Sierra Nevada and Cerro Gordo in Granada Province and Caleta de Velez in Malaga Province, Spain.*

A morning in the hills with friend Polly and then a lifer on the Malaga Coast.

Ebird List for Cerro Gordo, 9 Species.

Ebird List for Caleta, 15 Species.

Pale Morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus).

I met friend Polly at the Área de Servicio Cenes on the road up Sierra Nevada, whilst I was waiting I saw and heard Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti)), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus).

Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines).

Grayling (Hipparchia semele).

Once Polly arrived we headed straight up to the Jardín Botánico Hoya de Pedraza where we parked and had a walk around the garden for a couple of hours or so, finding Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x5, Grayling (Hipparchia semele) x2 and Great Banded Grayling (Brintesia circe) x1, Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis) x6, Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) x3, Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) x3, Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) x6, Rosy Grizzled (Pyrgus onopordi) x3 and Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) x3, Black-veined (Aporia crataegi) x1 and Small White (Pieris rapae) x9, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) x2, Southern (Polyommatus celina) x4 and Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous) x1, Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba) x13, Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) x3, Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) x2 and Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) x5 on the butterfly front.

Lizard Orchid (Himanthoglosum hircinum).

Lizard Orchid (Himanthoglosum hircinum).

Robust Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza elata).

Other species included Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus), Andalucian Wall Lizard (Podarcis vaucheri), Thread-winged Lacewing (Nemoptera bipennis), several Large Red Damselflies (Pyrrhosoma nymphula), Lizard (Himanthoglosum hircinum) and Robust Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza elata), Tragopogon cazorlanum, Corn Cockle (Agrostemma githago), Catananche caerulea, Aquilegia nevadensis, Onosma tricerosperma ssp granatensis, Spanish Foxglove (Digitalis obscura) and Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).

Great Banded Grayling (Brintesia circe).

Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia).

Rosy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus onopordi).

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

Birds included a pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus) just as we arrived and as we walked around the Gardens we added Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala) and Western Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes), Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Woodpigeon, Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla).

Tragopogon cazorlanum.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).

We walked back up to the car and then headed up to the Ski Resort and out on to the slopes but it was a tad windy so we didn't see a great deal however we did pick up several Silver-studded Blues (Plebejus argus) x4, a single Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron) x1, European Serin and Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros).

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus).

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus).

Again we returned to the car and dropped down to El Desvio bar where we had a drink and something to eat before checking a couple of spots on the way down the old road, our first spot was at the Fuente Agrilla where we picked saw another Silver-studded Blue x1 as well as Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus) x3, Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) x1, Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius) x2, Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) x2, Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) x1, Eurasian Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) and a calling Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola Europea / Oriolus oriolus).

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus).

We dropped further on down the hill and took a track up the side of the Rio Genil where we checked a small wet patch along the Vereda de la Estrella but it was much reduced since I was there last time and we only saw 20+ Southern Marbled Skippers (Muschampia baeticus).

Tatty looking female blue ???????

Further along the track we saw a male Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), several more spikes of the tall Robust Marsh Orchid, Throatwort (Trachelium caeruleum), White Stonecrop (Sedum album) and a male Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator). 

Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius).

Our last stop was just down the road where we walked down to the bridge over the Rio so that Polly could get a few photo's but whist there we saw

Southern Marbled Skippers (Muschampia baeticus).

Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), Tassel Hyacinth (Leopoldia comosa), Wild Leek (allium ampeloprasum), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus) x2 and as we walked back up a couple of Cardinal Fritillaries (Argynnis pandora) x3 flew passed at speed.

Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).

We dropped back down to the meeting point and Polly headed off back home and I decided to head down to the Coast and then along to Caleta de Velez where a vagrant American Laughing Gull (Gaviota Guanaguanare / Larus atricilla) had been found yesterday by Salvador Garcia Barcelona, on the way I stopped off at Cerro Gordo to look for the summer visiting White-rumped Swifts (Vencejo Cafre / Apus caffer) and after just 10 minutes I saw a single bird fly by with a few Pallid's (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), 2 Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax) and another Pale Morph Booted Eagle.

Laughing Gull (Gaviota Guanaguanare / Larus atricilla).

I moved along the coast to the fishing port at Caleta de Velez where I checked the Beach but there was no sign, I did see Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Lesser Black-backed  (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Audouin's Gulls (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii) in the roost area and as the fishing boats came in there were Balearic (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus) and Scopoli’s Shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) following them in along with a few Mediterranean Gulls (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus).

Laughing Gull (Gaviota Guanaguanare / Larus atricilla).

I walked up and down the beach and had a quick view of the bird in flight on a couple of occasions but it didn't come to the beach and disappeared for periods whilst it did a loop along the coast and then out to follow the fishing boats in.

Laughing Gull (Gaviota Guanaguanare / Larus atricilla).

I had a quick look at the Puerto Deportivo but didn't find it there, so I walked back towards the beach having a look at the fishing port on the way where I saw the bird feeding with a group of Yellow-legged but it soon continued on down to the beach again where I saw it fly over a couple more times.

Laughing Gull (Gaviota Guanaguanare / Larus atricilla).

Other species seen before I decided to make my way home included Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Thalasseus sandvicensis), Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) and loads of noisy Monk Parakeets (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus).