Ablitas area and Laguna de Lor, Navarra, Spain.*

Looking for the Dupont's Lark and later a few Butterflies and Dragons.

Ebird List for Ablitas General Area, 33 species.

Ebird List for Laguna de Lor.

Trip Total Day Two, Birds 79, Butterflies 13, Dragonflies 7.

Sunrise, out birding at far to early o'clock.

I was up and out on site before light hoping to catch up with the uncommon and elusive Dupont's Lark (Alondra Ricotí / Chersophilus duponti), I reached the area and after stopping at several points I parked at a junction in the road and stood there and listened and after a while I was sure I could hear part of the call but couldn't quite make out where it was coming from.

The area once the light got better.

In the area I did see 3 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga Ibérica / Pterocles alchata), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Calandra (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Greater Short-toed (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla) and Mediterranean / Lesser Short-toed Lark (Terrera Marismena / Calandrella rufescens), Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Feral Pigeon (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), a female Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and the first of a great many Rabbits (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).

The Sea Lavender Species.

I drove further along the track to a spot I had been given by a friend who had seen the Dupont's earlier in the year, I parked and walked one of the side tracks but only managed to added Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Bath White (Pontia daplidice) x2, a nice looking Green Beetle x3 and a Sea Lavender species.

Beetle Species that still needs a name.

Beetle Species that still needs a name.

I returned to the car and retraced my way back towards the junction where I had parked but just a couple of hundred meters along the track and a lark landed on the edge of the road and the headed into the low vegetation but straight away I was confident it was my target bird and after getting a few nice views of it I remembered to try and get some photos but by now it was to far away to get anything decent but I was just very happy to see this difficult species. 

Dupont's Lark (Alondra Ricotí / Chersophilus duponti).

Dupont's Lark (Alondra Ricotí / Chersophilus duponti).

I spent another couple of hours searching the area and meeting two different Medio Ambiante agents who were regulars at the site, as I drove around I added Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) x15+, Southern Gatekeeper (Pyronia cecilia) x4, a Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) with 13 chicks, European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), a single rather unexpected Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) which was fly SE, 2 White Storks (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) which were heading in the same direction, both Red (Milano Real / Milvus milvus) and Black Kites (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Curruca conspicillata) and Western Black-eared Wheatear (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica).

Dupont's Lark (Alondra Ricotí / Chersophilus duponti).

I drove back NW and headed for Laguna de Lor which I had seen on Google Earth and decided it looked like it would be worth a look, on the way off the site I added Western Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasqueña Occidental / Curruca iberiae) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) and Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica).

Laguna de Lor.

Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe).

Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon).

Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).

Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina) male.

I arrived at the Laguna and was pleased as it certainly did look very good, as I sorted the kit out and put everything else in the book  could heard at least 2 Great Reed Warblers (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus), 2 singing Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola Europea / Oriolus oriolus) and in the sedges near the water my only lifer of the day, several Blue-tailed Damselflies (Ischnura elegans) x9 which can be distinguished from the commoner in Spain Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii) by a tiny upright projection on the male's pronotum which can just be seen in the photo below (thanks to Steve Jones for the confirmation).

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) male.

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) male ahowing the tiny upright projection.

In the same area I checked some large bramble bushes where I found the first of hundreds of Small Red-eyed Damselflies (Erythromma viridulum) 600-800+, Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x3, Small White (Pieris rapae) x7, Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina) x4, Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) x2 and Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon) x1 (thanks to Ed Mckrill for the confirmation).

Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) male.

Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) male.

Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) male.

Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) immature male????

I decided to do a full loop of the lake and set off in an anticlockwise direction, on the first side I had Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) x1, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) x3, Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) x30+, Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum) x15+, European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) mating pair.

Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) female.

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum).

Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) mating pair.

Exuvia from Emperor species.

Along the next bank and down the far side I picked up Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), 2x Purple (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea) and a single Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) x4, Lesser (Anax parthenope) x3 and Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) x1, Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) x3, Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) x1 and quite a few frogs, down home I would call them Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) but not sure what they are this far North.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus).

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus).

Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).

Burnet Species to be identified still.

It was getting warm and the early start was catching up with me so I started to make my way back to Borja but went back over the fields, as I drove I added Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) x1 adult and Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) x12 before I reached the hotel where I thought I would have 40 winks and I woke up over 3 hours later.

Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) disappearing off quickly.