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Sunday 9 April 2023

Sierra de Loja and Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A days birding up my favorite mountain with Katrina and Dave.
Ebird List for the Sierra.
Ebird List for the Fields.
 
I met Katrina and Dave at the bottom of the hill but we were soon on our way up and heading out to the furthest point, on the way we saw the first of quite a few Rock Buntings (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Black-eared Wheatears (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica), Thekla Larks (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Red-legged Partridges (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) and Common Stonechats (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata).
Black-eared Wheatear (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica).
Black-eared Wheatear (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica).
We also saw smaller numbers of Northern Wheatears (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Linnets (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) as well as 9 well behaved Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica) which showed very well.
Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) female beating a lizard to death.
Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) female beating a lizard to death.
We reached the far crags and set up the scope and started to scan the tops of the rock faces and we soon picked up the first of a few
Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura), good numbers of Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia) and then quite quickly one after the other Rufous-tailed (Roquero Roja / Monticola saxatilis) and Blue-rock Thrushes (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius).
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).
We continued on a short way and checked out the Hawthorn bushes finding a singing
Western Orphean Warbler (Curruca Mirlona / Sylvia hortensis), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and Common stork's bill (Erodium ciconium). 
Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).
As we turned around a nice pair of Woodchat Shrikes showed for us and as we headed back down towards Charca del Negro we had a second male Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, two more Blue Rock Thrushes, a female Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) and just a single flower of Erodium cheilanthifolium.
Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).
We reached Charca del Negro and had some lunch whilst watching 3 Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) drift passed, Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), once we had finished we went for a walk to the crag where we found the dried flowers of Narcissus bugei, along with Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina), Bath White (Pontia daplidice) and in the Charca several Sharp-ribbed Salamander (Pleurodeles waltl).
Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica).
A little bit further down the hill we made another stop at a small roadside dell were we saw another 3 Spanish Festoons, Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe), Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), Viola dementria and a nice clump of not quite in flower Wild Peony (Paeonia broteri).
One of the three Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).
Again we continued on down, as we drove Katrina spotted a superb looking Ocellated Lizard (Timon lepidus) sun bathing on a rock, we also saw a Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) which was also sat up catching a few ray and a Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis).
Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina).
Down at the middle quarry we did a walk back down the track where we saw Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Bonelli's (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Dartford (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Sylvia conspicillata), Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea), Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum baeticum), Tassel Hyacinth (Leopoldia comosa), White Asphodel (Asphodelus macrocarpus) and Wild Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris).
Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina).
We returned to the meeting point and then headed over to Huétor Fields, here we drove the Arroyo and then visited the Lucerne fields adding Iberian (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Common Magpies (Urraca / Pica pica),  Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra), Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) and at least 4 Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) which included 2 adult males, 1 2cy male and a single female.
Erodium cheilanthifolium.
We headed back to the town and Katrina and Dave headed off and I popped back up to the fields for a short walk but didn't add anything new.

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