El Temple and Cacín Valley, Granada Province, Spain.

Back out and about with Lynn and Steve.

Ebird List for Contra-embalse de Bermejalis.

A view towards Sierra Nevada.

I met Lynn and Steve down in Huétor Tajar and we headed out to the El Temple area where we searched the fields, on the way into the site we picked up Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) and Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata).

Roemeria hybrida.

Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and Roemeria hybrida.

Once we were out on the site we parked and scanned the fields finding Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and at our second stop Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) and a couple of flyby Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis).

Corn Poppies (Papaver rhoeas).

Corn Poppies (Papaver rhoeas).

Steve Photographing Roemeria hybrida.

In the fields we saw lots of Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), Roemeria hybrida, Silene muscipula and Hypecoum imberbe, Thistle Tortoise Beetle (Cassida rubiginosa),  Small (Pieris rapae) x13, Black-veined (Aporia crataegi) x4 and Western Dappled Whites (Euchloe crameri) x5 and Rabbits (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus). 

Silene muscipula.

Unfortunate Road casualty, a Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius) must have been hit by a car just before we came along the road.

We crossed to the far side of the area and checked out some more tracks seeing Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), a dark morph Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius), Greater Short-toed Lark (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica).

Thistle Tortoise Beetle (Cassida rubiginosa).

Thistle Tortoise Beetle (Cassida rubiginosa).

Thistle Tortoise Beetle (Cassida rubiginosa).

We left the El Temple area and headed for the Cacín Valley through the huge area of destruction being allowed in the name of NET ZERO but at any cost to the environment and the wildlife, the Spanish Government seem to be willing to turn massive areas of the Province into Solar deserts where there used to be Little Bustard, Sandgrouse and lots of other species breeding, RANT OVER.

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Monudo / Aythya fuligula).

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Monudo / Aythya fuligula) in pursuit of a female Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina).

We reached the Contraembalse de Bermejalis where we soon found several species of interest including the male Tufted Duck (Porrón Monudo / Aythya fuligula) which has been around for a week or two, a passage Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica) and a newly arrived Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea) which was my first for the year.

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).

We also saw Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Cuckoo (Cuco Común / Cuculus canorus), Common (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) and Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), European Bee-eater, Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Barn Swallow, Corn Bunting, Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea) and several Western Dappled Whites x9.

Viperine Snake (Culebra Viperina / Natrix maura).

Viperine Snake (Culebra Viperina / Natrix maura).

Our next stop was below the dam where we spent some time walking along the Irrigation channel where we saw or heard Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Viperine Snake (Culebra Viperina / Natrix maura), Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Blue-eye (Erythromma lindenii) x5 adults plus several Larva, Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) x2, Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) x3 and Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) x2.

Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) Male.

Blue-eye (Erythromma lindenii).

Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).

Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).

On our way back we popped into Balsa de Regidor briefly were we found Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard, Blue / Common  x1 and  Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) x2, Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) x4, Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum) x8.  

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum).

Our final stop of the day was on the fields at Huétor but it was quite warm so it was quiet and we only managed to find the Black-winged Kites (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) and a couple of Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).