Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Barranco del Anciano, near Padul, El Purche and the Old road down the Sierra Nevada, Granada Province, Spain.

Thursday, 19 May 2022

Barranco del Anciano, near Padul, El Purche and the Old road down the Sierra Nevada, Granada Province, Spain.

Back up in the mountains with Karen and Robert.

Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines).

We set off for another spot we had been given for the uncommon Spanish Fritillary (Euphydryas desfontainii) but this time we were not so lucky but we did see Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines) x3, Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes) x30+, Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) x6, Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x3, Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) x4, Small (Pieris rapae) x4 and Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri) x3, Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus) x2, Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) x45+ and Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba) 25+.

Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines).

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).

Birds and other species seen included Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) as well as Owlfly Libelloides baeticus, Small Woodcock Orchid (Ophrys picta), Yellow (Phlomis lychnitis) and Red Phlomis (Phlomis purpurea), White (Helianthemum apenninum) and Helianthemum angustatum, Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), Rosy Garlic (Allium roseum), Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum), Ground-pine Germander (Teucrium pseudochamaepitys) and Spanish Foxglove (Digitalis obscura).

Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes).

Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) female.

Spanish Foxglove (Digitalis obscura).

From here we wnt up the Sierra Nevada to a couple of spots near to El Purche, the first was a meadow area but it was quite butterfly wise and all we found were Painted Lady x4, Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) x2, Small Heath 10+ and Clouded Yellow x3.

Bug Orchid (Anacamptis coriophora).

The whole time we were there we could hear a Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) singing from the Oaks above us and down in the valley below there were a group of Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) were feeding in the grass where I also found several spikes of Bug Orchid (Anacamptis coriophora).

Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes).

As we returned to the car we found singles of both Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) and Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina) before we went just down the road to a grassy slope along the roadside, again it was quiet but we found a mating pair of Panoptes Blue x3 in total, our first and only Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) x1, Painted Lady x3, Small White (Pieris rapae) x2, Clouded Yellow x3 and a passing pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus).

Lorquin's Blue (Cupido lorquinii).

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

We drove up towards the Visitors Centre having a Coffee on the way, we parked and found 3x Lorquin's Blue (Cupido lorquinii), 8x more Panoptes, a Black-eyed Blue (Glaucopsyche melanops) x1 and 3x Small Whites.

Sword-leaved Helleborine (Cephalanathera longifolia).

Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhias insularis).

We started to make our way down the Old road calling at a regular spots on the way back around to Granada, before we finished the day by adding Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) x1, Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) x1, Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) x8, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius) x2, Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) x1, Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) x2, Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) x2, Sword-leaved Helleborine (Cephalanathera longifolia), Barton's (Dactylorhias insularis) and Lizard Orchid (Himanthoglosum hircinum).