El Temple and the Cacín Valley, Granada Province, Spain.

A day out on the Fields with Nuria Garzas and Ivan Martinez.

Ebird List for fist stop.

Ebird List for El Temple area.

Ebird List for Rio Cacín.

Ebird List for the Embalse.

Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) adult.

I met Nuria and Ivan up near Granada, we had originally planned to go up high as it was going to be hot but they had been up in that area for a few days so we headed out on to El Temple, on the way we made a stop starting the list with Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).

Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua).

We moved out onto the fields and as we drove the tracks the heat started to build but we still managed to find Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Short-toed (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) x2 and Booted Eagles (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus) x2, Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) x5, Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Lesser (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Iberian Grey (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis) and Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) and Greater Short-toed Lark (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla). 

We crossed from the fields to the Cacín Valley via the ridge where we picked up 3x Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and a couple of Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) butterflies as we dropped down into the village of Cacín.

Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) a younger bird.

On the far side of the village we had a walk along the Rio Cacín where we added Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes), another Booted Eagle, Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) x2 and Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus).

Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) adult.

We returned to the car and tried to get up to the Contra Embalse de Cacín but we again got turned back by a guy on junction but he told us we could get to the Embalse via a track next to the cemetery so we out that way and soon found the track and after a while we reached the dam but we couldn't see the water and had to do a steep but short climb up into the Pines but it was worth it as we were soon watching a very smart Western Osprey (Águila Pescardora / Pandion haliaetus), Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) x3, Booted Eagle x1, Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), loads of Red-rumped Swallows, House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Nuria and Ivan still smiling after getting baked out on the fields.

We returned to the car and after having some lunch we went into the Pine Woodlands further up the valley towards El Turro where we were very pleased to find adult and immature Bonelli's Eagles (Aguila-azor Perdicera / Hieraaetus faciatus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata) and calling Crossbills.

We started to head back towards Granada Via the Moraleda Fields but by now things were extremely hot so we didn't add anything, we returned to our meeting point and then went to try and cool down.