Sierra de Huetor, Granada Province, Spain.

A cracking day in the Sierra's.

Pam and John, Day Seven.

 

Pam with her Lemon and Ginger Tea and an Avacardo and tomato Toast.

We started the day with breakfast in Huétor at bar Florida, Pam and John were getting to quite like the Coffee / Tea and Tostada's.

John with his tostada con tomate and a coffee.

After a very nice breakfast we headed up the A92 to Sierra Huétor, on the way we had a couple of Alpine Swifts (Vencejo Real / Apus melba) whizz across the motorway.

Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera).

Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe).

We arrived at our first spot of the morning at Ventas de Molino and we walked up along side the Rio seeing and hearing Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus).

Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora).

Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora).

As we walked up we didn't see many insects but towards the far end it had warmed up and a few bits were flying including just a single Banded Damoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) x5, Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) x2, Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) x3, Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) x8, Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) x12, Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) x8, Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) x4 and Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) x11.

Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).

Small White (Pieris rapae).

We reached a nice patch of thistles at the furthest point where we had our first Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora) x2, Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines) x4, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) x3, a mating pair of Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum) x5 and the Owlfly Libelloides baeticus.

Common Blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathinerum).

 Libelloides baeticus.

As we walked back towards the car we had another Cardinal x1, Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) x12, Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathsheba) x8, Large (Pieris brassicae) x1 and Small White (Pieris rapae) x2 and a Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) x5 before we returned to Pam and moved a short distance back along the motorway to another area of the Sierra.

Orchis cazorlensis.

Orchis cazorlensis.

We parked in some shade and left Pam to do some painting, we followed one of the many tracks through the Pine woodlands where we had great views of a Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), as well as Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus) and Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), a Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) and several past their best spikes of Orchis cazorlensis.

Wood White (Leptidea sinapis).

Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli).

St Bernard's lily (Anthericum liliago).

We walked back to Pam but carried on passed here along the main track to a more open rocky area where we found Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes) x9, Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) x5, Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) x3, Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) x7, Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalia), lots of over with Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhias insularis) and Dense-flowered Orchid (Neotinea maculata), St Bernard's lily (Anthericum liliago), Southern Knapweed (Centaurea pullata), Southern Red Bartsia (Parentucellia latifolia), Wild Gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus), Yellow Phlomis (Phlomis lychnitis), Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena) and Ground-pine Germander (Teucrium pseudochamaepitys).

Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum).

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi).

Our next stop was a late lunch before heading up into the Sierra Alfacar where we parked at the Botanical Gardens and walked up a couple of track fron the Car Park where we added Provence (Anthocharis euphenodes) x1 and Common Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) x2, Rock Grayling (Hipparchi alcyone) x2, Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) x1 along with a few nice Orchid species starting with half a dozen spikes of Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum), a few Lange's Orchids (Androrchis langei) and three spikes of the locally rare Red Heleborine (Cephalanthera rubra) which for me was find of the day.

Red Heleborine (Cephalanthera rubra).

Red Heleborine (Cephalanthera rubra).

Red Heleborine (Cephalanthera rubra).

Red Heleborine (Cephalanthera rubra).