Near Huétor Tajar, Granada Province, Spain.

A walk in the local area to meet friends and for a bit of Butterfly hunting.

Ebird List for the terrace.

The GOOD, or at least better than most.

I started the day with a short walk down to Bar Pedro where I met up with Friend Pau Lucio, his wife and son for a coffee and a chat which was very nice.

The BAD and the UGLY.

Later I walked back to the house but came the longer way back through the Olives, the first stretch which comes up from the Huétor to Montefrio road is as usual really good as the farmer is working the area a lot more environmentally friendly than most in the area and the areas between the trees are full of wild flowers which means there are lots of insects and birds.

Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli).

Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli).

Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina).

Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).

Species seen and heard included my first European Bee-eaters (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) of the year (I also had a second group go over the house later), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus).

Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri).

Green-Striped White (Euchloe belemia).

Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua).

Butterflies / Moths where also on the wing in good numbers and included Bath (Pontia daplidice) x3, Green-Striped (Euchloe belemia) x2, Large (Pieris brassicae) x3, Small (Pieris rapae) and Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri), Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) x25+, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) x4, Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina) x15+, Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli) x2, Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus alceae) x12+, Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) x8+, Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) x6, Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) x2, at least 5x Hummingbird Hawkmoths (Macroglossum stellatarum) and several Autographa gamma (Silver Y).

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus alceae).

Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus alceae).

In amongst the wild flowers there were Corn (Papaver rhoeas) and Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum), Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris), Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum), Field Marigold (Calendula arvensis), Hoary Cress (Lepidium draba), Mallow-leaved Convolvulus (Convolvulus althaeoides), Purple Bugloss (Echium plantagineum), Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) and Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis).

Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius).

Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum).

Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas).

I crossed the small Arroyo which was still flowing quite well and entered the dead zone and all the way back to the house I only saw a single Clouded Yellow, very sad.

Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

Once I got home I went up onto the terrace with a coffee and decided that it was warm enough to sit up there for a while and whilst there I had Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) x2, Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and an Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) which flew along the barranco.

Looking out from the Terrace.