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Sunday 30 July 2023

Valencia Airport, Valencia Province and The Rambla, Albarracín, Teruel Province, Spain.

A longer route to the Airport than planned and then back over to the Rambla near Albarracín.
Karen and Bob, Day Seven.

Almost but not quite, the Common Hermit (Chazara briseis).
We were up at "Oh my god what time of the day is this" and after a very early breakfast we headed for the Airport but what would normally be a 3 minute drive turned into a 12km trip due to road works.
Grayling (Hipparchia semele).


Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus).


Anyway we were there in plenty of time and I said goodbye until next Spring to Karen and Bob after a really nice and successful trip and then headed back over to the Rambla for one last try for the extremely elusive Southern Hermit (Chazara prieuri) but even after putting in over 20,000 steps up and down the Rambla I only found the commoner cousin the Common Hermit (Chazara briseis).
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera).
I started by checking the area by the river as the sun had already reached that point, here I found Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), along with Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and Common Golden Ringed (Cordulegaster boltonii).
Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).
Southern Marbled Skipper (Carcharodus baeticus).
I crossed the road and walked up the Rambla as far as a very small puddle up against the ravine wall, on the way I saw
Striped Grayling (Hipparchia fidia), Grayling (Hipparchia semele), Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), Bath (Pontia daplidice) and Small White (Pieris rapae) and then the almost what I wanted Common Hermit (Chazara briseis).
Striped Grayling (Hipparchia fidia).
Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus).
I also saw Roe Deer (Corzo / Capreolus capreolus), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Bonelli's (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Dartford (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata) and Western Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris) and a singing but unseen Western Orphean Warbler (Curruca Mirlona / Sylvia hortensis).
Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus).



Other Butterfly species Spanish Chalk-hill Blue (Lysandra albicans), Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius), Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami) and at the Puddle I found a Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba), Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) and my first Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra).
Striped Grayling (Hipparchia fidia).
On the walk back I saw Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli), Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina), Dusky Heath (Coenonympha dorus), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Berger's Clouded Yellow (Colias alfacariensis) and a single quite unexpected Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus).
Safflower Skipper (Pyrgus carthami).
I returned to Albarracín and to my new accommodation before heading out later to meet up with friend Andy Tweed and his two friends Mick and Kath who very kindly invited me out for a drink and a meal which was very nice.

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