Near Huétor Tajar, Granada Province, Spain.

A battle with some wildlife that is great to have out in the Garden but not in the Kitchen.

 

I started the day with a quick trip down to Huétor for some shopping, as I was coming back in through the front door I suddenly notice a large Horseshoe Whip Snake (Coluber hippocrepis) drop off the curtain, land in the lounge and disappear under the sofa.

Defensive Guide planks in place, Door open and broom ready.

I put the shopping down and then started the job of getting the chap back out into the garden where it belonged, I moved the sofa armed with a broom but it shot between my legs and into the kitchen where it hid up behind the dishwasher and sink cupboards so I took the kick board off and got a couple of planks of wood to build some defenses to guide the beast towards the back door.

Anyway after about 20 minutes I heard movement and it came out and after a bit of a battle with two brushes it was out onto the back steps and then dropped down into the garden again thankfully. 

Happy to see him making for cover back in the garden.

I do like Snakes and have recorded 5 species in the garden but I am not happy with them in the house unlike the Moorish Gecko's (Tarentola mauritanica) which have a free run of the place.

I also saw and heard Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola Europea / Oriolus oriolus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).