Puerto de la Morcuera and Embalse Santillana, Madrid, Spain.

Up high looking for birds but it turned into a Butterfly fest.

Deb and Ian, Sixty Three.

Ebird List for Puerto de la Morcuera.

Ebird List for Embalse Sanillana.

 

We decided to head up into the mountains at Puerto de la Morcuera as we were still trying to see Citril Finch (Verderón Serrano / Carduelis citrinella) a species I still need for my year list and we hoped we might get a few more butterflies for the list.

We decided to head for Soto del Real and have breakfast at the bar where we went yesterday but some Muppet (ME) took a wrong turn and it took us a while longer than planned as we did a full lap of the Embales de Santillana instead of just running up the one side, anyway we eventually reached the bar, more by luck than judgement.

While we were having breakfast Deb tried to Check her and Ian in for the flight but hit a problem when she discovered that Ian's name was wrong on the new booking and the check in kept getting rejected, this problem meant another late night call to Australia for Deb.

The view from Mirador de la Morcuera.

Once Deb finished trying we headed off and were soon up in the mountains at the Mirador de la Morcuera car park, it was not possible to continue on as the road was closed due to Fire Season Restrictions I am guessing.

Esper's Marbled White (Melanargia russiae) Female.

Esper's Marbled White (Melanargia russiae) Male.

Esper's Marbled White (Melanargia russiae) Male.

Esper's Marbled White (Melanargia russiae) Male.

Esper's Marbled White (Melanargia russiae) Female.

We started to walk up the road and then checked an area of grassland off to our right as we saw a large looking Marbled White species fly into the area, this turned out to be the first of several Esper's Marbled Whites (Melanargia russiae) which I was pleased with as I had only ever seen one before.

White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

De Prunner's Ringlet (Erebia triarius).

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).

Tragopogon castellanus.

 Feathered Footman (Spiris striata).

 Green Iberian Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens) ????????

In the same area we saw Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe), De Prunner's Ringlet (Erebia triarius), Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum), Feathered Footman (Spiris striata), Tragopogon castellanus, Green Iberian Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens) ???????? Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia).

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

De Prunner's Ringlet (Erebia triarius).

Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron).

Bath White (Pontia daplidice).

We came back out onto the road and then walked a bit further on over the brow and out on a track on the opposite side of the road, on a patch of  Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) we found good numbers of Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Spotted (Melitaea didyma) and Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia),  Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron), Bath White (Pontia daplidice), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) and Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

As we walked down along the side of the Pine woods we saw and heard Griffon (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) x5 and Cinereous Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus) x1, Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), Red (Milano Real / Milvus milvus) and Black Kite, a calling Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix), Eurasian Jay (Arrendajo Euroasiático / Garrulus glandarius), 80 odd Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Woodlark (Alondra Totovía / Lullula arborea), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), European Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Lophophanes cristatus) and Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater), Western Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Common Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapilla), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla) and a couple of calling Ortolan Buntings (Escribano Hortolano / Emberiza hortulana).

Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe).

Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe).

Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe).

Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe).

Niobe Fritillary (Fabriciana niobe).

On our way back up towards the road we had a couple of birds fly passed us which I was 99% sure were the wanted Citril Finches but I could not be absolutely sure so they didn't make the Ebird List and as hard as we all searched we didn't see them all day.

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus).

Rosy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus onopordi).

Rosy Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus onopordi).

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae).

We spent another couple of hours up along the road looking for butterflies mainly, during this time we walked down as far as Fuente de Cossio during this time we saw Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora), Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera), Large (Nymphalis polychloros) and Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), Painted Lady, Peacock (Aglais io), Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), Small White (Pieris rapae), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), Mallow (Carcharodus alceae), Rosy Grizzled (Pyrgus onopordi) and Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthameli) and Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi).

De Prunner's Ringlet (Erebia triarius).

Piedmont Ringlet (Erebia meolans).

Piedmont Ringlet (Erebia meolans).

Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora).

Cardinal Fritillary (Argynnis pandora).

Southern Heath Fritillary (Melitaea celadussa).

Southern Heath Fritillary (Melitaea celadussa).

Southern Heath Fritillary (Melitaea celadussa).

Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia).

Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia).

Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia).

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi).

After a while we returned to the car and had a snack and a drink before returning to the first area of grassland where we started this morning and checked the patches of Thyme on the banks around the same area, as we searched we added a single Scarce Copper (Lycaena virgaureae) but it didn't say long, Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Silver-studded  (Plebejus argus), Long-tailed (Lampides boeticus) and Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous), more Queen of Spain and Niobe Fritillaries (Fabriciana niobe) and lots of Purple-shot Coppers.

Scarce Copper (Lycaena virgaureae).

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).

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

Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus).

By the car park we found several Iberian Marbled Whites (Melanargia lachesis) and during the drive back down the hill we made a stop by a bank of Brambles were we added another Peacock, several Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and lots more.

Peacock (Aglais io).

Peacock (Aglais io).

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).

Our next stop was back at the lake where we were yesterday, it was already hot by now so we just walked the lane down to the lake and scanned the lake, during the walk down we saw Small Heath, Blue Spotted and False Ilex Hairstreak, Great Banded Grayling (Brintesia circe), Holly, Long-tailed and Lang's Short-tailed Blue.

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).

False Ilex Hairstreak (Satyrium esculi).

Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina).

From the end of the track we picked up Egyptian Geese (Ganso del Nilo / Alopochen aegyptiaca), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia),Western Cattle (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Booted Eagle, Red and Black Kite, Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Western Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasqueña Occidental / Curruca iberiae).

Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) male.

We returned to the car a headed back to the accommodation, later we went to the bar again but this time we actually got some Tapa's along with our beer which slightly off set the horrendous prices in this area and over night Deb managed to sort the check in problem and they were already for their trip home in the morning.