Moscardón, Teruel Province and driving Home to Granada Province, Spain.

A Mornings Butterfly hunting with Andy, Kath and Mick.

Mick, Andy and Kath.

I met the others at a bar just on the edge of town where we had a coffee before we headed out to the meadows at Moscardón where we parked, crossed the road and walked the meadows down as far as the concrete Troughs, out in the more open areas we found several Azure Chalkhill Blues (Lysandra caelestissima), Southern Gatekeeper (Pyronia cecilia), Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami), Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis), False (Arethusana arethusa), Great Banded (Kanetisa circe) and Rock Grayling (Hipparchi alcyone), Spanish Heath (Coenonympha glycerion iphioides) and then a very nice Iberian Sooty Copper (Lycaena bleusei).

Azure Chalkhill Blue (Lysandra caelestissima).

Azure Chalkhill Blue (Lysandra caelestissima).

Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis).

Spanish Heath (Coenonympha glycerion iphioides).

Iberian Sooty Copper (Lycaena bleusei).

Bird wise we saw and heard European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Iberian Green (Pito Real / Picus sharpei) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Long-tailed (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus) and Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla).

High Brown Fritillary (Fabriciana adippe).

High Brown Fritillary (Fabriciana adippe).

High Brown Fritillary (Fabriciana adippe).

Silver-Washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia).

Comma (Polygonum c-album).

Comma (Polygonum c-album).

As we moved in amongst the bushes and trees we picked up Adonis (Lysandra bellargus) and Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina), Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma), Comma (Polygonum c-album), High Brown (Fabriciana adippe), Silver-Washed (Argynnis paphia) and a very tatty Twin-spot fritillary (Brenthis hecate), Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia), Southern White Admiral (Limenitis reducta), Bath White (Pontia daplidice), Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua), Berger's Clouded Yellow (Colias alfacariensis), Wood White (Leptidea sinapis), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and Long-tailed Blue (Lampides baeticus).

Grayling (Hipparchia semele).

Great Banded Grayling (Kanetisa circe).

Rock Grayling (Hipparchi alcyone).

Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami).

Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus).

As we walked back up towards the cars I added Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), False Ilex Hairstreak (Satyrium esculi), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli), Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe), Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis), Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos).

Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami).

We reached the cars and we went just up the road to a spot Karen, Bob and I found a few days earlier where we had seen some good Dragonfly species as well as a great number of Puddling Blues which today included Azure Chalkhill, Damon (Polyommatus damon) and Oberthur's Anomalous Blue (Polyommatus fabressei) as well as Small (Thymelicus sylvestris) and Red-underwing Skipper and a single Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus). 

Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis).

I wanted to get back home at a reasonable time so I sad goodbye to Andy, Kath and Mick and left them with the Blues which I know they enjoyed and walked back to my car, up by the pools I again saw Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella), Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens), Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) and Common Spreadwing (Lestes Sponsa) before setting off South and Home after a great trip.

Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous).

I drove straight back without a stop, the first part of the journey was through some very nice, interesting looking country side but one I was on the motorways it was not great as there were so many foreign plated cars driving at hellish speeds.