Near Embalse Cubillas, Serra de Huétor in Granada Province, Spain.

A morning with Juan and an afternoon in the mountain.

Deb and Ian, Day Thirty One.

 

Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola Europea / Oriolus oriolus).

We started the day with breakfast out on the terrace and then headed up to a spot near Embalse de Cubillas where we met good friend Juan for some birding, we arrived and walked out to an area of river side woodland and during the next 2.5 hours or so we saw and heard Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola Europea / Oriolus oriolus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala) and Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Eurasian Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Hawfinch (Picogordo Común / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major).

Juan saw Common Kingfisher (Martin Pescador Común / Alcedo atthis) but the rest of us missed it but whilst we walked we also saw Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra), Small White (Pieris rapae), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

Orchis cazorlensis.

Orchis cazorlensis.

Orchis cazorlensis.

Our next stop was for a drink and some Lunch at Café Bar Restaurante La Mora which was very nice and once we were sorted we continued on to a spot near the Mimbres Sur exit on the motorway where we founds several spikes of the uncommon Orchis cazorlensis, as well as Yellow Bee (Ophrys lutea) x8, Small Woodcock (Ophrys picta), Dense-flowered (Neotinea maculata) x20+ but finished, Lange's (Androrchis langei) x7 and Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhiza insularis) which were pretty much over.

Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea).

Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhiza insularis).

Small Woodcock Orchid (Ophrys picta).

We also saw Eurasian Jay (Arrendajo Euroasiático / Garrulus glandarius), Common Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapilla), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Great Spotted Woodpecker, Western Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasqueña Occidental / Curruca iberiae), Western Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina) x3, Provence Orange-tip (Anthocharis euphenoides) x2, Adonis (Lysandra bellargus) x3, Panoptes (Pseudophilotes panoptes) x9 and Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina) x2, Yellow Phlomis (Phlomis lychnitis), Large Blue Flax (Linum narbonense), Polygala boissieri, Tassel Hyacinth (Leopoldia comosa), Berberis hispanica and Salvia phlomoides subsp. boissieri.

Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina).

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina).

Just up the road at Venta del Molinillo we parked a walked a short way along the Arroyo de Prado Negro where we found Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) x2, Common Winter (Sympecma fusca) x3, Southern (Coenagrion mercuriale) x5 and Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) x8, Bath White (Pontia daplidice) x1, Clouded Yellow x7, Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) x5, Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) x1, Owlfly Libelloides baeticus, Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Poplar Hawk-Moth (Laothoe populi), Wild Boar (Jabalí / Felis silvestris) and Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus). 

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula).

Common Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca).

Common Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca).

Common Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca) and Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula).

Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale).

On the way home we took the road / track through the park and made a stop near the Centro de recepción de La Alfaguara, our main target was the Purple Limodore (Limodorum abortivum), whilst we were searching for it Deb shouted me over as she had found a very smart Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth (Hemaris fuciformis) x1 but a couple of seconds after I got there it shot off.

Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth (Hemaris fuciformis).

Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth (Hemaris fuciformis).

Large Blue Flax (Linum narbonense).

Large Blue Flax (Linum narbonense).

Poplar Hawk-Moth (Laothoe populi).

Just after this we found several spikes of the Limodore x6 along with some Lange's Orchid x20+, Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum baeticum), Wild Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum), Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus) and Eurasian Jay.

Purple Limodore (Limodorum abortivum).

Purple Limodore (Limodorum abortivum).

Looking over towards the Sierra Nevada.

Just a couple of hundred meters further on we stopped again briefly to see if any of the Bug Orchid (Anacamptis coriophora) were in flower, we found six spikes, three of which were just about starting to get open flowers but the others were still in tight bud.

Bug Orchid (Anacamptis coriophora).

From here we drove home and then we got a few bits done back at the house after collecting some two stroke fuel from the garage on the way, this was for an old generator that I had bought over from the UK 20 years ago and it had just been put on the shelf in the store and left.

As I had left it with no fuel Ian was fairly confident he could get it going, I didn't think after sitting there for over twenty years he stood a chance of getting it going, anyway after some maintenance he fueled it up and I was amazed when it fired up first pull.

He also got my old Chainsaw running after a bit of cleaning and general maintenance, THANKS IAN.

After these jobs we cleaned up and then settled up on the terrace where we heard Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and the Red-necked Nightjar (Chotacabras Cuellirrojo / Caprimulgus ruficollis) but we didn't see either.