Ainso Valley, Aragón, Spain,

Our final day in the Pyrenees, a new site for me with some great birds.

Ebird List for Puértolas.

Looking up at the Vulture Crags.

We were up and around quite early and headed out east again, before we left I saw Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli) and Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Egyptian Vulture (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus) the first of three Vulture species from the first stop on the way up.

Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture (Quebrantahuesos / Gypaetus barbatus).

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

We headed for the abandoned village of Garganta de Escuain where the only place open was a visitor's center where you can get information about the wildlife in the area, on the way we saw and heard Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Red (Milano Real / Milvus milvus) and Black Kites (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Red-backed Shrike (Alcaudón Dorsirrojo / Lanius collurio) and Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).

Watching the raptors.

Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture (Quebrantahuesos / Gypaetus barbatus).

Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture (Quebrantahuesos / Gypaetus barbatus).

Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture (Quebrantahuesos / Gypaetus barbatus).

Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture (Quebrantahuesos / Gypaetus barbatus).

A few KMs before we reached the village we pulled off the road to check a couple of Raptors which were another couple of Common Buzzards but whilst there we also had fly over Griffon and Egyptian Vulture (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus), Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus), Red Kite and our first of a few Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture (Quebrantahuesos / Gypaetus barbatus).

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Large White (Pieris brassicae).

Turquoise Blue (Polyommatus dorylas).

Provençal Fritillary (Melitaea deione).

Also seen were Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bonelli's Warbler, Nightingale, Carrion Crow and Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax).

Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata).

Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata).

Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera).

Lesser Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera bifolia).

A little further on we stopped again near a large water tank where we saw lots more Egyptian and  Griffon Vultures, Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus) and a minimum of 6 more Lammergeier / Bearded Vulture but I suspect that there were a few more birds involved.

Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua).

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

Common Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines).

Other species seen were Alpine Swift (Vencejo Real / Apus melba), Common Cuckoo (Cuco Común / Cuculus canorus), Alpine Chough (Chova Piquigualda / Pyrrhocorax graculus), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages), Large White (Pieris brassicae), Turquoise Blue (Polyommatus dorylas), Provençal Fritillary (Melitaea deione) and Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua).

Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis).

We arrived at the village and went straight into the office and got all the info we needed except for the fact that the birds had already been feed and the chances of any thing being at the hide was zero!!!

On the way, worth the walk just for the views.

Ricky, Derek and I started the 1.5 hour walk out to the hide, some of it was hard going, particularly the last few hundred meters but we did it even though we met an English lady on her way down who did tell us that most things we already gone but we still decided to continue just so that we knew what to expect if we were to return.

On the way up we saw we had Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Griffon, Egyptian andLammergeier / Bearded Vulture, Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Yellowhammer (Escribano Cerillo / Emberiza citronella), Red-backed Shrike, Bullfinch (Camachuelo Común / Pyrrhula pyrrhula), Great, Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Carrion Crow, Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) and Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita).

Egyptian Vulture (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus).

Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus).

Plants and butterflies included Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata), Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula), Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera), Lesser Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera bifolia), Sword-leaved Helleborine (Cephalanathera longifolia), Wood Ruff (Galium odoratum), Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis), Cowslip (Primula veris), Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), Linum viscosum, Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), Common Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) and Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus).

Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

We eventually got back to the cars and the rest of the group and then started to make our way back down towards the House for our last night, on the way we had good views of a couple of Egyptian's, Red Kite and just before e reached Ansó we made a stop to check a group of Griffon's which dropped in low behind some Pine trees but they were all just having a rest either sat on the track or in one of the Pines.