Sierra de Huétor in Granada Province and Retamar in Almeria Province, Spain.

A Butterfly lifer for John on our way down to Cabo de Gata for a few days.

 

Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora).

Before Pam and John came up from the accommodation I stood outside on the road and watched what was possibly the first Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) along with European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki).

Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora).

Striped Grayling (Hipparchia fidia).

We started the day by driving to the North East of Granada and went to a spot in the Sierra de Huétor to look for butterflies but as with everywhere else at this time of the year the area was burnt off and there were no wild flowers to be found.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).

We parked and Pam settled in to do some drawing whilst John and I went for a walk up the valley following the river, species seen included 2 Booted Eagles (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), Cirl (Escribano Soteño / Emberiza cirlus) and Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito ibérico / Picus sharpei), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Great and Long-tailed Tit (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus). 

Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto).

African Grass (Zizeeria knysna).

Butterflies were thin on the ground but we did find Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x2, Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) x4, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera) x1, African Grass (Zizeeria knysna) x1, Holly (Celastrina argiolus) x1 and Spanish Chalk-hill Blue (Lysandra albicans) x1, Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) x9, Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) x3, Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) x2, Rock (Hipparchia alcyone) x1, Striped (Hipparchia fidia) x15+ and Tree Grayling (Hipparchia statilinus) x2, Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora) x7, Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) x1 and Sage Skipper (Muschampia proto) x2.

Spanish Chalk-hill Blue (Lysandra albicans).

Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera).

We returned to the car and then headed towards Almeria and into Retamar to a spot I had been to a couple of times earlier in the year where we were hoping to find the locally distributed Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus) and when we got there we found at least 30 to 40 individuals on the wing around two large very spiny bushes of their food plant Ziziphus spina-christi but they were very active and difficult to get the camera on.

John checking in on Pam before we head off to Cabo.

Other species seen included Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus) and Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus)♂.

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus)♀.

After a drink in a nearby bar we contacted the accommodation and then headed to a nearby Mercadona and then onward to Nijar where we would stay in a very nice apartment.