speculum) and Yellow Bee Orchids (Ophrys lutea) along with Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum), Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris), Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens), Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), Corn (Papaver rhoeas) and Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum), Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum baeticum), Pitch Trefoil (Psoralea bituminosa), Ground-pine Germander (Teucrium pseudochamaepitys), Hoary Cress (Lepidium draba), Hollow Stemmed Asphodel (Asphodelus fistulosus), Purple Bugloss (Echium plantagineum), Southern Knapweed (Centaurea pullata), Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Mallow-leaved Convolvulus (Convolvulus althaeoides), Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) and Ramping Fumitory (Fumaria capreolata).

Southern Early Purple Orchid (Orchis olbienis) with a Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia), both having seen better days.

Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera).

Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychlorus) looking a bit rough.

We turned around and then dropped down onto the track along side the Arroyo and continued on to the bridge adding Melodious Warbler (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and at least 3 Painted Lady's (Vanessa cardui).

Pink Butterfly Orchid (Orchis papilionacea).

We returned to the car and drove over to Mirador Del Alto De Hondonero, a spot above the town of Villanueva del Rosario where we walked down into an area of grassland with a few pools and scattered Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) trees where we were looking for Butterflies but as in most places due to the weather over the last few weeks they were few and far between.

Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus).

However we did find Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia) x1, Provence Orange-tip (Anthocharis euphenodes) x4, Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) x2, Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) x1, Large White (Pieris brassicae) 2, Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychlorus) x1 and Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) x3.

Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus).

As we walked around the site we also added Western Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans) just as we bumped into Andy Tweedy, the warbler putting me on 299 for the year.

Black Tern (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger).

We had a chat with Andy and he had been equally unsuccessful with the butterflies but he had found a nice flower meadow amongst the rocky areas so we followed him there and added Black-eyed Blue (Glaucopsyche melanops) x1 and Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina) x3.

Black Tern (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger).

Black Tern (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger).

We carried on through the scrub finding Pink Butterfly Orchid (Orchis papilionacea) on our way up to Andy's car, he gave us a lift up to our car and we then checked the meadow again whilst Andy M did some birding around the view point adding Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) which was a sight better than Andy T and I did as all I added sere a few past their best Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei).

After a while I walked back up to Andy M and we headed for Fuente de Piedra, later Andy T sent me a picture of a Spanish Fritillary (Euphydryas desfontainii) he had seen briefly before it disappeared.

Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris).

We arrived at Fuente seeing the Barn Owl (Lechuza Común / Tyto alba) which was sat in amongst the Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) in the tower and then scanned the pool on the way in finding a good selection of birds including at least 8 Black Terns (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger) which were my 300th species for the year along with Whiskered Terns (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus) x2, Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei) x1, Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus),  Common (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) and Curlew Sandpiper (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus) and Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax).

Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris).

We parked and walked out to the board walk but it was quiet and we only added a calling but unseen Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius), Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and a calling Willow Warbler (Mosquitero Musical / Phylloscopus trochillus) as well as at least 5 Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) x1 and Perez's Frogs (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).

Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta).

Up at the Mirador we saw lots more Greater Flamingo's, Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta), Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula), Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluvialis squatarola) and around the back in the hide over looking the freshwater pool we saw White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Black-necked (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis) and Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) and we finished off back at the Mirador where we managed to pick up the Lesser Flamingo's (Flamenco Enano / Phoenicopterus minor) before heading back to the house.

Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).